Welcome to THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 3! With co-hosts Rachel Bellotti (she/her) and Jenell Riesner (she/her), this is a gathering of un-sugar-coated conversations celebrating the untold stories of everyday people fearlessly finding and living their true north. 

In our own search to discover and live from our TRUE NORTH, we continue to meet many interesting, courageous people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of amazing things to live life in their own unique way. Stories from all over the world. Stories with heart. Stories with grit. Stories with plot twists. Stories going untold - until now. This season, we celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.

Today, we talk to Dr. Emily Kirkwold (she/her), Pharmacist, Natural Family Planning Educator, speaker, wife, and mom. She loves having dance parties with her kids and is the host of Wholly a Woman Podcast. We talk about paying attention to our bodies natural cycles, sex drive, numbing our bodies out with synthetic birth control, normalizing female sex organs + fluids, opening up about what’s actually going on in our bodies, 4 natural markers of fertility, listening + building a better relationship with your body, having your period/ovulation synch up with the moon cycle, and choosing to empower yourself to get to know your body one part at a time. 

*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• #amplifymelanatedvoices @herholisticpath
• #amplifymelanatedvoices @doulachronicles
• The Firm
• Mark Groves Create the Love podcast - “sweetening the pill”
• Saalt menstrual cup
• American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Wink Thermometer
• Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten
• Dutchess cup
• Thinx period underwear
• Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. If you are doing something because you have been told it’s the “right” thing to do (like take birth control) but you haven’t done your own research to ensure that is truly the right decision for you and your body, you may be doing more harm than good for yourself. General standards are there to support in lessening overwhelm and decision fatigue, however, when it comes at the expense of listening to ourselves and listening to what truly feels right for us, we are overriding our bodies to make our lives easier, potentially at the expense of our health. Where in your life can you do a little research to ensure that the decisions you are making are truly your decisions and not a societal default?
2. Make the time to understand your body. It is doing incredible things to keep you alive and yet we so often take it for granted that it can just DO what we need it to do. With a little bit of awareness, we can actually become connected to when things are “off” for us and raise our hands before it gets too far down the path. Where in your life are you outsourcing your health to a doctor or a pill when you could be self-monitoring and self-advocating? Both are needed, but potentially we have become overly reliant on prioritizing outside sources/influence and dismiss our first-hand experiences as real sources of knowledge.
3. Self-advocate, self-advocate, self-advocate. No matter the response you get or any nay-sayers that might exist, give yourself permission to have a voice and speak that voice. Ask the questions, share your experience and truth, raise your hand, make sure you feel heard and understood so that your opinion and ideas are taken into account. Not everyone is exactly the same as you or each other, and so if you aren’t advocating for your unique experience, then who will?

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [1:00] Grand marshaling a Disney parade
• [5:30] Road or trail running?
• [8:30] AD: We’re excited to bring back Judy Dejno, CEO of THRIVE, to host our final workshop of 2020 - going live in December! These workshops are free and pre-recorded so you can listen and follow along at your leisure. Grab some friends, nice ambiance, a pen + paper, and you just as you are as we unpack Presence as it relates to living your TRUE NORTH. Check out all our workshop episodes here!
• [9:00] Welcome, Emily!
• [11:40] Getting on birth control at a young age 
• [14:50] What are the other options besides birth control pill 
• [19:10] How do you find out about Natural Family Planning?
• [22:40] What is Natural Family Planning (or fertility awareness)?
• [25:30] Normalizing femxle sex organs + fluids as beautiful + essential
• [26:30] Numbing our body’s natural cycles 
• [28:10] Knowing your options so you can make informed decisions
• [29:10] Finally knowing what it feels like to be horny
• [30:00] Is birth control really empowering?
• [32:00] What are the side effects of birth control?
• [35:30] 4 main markers/signs of fertility
• [41:00] Building a better relationship with my body
• [42:00] How to know if something is wrong + how do you self-advocate?
• [42:55] AD: Did you know that we’re on YOUTUBE now?! With a year full of zooming, we thought it would be fun to show you our fun faces as we record. So, if you are more of a visual content lover, make sure to check us out on YOUTUBE. Enjoy!
• [45:30] Getting reconnected to my body’s natural + consistent rhythm
• [50:20] Getting the support you need
• [52:00] Pre-menopause markers
• [53:10] Does having your period line up with the moon mean anything?
• [54:09] The difference between ovulation + your period 
• [58:00] AD: We have big dreams to grow this podcast + community! If you love this space as much as we do, we’d love if you’d share this podcast, recommend it, leave a review and let people know what we are all creating over here in this small corner of the world. Thank you!
• [56:30] Window of fertility
• [1:04:50] Cervical fluid
• [1:10:00] Panty liners vs pads vs tampons vs cups vs period underwear
• [1:12:15] How do you live your TRUE NORTH?
• [1:12:36] Reach out to Emily via nfppharmecist.com or email emily@nfppharmesist.com + make sure to give her podcast a listen Wholly a Woman