Myth of Motherhood

Welcome to the belly of the whale, or vortex as I'm also calling it. I'm 9+ months pregnant and this Mother's Day hits different.    In the episode…   Mother's Day isn't about me and I'm finally accepting that An invitation for you this weekend Feel whatever TF you need to feel this weekend, we've been sold a bag of lies about the "holiday" anyway   If you're picking up what I'm laying down…   Fol...

Did you know I majored in Spanish in college? I did! And I even learned a few things…   In the episode…   How verbs in Spanish opened my eyes to speaking more specifically in English Asshole proofing my life like I asshole proof my improv scenes While I may act like an a-hole sometimes, I am not an a-hole.   If you're picking up what I'm laying down…   Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE th...

Do you ever ask yourself this? What would a REAL mom do? Adulting and momming definitely make you understand the meme about looking for ana dult in the room and then the horror when you realize YOU are the adult. And it often bring sup some deep, tough questions which this week's guest is going to help guide us through. Not because she's immune to them, but because she's steeped in them too.  In t...

What if every time you felt you "should" do something you replaced "should" with "could"? What if those should's became choices YOU got to make? Instead of actions imposed on you? Wouldn't that be so freaking liberating?!?! We think so too.   In this episode…   The TWO major life events that shifted Tricia's entire view on life and living Uncovering the origin of the shoulds Turning shoulds into c...

Remember learning about solar systems and oblong spheroids and orbit patterns and ellipses? So fun, right?! Well, today we are talking about solar systems and how they are my new favorite metaphor for ever shifting and changing family dynamics. Are there retrogrades? Maybe! Or are those more astrology than astronomy? Anyway, this will be more philosophical than scientifically accurate, but all of...

Dana is an actor, producer, podcast creator and host and deeply curious about the human condition, and how empathy, listening and levity can change the world. She started the podcast (in her closet, next to her Spanx) called I Swear on My Mother's Grave to process the loss of her mother with other people dealing with complex emotions around maternal loss, and not just in death. She got married las...

While I do sing the opening theme song, this episode is NOT about the hit 90's sitcom Step By Step. No, it's about using what we've learned in the past to make different mistakes, better mistakes, moving forward.    In the episode…   What I learned in my first marriage and the two rules of dating I used to help me find Jeremy ← My second and forever husband. I share a story I wrote about the inten...

Our needs and those of our children are constantly changing: more, less, faster, slower, and on and on. Navigating this changing pace requires us to release perfection and embrace improvement. Focusing on improvement instead of perfection allows us a level of presence, ease, and kindness that…feels really good. What if motherhood felt good? Not that it never does, but if it felt even better?  Tara...

You know that manual from your first vacuum cleaner with the extra parts all in a ziploc bag so you don't lose any important parts that you never looked at or used? You have and hold onto owner's manuals for appliances, vehicles, and whatever else comes with one, but when it comes to yourself?  You struggle to remember to meet your own basic needs!  A drive to Connecticut in a fancy car opened up...

Zibby Owens is an author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mother of four. Zibby founded Zibby Owens Media, a privately-held media company designed to help busy people live their best lives by connecting to books and each other. One division is Moms Don't Have Time To, the home for Zibby's podcasts, publications (including two anthologies), and communities. The other is Zibby Books, a publishing hom...

I promise it won't be all about postpartum or childbirth or my birth trauma. NOPE! We're talking more about SEX today!    I am talking about what I have seen in myself and clients in regards to the power of the brain vagina connection (or BVC as I like to call it). AND I'm obviously linking this to improv comedy because duh! And the idea of playing to the top of your intelligence. I know this soun...

This episode is everything I'm obsessed with: women empowering women, talking about vaginas, and creating change in the world! It's time to show us the data and start including women of reproductive age in clinical studies because...WOMEN ARE NOT SMALL MEN! In this episode… What IS the vaginal microbiome and why it's time to pay attention! The Brain Vagina connection I Struggled With Recurrent Vag...

After birth trauma, deciding to get pregnant again can be…complicated. Even if you didn't experience trauma, deciding to walk back into the fire can be…complicated. I'm sharing how I approached this decision after my traumatic birth, ppa & ptsd diagnosis, and covid parenthood.    Whatever you decide to do and however you get there I hope you know how effing courageous you are.    In this episode I...

This week we are busting myths around menopause! The truth around what we can expect leading up to it, what's missing in our care, and HOW we can advocate for ourselves and each other.    Because…well…we are all heading there!   Menopause is inevitable unless…well this could get dark. Anyway, we are heading there and the road gets bumpy so why wouldn't we want as many road signs, maps, gps, off ro...

Did you know your vocal cords look like labia? Or that your voice is a muscle you can strengthen like your bi's and tri's? Or that I started voice lessons when I was 11?   We cover all that and more in today's episode! So buckle up and get ready to strengthen and tone…your voice.    If you're picking up what I'm laying down…   Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode! If you prefer...

Sara Petersen (she/her) has written about feminism and motherhood for Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Cut, and elsewhere. Her first book, Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture comes out in April 2023 and is available for preorder now. She also writes a newsletter about momfluencer culture and the myth of the ideal mother,...

Welcome back to Myth of Motherhood! I am so happy be back!   In this episode…   my favorite dance step: The PIVOT step! And I have a HUGE library of dance steps I can draw from, yet this is always the most satisfying.  My favorite choreographer I had the joy to work with multiple times Change continues the story, it doesn't stop it It's not always what we are pivoting away from, but more about wha...

Today's episode is about alignment. Alignment inside our bodies, but also alignment in terms of what's happening outside our bodies. In the world. This is also a big episode because I have some news that I share at the end of the episode. In my 35+ years of dance, yoga, Pilates training and 20+ years of teaching in the world's most elite gyms and boutique studios. Working with thousands of other s...

I hate not being in control. And being a mom means I am not in control. In fact, I'm completely out of control. Oof. Just saying that makes me nauseous. Want to know something really cool that I do when I feel scared and out of control? I become extra controlling. It's awesome. Truly. Ask my husband how awesome it is, he will tell you it's the best. It's this vicious cycle I get caught in. A spinn...

Back in December we had our first dad on the show, Andy Kingman, the husband of my dear dear friend Amy Kingman who is with us today! Andy is the one who first shared the idea of relationship capital with me which is something I haven't stopped thinking about. And today Amy and I talk more about how we invest our relationship capital with our families and most importantly ourselves. Which is so ha...

So our pelvic floor is a hammock of voluntary, skeletal muscles as the base of our pelvis that houses and supports our digestive and reproductive organs. And it gets quite the workout during pregnancy and postpartum, no matter how you birth your baby. Let's get specific on why we need to talk about, learn about, and connect with the pelvic floor. All of us. Not only for those who had a vaginal bir...

Our second DAD on the show! Have you ever wondered why we see more action toward equality in the workplace than we do at home? That we find it easier to navigate these discrepancies with HR than our partner? That parenting feels like 1950 instead of 50/50? This week's guest Michael Perry, the founder of Maple, felt that way too. So yea, it's not in our heads, a MAN felt it too! Michael Perry (He/H...

So why is no one throwing us a party?! I got a Bat Mitzvah when I got my period and my brain and body changed and became fertile. And when I gave birth and my brain and body changed again, I got…a baby. Where was the party? The theme? The dancers? The reverence? The recognition? The celebration? Becoming a mother aka Matrescence is basically an adult puberty. Our hormones, minds, and bodies go hay...

Change is…hard. Change is also literally my last name. And as often as I say I hate change, I don't really. I am made for it. And if we are living a full, vibrant life we are changing all the time. Each experience, lesson, day brings new information that we can use to grow and change or ignore and stay the same. Taryn Lagonigro is a wife and mom of four daughters, the youngest of whom was born wit...

Everything feels unsteady postpartum: your legs, your balance, your hormotions (that's hormones and emotions mixed together). This is happening as a result of the havoc pregnancy runs on our bodies physically and the fact that you and everything in your life has now changed! Because you had a baby! Which is exactly how the story goes. But instead of staying unsteady and feeling unsafe, I'm sharing...