In this episode of Homestead & Heal, we sit down with Kirby Criddle, a spiritual teacher, writer, trauma integration specialist, intimacy educator, and hands-on, hands-in integrative pelvic care practitioner whose work is in service to the mystical and physical forces that bring your highest Self through to this world. In this conversation, Kirby shares the many threads that have shaped her work- from growing up as a highly sensitive child with an intense spiritual inner world, to discovering language for what she was experiencing through Barbara Brennan’s Hands of Light, to finding refuge and expression through music. We talk about her years as a touring musician, the decision to pause music after becoming a mother, and the unexpected path that unfolded when she opened a spiritual wellness center in 2019 -only to have the pandemic dramatically shift the direction of her work. Kirby also opens up about her postpartum experience and the profound disconnection she felt from herself during that season. That chapter became a doorway into a deeper relationship with the body and eventually led her toward trauma integration work, pelvic care, and body-led healing. She shares what she learned through training with Martin Bauduin, including the importance of listening beyond what the mind thinks should happen and allowing the body to reveal its own pace, wisdom, and direction. Throughout the episode, we explore what it looks like to trust clinical intuition, stay in beginner’s mind, and resist the pressure to force transformation. Kirby speaks to the difference between chasing dramatic “quantum leaps” and allowing change to unfold through alignment, relationship, and deep listening. Her relationship with land and nature is woven throughout the conversation as well. Kirby shares about life in Saskatoon, tending a large organic garden, experiencing loneliness and belonging, and serving as a forest chaplain along the city river. We talk about the way nature can mirror our own internal processes and what a garden can teach us about control, surrender, timing, death, and renewal. Kirby also reflects on teachers, mentorship, and power — including what difficult teachers can reveal about our own discernment and the importance of learning to trust our own inner authority. We also dive into the work she is offering now, including Vessel, her six-month program for women designed to deepen connection with the body, intuition, inner voice, and relationship with a higher power, as well as Naked Cake, a trauma integration circle. This conversation is an exploration of what it means to come home to the body, trust what we sense, honor the full complexity of our experiences, and allow life to unfold from a place of deeper alignment rather than force. In this episode, we explore: Kirby’s work in spiritual teaching, intimacy, trauma integration, and integrative pelvic careHer six-month women’s program, VesselSpiritual sensitivity and perceiving energy as a childDiscovering Hands of Light and finding validation for her experiencesMusic as a lifeline and her years as a touring musicianMotherhood, postpartum disconnection, and pausing musicOpening a spiritual wellness center in 2019How the pandemic redirected her workThe influence of her ancestors and grandparentsTrauma-informed touch and the realities of working with the bodyLearning to trust clinical intuitionAlignment, beginner’s mind, and allowing the body to leadWhy transformation doesn’t always need to happen quicklyGardening, control, surrender, and relationship with the landKirby’s work as a forest chaplainThe lessons that can come from difficult teachersReclaiming self-trust and personal authorityVessel, Naked Cake, and Kirby’s current offeringsConnect with Kirby: https://www.instagram.com/kirbycriddle Connect with Lindsay & Scott: To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net Follow Homestead & Heal: https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/ Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/ If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!
