Conversations - Sarah Starrs, Period Coach for Parents Sarah Starrs

Nicole Antoinette is the host of the Real Talk Radio podcast, where people come together to talk about the wonderful mess of being human. A recovering self-help addict and former goal-setting coach, Nicole’s mission is to help people get to the heart of what’s true without judgement, and to explore how we can use grit and grace to close the gap between what we say we want and what we actually do. I loved talking with her about her decision to hike more than 400 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail last year, how she successfully started a meditation practice after years of wanting to, the value of doing hard things, and what it really takes to create lasting change.

Bernadette Pleasant is the creator of Femme, a fusion of sensual movement, dance, meditation, creative visualization and celebration of the feminine form.

Femme! as designed, creates sacred, safe spaces for women to explore their femininity; to move in sensual ways, to explore and release emotions, to alter or release beliefs about themselves and to unapologetically love their bodies!

Bernadette was such a fun person to talk with. We dove into why people live “half-assed emotional lives” (and how to stop), the power of drumming and how it helps us to reach other levels of our psyche, and the wisdom we can access through our bodies.

Lady Lu of the Wolves, aka Lulu Brud Zsebe, is an actress on Pretty Little Liars and the wild woman behind the brand OF THE WOLVES. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and pup. In her free time she's probably playing with plants, re-designing homes or running around in the desert. I loved talking to Lulu about her connection to wolves, how she balances the competing demands of Hollywood acting and her more spiritual work, separating your sense of self-worth from your work, and making conscious decisions as a consumer.

Clare Barry is a Londoner, writer and founder of Urban Curiosity - a creativity and wellness company that helps busy people slow down and see things differently. Clare writes about creativity and human connection in a digital world and London in the real one. She leads international retreats and Urban Curiosity Walkshops in her hometown; these two-hour sessions are are part digital detox, part creativity class - on foot.

By changing her lifestyle after experiencing burn out, Clare fell back in love with London and found solace within the hustle and bustle of the big city. I loved talking to her about ideas for navigating a busy, overwhelming city in a slower, more mindful way, being mindful of when and how we use our smartphones, and periods of consuming information vs. periods of creation.

Kirsten Hale is a trauma-informed herbalist and witch working to unspell the patterns of personal and collective trauma. She talks regularly to plants, makes potions and serves her kitties. She lives on the colonized territories of the Multnomah, Clackamas and other indigenous peoples in Portland, OR with two cats and a crow. We talk about what trauma really is, the ink between trauma and anti-oppression work, the link between trauma and anti-oppression work, and beginning your own relationship with herbs.

Shivani Seth is a South Asian American queer woman and the child of 1st generation immigrants from India. She’s a long-time writer, but a new publisher. I loved her article, Healing is Valuable Work and that’s the very topic we dive into in this episode. We chat about how she restructured her life after burn out, how we can come to be more generous with our definition of “work,” and the cultural beliefs we have to undo in order to see the true value of taking care of ourselves.