In this episode, I speak with Marnie Marmet, the Founder of Zenful Life Coaching, about how she discovered her authentic voice, her go-to self-care rituals, and the journey of writing her memoir. Self-care and internal work is an ongoing process. By sharing how Marnie lost her voice as a child to actively reclaiming it as an adult and a mother, Marnie reminds us that no one is perfect and we all have much to learn. One part of her unfolding process was taking a memoir writing class by chance, wh...
Dec 02, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 156
In this episode, I speak with author and inter-spiritual teacher Mirabai Starr about writing as a spiritual practice, the mysticism around us, and her evolving relationship with religion. Mirabai’s latest book, Ordinary Mysticism, describes how to feel more holy and present in everyday life. Her work speaks to people’s spiritual yearnings without religious hierarchies by translating mysticism for all. Mirabai and I share some of our most transcendental, mystical experiences, particularly with th...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 5Ep. 155
In this solo episode, I’m broadcasting from Mexico to speak about the nourishment of gratitude, birthday reflections, and contemplating duality. Birthdays are a wonderful time for reflection. With my birthday just past, I’ve been meditating on expecting delight. In this episode, I discuss the truly transcendent, transformative effects of being in gratitude for as long as you can. This birthday has also got me thinking about the blessing of being born on 11/11 and all I have birthed in the last y...
Nov 18, 2024•29 min•Season 5Ep. 154
In this episode, I speak with Jessica Zweig, an author and feminine business and branding coach, about building a business after burnout, her latest book, The Light Work, and the importance of healing. Through the dark, we find the light. Jessica shares the bumpy path that led her from depression and burnout to selling her business and writing her latest book, The Light Work. She introduces the Pleidians, the 12 chakras, and her process of spiritual awakening that began on a trip to Egypt. Today...
Nov 11, 2024•55 min•Season 5Ep. 153
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Dominica McBride, a community psychologist and founder of the Become Center. She shares how her family’s trauma has impacted her, the mission of the Become Center, and the importance of self-care for effective mothering. Dr. McBride shares how her mother's resilience and the impact of her grandmother's traumatic experiences in Haiti have inextricably shaped her present. We discuss how to know which mother codes to keep and which to work on. Today, she runs the B...
Nov 04, 2024•58 min•Season 5Ep. 152
In this episode, I speak with Heather Hester, the Founder of Chrysalis Mama, about how she has mothered two LGBTQIA+ teens, how best to support our children, and how to prioritize love. Heather shares that her journey as a Founder began when her son Connor came out as LGBTQIA+. She then realized she did not have the tools to support him. In learning the importance of expressing unconditional love to her children, she encourages parents to educate themselves, prioritize their child’s mental healt...
Oct 28, 2024•58 min•Season 5Ep. 151
In this episode, I speak with Jamie Engelhardt, a brand strategist and mother of three, about solo parenting, breaking generational mother codes, and embracing queerness. Jamie shares where she’s at on the rollercoaster ride of parenthood, holding many types of tension and opposites at once, and what she sees as some of the most significant generational differences in how she was raised compared to this generation. There’s a lot to learn in recognizing that our children’s childhood isn’t the one...
Oct 21, 2024•59 min•Season 5Ep. 150
In this solo episode, Dr. Gertrude walks into the dark. She challenges common fears around the dark, explores the dark wisdom of the feminine, and honors the dark as a season of growth. As the nights grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere, Dr. Gertrude embraces the change in light. She explores how much of the Western world has come to vilify the dark and shroud the unknown as evil. She shares her personal journey with darkness and debunks outdated myths. Across cultures, these seasons are essen...
Oct 14, 2024•26 min•Season 5Ep. 149
In this episode, I speak with Amri Kibbler, the co-founder and Chief Community Officer of Hello Mamas and HeyMama, about cancer’s lessons, the value of motherhood, and crafting new mothering narratives. Amri’s community, Hello Mamas, has impacted over 400 million moms worldwide. She shares her career journey from content creator to community organizer. Her cancer diagnosis was the first time she really explored self-care and self-exploration, an experience she calls both the best and worst thing...
Oct 07, 2024•55 min•Season 5Ep. 148
In this episode, I speak with Faith Laux, a somatic sex and relationship coach, about the taboo and misconceptions around kink, normalizing conversations about sexuality, and pleasure as a healing modality. Think you know what kink is? How about your erotic language? Faith beautifully defines the spectrum of kink, its powers to heal and powers to pleasure. We discuss the relationship between embracing kink and doing shadow work. She then shares the most foundational piece of having great sex. Co...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 147
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jessica Lederhausen, a dentist and public health advocate, about how she is rewriting her mother and grandmother codes, embodying her values, and publishing her recent book, Oral. Jessica’s journey of mothering is distinctly different from the norm. She embraces being different from what’s expected of a “normal” mom and imparts the importance of maintaining personal values to her children. Even as a grandmother, she fully embodies the role of grandmother that wo...
Sep 23, 2024•57 min•Season 5Ep. 146
In this episode, I welcome back Elizabeth Tuazon. We discuss her current stage of motherhood, how the universe always wants us to succeed, and her family’s upcoming transitions. With Elizabeth Tuazon’s daughter, Lyla Rose, now a year and one-month-old, I checked in with her for a motherhood update. Elizabeth shares how she celebrated her one-year anniversary of giving birth with a Montessori Walk Around the Sun. It was a beautiful time to reflect on the milestones and growth she and her family m...
Sep 16, 2024•53 min•Season 5Ep. 145
In this solo episode, I discuss the importance of collective connection, working through a project's intense phases, and the wisdom shared by whales and bees. Following up on last month’s solo episode about being in the process of becoming, I’m now in the last big push of my book project, deep in the editing and writing. I share what’s felt extra challenging during this final phase, and how these lessons can apply across our lives, especially when we are new at something or close to completing a...
Sep 09, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 144
In this episode, I speak with Emma Miele, an ICF-certified coach and Founder of The Breathing Room LLC, about choosing to be a mother, egg-freezing, and grieving old life visions to embrace new ones. The Breathing Room is not only Emma’s coaching platform but also a reminder to give ourselves breathing room to be where we naturally are in the moment and to remain curious about why we think things should be a certain way. She is a true embodiment of living what she teaches! She shares how she is ...
Sep 02, 2024•55 min•Season 5Ep. 143
In this special replay episode of Dr. Gertrude's most downloaded episode, Logan Steiner, a lawyer and a writer, shares her experience in exploring the journey of being a mother. She takes us through the years which prompted her into reflecting on life and its wonders, particularly on how writing helped her have clarity on motherhood. Through the years, she has been setting her focus on being there for her child and building herself into a strong and capable woman. You'll also hear: How the death...
Aug 26, 2024•56 min
In this episode, I speak with Meka Hemmons, one of my favorite portrait photographers, about her artistic journey, disrupting the beauty industry and living her purpose every day. Meka beautifully shares her life journey and the importance of learning from rock bottom moments when they come along. Following a long depression in her career, she was able to completely turn her path around by engaging with the hard questions about her life purpose that lay in her heart. These intuitive messages are...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 142
In this episode, I speak with Rebecca Dekker, the Founder and CEO of Evidence Based Birth® (EBB), about her experiences of obstetric care and homebirth. You will learn how to navigate the obstetric system, advocate for yourself, and understand the implications of hospital policies on maternal health. After a disempowering birth experience, Rebecca sought answers to improve not only her future births but those of every woman. This research became the foundation for EBB. She shares the fascinating...
Aug 12, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 141
Coming to you live from Iceland! In this solo episode, I share what I’ve been learning from the whales, invite you into the harvest season with me, and open the doors to play. August is truly the season of harvest, and in this episode, I invite you to really step back and consider what you are harvesting, how it aligns with your visions of the year, and how you can take an honest inventory full of compassion. I share how the harvest season is unfolding in my life, which has brought me to Iceland...
Aug 05, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 140
I’m delighted to welcome back Elizabeth Tuazon to celebrate seven months postpartum. In this episode, we discuss returning to work, community support, and the value of shared experiences. After a full update on her daughter’s 7-month life journey, Elizabeth shares how difficult it is to prepare to go back to work, from the emotional toll to the mountain of logistics. Though Elizabeth has been hesitant to join mom groups, she has found the support of her mom friends invaluable and is considering ...
Jul 29, 2024•50 min•Season 5Ep. 139
In this episode, Dr. Gertrude speaks with Kristen McGuiness, author of ‘Live Through This’ and founder of Rise Writers, about being an entrepreneur mom, being honest about the parenting experience, and working with transformational healing opportunities. While Kristen wasn’t always sure she wanted to be a mother, she knew she would never sacrifice her work or parenting life. Both can exist side by side! She shares her joy with having two “really short friends she loves taking care of.” As entrep...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 5Ep. 138
In this episode, I’m delighted to speak with Madeline Reeves, a mother, community builder, and the CEO and Founder of Fearless Foundry. In our conversation, Madeline reflects on her journey to rewrite her mother codes and the importance of self-prioritization for individual and collective healing. In sharing about how she got to where she is today, Madeline speaks candidly about the painful experiences she’s largely kept hidden from her outward, professional persona. As she expands her definitio...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 5Ep. 137
In this episode, Dr. Gertrude shares her journey of opening to receive and celebrating yourself. Many of the lessons came about through the birth of her book and the experience of receiving a lot of support from a community of meaningful female friendships. Receiving is an important facet of self-mothering and a space of self-nourishment that most women struggle with. Dr. Gertrude unpacks some of her own blocks for receiving love and support. Her impromptu decision to attend a celebration led by...
Jul 08, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 136
In this episode, I’m delighted to be in conversation with Nina Mongendre. She is a coach and author of the Inner Child & Beyond Oracle Deck, which I personally love to work with. We discuss Nina’s unique experience of rewriting the mother code through her work with ancestral trauma and traumatic healing, how we can learn from our mothers, and mothering’s infinite capacity to teach. Nina’s mother codes are woven through the story of her upbringing. Raised in Hong Kong, meeting Mother Theresa ...
Jul 01, 2024•54 min•Season 5Ep. 135
In this episode, I’m honored to speak with Jane Clark. She is the author of ‘Story Carrier,’ a memoir that captures her experience of intentionally rewriting her mother code. We discuss how stories are a vehicle to enlightenment, healing, and transformation, the importance of women using their voices, and a powerful reframe for generational trauma. Jane began the mother code journey after her first baby was born. Wanting to be a different kind of mother than her own, she knew she had to understa...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 134
In this episode, I’m honored to speak with Pastor Brenda K. Mitchel. She is a Fellow with Everytown Survivor Network, Co-Chapter Lead with Moms Demand Action, Founder of Purpose Over Pain, and an ordained minister. Brenda shares her story of losing her son Kevin to gun violence and how that changed her life and her family forever. Brenda’s work and focus shifted to helping her community through advocating for trauma-informed care and making resources available to move families and communities to...
Jun 17, 2024•54 min•Season 5Ep. 133
I’m back! And so happy to be back. Lately, I’ve been inching closer to my book deadline while simultaneously processing the new ways I’ve been rewriting the mother code over the last six months. This most recent “trimester” of book writing has inspired a lot of change not only in my writing process but myself. I share how the transformation process coincides with all aspects of myself: the academic, the personal, the spiritual. Learning to alchemize these while working and growing new sides of m...
Jun 10, 2024•20 min•Season 5Ep. 132
Mothering isn't just a role—it's an energy, a transformative experience that transcends traditional definitions. Whether as a noun, a verb, or a profound force, mothering is accessible to everyone who embraces it. Dr. Gertrude Lyons' groundbreaking work celebrates this essence, providing the tools and support to lead more authentic, joyful, and fulfilling lives - whether you’re seeking greater intimacy, more job satisfaction, or something else, you’re in the right place. Dive into this revolutio...
Jun 05, 2024•2 min
Dr. Gertrude talks with Working Mom Balanced Podcast Host Nelly Alba about creating the life you want as a mother. As an ambitious, career-oriented person, Nelly found the typical work-life balance advice ineffective and negative. After suffering a breakdown living according to what moms “should do,” she consciously decided to live differently than the blogs suggested. She began her business of blogging, podcasting, and mentoring other working moms while also raising two children and being the d...
Dec 26, 2023•55 min•Season 4Ep. 131
This special solo episode with Dr. Gertrude welcomes the upcoming winter solstice. Instead of fearing or avoiding the darker months ahead, Dr. Gertrude shares ways to embrace, learn from, and even look forward to this darker part of the year. Dr. Gertrude examines the solstice's inherent feminine power. Just as the womb nurtures, so do the dark months. These metaphors add layers of meaning to the winter as a time of deep introspection and an understanding that the lyrical mystery of the darkness...
Dec 19, 2023•43 min•Season 4Ep. 130
Dr. Gertrude welcomes back Elizabeth Tuazon for another coaching interview as Elizabeth reaches the three months of life milestone with her baby, Lyla Rose. As Lyla grows from newborn to infant, Elizabeth shares her process of marking this important transition with a ritual of her own making. The ritual ceremony unfolded organically one new moon weekend among family and included speeches, visualizations, intentions, a bonfire, and an impactful tarot reading. As her baby grows, Elizabeth realizes...
Dec 15, 2023•46 min•Season 4Ep. 129
