Shamanic dimensions of pregnancy + birth as a rite of passage, with Jane Hardwicke Collings

Today’s episode is with a woman whose work & wisdom has quite literally changed my life. It’s my absolute privilege today to bring to you one of my great teachers, Jane Hardwicke Collings. Jane is a grandmother, former homebirth midwife for 30 years, a teacher, writer & menstrual educator. She gives workshops on mother and daughter preparation for menstruation, the spiritual practice of menstruation, and the sacred dimensions of pregnancy, birth & menopause. Jane founded and runs The School of Shamanic Womancraft, an international Women’s Mysteries School. If you haven’t come across Jane before, brace yourself mama, because today’s episode is EPIC. If you do know Jane and her work, you’re in for a real treat here because in this episode we don’t just skim the surface of her work, we dive really deep into her ideas and thinking & we get into all the meaty details. We talk about: The shamanic dimensions of pregnancy and how the things that show up in our lives & bodies during pregnancy are information to support us to transform into a new version ourselves and to become “the mother our babies come for” How we have the birth we need to teach us what we need to learn about ourselves to take us to the next place on our journey, and how the quality that we need to learn about ourselves in how we birth our babies, is the quality we need to bring to mothering them. How to learn from and begin healing from a traumatic birth - the questions Jane offers to ask yourself are life changing. The difference between midwifery and obstetric care and how the single most impactful decision a woman will make that will influence her birth outcome is who her primary carer will be & her place of birth. How we can prepare for birth before we’re even pregnant, through healing trauma stored in the body, opening to a relationship with our spirit baby, connecting with our menstrual cycle, looking into our previous experiences of rites of passage, unhooking from the medical model of birth, and bringing consciousness to our fears. If you enjoy today's episode, it would mean the world to me if you left me a review over on iTunes, because that helps to get this podcast in front of other wild mamas who could also benefit from these conversations. You can also share this podcast with other mamas by simply taking a screenshot and sharing it on Instagram, and don’t forget to tag me at @drjessicahodgens!   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE: Grab your copy of my free guide, 'The Four Things you Actually Need to Know to Prepare for a Physiologic ("Natural") Birth' Jane’s incredible book, ‘Ten Moons: The Inner Journey of Pregnancy’    CONNECT WITH JANE On Instagram@janehardwickecollings Through one of Jane’s online courses including Pregnancy: The Inner Journey & Snake Medicine: Healing Menstrual Shame Book a private session with Jane Study with the School of Shamanic Womancraft Until next time - stay wild, mamas! Jess xx Find me on Instagram at@drjessicahodgens www.jessicahodgens.