One of the big initiatory moments along the menstruality journey from menarche (our first period) to menopause is pregnancy and childbirth, if that is our path in life. In a world which has a lot to learn about how to support mothers and birthing people through this profound initiation, we need all the help we can get to prepare for and create a positive birth, or heal from a challenging or traumatic one. Enter menstrual cycle awareness - as a powerful tool to cultivate body sovereignty, guide us in the art of surrender, and teach us how to advocate for our needs. Our guest today is pregnancy yoga teacher and mother of two, Tessa Sanderson. She’s a graduate of the Menstruality Leadership programme, as well as our Menstruality Medicine Circle training, and her insights today are based on hundreds of birth stories that she has received from her clients.This is a big conversation, with lots of potentially triggering or stirring topics, so we invite you to take care of yourself as you listen, especially if you’re currently pregnant.In this episode:- We explore childbirth as a rite of passage, and how menstrual cycle awareness can prepare us for the inner journey and help to create a positive initiatory experience, however it unfolds.- We define birth trauma - or perinatal trauma - and menstrual trauma, and explore how the two can be connected.- We share our own birth stories and how cycle awareness helped us in these mother of all journeys, especially through the challenge of giving birth during lockdown. ---The Menstruality Podcast is hosted by Red School. We love hearing from you. To contact us, email info@redschool.net---Social media:Red School: @redschool - https://www.instagram.com/red.schoolTessa Sanderson: @tessa.venuti.sanderson - https://www.instagram.com/tessa.venuti.sanderson