Womb Stories Project – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Womb Stories Project, Kit Maloney, founder of Kitara, shares her raw birth story on a phone call with two sisters… just 3 weeks after giving birth (in her 40s) to a healthy baby girl.

An incorrect ultrasound report shows Kit's baby in transverse position and completely derails her home birth plans. What followed was the very real possibility of an emergency C-section. 

Her work with Kitara informed that moment. She recognized the pattern because she had heard it so many times. "Everything was fine, and then suddenly it became an emergency C-section." With an EPIC labor support team ( her husband and midwife ) and years experience in women's health and advocacy, Kit was able to have an unmedicated hospital birth within a highly medicalized system. 

But what if she didn't? Her experience speaks to the importance of support in hospital birth, patient advocacy during labor, and how challenging it can be to navigate informed consent and avoid unnecessary birth interventions. 

At one point, the situation escalated to threats of the Department of Health and Human Services being called. Kit found herself wondering, "how am I going to get out of here?"  What followed wasn't just about getting through the experience, but what it meant to come out the other side of it with a sense of agency and wholeness.

Birth trauma is real.  Kit has come to see that a huge part of trauma prevention is being able to process more quickly. To be witnessed and affirmed almost in the moment of it can set you up for a totally different recovery.

This episode reaffirms the "why" behind the Womb Stories Project. Sharing our stories is an invaluable piece of spreading awareness, education, and advocacy within the women's health and wellness world. If this resonates, like, subscribe and share your birth story below in the comments. 

Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming. 

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Learn more about the benefits of yoni steaming

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Chaya Leia Aronson of Your Sacred Pelvis shares her powerful journey from chronic bladder infections and interstitial cystitis to living pain-free and deeply connected to her womb.

After years of pelvic pain, invasive medical experiences, and being told there was no solution, Chaya turned to natural healing, including herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle changes, Mayan Abdominal Massage, and Yoni Steaming. Through this work, she not only resolved her symptoms but reclaimed pleasure, nervous system regulation, and trust in her body.

We discuss how pelvic pain and uterine disorders are often rooted in trauma, and Chaya illuminates how trauma can arise from a much broader range of experiences than we typically consider, including a hard fall to the sacrum. 

Through natural healing practices like yoni steaming, which supports deep nervous system regulation and invites gentle emotional release, we are able to move through pain and towards pleasure. Chaya speaks to the fact that activism is best sustained by joy, pleasure, and a regulated nervous system. 

This episode is a testament to the possibility of moving beyond chronic pelvic pain and dis-ease in your own womb healing journey. A hopeful and inspiring story offering natural remedies, ancient practices, and wise teachers within the world of holistic women's reproductive health. 

About our Guest

Chaya Leia Aronson, RN BSN offers both in person and virtual healing experiences that blend hands-on bodywork, somatic practices, and gentle lifestyle and herbal support to help you reconnect with this powerful part of yourself. She utilizes Maya Abdominal Massage, Holistic Pelvic Care™, Yoni Steaming, movement and posture practices, and holistic coaching to help you reclaim pelvic health and wellness. 

Connect to Chaya on Instagram.

Learn more on her website.

Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming. 🌸www.kitaralove.com🌸

Beautiful Yoni Steam Seats, Organic Herbs, Consultations & More...

Connect with Kitara on IG @bykitara

TimeStamps: 

• 5:40 -14:50 How to Heal UTIs Naturally: Yoni Steaming + Mayan Abdominal Massage 

• 14:50-18:03 Trauma as the Root of Womb & Pelvic Pain

• 18:03- 19:10 Holistic Support for Endometriosis

• 19:10-2:00 Yoni Steaming for Nervous System Regulation

• 21- 22:27 Using Herbal Allies in Yoni Steaming

• 22:27 - 29:41  Healing Generational Trauma in the Body

• 29:41 - 32:13 Releasing Ancestral Grief & Pleasure Activism

• 32:13 -35  Yoni Steaming Benefits: The Miracles of Yoni Steaming

If you are listening to this near the release date, I'm now ever so gently dipping my toes back into the waters of work after a beautiful cocoon of postpartum time. Our baby boy arrived the morning of May 22. He is a gem, we are wildly smitten new parents, and I look forward to sharing the journey of our home birth with you here on Womb Stories Project in a future episode. 

Today's interview is with Madam CJ who has a dynamic, bold, and compelling story of womb healing. She also celebrates her use of yoni steaming to support her fibroid release and passing fibroids naturally. In this episode, Madam CJ also shares her journey of connecting to her innate and natural beauty as well as finding freedom through sensuality and dance. 

Like many of our episodes on Womb Stories Project, the conversation takes us beyond a particular diagnosis and into a deeply real conversation about the profound ripple effect that womb space health and healing have on one's life and community. 

Healing Your Body from Fibroids

Madam CJ was diagnosed with fibroids when she was 35 years old. Her grandmother used to suffer from fibroids, so she knew something was wrong when she started experiencing similar symptoms. The surgery and intensive recovery period were inaccessible to her, so she threw herself into natural remedies and emotional healing to heal her own fibroids.

Vaginal Steaming Practices for Fibroids

A commitment to extreme self-care inspired Madame CJ to order her own steam seat. She has a home vaginal steaming process where she steams every day so that she isn't bleeding. Vaginal tissues are extremely absorbent, so Madam CJ reflects on how her yoni steaming practice has helped her to recover from multiple illnesses, including her fibroids.

Eliminating Toxic Skincare to Prevent Fibroids

Soaps, hair products, nail polish, hair color, and even feminine hygiene products have xenoestrogens that feed fibroids. Eliminating these products and releasing the beauty standards that keep women hooked on these products is essential to fibroid healing and prevention. Madam CJ reflects on her journey of learning how to make her own natural soaps and embracing her natural look.

In This Episode

• 4:20 - Madam CJ's experience with fibroids and her healing journey
• 11:31 - Why the surgery isn't the right solution for a lot of women
• 17:10 - Madam CJ's current fibroid journey and the healing practices she keeps in her daily life
• 27:30 - Eliminating toxic skincare products that are linked to fibroids - particularly in the black community
• 36:28 - Madam CJ's home vaginal steaming practice
• 50:14 - Being able to ask for and receive help when healing from fibroids
• 1:01:22 - Dance and the womb healing gifts it offers

Links

Find Madam CJ on Instagram

Shop Madam CJ's soaps

Use code madamlove at KitaraLove.com

Steaming for post-partum recovery is often only spoken about for vaginal deliveries, but Blaney booked a steam session to heal from her c-section. She was also seeking support in her recovery from obstetric violence. Today, we will go into what obstetric violence means, and how that term supports women by putting a name to what they may have experienced. 

In this episode, we center on Blaney's healing. Part of that involves naming the trauma and telling her story. So as you go into the episode, I encourage you to check in with yourself. Is this the right time for you to go in-depth on the topic of obstetric violence? If you feel a full-body yes, then I hope you find this episode supportive. If this topic isn't right for you at this moment in your journey, then we will have new episodes of womb stories soon.

In This Episode

• 5:41 - What led Blaney to seek a steaming session after her c-section
• 14:04 - Blaney's four birth stories and her experience with obstetric violence
• 25:21 - How to validate yourself and navigate systemic violence as a pregnant person
• 34:08 - What worked and didn't work for Blanley on her healing journey
• 56:05 - Being integrated into the community around you while also navigating those who are in different parts of their healing journey
• 1:00:55 - Additional thoughts and healing messages from Blaney

Resources Mentioned

Find Kitara Love on Instagram

Download the Free Guide to Yoni Steaming

Your menstrual time is supposed to be a sacred moment of the month, but for so many women, that time comes with pain. This is especially true for women who live with endometriosis. Today's guest comes to bring hope to women who may be struggling with endometriosis.

Today's interview is with- Chasca Summerville, an Ayurvedic Diet & Lifestyle Consultant and author of a truly beautiful book called  Ayurvedic Rituals: Wisdom, Recipes and the Ancient Art of Self-Care. 

Chasca is as approachable as she is knowledgeable and has an incredible personal story of womb healing. For decades Chasca suffered from the immense pain and disruption caused by symptoms of endometriosis. Even after years of exploration and devotion to Ayurvedic principles and lifestyle, which had reconnected Chasca to her soul's purpose and much healing, Chasca's menstrual cycle remained a source of conflict and struggle. 

In this episode, she shares how the practice of yoni steaming was THE game-changing addition to her health and healing routine. For all of you on your endo warrior journies, this episode is absolutely for you and my wish is that it leaves you inspired and with hope. 

And for all of us, regardless of any particular diagnosis, this is a rich and juicy and deeply real conversation about how once unimaginable womb health is truly accessible to us all.

In This Episode

• 2:53 - How yoni steaming helped Chasca cure her endometriosis
• 16:48 - Auryveda as an ally in endometriosis pain
• 33:19 - Being aware of your options for endometriosis treatment
• 43:18 - Steaming as an invitation to open up a dialogue with the womb and maternal ancestry
• 1:20:07 - Seasonal cleansing and cleansing during the menstrual period

Links

Chasca's Book, Ayurvedic Rituals: Wisdom, Recipes and the Ancient Art of Self-Care

How to Steam without a Seat

Find Kitara Love on Instagram

Download the Free Guide to Yoni Steaming

Laurena White is a western trained doctor who grew up in a home where herbs were medicine too. Many times women have sought medical care for their womb space and are presented only the option of surgery or birth control. So today we have a spacious conversation with a gynecologist who alchemizes holistic options with her medical training. We hope this conversation shows you how you can ask doctors for more when it comes to the health of your womb space.

In This Episode

• 10:08 - How Laurena maintained her sense of self and her values within the western medicine field
• 27:40 - Finding the balance between western medicine and holistic practices and knowing when to use which remedy
• 31:30 - Laurena's personal womb story
• 1:00:30 - Addressing the connection between the emotions and the body as a healthcare practitioner
• 1:17:35 - Using steaming within a gynecological practice

 Resources Mentioned

Find Laurena White Online

Connect with Laurena on Instagram

Women's Health, Wisdom, and Wine Podcast

This is the first episode in a series called "steam stories". I can't get over the powerful feedback I have received on the power of steaming. Pelvic pain has been heavily normalized by modern medicine along with many other abnormalities that can show up during a period. This episode introduces some of the ways that we can support our wombs during bleeding and postpartum.

In This Episode

• 2:54 - Keli's steam story - how she discovered steaming 
• 17:27 - How steaming helped Keli recover after giving birth to both of her children 
• 34:15 - Racial inequities in womb health care and prevalence of fibroids 
• 47:54 - Defining success at the beginning of a steaming journey 
• 51:50 - Practices outside of steaming that can support womb healing and womb health 
• 1:00:31 - Creating better practices that support your health during your womb bleeding 
• 1:09:48 - How women of color are leading the return to steaming and how to support that mission 

Comic, actor, director, podcast host, and my dear sister-in-law. Tig is acclaimed for her honesty, and ability to bring her insightful humor to reflect on the most difficult moments of her life. It was an honor to have Tig on the show, because of the impact she has had on the entertainment industry, and to have the chance to connect with a beloved family member.

This episode is a spacious and vulnerable conversation where we explore the theme of truth-telling.

In This Episode

• 8:40 - Striving for truth while staying connected to self-love
• 19:02 - Navigating moments when you have to choose between authenticity and belonging
• 21:51 - Connecting to how truth feels in the body
• 30:17 - Creating an all-female writing room and some of the shifts happening in Hollywood that allowed for that
• 40:28 - Accessing creativity through the womb space
• 48:29 - Mindfulness exercises and connecting to a higher power
• 59:15 - Reflections on motherhood

This is episode 1 of Womb Stories, and I wanted to welcome Anita Kopacz as my very first guest because she has helped to unlock my own womb story. 

Anita and I first connected on a podcast episode towards the end of 2015, where I was interviewing people about pleasure, and she talked about some of her trauma work. She helped me to understand another dimension of how to understand the victim and survivor story. This changed the course of my life, and it engaged me in my trauma healing in a way I had never experienced before. This episode centers on womb stories and centers the healing aspect of it. 

In This Episode

3:02 - reframing the idea of power through Anita's womb story

13:21 - tending to wounds through storytelling 

16:38 - when it's time to seek safety and when it's time to allow yourself to be uncomfortable 

27:27 - questioning the fear-based imagination while empowering the creative imagination 

29:53 - how to connect with your body and use it as a part of your creative process 

38:18 - using the divine masculine to share what the divine feminine has created 

41:28 - grounding into childhood trauma and seeing it as a blessing 

57:45 - coming into the understanding that black women are the divine 

Quotes

"The beautiful thing about doing trauma work is that we already survived." 

"It's almost like trauma is the door we have to go through to get home. And so many of us run from that door, so we are running away from home all the time." 

Links

Shallow Waters

Zero Efs Given 

Anita Kopacz's Instagram

Womb Stories shares conversations with renowned activists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders as they reveal their journeys back home to the body. This is a show honoring the truth the female body is a gift that brings with it potent power, epic healing potential, and boundless opportunity.

What if we asked our leaders and inspirations, "What is your relationship to your womb? How have you journeyed with her into connection and healing? Do you trust her? Does she speak to you? How do you listen? How would you share her story?

Womb Stories is hosted by Kit Maloney and these are the questions she believes we must start asking. These are the questions we will ask ourselves and each other in a world full of love, equity, and belonging. A world where the female body and women are revered, celebrated, and deeply honored. If you are like us, you agree, it's time to actively build that world now.

Kit Maloney is also the founder of Kitara (kitaralove.com), which offers beautifully designed and expertly crafted products for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming.

Within the Womb Stories podcast is a sub-series called "Steam Stories." Here Kit speaks with holistic health practitioners, gynecologists, and members of the Kitara community to share womben's real-world experience of the benefits of vaginal/ yoni steaming.

We are deeply grateful to our listeners for supporting our vision of a co-created world full of love and belonging to our bodies, to each other, and to our Earth.  

Follow on IG @bykitara and @wombstoriesproject