73: The Rest is Medicine with Rooted Birth Doula, Davinah Simmons

Davinah Simmons is a full spectrum doula, a childbirth and lactation educator, a facilitator, a writer and photographer. In this conversation we chatted about how rest is medicine and what it has been like to be a full spectrum doula during this pandemic. her doula practice has evolved over the last 2 years. We discuss rage and grief and ancestral healing and the range of emotions that occur during postpartum time. She created a worksheet for her clients to have difficult conversations ideally before a baby is born and we discuss the workshops she has hosted and plans to host in the future, the enneagram and racism, writing practices and rituals to help release energetic chords between self and others. Dancing for our grief and witnessing birth stories as a way to help bring more healing to this planet.

Oooh, and She was recently featured on NPR and it is a great episode. There will be a link to that in the show notes if you wanna hear that. And you can listen back to episode 30 for our chat from almost 2 years ago. 
 

Davinah Simmons links:

https://www.instagram.com/rootedbirthdoula/

https://www.bornrooted.com/

https://www.kuow.org/stories/out-of-a-summer-of-black-grief-insisting-on-black-joy

Thyme in the Studio links:

https://www.patreon.com/thymeinthestudio

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AidaZeaArts

https://www.instagram.com/thymeinthestudiopodcast/

https://www.instagram.com/aida.zea.arts/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/403582056803336/

www.thymeinthestudio.com

https://www.aidazea.com

Contact me: [email protected]

Music by Corrina Repp

@corrinarepp

Topics covered:

Meditation

The medicine of rest in the body

Resting in labor

The impact and importance of rest

Behind the scenes of doula work

Beginning of birth and doula

Covid doula work

The honor of walking with people in their grief

Personal relationship with grief

Rage as a force for good 

Channeling energy into workshop

Therapy is a good idea

Grief dance

Apothecary-26 minutes

Discernment around who we choose to learn from

Postpartum is not something to mess with

Creating a tool for postpartum

Dialogue with teachers

Long version available on Patreon 

( 10 more minutes of behind the scenes chats)

figuring out the next steps

Ideal cultural dream 

Workshops around grief

Losing your mother

Mountain is there and is suddenly not there anymore

Writing process

What it has meant to witness people in postpartum

Terminating pregnancy

Importance of reflection

Ritual of releasing others energy

Writing as a ritual of reflection

Long version available on Patreon 

( 10 more minutes of behind the scenes chats)

figuring out the next steps

Ideal cultural dream Energetics of instagram

Morning pages ritual

Death doula work