Feel­ing into the state of our ner­vous sys­tems and our rela­tion­ships with each oth­er and our­selves, this episode offers a pow­er­ful per­spec­tive on the impor­tance of rec­og­niz­ing and tend­ing to how life feels. Togeth­er, Ayana and this weeks guest Kim­ber­ly Ann John­son dis­cuss the depths of plea­sure and the dimen­sions of heal­ing. Kim­ber­ly brings deep knowl­edge regard­ing repro­duc­tive and sex­u­al health, espe­cial­ly pay­ing atten­tion to the often untend­ed somat­ic nature of sex­u­al bound­ary repair and the com­pli­cat­ed nature of what we bring into sex­u­al relationships.

This con­ver­sa­tion is steeped in trust and inti­ma­cy. Kim­ber­ly’s focus and under­stand­ing offers a guide to the ways we might come to han­dle and reg­u­late our own ner­vous sys­tems in order to act in align­ment with our desires, rather than with the pre­scribed roles we have been put into through soci­etal conditioning.

Kim­ber­ly Ann John­son is a Sex­o­log­i­cal Body­work­er, Somat­ic Expe­ri­enc­ing prac­ti­tion­er, yoga teacher, post­par­tum advo­cate, and sin­gle mom. Work­ing hands-on in inte­gra­tive wom­en’s health and trau­ma recov­ery for more than a decade, she helps women heal from birth injuries, gyne­co­log­i­cal surg­eries, and sex­u­al bound­ary vio­la­tions. Kim­ber­ly is the author of the Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trau­ma, Awak­en Our Own Pow­er, and Use It for Good, as well as the ear­ly moth­er­ing clas­sic The Fourth Trimester, and is the host of the Sex Birth Trau­ma podcast.