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What if we stopped resenting “that time of the month”, and started celebrating it? What if we quit dreading menopause, and started honouring the wisdom it brings? And what if we could shift our views on childbirth from being a clinical, painful experience, to a deeply empowering rite of passage, one that allows us to step into our true feminine power?

These questions define the work of today’s podcast guest — midwife and women’s mysteries teacher, Jane Hardwicke Collings. And in this episode, she’s here to help us rethink our perceptions of womanhood and honour our innate truth… and spoiler alert: her ‘why-didn’t-I-think-of-that’ insights are going to ignite your spirit in the best possible way!

Jane Hardwicke Collings is a grandmother, midwife, teacher, writer, menstrual educator, and founder of The School of Shamanic Womancraft. She’s an internationally renowned teacher on the spiritual practice of menstruation and the sacred dimensions of pregnancy, birth and menopause. With an emphasis on nature and the seasons of life, she helps women reclaim their bodies, step into their true power, and return to their innermost truth.

So if you want to find out how to honour your season of life, work with your divine flow (not against it), step into your true feminine power and unleash your inner goddess, then pop in those earbuds — this conversation is for you!

In this episode we chat about:

• How her midwife training became her spiritual awakening and set her on the path she’s on today (07:00)
• Why birth and breastfeeding are sexual experiences (13:06)
• Conscious menstruation (and why your monthly bleed is a sacred experience) (16:27)
• How to celebrate your cycle (21:24)
• Have you got period shame? Here’s how to move through it and let it go (29:17)
• How to prepare your daughter/s for womanhood (30:55) 
• What is your ‘red thread’ and why you need to make peace with it (31:29)
• How and why you need to create a rite of passage for your boys too (34:42)
• Why the first 7 years are so important for our children’s growth and development (37:57)
• Why parenthood is a spiritual experience (42:04)
• The truth about step parenting (As a step mama, I loved her take on this!) (43:04)
• Why our children are our greatest teachers and biggest spiritual assignments (46:55)
• Why what you learn in birthing is what you take into mothering that child (and how to extract all the important lessons from your birth journey) (50:33) 
• What is conscious menopause? (55:21)
• Plus so much more!

Episode resources:

• Jane Hardwicke Collings’ website (website)
• School of Shamanic Womancraft (website)
• Become a Patreon of Jane Hardwicke Collings (website)
• Moonsong, a website for women (website)
  
• UK Four Seasons Journey, Feb 2020 (website)
• Get all of Jane Hardwicke Collings’ books (website)
• Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup M.D. (Amazon)
• Join the Melissa Ambrosini Tribe on Facebook (Facebook Group)
• Open Wide by Melissa Ambrosini (Amazon)
• Open Wide Video Masterclass (podcast)

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be so grateful if you could take 2 minutes to leave me a 5-star review in iTunes or on your podcast app, that way we can inspire even more people together.

P.S. Please seek advice from a qualified holistic practitioner before starting any new health practice.

P.P.S. If you’re looking for a high-impact marketing opportunity for your business and are interested in becoming a sponsor for The Melissa Ambrosini Show podcast, please email pr@melissaambrosini.com for more information.