Myth of Motherhood: Recent Episodes
Alissa Alter
A podcast by, for, and about moms and those who love them.
This is a show devoted to calling out the idealism and perfection that our society places on mothers, while also discussing the often taboo topics that come with transitioning into motherhood. It’s time for us to stop beating around the bush or hiding our struggles so that we can be seen, heard, and way less alone. There’s no one right way to be a mother, there is only YOUR right way. Join me, Alissa Alter | women’s health expert & motherhood advocate to share our stories, let go of mythical expectations, and write our own rules. Also-- can we all agree that showering, going to the bathroom, and being by yourself are NOT luxuries, but basic needs for us to not only survive, but thrive? I think it’s time.
How you do one thing is how you do everything, right? Right.
As much as current media (social and otherwise) speaks in flashy absolutes like the title of this episode, real life health and strength is more nuanced.
Or as I like to say…it’s interdisciplinary.
In this episode…
- Your partner is NOT the only person you need
- It takes a village to raise a child, support YOU, and nurture YOUR body
- While Pilates isn’t the only workout you need, it is the workout that will make everything else easier, more accessible, and more successful
- Why I created a strength training program for my client
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
There is so much that movement and fitness culture gets right and wrong about women and how things evolve when you’re over 40. No matter what or how you move your body, someone is going to say you're doing it wrong.
In this episode…
- Breaking free from the confines of classical training (dance and yoga)
- How your yoga practice can inform lifting weights
- Yoga doesn’t mean asana, you can apply your practice to other things!
- Rigidity doesn’t equal strength
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Trisha is a movement coach, yoga teacher, and author who helps people move more comfortably, kindly, and competently. Specializing in 1:1 training, she focuses on creating accessible, personalized movement experiences that encourage people to get back to doing what they love, without rigid rules—just options that feel good and make sense for their bodies. Trisha also works with empowering yoga teachers to lead with authenticity, courage, and skill. She created the CHART Movement Mastery workbook to help teachers expand their expertise, and her tiny book, Movement Snacks, offers simple, accessible ways to integrate meaningful movement into everyday life. Learn more at www.trisha.yoga and on IG @trisha_moves
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Even when the world outside of your body is literally on fire or under a new political administration, you are safe INSIDE you body. Or at least, you can be. Download your free workout to start building your deepest strength front the inside out and harness the powerhouse hidden between your legs. Your pelvic floor.
In this episode…
- I’ve never been THIS vulnerable
- Working with a client in LA and how she made her biggest gains yet in the most unlikely of circumstances
- YOU ARE SAFE INSIDE YOUR BODY!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Reading Emily’s book Hey Hun helped me SO much to make sense of my experience in Mary Kay Cosmetics. She is exquisitely brilliant and she shares her experience with MLM indoctrination, alcohol abuse, sobriety, supremacy, capitalism, motherhood, and marriage.
In this episode…
- How your need to be right can distort reality
- Accepting nuance and multiple truths
- Sharing an opinion is different than manipulating people
- There are no quick fixes in life or business
- If it looks like an MLM, and smells like an MLM, it’s probably an MLM.
- Trusting yourself through change
- Applying what we know about building new movement practices and patterns to building new behavioral practices and patterns
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
Emily Lynn Paulson is the author of Highlight Real: Finding Honesty and Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life, and Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing. She is the founder of Sober Mom Squad, a digital community for moms in recovery, and has given two powerful TEDx talks, both challenging the status quo of parenting, alcohol use, and feminism as we know it. Paulson has also been featured in major publications such as the Today Show, New York Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Next Question with Katie Couric, and the Tamron Hall Show. She resides in Central Oregon with her husband and their five children. Follow her on instagram @emilylynnpaulson
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
There are a variety of definitions of consistency depending on the context. Consistency of food is different from the consistency of the quality of my moisturizer which is still different from the consistency with which I take care of myself. Not just working out, but fully, wholly, holistically taking care of myself from every direction.
For the purpose of this think piece I’m going to lean more on definitions that reflect consistency in terms of harmony and logical coherence within a logical system.
In the episode…
- Three clients who had huge success from a small dose of consistency
- THIS doesn’t have to be hard
- Read more on the BLOG!
- Redefining consistency
- Why it’s so hard in adulthood and parenthood
- My advice on how to get started
- Consistency IS possible and you deserve it!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I’m in love with this episode. I don’t know if it’s the intimacy resulting in knowing each other for 20+ years through so many seasons of life or the sheer brilliance of Lisa. The beautiful way she speaks will give you a peak into her gorgeous mind, voice, and talent. Her newest album RADIATE came out in October and…do yourself a solid and download it NOW! Well, listen to the episode and THEN download it!
In this episode…
- Creating ritual for yourself
- The power of consistency (which feels impossible)
- Doing what you came here to do
- Creating an environment for creativity
- Sharing your self allows others to do the same…including your kids!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but the muse wouldn’t let her. The inspiration for her forthcoming record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa’s vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals. Learn more at www.lisapmusic.com and follow her on instagram @lisapicirillo
I accidentally took a few months off from the show! Like I share in the episode, I can’t put out ALL the time. Sometimes I need to be on the receiving end. While I can’t promise I won’t take another break, I can promise to communicate more clearly in the future ;)
In this episode…
- Why I accidentally took a break from the show
- The best way to stay connected! Hint: click here
- Some meaningful intentions as we enter the holiday season
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
I ask this question all the time and I want you to understand why! So that’s what we are talking about today! CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout! And send it to a friend! Sharing is caring <3
In this episode…
- Why I get weird about marketing and promoting my own work
- The reason why sharing this video feels important and VULNERABLE to me
- How working in this way will revolutionize your relationship with your workouts
- I’m not only the creator, I’m also a client! How this work led me back to my body and self
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
Whenever I come across the latest food and exercise trends I can’t help but feel like they are the newest way to get women to ignore their intuition.
In the episode…
- What horrifies me about our family trip to the farmer’s market (it’s not what you think)
- Why cutting out the main source of energy for your brain makes no sense
- Too much protein is also a thing
- Control isn’t the end of the road, it’s part of the process
- Using exercise to numb out instead of connect
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Courntey and I met doing 42nd Street together in 2008. We remained friends through the next audition season and then she joined my Mary Kay team. Yup! Did you know I was a Mary Kay consultant?! I was. And so was Courtney.
In this episode…
- What MLM life taught us about ourselves, our art, and parenting
- Control FEELS like it will solve things, but it often distracts us from the lessons and the path through hard things
- How kids f*cked us up
- Searching for structure and control as an artist and parent
- The impact of high control mind groups
- How we, two very smart women, ended up in an MLM, high control group
- How motherhood and other stages of instability leave you so so vulnerable
- You aren’t learning if you’re not failing
Courtney Romano is a filmmaker, writer, and podcast host. She wrote the creative manifesto “The First Ten Years: A Philosophical and Practical Guide to Creative Longevity” after a decade-long career as an actor in everything from Off Broadway to commercials. That book was optioned, which kicked off her screenwriting portfolio. In 2020, Courtney wrote and directed the short film “Screen Test” and launched the podcast “The Break Breakdown” which tracked the making of that film. In 2023, Courtney released the award-winning 7-episode series “Kinsley Vs.”, which to her great delight won Best Writing and Best Dark Comedy among others at the Baltimore Next Media Web Fest. Her podcast “Let’s Go Again” released in 2023. Courtney lives in New York City with her husband and two young kids. Learn more at www.queensbirdfilms.com and on IG @queensbirdfilms
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
Moments of alignment and clarity come only after a buildup of traction, energy, struggle, tension and finally finding that release. Yes, alignment is just like an orgasm! I didn’t know that’s where this episode was going to go, but I’m here for it!
When was the last time you experienced the sweet, sweet climax of alignment?
In this episode…
- Floundering and not floundering at the same time
- Building slash rebuilding my work life after baby
- Client wins as I ask myself “What am I even DOING?”
- When everything clicks into alignment
- Alignment is like an orgasm
- Finding a good teacher
- The importance of a USED body
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
OOOOOOOOHHH are we lucky? Or ARE WE LUCKY?!?! To have this week’s guest share her deeply empathetic, knowledgeable, and HUMAN approach to medicine and providing care. As a new mother herself, Dr. Fatima Daoud shares her insights from instagram, the operating room, and life. Follow her on IG @doctordaoud
In this episode…
- The weight of surgical responsibility
- Perfection being the baseline
- How motherhood changes things
- Showing up in a competitive and demanding career as a pregnant/postpartum person
- The problematic history of OBGYN and how that relates to social media now
- We are ALL doing our best with the information that we have
- Ways to collaborate and get what you need
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
My baby becomes a toddler this week and I’m one year post cesarean. We did it!
In this episode…
- What I mean what I ask this question! Both physically and energetically and WHY it is SO important!
- Why this is the perfect time for me to ask myself where MY vagina is pointing!
- Emotional constipation vs emotional alignment
- The ways in which I am supporting my own alignment during this transition
- Thoughts on weaning
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
I’m so glad I make a habit of NOT googling clients because I would have been a total weirdo when I met Nicola. She’s smart, funny, REAL, and a practitioner of Pilates For Her Privates. Learn more about Nicola and her work at www.nicolakrausauthor.com and on IG @nicolakrausauthor
In this episode…
- How reading Brene Brown can make you less irritating to be around
- Handling the imaginary panel of judges in your head
- Valuing control over experiences with your children
- We don’t have to fuck up our kids like we talked about here. We can actually NOT fuck them up!
- From the Nanny Diaries to her next novel and how childhood experiences continue to inform today
- Being an artist requires you to be a little bit of a weirdo
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
I've been sitting on this one for a while and I'm so excited to share this story with you! It's back from my dating days and apparently relevant once again!
In this episode...
- The time someone I KNOW ghosted me, but also...didn't because #socialmedia
- Physical vs emotional ghosting
- The definition of emotional ghosting
- It all comes back to When Harry Met Sally
- Dick stuff
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…SHARE this episode with a friend!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE Where Is Your Vagina Pointing workout!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
Pleasure doesn’t just show up. You need to invite her to the party. And if your party sucks, she’s gonna be a hard no. See what I did there? Let’s figure out what we need to let go of or leave behind in order to create a hospital environment for pleasure. Let’s plan a panty dropping party she can’t wait to get to.
CLICK HERE to download your FREE workout to find out where your vagina is pointing and get started on your path to confidence, continence, and connection to your body!
In this episode:
- How Danielle recovered from being so ill she was bedridden through healing her deep, inner emotional trauma to live the life she’s meant to live.
- Using movement to connect to physical sensations and how that translates to emotional sensations to cultivate safety in your body.
- Why we need to unwire learned experiences in order to rebuild with intention, safety, and pleasure.
Danielle Savory is a Master-Certified coach and pleasure expert helping women use their largest sex organ—their brain—for better sex and a more pleasure-filled life. The host of the “It’s My Pleasure” podcast, Danielle weaves together her background in neuroscience, her expertise in mindfulness and skills as a coach to help women rewire their brains and connect with their bodies for an empowering approach to their sexuality. Learn more about Danielle here and her online membership Turned On Woman here. For more follow her on IG @danielle.savory.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Oh Nut!
You know how when you’re learning to bowl, you can choose a lane with bumpers. These create a physical boundary that help you learn to play the game. To improve whatever the term is for skillfully throwing the ball down the lane. That’s a lot like hat Oh Nut does but which penetration! These silicone donuts do! They are made of 4 interlocking rings, you can customize the depth—without sacrificing sensation.)!!! Ohnut is a simple and convenient way to adjust when penetration feels too deep (eep!).
Explore adding and removing rings at any time with any position, so that both you and your partner can focus on what matters most—each other :)
LEARN MORE HERE and use code ALISSA7 to save $7!
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
SHARE this episode with a friend!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE workout to find out where your vagina is pointing and get started on your path to confidence, continence, and connection to your body!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage. Follow along on IG @alissaalter
I turn 40 this week! And I can't help but think about how turning 30 set the stage for me to be exactly where I am now.
In this episode:
- Upcoming classes! Stay up to date by joining my email list! SIGN UP HERE!
- How I felt turning 30
- Who I had to become to create an envirnment for my dreams to come true
- The worst year of my life was also the best (and I think that will be the same this time)
- My 30s are the springboard for my 40s
- The benefits of setting your life on fire
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
SHARE this episode with a friend!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
After last week's episode I HAD to share this conversation with Editor In Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine Jason Feifer all about navigating change. This show was originally aired on my old podcast in 2022 and I think about it ALL the time.
In this episode we also discuss…
- Becoming a person who wears a watch with a reminder to move during the day and the correlations Jason has found with this data.
- The 4 phases of change and which seems to be the hardest.
- The question that helps clarify everything!
- Jason’s book! Build For Tomorrow! Buy it, read it, review it, share it with a friend!!!
Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine, and author of the book Build For Tomorrow: An Action Plan for Embracing Change, Adapting Fast, and Future-Proofing Your Career. Learn more at www.jasonfeifer.com and on IG @heyfeifer
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
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CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I haven’t stopped reflecting since January 1st (can’t stop won’t stop) and I’ve decided I’m not a “New Year, New Me” person. I’m in my “New Year, Different Me” era.
In the episode…
- The power of using different movement techniques and modalities to increase performance and avoid injuries
- Using different approaches to increase personal performance at work and at home
- What’s Different about me after having my second baby
- Enacting Different (change) is a painful process
- The symbiotic relationship between growth and change
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
SHARE this episode with a friend!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Ever wonder what a penis would look like wearing a pink donut? Me too. Wonder no more because the OhNut is here! And no, it’s not just for decoration! It’s function is even hotter. The OhNut is a wearable silicone sleeve that works like a bumper to control and limit depth of penetration. It’s made up of stacking rings so you can decide what works best for you.
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…SHARE this episode with a friend!
I’ve been recommending OhNut to clients for years and everyone has been happy with the results. Because the OhNut allows you to relax, knowing that you are safe, and start to explore the possibility of pleasure between the sheets. Whether with a partner or flying solo. Emily has gracious shared a discount code ALISSA7 with us which you can use at www.ohnut.co for $7 off!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
In this episode…
- Options to heal painful sex and how the OhNut works to fascilitate that
- Finding a sense of safety and control in your body again
- Getting lost in the cracks of the medical system & creating a holistic approach to care in a divided system
- Take an active role in your solution to painful sex and include your partner
Emily is a spritely entrepreneur who has always been passionate about creating catalysts that spark human connection. While developing Ohnut she co-founded the Lady Bits League, the Pain Perception Project, and Pelvic Gym to connect people and professionals from all over the pelvic health world, through education and story. Emily has redefined her life as a proud entrepreneur, maker, community leader, and patient advocate. Learn more at www.Ohnut.co and follow on IG @ohnutco
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I am just as surprised as you are about the theme of this monumental 100th episode of Myth of Motherhood! Some of the best advice I ever got from my dad and how I’m refining it to fit me and my life right now.
In the episode…
- Navigating the literal and metaphorical shitstorm of motherhood and life
- YOUR top five favorite episodes!
- The episodes I returned to during my second postpartum experience
- Why eating shit isn’t the worst
- When to eat shit and how much to eat
- Eating shit metaphorically and not literally. Making this explicit because there are some WEIRD health trends out there
- There isn’t ONE right way, there’s only YOUR right way.
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
SHARE this episode with a friend!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
Despite what Billy Madison said, peeing your pants isn’t cool. And it certainly doesn’t make you Miles Davis. Now, unclench your butt because we are going there!
In this episode we cover…
- What incontinence is and what you can do it about it! You have more options than you think when it comes to treatment and quality of life!
- What pelvic organ prolapse (aka POP) is and how to get the care you need.
- You may not need to drink as much water as you think! And other lifestyle and dietary modifications you can explore to support your pelvic health.
- This renowned Urogynecologists #1 tip on how to care, advocate, and embody your body! Hint: this is where I come in
Dr. Allison R. Polland, is board certified in both urology and urogynecology. She is director of the Maimonides Pelvic Floor Center. Dr. Polland completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Yale University before going on to medical school at Columbia University. She completed her general surgery internship and urology residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, before going on to fellowship at Georgetown University.
Dr. Polland is one of the few urologists in the country with cross-specialty training in a gynecology-based Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship. She performs reconstructive urologic surgery for both women and men, and treats all urologic and urogynecologic issues, including pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and fecal incontinence, pelvic floor disorders, urethral strictures, fistulas, hematuria and recurrent UTIs. Dr. Polland has extensive training in minimally-invasive surgical techniques, including vaginal, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted surgery.
Dr. Polland has a strong research background with a special interest in women’s sexual health. She has received grants from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. She has given lectures in this area of expertise at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Mount Sinai Hospital. She has also been recognized for her research on a national level with multiple presentations at national scientific meetings. Learn more about Allison here.
Does all of this make you feel a certain way? Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down go ahead and follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I’m not here to ruin the beginning and end of your day, but this is what you need to know about caffeine and alcohol and how they impact urinary incontinence. I want to fill your toolbox so you can go out into the world prepared instead of surprised if and when you leak a little.
If you want peeing yourself to be a thing of the past, JOIN MY NEWSLETTER for up to date info on my Pilates For Your Privates classes and start your path to stronger muscles, better sex, and confident sneezes!
In the episode…
- 2024 the year of the pelvic floor
- When I was diagnosed with acid reflux
- The role of caffeine and alcohol in continence confidence
- Bladder irritants and diuretics
- Being prepared instead of surprised
- Finding a balance that works for your lifestyle and health
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I won’t lie to you, the transition to two kids is…rough. AND it’s an opportunity to learn more about myself, my partner, and my family. Thankfully this isn’t the first time I’ve had a rough transition and I’m playing to the top of my intelligence as we build strength together as a family
In the episode…
- Approaching marital discord as team building
- What I’m still learning and practicing from my first marriage
- How happy I am to be living the life I dreamed of building and then built
- How this birth experience was different from the first AND still changed me
- Waiting to meet more of this new me
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
You know the thing when you say a word so many times it starts to sound really weird and kind lose its meaning altogether? LIke if I say cucumber cucumber cucumber cucumber cucumber cucumber cucumber you get the picture…
I feel that way about “core.”
What does core even mean anymore? What is everyone talking about? What are they even saying? And what are they trying to communicate with me?
To me, core, the way that it's thrown around gyms and studios, is meaningless at this point.
In this episode I explain…
- Gripping your butt cheeks isn't using your "core"
- In Pilates we say POWERHOUSE, not core
- Why we use the pelvic floor as the gateway to your powerhouse in Pilates For Your Privates
- Abs are one sixth of your "core" so it's not even about your abs!
Does all of this make you feel a certain way? Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down go ahead and follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
This is the first time we’ve brought a guest BACK onto the show! And I’m so happy about it! Abby is a brilliant writer and teacher who I invited on the show because I am a huge fan. We quickly became BFF and now she’s a client of MINE! How do I get so lucky to work with such INCREDIBLE humans?!
In the episode…
- What Pilates For Her Privates has meant to Abby
- The power of knowing your center, your core while living in the tumultuous environment that is preteen life
- The impact of finding things for yourself in motherhood
- Waking up from The 10 Year Nap
Abigail Rasminsky is a writer and teacher who works as a Lecturer in the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, where she also teaches creative writing to medical students and faculty. Abby runs her own teaching business, where she offers weekly writing classes for women, as well as a popular summer program over Instagram called Abby's Secret Summer School. She holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University and a BA from Oberlin College.
You can find her writing in the New York Times, Cup of Jo, The Cut, the Washington Post, Food52, Epicurious, Longreads, Dance Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, and more. She also writes a beloved weekly newsletter called People + Bodies.
A native of Montreal, she lived in Brooklyn for 12 years before moving to Vienna, Austria. After four years as an expat, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. Learn more at www.abigailrasminsky.com and follow on IG @abbyras
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
People always talk about taking your lessons with you “off the mat” or outside the gym and I know you know this is a good idea. So let’s get really explicit on what that means and how to do it! Leverage what you know about building strength in your body and apply to it to your mind!
In the episode…
- Why it’s time to sculpt your feelings
- How we build strength
- DOMS aka delayed onset muscle soreness
- Hypertrophy and atrophy (gaining and losing muscle mass)
- Why rest is so important
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Managing Overwhelming Moments & Birth Smarter with Ashley Brichter
In this episode we dive into using the lessons we learn in pregnancy and childbirth prep to set us up for a more successful postpartum and parenting experience. What I’m saying is, the lessons you learn in pregnancy don’t stay in pregnancy, they come with you! And you can leverage the information you gain from every facet of your life to play to the top of your intelligence and make YOUR best decisions.
In this episode…
- How to manage overwhelming moments
- Being a recovering perfectionist and using it to your advantage
- The NYC marathon and the marathon of pregnancy/birth
- Relating to and navigating a system that isn’t built for you
- Handling negative feedback
- What are you/your household/your family optimizing for?
Ashley Brichter is a birth and parenting educator, a family strategist, Fair Play facilitator, and entrepreneur. Despite her experience with hundreds of families as a doula and birth educator – like so many, her first birth did not “go as planned.” Better for it, she founded Birthsmarter in 2019, which provides unbiased, inclusive, and award-winning practical wisdom and guidance to the next generation of families. Ashley was born and raised in New York City, though she’s currently living in Salt Lake City with her husband and two amazing kids. Learn more at www.birthsmarter.com and on IG @birthsmarter
Does all of this make you feel a certain way? Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
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I don’t usually weigh myself. Not because I have a sordid past with the scale, but because it doesn’t do anything for me. But since I had my second baby in May 2023 I’ve been weighing myself recently and it’s WILD!
In the episode…
- NEW CLASS INFO! Click here to move together!
- Gathering data and information about myself and my body
- Recognizing this body is different both in appearance and needs
- My needs to deserve to be met
- YOUR needs deserve to be me
- Why movement is key to discovering and meeting your own needs on and off the mat
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CLICK HERE to download your FREE guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag!
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If you’re a mom and you’d like to WANT to bang your partner again, this episode is a MUST! We are chatting with the INCREDIBLE Caro Chambers (recipe developer, mom of 3 under 5, romance novel enthusiast extraordinaire) about how reading or listening to slutty books provides the perfect lubricant to help you WANT to get busy again.
Does reading this make you feel a certain way? Download your free guide to the 3 Things You Deserve To Know About Your Vag here!
In this episode…
- The impact of context switching from mom to lover keeps you from connecting to your partner
- Sometimes you simply need to bang it out and reset
- How Caro’s Substack What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking helped me postpartum (I made and froze multiple recipes of hers) and how she DARES to make it so easy to make seriously delicious meals
Caroline Chambers is a professional recipe developer and cookbook author who got a lot better at her job after having kids. She is a master of developing recipes that dirty minimal dishes, require minimal brainpower, use fewer ingredients, and require less time - but still absolutely rock. She shares lots of mom tricks and recipes on Instagram, but her Substack, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, is a weekly recipe subscription built for busy people who want to eat delicious food. Each recipe is a complete dinner that takes under an hour (usually WAY under) to complete, and is written in simple, easy to follow language. Learn more at www.carolinechambers.com and follow her on IG @carochambers
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The TRAMPoline of course! Yes, I’m newly postpartum and yes I did get on a trampoline at a kid’s birthday party recently (I don’t recommend doing this without some very intentional Pilates For Your Privates).
In the episode…
- I’m teaching Pilates again and so excited to be back at it
- Getting on that trampoline Continent & Confident™
- Quoting my dad in a recent class and finding a whole new meaning in this life lesson
- Meeting myself where I’m at physically after a cesarean birth
- While I cannot eliminate struggles in my own life or yours, I can give you tools to more easily navigate said struggles.
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
If you haven’t read Erin’s memoir Strung Out, it’s not too late! Erin paints the human picture of addiction and how our assumptions and judgment of addicts are influenced by you guess it, the patriarchy, and not humanity.
In this episode…
- We are all learning from our mistakes, always. As children and as adults
- Addiction is tied to emotional regulation. The best thing we can do to help future generations avoid addiction is self-efficacy
- Addicts are human beings struggling with the human experience
- Boundaries vs tough love. We all need boundaries with everyone, but that doesn’t mean excommunication…
Erin Khar is an author and advocate known for her writing on addiction, recovery, mental health, parenting, and relationships. Erin knows first-hand the challenges of addiction recovery. At just 13, she began a 15-year struggle with heroin addiction. With 19 years of recovery, she has established herself as a respected voice in the national conversation about the overdose epidemic.
Erin’s debut memoir, Strung Out, appeared on most anticipated lists from Apple Books, Goodreads, SELF, The Rumpus, Bitch Media, and others. Of the book, The New York Times writes, “Khar’s buoyant writing doesn’t get mired in her dark subject matter. There is an honesty here that can only come from, to put it in the language of 12-step programs, a ‘searching and fearless moral inventory.’ This is a story she needed to tell; and the rest of the country needs to listen.”
She writes the popular weekly advice column on Substack, Ask Erin, and her personal essays have appeared in SELF, Marie Claire, Salon, The Times of London Sunday Magazine, HuffPost, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and others. She lives in New York City. Learn more at www.erinkhar.com and on IG @ErinKhar
It's important when creating change to pause and acknowledge when new patterns start to take shape. This reinforcement will help you continue to operate in the present and not the past. Because the past isn't the present. It's the past.
In this episode…
- Addressing the physical compensations of pregnancy and what my body clearly remembers from last time
- Reminding my body and myself that THIS pregnancy is THIS pregnancy and NOT my previous pregnancy
- Acknowledging my emotional growth during stressful times
- Moving past patterns of dissociation from my PTSD
- Physical and emotional presence
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Rachel is a wife, mom, Broadway actress, social media manager, dog mom, and lover of pasta. Her passion lies in finding a successful balance between work life and home life. Family first, and then figure out the rest! Learn more on IG @itsrachelchase
In this episode we discuss:
- Muscle memory applies to our physical bodies AND our emotional sense of self.
- Finding comfort and safety in the dance studio. How this gave her ADHD welcome structure and boundaries.
- To go after your dreams, you have to get uncomfortable. How Rachel reached her biggest career accomplishment after 20 years with an eight month baby.
- Why it’s so important to like yourself above everything else. Rachel shares her three favorite things about herself and how she reminds herself who she is as a human but utilizing muscle memory.
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
I believe that if we spend as much time, energy, and discipline on our insides as we do our outsides, we will be unstoppable.
In this episode I explain…
- How to leverage what we know about building physical strength in the gym/studio to strengthen our emotional body.
- What hypertrophy is and how it works (that’s the process of building and growing muscle mass).
- STRENGTH IS BUILT DURING REPAIR and repair happens during rest.
- Delayed onset muscle soreness (aka DOMS) and how that shows up emotionally AND physically.
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
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Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Our first Bravolebrity on the show! ← That’s me manifesting more. Jill is the most honest, hilarious, unfiltered mom/human I know whose quick wit is matched by her warmth, love, and support of all women. In her words, she’s “a girl’s girl.” And I cannot wait to share Jill, her incredible wisdom, and why getting f*cked by a laser light saber is a great decision!
In this episode…
- The two things Jill told me that helped me decide to have another baby
- Our rectovaginal births and resulting Vagani
- Vaginal rejuvenation and the O shot
- Integrating creativity and work with motherhood
Jill Kargman is a writer and actress born and raised in New York City. After graduating Yale in three years, she worked in magazines, with articles published in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Town & Country, ELLE, DAZED, Condé Nast Traveller, and Interview, and others. She went on to become a New York Times bestselling author of twelve books including Sometimes I Feel Like A Nut, The Right Address, Sprinkle Glitter On My Grave, and Momzillas, which was the basis of her scripted comedy Odd Mom Out, currently streaming on Peacock. She has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and as a contributor to the Drew Barrymore Show and the Today Show. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and three teenage kids.
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
When life’s transitions make it impossible to maintain control (or your bearings) employ THIS plan to weather the ever changing storm! My favorite plan for when I’m completely out of control!
In the episode…
- One month postpartum milestones
- Honoring that everything is in transition and transitions are expensive
- An opportunity and invitation to do Pilates together (subscribe to my list here to be the first to know when classes start)
- My go-to plan when I feel out of control because everything is out of my control!
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Friend, don’t expect just the highlight reel today! I mean, that’s not really how we roll around here. This episode talks about the comprehensive experience of motherhood. Whether you’re having your first, transitioning to your second, or having more there is so much more than meets the eye and it’s GOOD to recognize and be present with all of it.
In this episode…
- The full spectrum experience of motherhood, not just the highlight reel
- The transition from 1-2 kids while considering the entire family ecosystem
- Binge worthy shows whether or not you're on maternity leave
- How to navigate unsolicited feedback about YOUR right decisions
Juanina is a registered yoga teacher, health coach, consultant, and mama of two boys. She is passionate about food, wellness, and motherhood. Juanina currently resides in Westchester NY with her husband and kiddos. She started Flex + Flow Wellness and Consulting and currently works with both wellness and hospitality brands, but is also very active in opening up real and honest conversations about motherhood and domestic partnerships. Learn more about Juanina and her work at www.flexandflowwellness.com and follow her on IG @juaninakocher
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Greetings from the vortex! I’m three weeks postpartum and sharing some initial thoughts about the second time around and the two most important dads in my life: my husband and…my dad!
In the episode…
- The power of making YOUR right decision
- I’m A Newborn Too
- How E is adjusting to being a big brother
- Why I’m proud of Jeremy and I making different mistakes this time
- How I’m supporting myself postpartum
- I love a cesarean
- Watching Jeremy become a father again
- The shifts in the relationships with your own parents when you become a parent
- Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
You’ve heard of the five love languages. You’ve taken the quiz and deepened your understanding of how you give and receive love. Now hold onto your panties because your next go-to resource is here…It’s time to get to know your anxiety type!!!
In this episode…
- Getting to know your anxiety and its superpowers
- The five types of anxiety and how they manifest
- Alissa’s Self Care Menu available to download for FREE here to manage time of high stress and anxiety
Learn more about Amber at www.ambertrueblood.com | Instagram: @officialambertrueblood
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Inspired by a conversation with a young woman in my life, this episode really highlights my ability to connect seemingly disparate ideas into something mind blowing...if I do say so myself.
In this episode…
- What boundaries, eyelashes, and pubic hair have in common
- A behind the scenes look at how my brain works (I think it’s fun!)
- Growing and evolving comes with leaving things behind and it’s ok to mourn that
- Less isn’t always more and more isn’t always more either
- Connecting to “Why” something exists is the most powerful knowledge you can have
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Remember when Amy Schumer gave her trainer a cease and desist letter? That was AJ! She trains celebrities and everyday athletes alike and whether you’re training for life or the red carpet she always sets a strong foundation by connecting to your breath
In the episode…
- Transitioning from Broadway to fitness
- Training A list celebrities and muggles like us!
- Whatever you are training for or recovering from it all starts with your breath
- Starting/running a business with your spouse
Learn more about AJ and her work at hypoxix.fitness and on IG @aj.fisher.trainer
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
How I’ve been preparing for my belly birth and avoiding any additional butt stuff this time around!
In this episode…
- How I’m approaching the homestretch of this pregnancy
- Why I’m focusing on my pelvic floor when my baby is going to come out the front door
- Methods I’m using to mitigate hemorrhoids
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
Thrilled to have Hiwa back on the show to talk about all of things to think about, consider, and ask before becoming a mother/parent. Because it’s SO much more than wanting a baby.
In this episode…
- Motherhood is the ultimate workout
- Understanding your WHY. WHY do YOU want to have kids?
- Being inundated with gadgets you “need” vs what you actually want to have
- My fave things you want to have for yourself during pregnancy and postpartum including why you want to get maternity pants sooner rather than later. Download the list here!
- Watching your body get bigger when you’re whole life you’ve been told to stay small
Learn more about HIwa at www.theblushpod.com | Instagram: @hiwaaaaaaaa & @blushpod
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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
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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…
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 this episode…
- The long, unfinished sentence of motherhood
- How curiosity is our most sacred possession and a threat to the patriarchy
- Our need for safety in order to be curious
- We give permission and power to everyone around us, what is possible when we give them to ourselves also?
- Asking questions and being curious is imperative as is allowing space for those questions to be…
Liz Kimball (MFA, CPC) is a creativity coach, writer, and speaker, dedicated to helping the next generation of women creators produce the major creative works of their lifetime. Creator of The Creative15, and The Original Source Creativity Incubator, Liz's work focuses on catalyzing individual and collective change through the magic of creative process. Liz's work has been featured at Tedx, Oprah.com, The Guggenheim, The New School, The Female Quotient, and at universities and institutions throughout the country. www.lizkimball.com | @Liz Kimball
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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 choices
- How effing the shoulds shows up in our selves, our work, and parenting
Tricia Huffman, aka Your Joyologist, is a rock and roll roadie at heart and by first career. She specializes in working with those in the public eye to keep them aligned with who they are and in integrity with their commitments, while also enjoying the life they are living. For over a decade she has been known for sharing real talk with heart, calling you to listen to yourself, F the Shoulds and own who YOU are - because this is YOUR life and it could all end tomorrow.
She is based in Los Angeles, where she is raising her strong-willed, independent, creative daughters and F-ing the shoulds while claiming joy daily.
You can learn more about Tricia and her work at yourjoyologist.com, get her book at ftheshouldsdothewants.com and find
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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 this is based on theories and laws that do actually exist even if my understanding of them is incomplete and surface level.
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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 last year on the patio of her Nana’s nursing home, and now lives in Traverse City, MI after over 20 years in Chicago.
In this episode…
- The Disneyfication of motherhood and the expectations that come with it in life and at the end of life
- What it’s like to be someone’s child
- Losing a parent while they are still here
- Choosing to have to NOT have children
- Going through big life moments and transitions without your mom
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 intense fear, doubt, and anxiety I felt about having a second wedding. NOT about marrying Jeremy. About the wedding.
- How I’m preparing to birth a second baby and the ONE rule I’m applying to my upcoming postpartum experience
- The past isn’t the present. It’s the past.
- I know I will have a better experience this time because I have the proof that I’m better the second time around
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 Stiles is the co-founder of Strala Yoga, best-selling author, and well-being expert. Tara revolutionized yoga for millions, transforming a practice so often seen as foreign, dogmatic, and guru-based, into an everyday movement that supports ease and well-being. Strala Yoga is practiced in more than 100 countries, thousands of Guides lead Strala classes around the globe, and Tara shares daily yoga with thousands of people on the Strala Yoga app. She has been profiled by The New York Times, Times of India, The Times (UK), and featured in most major national and international magazines. Follow her on IG @tarastiles
In this episode…
- How Tara approaches perfectionism
- Adjusting to the 9 to 5ness of motherhood when living a creative life
- Staying present with what each phase and pace of motherhood requires
- Letting go of a fear of ease
- GIVEAWAY! Dm me @alissaalter with the # of times we say…PICKLE in the episode and receive a custom knit hat from Tara Stiles!
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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 my eyes to my own needs I never knew I had.
- How learning my warning signals like on the dashboard of a car helped me advocate for myself and build the life of my dreams.
- Why I created my very OWN owner’s manual and invite you to do the same.
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Click here to learn more and start creating YOUR Owner's Manual today!
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 home for fiction and memoir which she co-founded with Leigh Newman. Her award-winning podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, has been downloaded millions of times. She is a regular columnist for Good Morning America, Katie Couric Media, and Moms Don’t Have Time to Write on Medium. Her upcoming memoir, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, comes out July 1, 2022 (Little A). Her first children’s book Princess Charming (Flamingo/Penguin Random House) debuted April 19, 2022 and will be followed by a second. She lives in New York with her husband and four children. For more information, visit www.zibbyowens.com and follow her on Instagram @zibbyowens.
In this episode we discuss:
- The scariest thing Zibby has ever done…hint it happened four times over.
- We reviewed the power of The No Plan Plan.
- Why now is the time she is publishing her memoir Bookends.
- How Zibby knows what step to take next as she pursues her creative dreams and builds her media company.
- Birthing a book is a birth and how Zibby is going to work on a postpartum plan after her official pub day!
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Download your FREE 5 minute meditation to start your day with confidence and ease.
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
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As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 sounds coo coo bananas, but stick with me. As always, there is a method to the madness!
In the episode…
- TWO original songs: one about sex and one about the BVC
- Two times in my life my body was trying to protect me and I…didn’t listen
- How our immune systems protects us from danger, noxious things physically AND emotionally
- Two resources to help you develop vaginal fluency so you can understand what your vagina & vaginal microbiome are trying to tell you:
- Click here to download YOUR Owner’s Manual and use code AYL63 for nearly 50% off!.
- Pilates For Your Privates 5 Day Pelvic Floor Mini Course - a movement based practice to start harnessing the physical and energetic powerhouse hidden between your legs
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode! If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 Vaginal Infections For Years, Then I Learned I Was Misdiagnosed Written by Evvy Co-Dounfer Laine Bruzek
- Knowing our body and what is our normal is crucial for self advocacy
- We are lacking necessary data to provide women comprehensive care from vaginal infections to heart disease
Priyanka is the co-founder & CEO of Evvy, where her mission is to close the gender health gap, starting by decoding the vaginal microbiome. Before founding Evvy, Priyanka was Head of Product at pymetrics, a startup using behavioral science and AI to make talent matching more effective and fair. She is also a spokesperson for the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up Campaign and on the Innovation Board for the XPRIZE Foundation. She received her B.S. from Stanford University, where she was a Mayfield Fellow and President of Stanford Women in Business. Learn more at www.evvy.com and On IG @evvy and tiktok @evvybio
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 share…
- My dream of being a mother to TWO children minimum and the two times I almost lost that dream
- The support systems I am employed to move through my birth trauma and postpartum anxiety
- Why I created The Self-Care Menu which you can download for FREE here!
- What inspired the creation of The OWNer’s Manual, why you need one, and where you can get it → Click here and use code AYL63 for nearly 50% off!.
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode! If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 road tires, tools, and tricks to navigate the path??? I want as much info as I can get!
So I went to the source, the incredible Alessandra Henderson who is the Co-Founder & CEO of Elektra Health, a next-gen women's healthcare platform on a mission to smash the menopause taboo backed by notable investors such as Guy Raz, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Alex Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, City Light Capital, January Ventures, Human Ventures, and Jenny Fielding. Learn more about Elektra health at www.elektrahealth.com and follow on IG @elektrahealth
In this episode…
- Perimenopause vs menopause
- Other catalysts for menopause because it’s not just age
- The problems we face trying to get adequate care in a broken system
- HOW and WHERE to get the information and resources YOU need!
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down go ahead and follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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, In Pursuit of Clean Countertops ← That’s her substack, subscribe like I do! You can also follow Sara on IG & twitter @slouisepetersen
In this episode…
- The definition of a momfluencer and the impact momfluencer culture has
- Alissa’s personal feelings about statement shoulder in fashion: Good for you, not for me
- Assessing your own relationship with social media and being honest about its impact on your and your life
- WTF a trad mom is and its culty vibes
- The inherent upheaval and existential crisis that comes with motherhood: You can listen to complementary conversation about motherhood being your own personal house of horrors (in a fun way!) here.
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode!
If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 what we are pivoting toward
- Acknowledging what inevitably gets left behind
If you’re picking up what I’m laying down…
Follow, subscribe, rate, review, and SHARE this episode! If you prefer watching episodes, you can now do that on YouTube!
And don’t forget to check out my Blog where we talk about all the things we’re not supposed to talk about.
Learn more about at www.alissaalter.com
Follow along on IG @alissaalter
As always I’ve got your back, I’ve got your front, and I’ve got your undercarriage.
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 smart, motivated, disciplined women like yourself, hearing your feedback and feeling my own shifts as I practice what I preach, I’ve developed a method that shows you how to move forward one step at a time.
We KNOW that the answer is not in a restrictive diet, a punishing workout schedule, or endless meditation. We’ve tried them all and these dramatic upheavals aren’t sustainable.It’s time to stop looking outside for some one size fits all answer, because it will never be the right fit for you.
I believe that if we put as much time, energy, and discipline into our insides as we do our outsides, if we connect our physical and emotional bodies, we are all unstoppable.
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and subscribe to the newsletter here because there are some exciting alterations coming up and I don’t want you to miss out! You can also follow me on IG @alissaalter.
And if this resonated with you, share with a friend! Sharing is caring after all :)
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 spinning hamster wheel I can’t get off so I stay on even though it makes me motion sick.
And the thing is I don’t really want to control everything as a mom. I don’t want to control, dominate, or micromanage Everett or Jeremy or even myself for that matter. I want Everett to be empowered, to know I trust him, and most importantly to trust himself.
In this episode I talk about embracing 5 Rules of Improv and the No Plan Plan to help me feel grounded when everything goes bananas. Because we know, motherhood doesn’t always go as planned.
Want to stay up to date on how you can stay grounded in the chaos? Click here to get stories, tips, and tricks in your inbox each week. And follow me on IG @alissaalter
Loved this episode? Remember to follow or subscribe for free so you don’t miss an episode of Myth of Motherhood.
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 hard. Because any time, energy, money we put into ourselves takes away from our family right? That’s what we’ve been told! But we say THAT”S TRASH! Investing in yourself is the most important thing you can do.
Amy has over 15 years of experience in the philanthropy and nonprofit sector. Before launching her own consulting firm in 2020, Amy spent four years as the chief executive for two private family foundations started by Doris Buffett: The Learning by Giving Foundation and the Letters Foundation. In 2018, Amy was honored as one of Boston’s ‘40 under 40’ for expanding Doris’ philanthropy.
Prior to her philanthropic work, Amy held several positions in various small nonprofit organizations focused on youth development and mentorship, including Breakthrough Greater Boston, Strong Women, Strong Girls, and Mass Mentoring Partnership. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Wellspring House and, before being elected to the ECCF Board in 2021, was a member of the foundation’s County Leadership Council.
Amy holds a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in nonprofit management from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s degree in social work from Skidmore College. She lives in Essex with her husband and daughter. Learn more about Amy at www.amykingmanconsulting.com and follow her on instagram @amylynnkingman.
If you’re interested in some tips, tricks, and tools for investing in yourself, subscribe to my newsletter at alissa dash alter dot com where I will be sharing small but substantial ways you can alter your life :)
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and subscribe to the newsletter here because there are some exciting alterations coming up and I don’t want you to miss out!
And if this resonated with you, share with a friend! Sharing is caring after all :)
See you next week!
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 birth! What? I know. I believe that we all deserve to feel safe, knowledgeable, and at home in our bodies which is why I talk about all of the things I’m not “supposed” to.
If you like what you hear and are looking for more info on how you can make small but substantial changes in your life, subscribe to my newsletter at alissa dash alter dot com where I will be sharing small but substantial ways you can alter your life :)
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and subscribe to the newsletter here because there are some exciting alterations coming up and I don’t want you to miss out!
And if this resonated with you, share with a friend! Sharing is caring after all :)
See you next week!
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/Him) is the Founder and CEO of Maple, a company focused on building a better world for all parents. Prior to founding Maple, Michael founded Kit, which he sold to Shopify in 2016 and worked for over four years as an executive overseeing Marketing Technology. He has been included on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, recognized by Inc. Magazine for his contributions in the messaging space, and named one of the top marketing executives in the world by Business Insider. Michael Currently lives in California with his wife, 2 sons, and two bulldogs.
Check out the amazing things Maple has going on at www.growmaple.com including a panel From Woman To Mother: A Panel Discussing This Shift In Identity that I will be speaking at on May 6th 3-4pm est. Register here.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. You may want to grab a crystal, some incense, and like a tarot card because that’s how deep we go.
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and subscribe to the newsletter here because there are some exciting alterations coming up and I don’t want you to miss out!
And if this resonated with you, share with a friend! Sharing is caring after all :)
See you next week!
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 haywire as everything changes. It’s not all in your head, it’s in your body too!
Learn more about Matrescence here and building ceremonies around the transition here.
And if you want to stay in touch and learn more about how to navigate these changes in your life, join me and my community here and follow me on instagram @alissaalter
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 with Down syndrome in 2020. Taryn is a passionate advocate and business owner through Extra Lucky Moms and Iris Yoga. She also dedicates time to The Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network and 321 Sunshine as a board member. Taryn’s first book, Ups, Downs and Silver Linings, will be published in Spring 2022.
Resources:
Learn more about Taryn at www.tarynlagonigro.com
Follow her on Instagram @mindfullytaryn
Stay up to date on what’s going on with Extra Lucky Moms here and follow on IG here
Read Taryn’s article for pstprtm.com
Read my article on extraluckymoms.com about not neglecting yourself in motherhood
Follow me on Instagram @alissaalter
Join my weekly newsletter for more tips and tricks to alter your motherhood experience.
Loved this episode? Remember to follow or subscribe for free so you don’t miss an episode of Myth of Motherhood.
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 tips and tools to help you find stability physically and emotionally after baby.
You can read the article I wrote about this here and follow me on IG for more ways you can find balance and stability in your body and your life @alissaalter
Ready to take the next step together? Ready to feel grounded from the inside out? Sign up for my weekly email here and get ready to alter your life :)
We’re talking pinterest goals & instagram dreams and how that’s never how it shakes down in motherhood. Like everything else in life, adventures in parenting are rarely linear. There are twists and turns, checks and balances, risks and rewards that we are constantly calculating.
This week’s guest is Erin Pasquet. A NYC based birth and postpartum doula, lactation counselor, childbirth educator and pre/postnatal yoga and fitness instructor. She’s a mom to a (silly, active and adventurous) little boy and is passionate about educating and empowering birthing people and families to make informed choices that are best for them. From pregnancy to parenting there are so many choices to consider and calculations to make. She’s a guide to help navigate the tricky terrain agenda free.
Because Erin and I are based in new york city, we can’t help but talk about the insanity that is the pre school and kindergarten application process if you are in a position to consider private schools. I mean! There’s a reason Odd Mom Out, Gossip Girl, and the Nanny Diaries are so popular! And whether or not private school is the thing that’s currently making you coo coo bananas, we can all relate to the feeling that our baby’s entire future rests on every single decision we make. About anything and everything.
Resources:
Follow Erin on IG @erin_duolight
Learn more about Erin’s work at a doula here www.duolightnyc.com
Follow me on instagram @alissaalter
Join my newsletter at www.alissa-alter.com
Join our private Facebook community Mom’s Club for the community of like minded, intentional moms hanging out in a 100% judgment free zone you’ve always dreamed of.
Loved this episode? Remember to follow or subscribe for free so you don’t miss an episode of Myth of Motherhood.
There’s so much pressure after having a baby to look like you didn’t have a baby. Even though you definitely just had a baby. We are supposed to bounce, snap, fit right back into our old jeans and our old lives when everything about us is new.
In this week’s episode Alissa shares about how we can reframe our experience of taking up more space, being held more fiercely by gravity, and owning our mom bods can change our experience. And hopefully influence societal expectations, pressures, and ideals placed on women’s postpartum bodies.
To learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it, visit www.alissaalter.com and follow her on IG: @alissaalter
This week we are talking about identifying our blind spots in life, business, and parenting, how having adult tantrums is just like our kids’ tantrums, and how modeling a life of integrity and sustainability doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
I met today’s guest Jenny Jackson who is the founder of Ave-Lumi and a mama on a mission to improve the sustainability of the fashion industry at a launch event in 2021. It was my first event of that kind and I knew nobody. If this had been a sorority party, Jenny quickly became my Big Sib. She took me under her wing, introduced me to people, and laughed at all of my jokes.
As we spoke I was really inspired by Jenny’s passion for sustainability and the deep integrity she brings to her work and her life. You can feel this grounded authenticity radiating from her infectious smile.
Ave Lumi is a destination for modern families to shop sustainably and live joyfully and I HIGHLY encourage you to check her out on instagram @ave_lumi and online www.ave-lumi.com
You’ll notice we start this episode in a fit of laughter as I mention how I’d love a tech team. What we thought were technical issues on Jenny’s end, turned out to be my headphones not plugged in all the way. Which hey! We all have blind spots, right?
Resources:
Follow Me on instagram @alissaalter
Download your FREE guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy and Postpartum, visit www.alissa-alter.com
Join our private Facebook community Mom’s Club for the community of like minded, intentional moms hanging out in a 100% judgment free zone you’ve always dreamed of.
Loved this episode? Remember to follow or subscribe for free so you don’t miss an episode of Myth of Motherhood.
There’s this assumption that after we give birth, we spontaneously download a complete, updated guide on everything motherhood/parenting/baby. Suddenly everyone asks us to feel our foreheads, what type of jacket we need, and what’s for dinner.
I don't know about you, but this made me furious. The automatic status of lead or default parent. Like I suddenly knew everything even though we were both new parents.
This episode is based on my interpretation of these events. My experiences as a new, hormonal mom. Objectively speaking, my husband was incredible. That doesn’t change the societal pressure, standards, or expectations put on women when they give birth.
Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it at www.alissaalter.com and follow her on IG: @alissaalter
Neurodivergent or neurotypical, all children present their own unique challenges. This week’s guest Jess Quarello, born in Sweden and raised in North Carolina, talks about the differences and similarities in her two daughters. Her second daughter was born with Down’s Syndrome propelled her into a life of advocacy and community.
Because we talk about everything here, we discuss social assumptions and ignorance around children with disabilities and their parents, gory childbirth, and hemorrhoids.
Jess began her career in Musical Theater before transitioning to modeling and fashion. She now lives in Hoboken, NJ with her husband and two daughters. You can learn more about Jess at www.jessquarello.com and www.extraluckymoms.com and follow her and her community on IG and Tik Tok.
Stay in touch with Alissa and all things taboo topics and staying the course in this crazy marathon of life by joining her newsletter at www.alissaalter.com
Oh! And please note if you hear any heavy panting or outbursts in the background, they are courtesy of Walter Alter. Alissa's deliciously cranky French Bulldog.
Check out the shownotes here
Picture this: Your dream comes true, you’ve been chosen to stand center stage for the dance recital. You know all the steps, your costume fits great, you are the shortest kid in class, and now you are exactly where you were born to be. Center stage.
After the teacher writes down the formation for next week when inevitably half the class forgets their spots – not you, of course. You turn to your friends and they cross their arms and turn their backs. They’re mad at you for being placed center stage.
Has this ever happened to you? A situation where your success cost you love? It may not have been your dance recital, but most of us have experienced something similar. Women have been conditioned to compete against each other in every area of life and all it’s doing is hurting us. Keeping us down. Keeping us separated from each other because they know we are stronger together.
Let’s leave fear behind, stop being scared to shine, and start being strong together.
Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it over at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter.
Her first book Unstuck: From Understudy To The Study Of Your Undercarriage is available on Amazon Kindle and the Kindle app.
In this episode Alissa realizes where the source of her feeling responsible for her partner’s erections based on Lindey’s explanation of how stress accumulates in the pelvic floor. Yea, we are making CONNECTIONS people! We are built to experience cycles. Life cycles, menstrual cycles, and stress cycles. And it’s that last one that gets really sticky – see what I did there? Lindsey Vestal is the founder of The Functional Pelvis, the first in-home pelvic health practice in New York City run by an Occupational Therapist.
She has helped thousands of people overcome chronic pelvic health challenges like incontinence and pelvic pain. Her goal is to empower women and men to listen to the wisdom of their own bodies—without resorting to invasive surgeries or prescription drugs—so they can heal and get back to enjoying life again.
SHE TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH FROM OTHER PELVIC HEALTH EXPERTS.
She considers the whole person, not just outward physical symptoms.
She doesn’t believe kegels are a one-stop shop for every pelvic floor dysfunction.
And Alissa feels the same way.
To receive Lindsey's refreshing newsletter about all things core and pelvic floor, go here.
Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter.
As much as we will try to be the generation that does it perfectly, we are all going to f*ck up our kids somehow. I know I’m dedicated to doing it differently than my parents did, but I’m not denying it will happen.
And today’s podcast guest Susanna Merrick, founder of Aura Wear, agrees. In this episode she shares about her upbringing as the only girl of six children raised in a culty household with a mother who ruled with an iron fist. And now as Susanna approaches motherhood herself, she’s bringing herself and her inner child a ton of compassion and healing with color. We all have a mother wound and as mothers we are going to wound others.
Susanna is a highly sought after Intuitive Energy Reader, Stylist and Spiritual Coach. Aura Wear is a method and brand that focuses on self-expression through color, fashion, and wellness. Her work has been featured in Goop, Elle Magazine, Well and Good, and Vanity Fair. Susanna’s mission is to empower those to take the reigns of their self-expression through their personal style and spiritual practices.
Follow her on IG @aurawearnyc and visit her website www.aurawearnyc.com to learn more about her work and offerings. Make sure to listen to the end of the episode where she shares about a special offer.
Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it? Visit www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter
We’ve been playing this pandemic game of life for a while now. And I feel numb inside. I’m hungover and I’m pissed.
I’m tired of having the same conversations on repeat. I’m tired of assessing risk. I’m numb from numbing and wondering WTf do we do next? Where do we go from here?
In this episode I talk about how all of this relates to my relationship with alcohol and how we are on a break right now and what I’m doing to counteract feeling dead inside. Hint: It has something to do with things that make me feel ALIVE!
It’s rough out there so let’s get together and feel alright.
Click here to check out the shownotes and follow Alissa on IG @alissaalter.
Want to learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it? Visit www.alissa-alter.com
This keeps coming up and we can’t talk about it enough; why do we so often wait until motherhood to find and own our worth? I mean, we know why (hint: all of the systems in place to keep women small and quiet) and still, it is our work now to create new systems for the next generation.
And what does that require? It required us to opt out of garbage, reparent ourselves, and own our f*cking worth.
Warning: I say at least TWO very smart things in this episode. Ryanne, our guest, says more than two smart things.
Today’s guest Ryanne Glasper is very special to me. I first met Ryanne when I hurt back in 2013. She then treated me for whatever injuries I got from whatever show I was in and she was the first person I told out loud that I was going to be filing for divorce. She’s since moved out of NYC which breaks my heart, but I worked with her virtually to recover from my birth injury physically and emotionally.
Learn more about Ryanne at Ryannetanae.com and check out the show notes to learn more about her and her amazing work.
Want to learn more about me , what I do, and why I do it? Go to www.alissa-alter.com and follow me on IG @alissaalter
Alright, let’s do this!
I was 16 the first time I had a teacher talk about transitions. The way that we connect movements, steps, positions are what make dancing dancing and not classroom exercises.
The dancing happens in the transitions.
In this episode I share a few words of wisdom from my beloved ballet teacher Kat Wildish including, “Transitions are expensive.” They’re expensive because to have the control, musicality, sensitivity, and awareness to make them seamless takes years of training. Time, discipline, blood, sweat, and tears.
And she’s so freaking right.
Our breath naturally transitions easily from inhale to exhale. Day transitions to night. We’ve transitioned from 2021 to 2022. So let’s dance our way into this new year. One breath at a time.
To learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it, visit www.alissa-alter.com.
Want to support Alissa’s work? Subscribe and share this podcast! Follow me on IG @alissaalter and join my email list.
Anyone else get married feeling like check! Did it! Now that that’s taken care of, can we carry on? A real air of “my work here is done”?
I know I did.
In hindsight, I see that is exactly how I entered into my first marriage. We had built the house, moved in, and then never took care of it. Ignored cracks in the walls, peeling paint, a leaking roof, water in the basement, etc. You get the picture.
Today we talk to Paula Espinosa Valarezo about how she and her husband are both actively engaged in building an EPIC partnership, how they do it, and how they approached becoming parents with this in mind. By keeping THEIR partnership central to the equation.
Paula Espinosa Valarezo (She/Her) is the mom of a one-and-a-half-year-old amazing baby girl. She is a Copywriter and Brand Strategist at Serious. Business by day, and short story writer by night (her favorite character to write is her own mom). Paula is a Women Deliver Young Leader, Positive Discipline coach in-training, and proud team member of PSTPRTM. She is passionate about conscious parenting, empathy driven-partnerships, equal co-parenting, and making marriage feel like home. Paula is an Ecuadorian living and mothering in beautiful Munich, Germany. Follow her on IG @paulaespinosavalarezo.
Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it over at www.alissa-alter.com.
I love feedback. I love seeing and hearing how I show up in the world. Because I can’t see myself. I know what’s going on inside me, but have no clue what that looks like in action.
In my writing class I told a story about my fears and anxieties before my second wedding and how the stress led to an eye injury that’s hilarious. I thought that was the part of the story that was special.
But after sharing in class, it was reflected back to me that the part of the story that was compelling wasn’t the black eye (you’ll have to listen to learn more), but the self doubts I had about marrying Jeremy. No doubts in Jeremy. Lots of doubt in myself. Because I’d been married before and made a whole slew of mistakes. How could I be sure I wasn’t messing up again? How could I be sure Jeremy really loved me and wouldn't abandon me? How could I be sure that my trauma and baggage wouldn’t pollute this? Us? Him?
Through the feedback I got to “hear” my story in a new way. I now understand my experience and myself in a deeper way. Because something I thought was unremarkable turned out to be quite remarkable. So I wonder...what else am I missing?
Anyway, the episode is really good and listen to the end because I have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
Learn more about me, what I do, and why I do it at www.alissa-alter.com and follow on IG @alissaalter
We’ve got our first DAD on the show! Andy Kingman and I talk about the effects of becoming parents on marriage, friendships, and gender roles. I’ve known Andy since college so having this open conversation felt so good and so safe. He and his wife Amy (one of my best friends) were together for ~10 years before having their daughter.
Andy shares on how the relationship capital they had built over that time gave them a bit of a cushion to support their postpartum experience. We come from a similar perspective of wanting to change internalized, perceived, and assumed gender roles for our children. And we do this by being curious ourselves and building up relationship capital with our children too.
Make sure to listen until the end when Andy blows my mind. And check out the shownotes here.
Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter.
There is an old popular legend attributed to the Cherokee or Lenape tribes called “The Story of Two Wolves.” Do you know it? Basically A grandfather explains to his young grandson that within us there live two wolves. One is evil. It is anger, aggression, hate, arrogance, and lies. The other is good. It is hope, humility, empathy, generosity, truth, and compassion. These two wolves are constantly fighting inside all of us. And when the grandson asks which one wins, the grandfather replies “The one you feed.”
On this week’s episode I go deep on the power of the stories we tell ourselves and each other. It is through our storytelling (no matter the medium) that we choose which wolf we are feeding inside of us. Which leads me to my question...What stories do you tell? Which wolf to feed? Email me and let me know your answer, and follow me on IG. Oh! And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss out on a new episode of Myth of Motherhood, an old legend, or whatever else pops into my head!
Ok, you know that if you’re in my space, we are going to talk about buttholes at some point, right? Right. If you’re new around here, I will talk about my bhole a lot. Because when your butthole has been torn in half and then repaired, it changes you. And when it comes to childbirth SO many people sugar coat thing, or “don’t remember,” or are afraid to speak openly because they are nervous about what they'll say.
Today’s guest Joanne Adams is my people. She blew me away when she submitted her hilarious article “Incontinence to Confidence” to pstprtm. I knew we would get along well and I immediately invited her to be on the show. Joanne Adams is an internationally certified life and success coach working with new moms who want to feel like they have their sh!t together.
Cheerleading for the messy-bun mamas who feel at a loss or a crossroads in life, Joanne’s coaching provides a roadmap that leads them to (re)discover and completely uplevel themselves, without sacrificing time away from their babies.
An advocate for the unpolished life, she lives in Edinburgh with her partner in a house ruled by two unruly red-haired baby girls.
Find out more at www.takemessyaction.com and follow her on IG @messyactionmom
Want to learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it? Visit www.alissa-alter.com and follow on IG @alissaalter
When I say boundaries, you say….? For many of us an image of an invisible, electric fence pops up meant to keep some people out and keeps others in. They are rigid and stationary. But the truth is... are you ready for this? Boundaries are actually the #1 way to love and care for yourself and allow others to do the same.
Having clear boundaries and communicating them with care sets up everyone for success. Because people will keep stepping up to that electric fence and getting shocked and not know where to turn to for safety. So they keep bumping into, crossing, and activating your boundaries leaving you exhausted, abandoned, and invisible.
Today we talk about how to know if you need or want boundaries, how to create them, maintain them, and use them to love others and yourself. Because the reality is...we are often the ones violating our own boundaries and abandoning ourselves. Let’s stop abandoning ourselves and start loving the heck out of ourselves instead. To learn more about Alissa, what she does, why she does it, and to check out the show notes visit www.alissa-alter.com.
Have you ever been in the midst of a long to-do list or a big project, struggling to go on, knowing you have so much to accomplish, but what you really need in that exact moment is a nap?
What if you honored that knowing and took the damn nap? I know. Revolutionary.
Today’s guest Chef Carlas Contrereas has become fierce with her boundaries and honoring her highest priorities since becoming a mother. Sometimes those priorities are snuggles or food prep. And other times it’s a nap and a Pilates session.
She is a trained chef, food stylist, photographer, and health coach. She’s also a content creator for food and wellness brands, the founder of the online cooking school Cook+Chop, and host of the podcast Show Up Fully. She competed on Chopped! on the Food Network, and her work has been featured in publications like justBOBBI.com and Well+Good. Learn more about Carla at www.carlacontreras.com and follow her on instagram @chefcarla_c
Learn more about Carla and Alissa in the shownotes here.
Have you ever been in the midst of a long to-do list or a big project, struggling to go on, knowing you have so much to accomplish, but what you really need in that exact moment is a nap?
What if you honored that knowing and took the damn nap? I know. Revolutionary.
Today’s guest Chef Carlas Contrereas has become fierce with her boundaries and honoring her highest priorities since becoming a mother. Sometimes those priorities are snuggles or food prep. And other times it’s a nap and a Pilates session.
She is a trained chef, food stylist, photographer, and health coach. She’s also a content creator for food and wellness brands, the founder of the online cooking school Cook+Chop, and host of the podcast Show Up Fully. She competed on Chopped! on the Food Network, and her work has been featured in publications like justBOBBI.com and Well+Good. Learn more about Carla at www.carlacontreras.com and follow her on instagram @chefcarla_c
Learn more about Carla and Alissa in the shownotes here.
In our fast paced, modern world it’s constantly a race to keep up. It feels like there’s never enough of whatever it is we need, and we simply need to keep doing more. I definitely get caught in that rat race. Often. Which is why I’m exploring The Art of Doing Less. This is not an argument to do nothing. It’s an invitation to do less. Create space in your life, rest.
In this week’s episode I talk about how a trip to Miraval Berkshires shifted my perspective on my fast paced life and nurtured my connection to the feminine collective. We are only as strong as our weakest member. It’s time to come together, do less, and live more.
To learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it, visit www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter
Today’s guest Kelly Donahue is a mega badass. She is a surf instructor, life coach, and literally a certified Badass Mom. After having her first daughter, life in the suburbs felt off, so she went on a mission to create joy again. And Voila! Her company Badass Moms was born. Badass Moms is a revolution for type-A overachiever moms ready to prioritize fun again.
I actually had the joy and honor of going surfing with Kelly this past summer and I can testify, it’s badass. And that means a lot coming from me because I don’t swim in the ocean. I’m a scaredy cat and I not only went in, I surfed! I stood up and rode the waves and did something I never thought I could do. And it felt incredible.
A type-A overachiever herself, Kelly holds a BA from Harvard University where she played varsity lacrosse. So yea, as she says herself: “she’s really good at doing good.”
You can learn more about Kelly at www.badassmoms.com and check out the show notes for more info to follow her on IG @kelbel_badassmoms and set up your next surf lesson or trail run!
To learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it, visit www.alissa-alter.com and join the newsletter so you never miss an episode or event!
This week we dive deep into the meaning of the word myth. How it relates to motherhood, religion, and mythology. And how all of it is kind of really culty.
A myth, by definition, is an explanation for something inexplicable or an agreed upon truth to explain something that didn’t really happen. It’s a lie. And I feel like we were handed a big sack of lies on what motherhood would look like. And while it may have been a lie by omission, it’s still a lie. And I’m all about the truth! So we are busting myths and taking names.
If you’re a fan of the truth and cracking open taboo topics, join my newsletter at www.alissa-alter.com. While you’re there you can download my free guide on the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum, learn more about what I do, and why I do it.
Oooh are you in for a treat! Postpartum doula, childcare provider, improviser, runner, future queer parent, and diet culture dropout Kiki Mikkelsen joins us to talk about caring for others, operating with integrity, tuning out all of the voices around you, listening to your gut, navigating family planning as a queer couple, and throwing out the script and deciding what’s best for you. What feels right in your body. Kiki lives in Brooklyn with her wife and their 2 cats, Finnigan and Dad. Learn more at www.kikithedoula.com.
Check out the shownotes for more info on Kiki, to download my free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum, and leanr more about what I do and why I do it, visit www.alissa-alter.com/podcast
This episode is all about the three things that ACTUALLY prepared me for motherhood. And they’re not parenting books. They’re not baby books. They’re not books at all. They're not birthing or breastfeeding or CPR classes. These three things do not include the “motherly intuition” that is apparently spontaneously downloaded into our brains as our babies exit our bodies. There was no spontaneous download of some sort of comprehensive, exhaustive manual that made me know how to feel that he’s warm, or tell that he’s hungry not tired, or understand that hekipokter means helicopter.
No, today I’m sharing with you the three things that ACTUALLY prepared me for the reality of motherhood, not the myth we are sold. Make sure to check out the shownotes here and check out how these lessons show up in my life now over on IG @alissaalter
It takes a lot to leave me speechless. I'm a talker. And today’s guest Elana Bell did it twice. Today she shares her empowered cesarean story and how she took something so medicalized and made it sacred. How she created space to grieve the birth she’d wanted and the version of herself who had to die in order for her to be reborn in motherhood.
Elana Bell is the author of Mother Country (BOA Editions 2020), poems about fertility, motherhood, and mental illness. Bell is also the founder of the Mother Artist Salon. In addition to facilitating her own Creative Fire workshops, Elana teaches poetry to actors at the Juilliard School and sings with the Resistance Revival Chorus, a group of womxn activists and musicians committed to bringing joy and song to the resistance movement. Learn more about Elana and her work at www.elana.bell.com and click here for the show notes and to learn more about me, what I do, and why I do it.
We have to stop leaving the mother out of the equation. That is exactly what happens when we ask "When are you having a baby?" This simple question, often well intentioned, completely removes and ignores the birthing person. You never know where someone is on their fertility journey, their marital satisfaction, or emotional and physical recovery from birth trauma.
Today's episode provides an update on my physical and emotional recovery from my traumatic birth two years ago and an invitation into how I'm considering a second pregnancy. It's big, it's juicy, and I definitely start crying. I can't wait to hear how this resonates for you. Learn more about me, what I do, and why I do it over at www.alissa-alter.com and check out the show notes while you're there. You can also follow along on IG @alissaalter
“If you feel like you’re doing everything, you’re doing too much.” -Gemma Hartley. Have you ever been reading a book and got mad at the protagonist? Because you can’t believe they are tolerating what they are tolerating and not advocating for themselves? I felt that way when I started Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward written by today’s guest Gemma Hartley. It didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t mad AT her, I was mad WITH and FOR her. Her writing, her story, is so beyond relatable it feels like you’re reading your own journal. Today we talk about how motherhood is often assumed to be synonymous with martyrdom, the pressure of “motherhood intuition,” and wondering where the hell “fatherly intuition” comes into play. Gemma Hartley is a freelance journalist and the author. She is passionate about creating a more equitable world in which invisible labor is valued and supported by both personal partners and public policy alike. Learn more about Gemma at www.gemmahartley.com and follow her on instagram at @gemmalhartley. More info in the shownotes here.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
This week’s solo episode honors the Jewish New Year and the opportunity to reflect, repent, and recommit to creation. This past year has taught me a lot about my white privilege, my Jewish identity, and how I tend to put my head down, work myself into the ground, and then look up not knowing where I am. Sometimes somewhere I definitely don’t want to be. It happened with my first marriage, it happened with my theatrical career, and it almost happened again recently. Thankfully I’m beginning to see the patterns, catching myself before complete and total meltdown, and holding boundaries around my energy. That’s why I’m starting a new FREE workshop series to Review & Renew each month. If we want to keep growing and evolving we have to check in with ourselves. Do our past decisions and goals still align in our current self? And when we move forward, we will leave things we can’t know now. So we have to make sure we are still aligned. Always. Message me at www.alissa-alter.com to RSVP to the workshops and learn more about what I do and why I do it.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Welcome back! I met today’s guest Blair Badenhop through mutual friends before signing up for her incredible business mentorship program Your Wellness Brand. Well, we hit it off in a big way and she is now my co-founder along with Anne (our other co-founder and guest on episode 21 who ALSO did YWB with Blair).
Blair is a global Brand & Messaging Strategist with over a decade of experience supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses. Her clients have included Emmy Award Winners, New York Times Best-Selling Authors, and hundreds of coaches and content creators from Australia to the Netherlands. She is the host of the Brand Yourself Podcast where she guides her listeners to lean into their authenticity and shares the journeys of renowned spiritual teachers, doctors, and wellness entrepreneurs alike. Formerly, she worked at Harper’s Bazaar, Dress for Success Worldwide, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and Parsley Health.
Blair is also the co-founder and CEO of pstprtm, an idea that was born once she realized there wasn’t a space for women to find holistic guidance and resources easily. I am so excited to share today’s episode where we dive into the power of the pause. Taking a breath and assessing before reacting. And if you find yourself as in love with Blair as I am, you can learn more about her at www.blairbendhop.com, follow her on instagram @blairbadenhop, or over on @pstprtm where she is the one responsible for our GORGEOUS feed. Seriously, it’s beautiful.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Sex changes things. It escalates good things and bad things and I want to make sure our emotional intimacy is at the point where sex is our right next step to be to grow our intimacy. Does that make sense?
This episode is not graphic, so you don’t need to be nervous. I promise this is a safe space. I do use anatomical correct names for a few body parts, but our conversation today is really more about intimacy and how/when/why we choose to express and share that. And how/when/why we choose to express that intimacy physically. With ourselves and our partners.
Now that we are all on the same page, a friendly reminder that I am not a doctor or therapist. These are insights I am sharing as divorced, remarried, mom of one who learned a lot about sex by having none of it during my first marriage and then having a whole bunch of it after that.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Today’s guest is a magical mermaid maiden that I am honored to call cofounder of pstprtm Anne Omland. We met through our other cofounder Blair Badenhop and immediately sparks flew. We are so aligned and so different and seriously, she has mermaid hair. Today we are talking about losing your shit as a mom and trying to find it again. And I urge you to listen until the end. Her definition of motherhood is...beyond.
Anne is a co-founder and CXO of pstprtm, a media company and community space on a mission to revolutionize the postpartum experience. She’s a Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Hypnobirthing Childbirth Educator, Women’s Health Coach, Doula-in-training and the master of creating sacred, healing experiences for mamas and mamas to be. In her other business Mamakind, she creates personalized wellness plans that care for the whole woman on her journey to motherhood, bridging the gaps from standard care.
Learn more about Anne at www.mamakind.co and follow her on instagram @wearemamakind
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
In honor of our 20th episode I want to share with you the three things you need to know about YOUR body.
Because you only get one, let’s honor her well.
I believe that movement, self expressions, and good old fashion education empower us to feel safe, confident, and knowledgeable in our bodies.
And we need to get in touch with OUR bodies. Not someone else’s, but our own. And when you want to share your body with someone else, you need to know what you’re up to!!!
And in celebration of our 20th episode and thank you for coming back each week and sharing Myth of Motherhood, I have something for you! Listen to the episode to find out what it is!
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Like many pregnant people, Chloe Campbell (She/Her) spent a lot of time and energy connecting to her body and her baby. Culturally we idealize “natural” birth when we mean an unmedicated, vaginal birth. In this episode we talk about this ideal and how it morphs and changes once we give birth, and all along the way no one really considers the pregnancy. It’s all about the baby. Speaking of babies, you may hear some backup vocals from Chloe’s incredible one year old daughter Campbell during the episode.
Chloe hails from London, UK. She has lived in NYC for 10 years and guesses now she can call it home! She is a performer who has been in multiple musicals in London's West End and on Broadway. In addition to being the mother of Campbell she is one of the hosts of the podcast Mutha... Chloe was five months pregnant when we went into lockdown in NYC and has a lot to say when it comes to being pregnant, giving birth and parenting through a pandemic! Follow Chloe on instagram @chloe.s.campbell and stay up to date with Mutha @muthalove_.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
In theater, when there are children in a show the company hires a “Child Wrangler.” This person manages the children to make sure they are in costume and make their entrances on time. That they have snacks and water. And that they know all of their lines and choreography. When you become an adult, the Dance Captain and Stage Manager fill this role. It wasn’t until after I semi-retired from the biz that I realized I’ve been “wrangled” or “managed” my entire life. I was left a completely disempowered woman unable to carry the weight of my own life. And while I know I will f*ck Everett up somehow, we started weight training from day one. I want him to know and trust he is strong enough to carry anything that comes his way. Through our training we developed deep trust, security, and strength together. And individually.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
When it comes to motherhood it’s time for radical change. To let go of antiquated ideals and expectations and step into our truth. Dr Ariana Witkin MD (She/Her) joins us today to talk about how being a pediatrician did nothing to prepare her for childbirth, postpartum, and being a new mom. And how there needs to be some radical changes in our healthcare system to support moms postpartum.
Ariana Witkin AKA Mama MD is a Pediatrician, Postpartum Coach and Motherhood Mentor. She started her business after the birth of her daughter and experiencing firsthand the lack of coordinated care and support for new mothers.
When she isn’t educating, empowering and holding space for new mamas you can find her examining Massachusetts’ newest and cutest residents in her local community hospital, chasing after her sassy toddler, spinning on her Peloton, or stargazing on the deck with her husband.
She is a board-certified pediatrician and completed her pediatric residency at University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has contributed to Glamour, VeryWell Family and Business Insider, amongst others. You can stay up to date with all her latest news (and catch a glimpse of her baby girl) by following her journey on IG @arianawitkinmd. To learn more and access her free resources, visit: www.arianawitkin.com.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
We are conditioned to avoid pain at all costs. But what if staying so safe for so long is actually holding us back. In this week’s episode I share some lessons I’ve learned through painful experiences. Physically and emotionally. Pain isn’t the enemy. It is the messenger to our brain to pay attention, be careful, and send healing. And if we keep ignoring it, which I am so good at doing, the pain will increase until it knocks you to your knees. Can we instead challenge ourselves to listen to our pain and soothe it before making it disappear? You tell me.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Did you ever wonder what happens when you’re an American in Paris getting mixed messages from two different cultures and your husband is Italian so there’s a third culture at play and you’re expecting twins? I don’t know, but Kate does!
In this episode we talk about utilizing what resonates from all of the information available. How different cultures can inform our experiences in positive and negative ways. And how we get to pick and choose what works for us to create OUR right way. Kate and I met because our dogs fell in love when we lived in the building in Greenwich Village. We became fast friends and I am constantly blown away by her wisdom, depth, and sense of humor.
Kate is the Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Product Innovation at Circa, a fintech company that makes it easier for American renters to pay rent and stay in their homes. Kate was previously the co-founder and CEO of Atikus, a fintech company in East Africa that made it easier for financial institutions to serve difficult-to-reach demographics. She now lives in Paris with her husband, twin toddlers, and two dogs.
One of whom, Virgil, is the love of Walter Alter’s life.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Discomfort is misunderstood. We see it as something negative that needs to be fixed. We so easily forget that in order to grow we have to get uncomfortable. We have to enter...The Discomfort Zone. Alissa has been there a few times and is here to share that each time you emerge from the discomfort zone you are a stronger, truer, more embodied version of yourself. That seems to be something worth getting uncomfortable for. Want to learn more about getting through the discomfort zone and learning to love it? Read Alissa’s book Unstuck: From Understudy To The Study of Your Undercarriage available on Kindle and the Kindle App.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
I met Rebecca when I went for my first massage after lockdown. I had been terrified, but the stress and anxiety of the year had gotten to be too much so I made an appointment.
The moment I met her I knew I liked her. Her energy feels so good.
I was totally freaking out because of covid and my anxiety, but I felt better being near her.
Then she gave me one of those life changing massages. I felt held and cared for and I could feel myself returning to myself.
When we chatted after I knew I had met someone really special.
And I was right.
It wasn’t until after multiple massages that I realized she has the most GORGEOUS nail art! And long nails! You never even feel them!
And she’s a doula!
So I asked her to be in the show to share her wisdom and insight. And also as an excuse to take our friendship to the next level.
Rebecca Clark (She/Her) is a licensed massage therapist with over 8 years of body work experience and a certified birth and postpartum Doula. Her goal is to introduce luxe and aesthetically pleasing wellness to people in a way that will help them incorporate self care on a consistent basis.
Learn more about Rebecca at www.fancyhandsmassage.com and follow her on instagram @fancyhandsmassage
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
When a baby is born, so too is a mother. Everyone swoops in to care for, snuggle, nurture, and comfort the baby. But what about the mother? She also came out of that experience a new person. A stranger in her body and the world. I promise you she needs as much coddling, feeding, sleep, care, nurturing, and love as the baby. Honestly? More. Yet there is so much pressure to get back to everything. Work, your jeans, your activities, your old life. What is instead, we approached the first year postpartum honoring that we are new here too. That we are learning about ourselves, the world, and our place in it every single day. We are growing up together with our babies.
If you like this episode, you’ll love the ebook ...
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Lisa Gajda (She/Her) had a successful 30 year career on Broadway before becoming a mother. In fact, she never even wanted kids until at the age of 41 and meeting her newborn nephew.
Knowing the chances of conceiving without assistance were slim, they found an egg donor and now have two beautiful children who are “the coolest things ever.”
This episode is about the mother inside us. And how she can be hibernating for a good long while and maybe even show up as a very different part of ourselves we didn’t know existed.
Lisa is now a therapist in training working at an LGBTQ+ affirming group practice in the flatiron district. You can follow her on instagram @Justmakidsyo
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Sometimes self care isn’t enough. There I said it. We are constantly told our feelings are “normal” postpartum. It’s normal to be tired, sad, and not feel like yourself. But when you find yourself filled with rage that the dog needs more water, the sodastream is out of bubbles, and you’re waking up for a sleep intermission from 2am-4am again, it’s time to call in reinforcements.
In this week’s episode I’m sharing my story of reaching my breaking point, breaking down, and putting myself together again. With the support of a great therapist, Zoloft, and the strength to ask for the help I needed, I’m finally feeling better.
We are talking about Postpartum Anxiety and Depression, covid, and how it’s ok to need more than a bathbomb to feel better.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
For the perfectionist, there is nothing more valuable or important than perfection.
In this episode Reema Zaman, an award-winning writer, speaker, actress, producer, and podcast host and I discuss how perfection ruled our lives and how we overcame it. Hint: it has something to do with loving yourself.
Reema and I met on the first day of our freshman year at Skidmore College. I will never forget watching her see her breath for the first time. I didn’t understand how she’d never seen that before. Then again, I had never been to Bangladesh, Hawaii, nor Thailand.
We’ve known each other for almost twenty years weaving in and out of each other’s and our parallel lives.
Reema is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir I Am Yours and the forthcoming dystopian novel Paramita. She is the head writer, creator, and an executive producer on the TV show SNAP. She is the host of the podcast Joy & Revolution with Reema Zaman. A renowned keynote speaker, Reema has been featured and published in the New York Times, VICE News, Dear Sugars, Vogue, Salon, and other noteworthy platforms. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Thailand, Reema lives in Portland with her rescue chihuahua, Fia the Fierce. You may find them both on Instagram and Facebook, and at www.reemazaman.com.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
In this week’s episode we are talking about self care. It’s all the rage and may be starting to take on a life of its own.
Instead of letting this become another item NOT being crossed off the to do list, Alissa goes over her favorite way to start the day with a win.
A quick, easy, integrative way to engage your core and pelvic floor AND calm your nervous system to prepare for the day in under 10 minutes in the coziness of your bed and whatever pjs you are or aren’t wearing.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Have you ever read something and felt so seen that your brain exploded? LIke you needed to send that person a DM immediately after reading a whole bunch of their work because you know you are destined to be friends? And then it turns out you have been living parallel lives for YEARS and it feels weird you haven’t met yet?
Yea, me too.
That’s why I messaged Abigail Rasminsky.
She is a writer, teacher, editor, former professional dancer, and my new bff. She talks about everything too!
She works as a Lecturer in the Program in Narrative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She also teaches creative writing to medical students in the HEAL (Humanities, Ethics/Economics, Arts and Law) Program at Keck, and writing workshops from her home.
You can find her writing in the New York Times, The Cut, the Washington Post, Food52, Cup of Jo, Epicurious, Longreads, Dance Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, and more. She also writes a weekly newsletter called People + Bodies which you can subscribe to in the show notes. I highly recommend it.
A native of Montreal, she lived in Brooklyn for 12 years before moving to Vienna, Austria. After four years as an expat, she now lives in Los Angeles with my husband and daughter.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
I feel the best way to honor Mother’s Day is by supporting mothers.
And myself.
Because I’m a mom too.
I recently supposed the crap out of myself by taking a retreat BY MYSELF. I needed to create space and check in with myself, unravel the past year, and tune into myself. It was beyond fruitful and I am so excited to share with you the insights I gained on my hikes, in my writing, and with my village.
I’ve spent a large part of this past year teasing you with the exciting projects I’m working on. And new offerings. And exciting things that are happening. In today’s episode I make the final reveal!
A new business! What is it? You’ll have to listen to find out.
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
What did you fail at today? Did you know Sarah Blakely’s dad asked her this every single night growing up? She founded Spanx btw.
Failure isn’t bad. It builds character. Jk, but it does build resilience.
And when it comes to Motherhood, no one has failed bigger than my friend and client Crista
Crista and I have been working together for 8 years. We think? It’s unclear.
We have been through job changes, a divorce, very many fertility cycles, six pregnancies and 3 births together.
Crista is beyond accomplished and truly one of the strongest, hardest working women I know. Which is why it was so disorienting to rack up a long list of “failures” on the road to motherhood.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on Instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
At age 12 the two most important things in my life were my upcoming Bat Mitzvah and getting boobs. I could barely contain my excitement for both.
Like many things in life, neither went exactly according to plan. Still, both happened in what I know now is the perfect way.
What blows my mind, and what I talk about in this episode, are how the lessons I learned at ages 12 and 13 while becoming a woman beautifully mirror the same lessons I’m learning at 37 while becoming a mother.
Please note, I mention it recently being the 14th anniversary of my Bat Mitzvah, but it was actually the 24th. I deleted an entire DECADE! I blame the baby.
I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
This week’s episode is extra special. I’m talking to Broadway's Becca Lee about motherhood during covid, your greatest spiritual journey, when your anxiety gets the best of you and you just...poop your pants.
Becca and I had recorded our episode, but had major audio issues so we re recorded! Like Tenacious D sings in their hit song Tribute: “This is not the greatest (show) in the world, no.
This is just a tribute! Couldn't remember the greatest (show) in the world, yeah - no! This is a tribute!”
Becca is a Broadway performer turned full-time mama, for now. She's performed all over the country in regional theater productions, toured with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, danced for the NY Knicks and has appeared on several TV shows. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Psychology and is currently brainstorming about what to do next! She is passionate about being creative and authentic and spreading joy whenever possible.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
I want our first time together, just us, to be special. So in my first solo episode I lay it all out there for you. Because I’m here to talk about all of the things people aren’t talking about.
No more suffering in silence.
I share how my journey to motherhood began when I filed for divorce ending my first marriage.
How I felt I had earned and deserved a different childbirth experience.
The pain I felt from my fourth degree tear, my body “failing” me, and how I found my way back to myself postpartum.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; there is no ONE right way to be (or become) a mother, there is only YOUR right way.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Talking to actual rocket scientist Heather Bottom, a Space Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, who recently finished working on the operations team for the launch and landing team of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.
Heather and I met doing the Broadway national tour of A Chorus Line long before we became moms. And yes, we both still do the opening number on our time.
We talk everything from the pressure of perfection in motherhood, show biz, and work to WANTING to go back to work after kids, finding parallels between various parts of yourself, and how it all comes together in a sort of 3D printed venn diagram.
Heather also shares the best advice she received before having Maria…(hint: it came from me).
This show is the perfect kickoff of Myth of Motherhood and how it doesn’t take rocket science to be the best mama for your baby.
Enjoy!
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com
Get to know more about Alissa, why she started Myth Of Motherhood, and what you can expect to hear each week.
This is basically her dating profile.
Download your free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum here.
Want to connect with me further? Follow me on instagram and join our private Facebook community Mom's Club.
Want to learn more about what I do and why I do it? Are you looking to elevate your pregnancy and postpartum experience? Visit me www.alissa-alter.com