Join hosts Leah Piper and Dr. Willow Brown as they explore a holistic approach to health and sexuality. They delve into Dr. Brown’s expertise in Chinese medicine and Taoist Sexuality, discussing their pieces of wisdom regarding hormonal regulation, sexual well-being, and the way different organ systems affect emotional states. Willow shares her personal journey of overcoming traumas, battling anorexia, and her spirituality. The hosts also cover how optimizing the breath can lead to better emotional balance and meditation practices. Finally, they discuss various health and wellness transformation programs emphasizing congruency, body consciousness, and the power of holistic practices.
EPISODE LINKS *some links below may also be affiliate links
HEAR MORE FROM WILLOW:
Leah & Willow's King & Queen of Hearts Intimacy Toolkit is on sale. Use Coupon Code KINGANDQUEEN10 for 10% off. https://www.sexreimagined.com/the-king-and-queen-of-hearts
Awaken Arousal Oil Lubricant "I had a 3-minute orgasm and then a 5-minute orgasm." - Beth https://exploreforia.com/awaken-so?irclickid=wyXW6byI5xyNWouwIoQAUS1GUkAx4m1JsS6bSc0&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=Impact&utm_campaign=Sex%20Reimagined&utm_c
SxR Hotline | SxR Website | YouTube | TikTok | Pinterest | Instagram | Dr. Willow's Website | Leah's Website
Join hosts Leah Piper and Dr. Willow Brown as they explore a holistic approach to health and sexuality. They delve into Dr. Brown’s expertise in Chinese medicine and Taoist Sexuality, discussing their pieces of wisdom regarding hormonal regulation, sexual well-being, and the way different organ systems affect emotional states. Willow shares her personal journey of overcoming traumas, battling anorexia, and her spirituality. The hosts also cover how optimizing the breath can lead to better emotional balance and meditation practices. Finally, they discuss various health and wellness transformation programs emphasizing congruency, body consciousness, and the power of holistic practices.
EPISODE LINKS *some links below may also be affiliate links
HEAR MORE FROM WILLOW:
Leah & Willow's King & Queen of Hearts Intimacy Toolkit is on sale. Use Coupon Code KINGANDQUEEN10 for 10% off. https://www.sexreimagined.com/the-king-and-queen-of-hearts
Awaken Arousal Oil Lubricant "I had a 3-minute orgasm and then a 5-minute orgasm." - Beth https://exploreforia.com/awaken-so?irclickid=wyXW6byI5xyNWouwIoQAUS1GUkAx4m1JsS6bSc0&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=Impact&utm_campaign=Sex%20Reimagined&utm_c
SxR Hotline | SxR Website | YouTube | TikTok | Pinterest | Instagram | Dr. Willow's Website | Leah's Website
Well, we have such an amazing treat for you because we are showcasing the beautiful, the wise, the awesome, and your very own Dr. Willow Brown in today's interview. And did you know that she is a Chinese medicine doctor and a Taoist sexuality expert? I bet you did. I bet you knew this and one her.
Dr. Willow:I hope
Leah:you knew
Dr. Willow:that by now,
Leah:If you're a fan of the Sex Reimagined Podcast, I bet you You better
Dr. Willow:know that.
Leah:Yes. Yes. And so one of the things that she's just brilliant with is she takes what her understanding is using these very different Ancient wisdom approaches to take your pleasure pathways and to ignite them with your cellular body and to infuse all of that with sensuality and love. And as a result, people expand into greater health and wellness and vitality, and they live the life that they were meant to live. With consciousness, being spiritually directed and having a excitement and enthusiasm for love, pleasure, and life. And I just. I'm so excited to dig in with her today. And Willow would you want to add anything to your introduction and
Dr. Willow:I don't think so. That was well done. I mean, just enjoy the ride. You're going to love this episode. I did a great job and Leah did a great job pulling good shit outta me.
Leah:Well, thank you. So everybody, you know what to do, turn in, turn on, and fall in love with one of my favorite, if not my most favorite Biz BFF, Dr. Willow Brown.
Announcer:Welcome to the Sex Reimagined Podcast, where sex is shame free and pleasure forward. Let's get into the show.
Leah:I know that there's, know you have your Ancient Wisdom Approach, which we're going to dive into. And also this whole idea of how the body and the organs and the glands are metabolizing our emotions, things like shame and the impact it has on the physical system. I'm so curious to to dig in to Dr. Willow Brown.
Dr. Willow:Yeah, let's dive in to the shame tunnel. It's such a deep and dark tunnel, and it just feels absolutely awful when we're in it. And it's so easy to, sweep these things like shame and guilt and even sexual trauma, even if it's subtle, even if it's like just verbal, or, or something that didn't overtly happen to us, but maybe it's just coming from systemic culture. And it's so easy to just kind of put it all in the garage, as we say, put it in the basement right, and just stuff it away and not pay attention to us and override and just get busy and distract ourselves with other things. But what I find is it makes us feel really fatigued and really depressed, and it actually causes a lot of physical health problems.
Leah:Hmm.
Dr. Willow:Many of my clients often have, they have a psychological, emotional, spiritual thing, but they often have a physical thing too. And so getting into the physicality of where that shame lives in their body. So that we can actually extract the root of it, which, 10 times outta 10, it comes down to I'm not worthy, I don't believe I'm worthy somewhere deep inside of myself. I don't believe I'm worthy. And you know, that, that's a very unfortunate systemic message that is pervading our culture. So getting into the physical body and the physical health of where that lives, I feel is the only way to really make changes that are going to last.
Leah:So can you share with us like one of your earliest memories of feeling shame or having that like, experience of not being worthy and how you might have overcome it, how you
Dr. Willow:resolved it? Yeah, that's such a good beacuse for more recent years I was curious about shame and not knowing what it was. Like I felt like I had really overcome shame. Like I had become so immune to shame, I forgot about what it was. And I started asking people, this was maybe 10 years ago, and I started asking people, what's your experience of shame? What does it feel like in your body? What does it feel like for you? Just so I could be reminded of what people who were coming to me were actually in the midst of. And and then I just, this last year, I have some of my own visceral feelings of it again, and it was just, fuck, this is a terrible feeling. It really does take you down. It's crazy. But I think my earliest memories are probably like teens, is that, that I can remember. And I just hated my skin. I hated being in my skin. I hated my body. I hated the way that I looked and I grew up in Southern California, in Ojai, California, where you know, very close to LA and so there was this very strong message that you have to look a certain way, that you have to act a certain way, that you have to be a certain way in order to be of value in order to be liked in society. And so that, girls in my high school, they were getting nose jobs and boob jobs and like changing their physical, like literally changing their physical appearance at 16 years old.
Leah:Yeah. Did you live also in an affluent sort of community where, not where there was like a financial stuff that was also wrapped up in all of it?
Dr. Willow:Kind of like mid range. Yeah. Not extremely affluent, but you know, some of the kids came from a lot of money and some of them didn't. Some of them had actors as parents and some of them were just kind of like middle of the road and some are, had more financial hardship growing up. So, where wherever they landed kind of in that realm there was a lot of pressure for everyone to like be beautiful, to be beautiful. We were so close to Hollywood. It was just be beautiful or else. And so I developed eating disorder. I was anorexic for many years, which totally fucked up my hormones. Totally fucked up my gut. I'm still recovering from all of that shit. And I think it really fucked up my skin too. So I had a really cystic acne. So there was a hereditary thing about that, came from my mom's side of the family. A lot of my cousins and uncles and aunts and everyone had it. But then also it was just, my gut was so messed up because in Chinese medicine, the large intestine and the lungs are paired together under the metal element and the lungs open to the skin. So each one of the yin organs, the lung being the yin organ, in this situation, each one of the yin organs. Opens to one of your sense organs. So we sense sensation through our skin so the lungs open to the skin and the lungs also hold grief. Right. And I was very depressed in high school, like suicidally depressed as well. So there was this really big kind of like heaviness around who I was. And expression of authentic self and authentic beingness was not even an option for me during those years beacuse I, I didn't have authenticity, I didn't have autonomy. Like I didn't know what that was. I was so busy trying to fit into the mold of what was beautiful.
Leah:What did what did that like manifest into? Were you really shy? Were you quiet?
Dr. Willow:I was very shy. Yes. Very, very shy. Which also was shamed. That's another early memory. I think even before teens, I was a kid and I was a shy, I was always the quiet observer, just like taking it in. And I didn't feel shy, but people put that label on me a lot. And so there was this what's wrong with her? There's something wrong with her because she's shy, because she doesn't talk a lot beacuse she's quiet. So, there was that coming off of that. And then probably from that spiraling into, so that kind of became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Like, there's something wrong with me, there's something wrong with me so I gotta figure this out. Or, I don't know what it is, but something. And then it got went deeper and deeper and then, you go through those fucking hormonal years as a teenager and it just all turns into a big shit show and things manifest. They manifest in your physical body like, skin and hormonal imbalances, and then they manifest in your life later on. I believe all of that then led to the rape at 19.
Leah:Oh, way do you think that? I
Dr. Willow:was still a teen. Well, because I had such a low sense of self-worth. And so then I was, who was I hanging out with? Like losers, right? And then I was getting into situations where Ruphonyl and alcohol and date rapes were happening and so that's kind of how that whole spiral... and then I woke up. After that I was like, fuck. I slapped myself upside the head and I said, it's time to wake up and turn this ship around. So that's when I got on the healing path and never looked back.
Leah:Okay. So I want to I want to kind of go back up just a couple of steps. It was really interesting when you were making the correlation between the lungs and the liver and the skin. So then, Tie in the
Dr. Willow:and large. In
Leah:Oh, it was the large intestine. Okay. large intestines and lungs. And then how did that affect the hormonal aspect of what was going on?
Dr. Willow:Well, because I had that like low sense of self-esteem, not a real strong sense of autonomy. Then I was spiraling into depression. That's lungs, and then I was not eating right. I was really fucking up my gut. So my large intestine where all of the good bacteria should live in your large intestine. That was getting all messed up. And you should have these layers of mucosal lining, two layers in the large intestine and one layer in the small intestine. And those get eroded with not eating properly and not eating enough vegetables. And I mean I spent years, I had a friend that I had an eating disorder with and we were so sick. We would spend years years of our lives where we would be like writing each other letters. What did you eat today? I ate one goldfish cracker, one square of cheese. Like it was really, really bad.
Leah:Wow,
Dr. Willow:I got at one point, I got really sick too. It all happened on this evening where, God, it was so many firsts I had, I took ecstasy for the first time. I was 16 years old. Took ecstasy for the first time and experienced my very first date rape that night, which was very, very grey. Very grey. Where it was just like me saying no multiple times over, multiple times over until basically just got overrun and then basically was like, okay, I just let it happen. And then, and I got salmonella poisoning. Now, I'd already been anorexic for years and years, got salmonella poisoning and I could not keep a thing down. And it the next day when I got home from Santa Barbara, I was so sick. Like I was vomiting and shitting for two weeks straight. I had to go to the hospital, get IV fluids. I was so, so super thin. I could feel the calcaneus, my heel bone on the ground.
Leah:OMG
Dr. Willow:there was no padding between my heel bone and the ground, so I was so like disappearing into myself.
Leah:Wow. Honey, that is just like my heart just shatters for that sweet 16 year old Willow. Oh my God. What turmoil. That is just so deep. And look at you now, sister.
Dr. Willow:God, I can feel the emotion. Huh?
Leah:Yeah. I mean, and you're such a beautiful testimony of reaching, having come from some of those really disappearing into yourself and your ability to have like walked back into visibly being who you are now. And so I imagine that these really painful inflection points are a part of what steered you into the healing path? I know, certainly, I mean, I haven't quite heard those levels of your story yet, so thanks for sharing that. I know that a lot of people listening are feeling that viscerally, you know, what you went through.
Dr. Willow:Yeah.
Leah:and I also gotta hand it to you because I'm pretty sure you did ecstasy again after that experience. Like pretty amazing I think. I think some people would be really scared. Did you have to go to the hospital? Right? You had to get IVs
Dr. Willow:No, so basically it was this whole party night and and that whole thing happened, and then I went home, I went back to Ojai from santa Barbara, and within 24 hours I was just ragingly sick.
Leah:Right. Probably do more to the salmonella poisoning than anything else,
Dr. Willow:absolutely. But I felt like I was being punished, right? Like, oh my God, I had sex and oh my God, I took ecstasy and oh my God, I'm being punished by God. Right? Because I grew up in the Catholic upbringing, so it was like all
Leah:that's like a double scoop of
Dr. Willow:shame Yeah,
Leah:right there.
Dr. Willow:guilt and shame and yeah, it was high ice
Leah:cow.
Dr. Willow:of shame for sure.
Leah:Wow. Okay.
Dr. Willow:time.
Leah:That was a wild, wild time. So how
Dr. Willow:So I got through
Leah:yeah, like, so did that friendship, cause that's a pretty, dangerous kind of co-dependent relationship that you were in with your friend. Like, how did you start to come out of the anorexia journey?
Dr. Willow:I started going to therapy and I was adamant, I was like, there's no way therapy is going to heal me of these, of this eating disorder. Like, I just hate eating. I hate food. I'm never going to love it. I'm never going to enjoy it. And Im just like, okay, I will get to a point where I eat, but I'm not going to like
Leah:it, wow.
Dr. Willow:So, So I started going to therapy and the only saving grace was my therapist was in Santa Barbara, right? So I drive from oh, Ojai to Santa Barbara. Smoke cigarettes with the window down, feel like hot shit is 16 year old. Like, and then I'd go to therapy and then I'd go with my friends and do all the self deprecating things. that I was into. And so, But yeah, I think it did help. I probably saw that therapist for about a year. And then what really helped was I got out on my own, I got out of the family home, I was living on my own. As soon as I was 18, I was out of there. I was like, I gotta go. So I went, I lived on my own and I was going to the grocery store for myself and I was making my own food. And then I was like, Wow, this is so fun to like, make my own food. And I was still vegetarian at the time. I remember just like slicing the tofu and making a really good sandwich and like, I just loved the experience
Leah:artistry?
Dr. Willow:The putting food together. Yeah. And that kind of really, that's when I started to be, that's when I really got over anorexia, I would say.
Leah:Okay. And that's probably where a lot of your knowledge for nutrition started to develop and your
Dr. Willow:Oh yeah, I
Leah:journey of like understanding food as medicine and how good it feels to eat healthy, nutritious food. And you could like feel that in your body. I bet that gave you a different relationship to your body
Dr. Willow:it did. Absolutely. I just, I got so into nutrition and then I got into Chinese medicine school and they have a whole different take on nutrition from Chinese medicine perspective, and I remember one year in Chinese medicine school, I was like, God, I just can't study TCM anymore. Traditional Chinese medicine, TCM, that's what most acupuncturists practice. Although some practice, different stuff as well. But I was like, I can't study this anymore. I need something else. And I found this book, Julia Ross, OMG, Julia Ross, if you don't know who she is, she wrote the Mood Cure and the Diet Cure. So if you are suffering from any mood disorder,
Leah:haven't you got me this book yet?
Dr. Willow:Get that fucking book. She talks about amino acid therapy. I mean, it is brilliant. I use it with a lot of my patients and clients. It's written into my nine month program and everything. It's written into the cookbook that I wrote because it's so crucial. And amino acids come primarily from meat. And so we can get some of them from our vegetables, but like tyrosine and glutamine and, what's the other one that I'm anyway, those amino acids, they, we need them and I was so deficient in them because I was vegetarian for so, so long. So vegetarianism kind of led to the, all the deficiencies, my brain was so deficient. I remember being in high school and like, I could not keep my eyes open. I was so exhausted. And then I would be up till three in the morning like my, just my cortisol and my chemistry was so fucked up. I wish I'd had me
Leah:Right.
Dr. Willow:as a practitioner when I was a teenager, because my mom is a nurse and God bless, she's an amazing woman and amazing caretaker. But Western medicine just had a different take. She's like, here let's give you some more, antibiotics for your skin. Which fucked up my gut even more so. Gut is actually one of the most important things for our hormones. Like I think it's 80, 60 per 60 to 80% of your hormones are created in your gut. So when the gut is healthy, everything else in the body is healthy because the endocrine system has more of a chance to be balanced. So all of that to say that when we start to work both sides of the same coin at the same time, like the physical body and then the emotional spiritual state, at the same time, we can heal exponentially and heal to a point where it sustains and we transform.
Leah:So I think you've got such a unique perspective on this, and I, and it really what comes to mind is like the true artistry of holistic, right? Everything that holistic approach really means. Because if you're taking a look, like, if you're feeling depressed you know that being pressed down, there's usually, like, if you bottom line it often comes down to a feeling of unworthiness, like we still spoke about at the beginning of the hour. And then all the things that happen as a result of that. Because like you, those teenage years you're wrestling with so much and I felt such self-loathing and depression. But unlike being the quiet one, I went and did the like, Look at me, look at me dance. And instead of doing anorexia, I binge ate. So I had an eating disorder, but it was about binging. And boy, I remember like praying at night going, God, just let me be bullimic. Let me be, it's like when you start praying for a different eating disorder, like there is something needs to be addressed, but feeling like I couldn't stop the eating was really scary beacuse I knew how damaging the results of that were going to turn into. And then that's been the thing I've been wrestling with for my whole life. And what I think is really unique about what you came to learn is A, there's the mental wellness that has to be addressed. And here's the thing that most people miss that I think you have down, and that is the physical health. What do you need to feed the mind? What do you need to feed the body? What do you need to feed the soul to walk yourself into health. So how do you look at, like, what's your holistic approach? If someone were coming to you and you were noticing as they were telling you their story, that this was really about guilt, fear, and shame that was sort of riddling their life.
Dr. Willow:So if someone's coming to me and they don't know what's going on, and I see that, what's the question? Say it again.
Leah:So the question is what's your holistic approach? Like, how do you look at the big picture when you're working with someone who, as you hear their story and you bottom line, what's the root? when you get to the roots, you're so good at that and the root is really shame, worthlessness, fear.
Dr. Willow:So then how do I approach that holistically?
Leah:How do you start to, create a curriculum of wellness for them?
Dr. Willow:Yeah, generally, like I'll look at their, I have people fill out a whole new patient intake form because even this, it's 15 minute long it takes to fill this fucker out, like family history, and I gotta know all the details because that lets me know too, okay, if there's a history of colon cancer, okay, there's a propensity toward depression or skin stuff, or da, da, da. If there's. A propensity toward migraines. Okay, that's gallbladder liver. Or if they have a propensity towards sleeplessness, it could be kidney, it could be cortisol, it could be adrenals, or it could be something else, could be thyroid. So I'm looking at, when I'm looking at their intake I'm kind of like picking out. Two organ systems. Usually I like to start with two. I don't like to do more than two at once. So what are the most important two? And then when I work with them, I'll kind of gear the coaching in that direction. So if somebody has chronic migraines and they can't make decisions and they have hip pain, that's all gallbladder. So then I know to kind of point to that place inside of them and they say the gallbladder, all of these organs in Chinese medicine have an archetype. I mean, Chinese medicine's, fucking brilliance. Really, really amazing system. And so they all have an archetype. And the gallbladder's archetype is the wise judge because the gallbladder channel
Leah:I love this shit.
Dr. Willow:I know it's so fun. The gallbladder channel zigzags along the outside seam of the body, so it can see the yin side, which is the front side and the yang side, which is the back. It can see both sides of the same coin, so they call it the wise judge. It can make decisions because it can see both sides of the coin. And so, If somebody's struggling with gallbladder stuff I'll sort of kind of like dig deeper with them and curate, what is it about, like being decisive? What is it about taking a stand for what's true for you and your life? What is it about having a purpose? Gallbladder pairs with the liver, so what is it about purpose? Looking through the eyes, liver opens to the eyes. So not just your physical eyes, but your third eye too. What's missing in your intuition? So, we're looking at this one organ system, which is held by an element, the element of wood. And then we can also look at, like, when we look at the element of wood, it's like, where are you not rooted? Where are you not rooted in your life? Where are you not rooted inside of yourself? And where are you not reaching for the light?
Leah:And then top of that, there's a protocol, right, of like nutrition or supplements or herbs or what's?
Dr. Willow:Yeah, absolutely. So I mean, anything from like a whole gallbladder cleanse to a liver cleanse to let's just get some milk thistle in your diet, or let's just get you eating bitter greens because that's good for your liver. A lot of times when I'm working with clients, like if they want the full Monty, I always kick'em off with a 21 day or a 10 day cleanse because I like to wipe the slate clean so that anything I give them after that is going to work 10 times better. If I just start giving them a bunch of chase tree and ashwagandha without cleaning that filter of the liver first it's just those herbs are going to get wasted. Money's going to get wasted. So let's clean the slate first, let's clear out the liver so that everything that you take after that really works better. Including your food, including your meditations, including your breast rotations and your ovarian breathing, and all these other practices that are part of the holistic approach to happy, healthy, amazing, thriving sexually, alive life.
Leah:Yeah. Yeah. That is so, I mean, it's so like complex but really rich in complexity, like it's, it's it's really inspiring. I was just working on a, we published recently our episode on Reimagining Sex After Menopause, and I think it was, I want to say it was episode 38. Yeah. And in the show notes we'll have it be accurate with a link and you should all listen to it beacuse it's fascinating. Willow really shines in this episode And it had me thinking, I was just talking to Matt the other night going, okay, I need to get that chase tree and I need to get Ashwagandha because menopause is around the corner. And Willow was really talking like, as I'm in my forties, start to get my adrenals plumpy and juicy to, because they're going to be doing the major overhaul with estrogen come after perimenopause. And so I was thinking about all that now. I'm going to just ask for free doctor advice while we're on the line. So, do I need to do a cleanse first? I mean, I kinda, Willow has told me a number of times of how many times I gotta do a cleanse and I used to do cleanses when I was in my twenties, but I'm a real baby when it comes to that stuff beacuse I just want what I want, when I want it and I'm
Dr. Willow:Well, honey, the cleanses, you could do a 10 day. That's what I always tell people. I'm like, okay, 21 days not for you. Let's just do a 10 day. I'd rather you do a 10 day really, really well than a 21 day really sloppy, right? 10 days, that's one week plus three more days. Not that hard.
Leah:You know what I need? I need a girlfriend. We're all gonna cleanse at the same time.
Dr. Willow:Good. Yes. Yes. We'll do it with Matty and it tastes really good. You get to do two delicious shakes a day. I mean, you can still be in your artistry in your food, and basically you're eating like a paleo kind of diet. So what are you cutting out? You're cutting out? caffeine, dairy, and carbs. I mean, it's not that hard.
Leah:And monk fruit.
Dr. Willow:No. You can have monk fruit.
Leah:I can have monk fruit.
Dr. Willow:Yeah, you can have.
Leah:okay, the world's looking up people, but can I have cream?
Dr. Willow:No.
Leah:Can I have a cream that's like
Dr. Willow:yeah, you could have like a nut cream.
Leah:almond together or
Dr. Willow:Yeah. You could have
Leah:right. My sister's got a good recipe for that. Alright, well back to thanks, thanks Doctor
Dr. Willow:You're welcome.
Leah:me get myself geared up because I do want that, those herbs to be effective. I don't want to just waste money on stuff.
Dr. Willow:Yeah, absolutely. And and it's spring right now, so now is a good time to spring into summer is always a good time to cleanse when it's really, any time is a good time to cleanse. Don't buy that like you can only do it in the spring. Anytime is that you're motivated is a great time to do it. But it's nice to do when it's warmer because you are going to be doing smoothies. And so, just the the coldness can of smoothies and ice water. I know you love ice water, but it can really bog down digestion, digestive gastric acid. So, that is one of the reasons that it's nice to do cleanses in the spring and summer. It's good to do kind of like more bone broth stuff In the winter, but that also ties into spring ties into liver gallbladder, which we were just on. And so one of the things that I love about my approach to this whole overall wellness, and like not only bringing your sexuality online, but bringing your vitality online. Bringing your physicality to its highest performance level Is that there's a, there's this thing called a moon cycle, and we all have water in our bodies, and we all know the moon pulls on the tides, it pulls on water, so it pulls on the ocean, but it also pulls on the blood, the synovial fluid, the cerebral spinal fluid, all of these fluids in our bodies, lymph fluid. And so there's this cycle that we all go through. And as women, we have a womb. So it's like we have an ocean in our bodies. And even if you've had a hysterectomy, you still have the energy of a womb in your body. If you're a, I should say if you're a womb owner, a vulva owner, not a woman, but. Someone who has a womb. So, so this tide really gets pulled on much more strongly because of the womb. And so that's why women say, oh, my moon cycle, I have a moon cycle. But really, men have a moon cycle. Children have a moon cycle. Dogs, cats, anyone with fluids in their body has a moon cycle. So, When we're looking at the spring phase of the moon cycle, which is the time of the moon waxing, so it's gone from its darkest time to now it's rising up toward the full moon. So it's rising spring energy, rising yang energy, rising great time for creativity. Estrogen levels are rising inside of you if you're in your fertility years. Let's go out and talk to people and get creative things going and plant seeds, and so this whole paying attention to the lunar cycle and the way that your organ systems relate to it is my approach to transforming your life. It's called the Ancient Wisdom Approach, and it is a combination of the four phases of the moon cycle, which is very deep Celtic wisdom and the five Chinese elements. So very deep Taoist wisdom. And it's a game changer for those who really take it on. Those who really do the practice are like, oh my God, how come no one's ever done this for, have taught me this shit before and it's amazing.
Leah:Love it. I love it because it, I think we're, we've, we have created such a departure from our connectedness to nature. And I think one of the things that's so beautiful about this concept and this way of living is it puts you back into alignment with nature in and of itself, and you start to feel the nature that's inside of you. And so when I have a question about the whole moon cycle thing, now my understanding from a female identifying person with female organs is the the phases of the moon, there's four of them within a month, or there's four seasons. So, springtime is about a week right
Dr. Willow:Yep.
Leah:now. Is that true for all people or all animals? That it's a month long thing. Okay.
Dr. Willow:Yeah, so each season is about a week, five to seven days. So, some, all the months are a little bit different. And so when, when it's new moon time, that's the winter time. So then we're looking at kidney bladder. So we're looking at like fear inhibition, uncertainty, doubt, looking at those emotions. And then we're looking, and then we move from winter into spring. Then that's liver, gallbladder. So then we're looking at anger, frustration, irritability, agitation. We're looking at those emotions. Each, each phase, each season has multiple levels and layers. So I'm just talking emotions right now, but there's many more. And
Leah:then so like, I'm, I think I'm in winter. I'm on my period. I had a couple tough days. Yeah. Just like, and like angry
Dr. Willow:Yeah. Yeah. And so what's so interesting about that, like winter holds more of that that deep, let's go in hibernation. And it's, it's more kidney, which is more fear technically. But what's interesting about what you're experiencing with anger is, Probably you didn't clear very well in the fall phase. The fall phase comes before the winter, so fall is all about clearing, letting go. Things are dying, things are falling away. So that's the most important of all of the phases is the clearing. Beacuse if you don't let go, if you don't create the space, if you just keep everything piled on and you're still doing it all, and you're still acting like, oh, I'm not paying attention to the fact that my period's on the way, then when winter comes, there's no space. There's no space for you to go into hibernation and feel into like, where am I having some self doubt? Where do I want to like self correct? And where do I want to come into more kindness with myself? So each one of these emotions has an antidote emotion. And and then, And then you move into, and then what's coming in from spring is that anger. Right? It's like frustration, agitation. So, so the, so your seasons got a little bit mixed together because,
Leah:Well, and ironically, when I'm afraid I act angry.
Dr. Willow:ah,
Leah:People do this. It's a thing, it's like a, it's a deflection. It's a discomfort with the vulnerability that comes with fear. So I feel angry when I'm afraid, and it's a knee jerk reaction. And so it comes out with a lot of sting, but really it's beacuse I'm feeling vulnerable.
Dr. Willow:Totally.
Leah:And so I had to like own up to that. The other night it was this thing. I felt like Matt was doing something that I interpreted as disapproval and I was getting really angry about it and felt like it was really unjust when really I was just looking at my wounds were looking out at Matt and projecting, and imagining that this was Matt's motivation. When really it was Matt's fear.
Dr. Willow:Mm.
Leah:Was just saying, I'm bringing this to your attention because I love you and I want to feel safe with our relationship, and that requires me to feel like you're taking care of yourself, right? So there's this whole big story about going into the story and and I had the wherewithal as I was starting to get that sinking feeling of like hurt to go, what if I didn't look at that through my wounded lens?
Dr. Willow:Good.
Leah:this through men, through Matt's eyes and I could realize that what was really going on is I felt like he was avoiding connection.
Dr. Willow:Mm.
Leah:Being irritated with me, when really he was just afraid. And so I acted angry. And so we had this whole thing, we sat in hot tub and talked it out. And so I think it's interesting that, yeah, what I was feeling was fear.
Dr. Willow:Yes.
Leah:Covering it up with anger and then got to the place where I chose to be vulnerable. I was still guarded though, you still got that, like, are you going to receive this? Because I think so much of the, so much of the time we defend those emotions when it's in relationship with other people.
Dr. Willow:Well, and also we're all coming off of a childhood where it was like, you should be this way, you should act that way. You should da da da, da, da. And if, if you don't. You're going to be less loved. So there's this fear around being our full, authentic, true selves, if we even can access that. Like I couldn't for years because, because we were modeled that it's not okay to be your full, authentic, true self. And so that therein lies the systemic shame.
Leah:So when someone isn't connected to that true, authentic part of themselves, especially around their sexuality, because that is another niche of yours, including hormones and all these other things that you're good at. This sexuality lens, how do you help people who are incongruent, right, with their authenticity and around their sexuality, and they don't know how to find themselves or figure out what that authenticity is, what's a starting point?
Dr. Willow:I think coming into breath is the first place, like we have to learn how to breathe. Because when we are incongruent, we are not breathing congruently, and so again, like let's use the physical body. Let's use this side of the coin to get to that side of the coin. And when you can really, truly be authentic with your breath, and we both know how important breath is in taking yourself to higher sexual aroused states. So if you can really be authentic with like, wow, that's really the bottom of my exhale. Oh, how long can I hold that out and get curious and then bring it up? What does it feel like? What does it feel like in the back of my throat? What does it feel like as it travels up through my Shashumna channel or my central column of light? What does it feel like when I hold my breath at the top and really start to experience the authenticity of breath? Then we have a foundation. We have somewhere to jump off of because the breath connects the spiritual and the physical.
Leah:Amen. Yeah. Yeah that's beautiful. And what a great answer because there is this moment, like if you can just get with the beingness of who you are, taking breaths and being present to that breath, moving throughout your body, then you get a moment of space,
Dr. Willow:Yes. And that's where, and that's where true arousal comes from, is from that spaciousness. And so many people come and they're like, just, I want to learn new Tantric practices and positions and da, da da da da da. And it's like, okay, yeah, we can give you all that, but you're going to be spiritually bypassing. you're going to be overriding if you don't, if you're not present with it. So breath breeds presence. When you have that authentic breath moving through your body of breeds presence and that presence is crucial for accessing those vulnerable places inside. You can't find the places of doubt and fear and shame inside of yourself. If you're not present, like if you're distracted, if you're thinking about other stuff, there's you just, it's not going to happen.
Leah:Well, yeah, I mean, I, I think also it's, they're present. Those sensations are present in your body, but what a lot of us are doing is we are covering them up, staying busy, staying distracted,
Dr. Willow:Sugar, social media, alcohol. Yep. It's whatever.
Leah:It's and we're like running around circles around ourselves wondering, how can I fix this? How can I fix this? And there's like, well, you gotta sit still.
Dr. Willow:Slow down And breathe. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the reasons that I love Qigong so much because it's a moving meditation, and so that's a big part of these four seasons as well. There's specific Qigong movements for winter for spring, for summer, for fall, and they relate to each one of your organ systems and all of these different emotions. And they all have a sound and they all have a color and they, like I said, it's many multilayers. And so embodying that and knowing that wisdom. That means like if I'm sitting in traffic and I'm late for something and I'm frustrated and I have to pee or whatever, and just, I just, in an agitated state, yeah. I have a sound to make. I have breath and sound that I can go to immediately. I have color I can bring into a certain place in my body and organ system or a gland and shift the energy in three breaths or less.
Leah:I mean, it's miraculous, isn't it? I just think we think we need all these interventions, whether that's medication, whether that's reaching for a state change, whatever that may be. When it's so untested, the power of using the breath to get presence and to relieve yourself of the tension and how much sound and breath is a vehicle for that. I think sometimes someone could maybe even be listening right now and go, Wow, that's there's, this seems like there's a lot to learn or there's a lot to do. If you're looking at, okay, I gotta learn to meditate and I gotta take herbs and I gotta do a cleanse before I take the herbs and I gotta think about the colors and like you get like kind of big, oh, and then there's the seasons and the tides and the moon and, oh shit. I mean, I find it exciting, but for someone who might be feeling overwhelmed, how much time does someone need to invest to start to take steps towards having this kind of cleansing and taking a look at their lifestyle and wanting to have a more holistic path forward for their wellbeing?
Dr. Willow:I always say two hours a week is enough to make some
Leah:Two hours a week. That's easy Peasy baby.
Dr. Willow:if you can't give yourself two hours a week, and it's not two hours full on in the middle of a Wednesday, right? It's like a half an hour here, 15 minutes there, you're paying attention to what you're eating. You're doing a Qi Gong practice, you're doing a Taoist sexual practice, you're paying attention to, the meridians when you're stretching, like it's stuff that you're doing anyway. You're taking a shower, but you're doing it in a different way. A lot of it's stuff that you're doing anyway, so it's about integrating. But then there are specific practices that it's like, here's a half an hour practice. Here's a 20 minute meditation. And so take, and I always like to think of those little pockets as like when you're really cleaning the countertops, you're like, I'm going to use the cleaner and the scrub brush and going to clean this countertop. And then in between you're like, lemme just wipe it down, wipe it down, wipe it down. So it, and it's the same with sexual practice, right? Like, with my lover, we have these beautiful, like seven hour tantric magical sex magic practices together, right? And then the next day, every little touch, every little kiss, every little hold has a totally different meaning to it. And for that whole week, it's like, every little text is like, it has a whole new level of meaning to it.
Leah:Yeah. And I think what also that signifies is there's a, you start to prioritize things differently, right? When and so I think people hear, oh my God, seven hour sex. A, would that even be fun? And B, that's a lot of time.
Dr. Willow:We didn't even have sex. We didn't even have intercourse. Yeah. We're just having too much fun with everything else. So, I mean, that's the thing is it's like to take away the what sex is. Or to take away what you think meditation is or to take away what these concepts of these things that feel hard or daunting or like, Yeah. I really wish I could start meditating, but I just can't sit down and quiet my mind. It's not about sitting down and quieting your mind. It's about sitting down.
Leah:yeah, sometimes it's just about taking a walk and being present with what you're looking at and
Dr. Willow:It's about
Leah:breathing in nature and then looking at how beautiful, how green everything is, and taking a moment for gratitude. I mean, it can start with something that doesn't require sitting still, and yet there's also, you may want to try sitting still because there's a lot of peace waiting for you there.
Dr. Willow:Yes, absolutely. Or try the moving meditations. If you don't, if you're not a sitter, stiller. And that's one of the reasons I really love Qi Gong for women, because if you look at the predominance of meditation, it is ruled by the masculine. You know, it's mostly men who are like, let's sit down and be still
Leah:Right. It is a very masculine
Dr. Willow:And so, and when I start getting into to, Tai Chi and Qigong, and even swimming for me is just a great meditation. It's like, oh, now I can like really feel into the spaciousness of non-duality because I can move my body through
Leah:it. Yeah, beacuse movement, it feels especially good for yoni owners. There's something that is, has congruency to it. When we step into the flow, there's the feminine is waiting for us in that flow. And you'll start to find, like I find myself having to move my body in any kind of like practice. If I'm giving a Tantric session, if I'm teaching from the stage, even in this small little space I have in front of this camera, I still feel like I. Leah's gotta move her body. And yet I'm also someone who has such a strong masculine that it's very easy for me to get stuck in one spot and I hunker down and I get really comfortable there. So it's a good reminder that moving meditation is available to all of us. And when you talk about like especially Qi Gong for women. What I want to see is more Qigong female teachers, because some of the Qi Gong that I'm experienced with it's a little masculine orientated and I don't find it very pleasant as much. And then but the juxtaposition of when I do it with you, it's so different. Why is it so different?
Dr. Willow:Yeah, well, I'm teaching from a more yin perspective and I'm teaching from a vulva owner's body. And my first Qi Gong teacher was Lee Holden, and he teaches that way too. So
Leah:Okay. I'm excited to check out Lee's
Dr. Willow:go check his out
Leah:Qi Gong because I definitely like your version better than some of the stuff I've done with
Dr. Willow:Mantak Chia You'll like his. Yeah, you'll like his better than Mantak for sure. Mantak is definitely more yang and he's Lee's primary teacher,
Leah:Right. People love him. Lee
Dr. Willow:has taken what he's learned and made it more digestible, made it more applicable for everyday people, which is so brilliant.
Leah:I mean, Master Chia's is adorable. He'll make you giggle
Dr. Willow:He is it'll just light you up.
Leah:if someone wanted to learn Qi Gong from you, how would they start that process?
Dr. Willow:So they'd come into my nine month program. So it's a bigger commitment because of those specific practices that are related to the glands and the endocrine organs for each phase of the month. And so that, in that program, that nine month program, it's a rebirth. It's a complete rebirth of every part of yourself, your physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological. And it's such a beautiful journey and you really, really get the Ancient Wisdom Approach in those first three months. So you're gestating, you're going through the first trimester and really making that medicine your own. And then the next two trimesters, you're learning about the endocrine system and how it relates to like, how each gland relates. To each chakra and how that relates to psychological patterns and how that relates to the way you protect yourself and the way you protect yourself is the way you block yourself from what you really, truly want. So, Right. it's it's a powerful transformational program and I just love watching women transform through it.
Leah:And it sounds like they also get to have direct experience of looking at these phases of the moon each month and applying it to their living experience, and that to be supported in that process, to gain competency over nine months so that when you walk away from the program, like you really got it in your system.
Dr. Willow:Yeah, absolutely. And to be honest, many women don't walk away. It is a lifelong practice.
Leah:Right, of
Dr. Willow:and so they stay and they keep
Leah:practicing. What does that, when they stay, what does that mean? Does that mean they stay in a program or is there an ongoing
Dr. Willow:just keep going through the program that a lot of em will go through it a second time. A lot of them will just keep coming to the group calls. And I also have a membership. Program right now that just launched. So that's also a good option for those who are not ready to commit to a nine month program. And there's some Qi Gong practice in there. Like there's one for the lungs and the large intestine, but you won't get the full Monty quite as perfectly laid out. Yeah.
Leah:And so, Okay, so two question, two part question, and that is, who's the right person for the nine month program, and then who's the right person to start with the membership? And do you have to have prerequisites for either of those programs?
Dr. Willow:That's a really good question, Leah. Um, they do not need to have prerequisites for either program. The Living Sexology is the nine month program and the Erotic Empowerment Circle is the membership program. And so, uh, who I've noticed comes into the Living Sexology program, let's start there. Is people who do really well in that program often have a foundation already. They already have a yoga practice, or they already understand the moon cycles to some degree. Or they have a relationship with elemental wisdom. Maybe it's Ayurvedic elements, maybe it's not Chinese elements, specifically. But they, they kind of are already in the flow of, um, some kind of meditation practice. And so I think of them as like, they're already kind of practitioners. And women who come into living sexology who actually are practitioners, have some kind of practice, a cranial sacral practice or, um, you know, an acupuncture practice or massage practice. They do really, really well in this program because oftentimes they wanna take it and and teach it. They wanna go teach it to their communities. So that's always really fun cuz um, I love to have this information spread around the world and, it's inspired some women to go to acupuncture school even. So it's really, really a great sort of overview of what Chinese medicine is inside of living sexology that you learned for a full nine months. When women come into this program sometimes, you know, I would say if a woman is struggling with gynecological issues, let's say painful periods, erratic or irregular periods, infertility issues, um, fibro fibroids or P C O S, or endometriosis. This is a great place for them to come in because then I can get a little bit more close with them and do more doctoring with them and more one-on-one around what's going on in their bodies. Also women will come into this program if they're like, you know, I haven't had sex in five years, or, I've been with the same partner for 15 years, and like, I just don't feel my libido, I don't feel attracted to them anymore. I don't, I don't know what to do with this. Or they might come in and say, you know, I ha, I know I have this old trauma, this old sexual trauma that I haven't cleared yet. So all of those are really great reasons to come into living sexology cuz it's a deeper dive into healing yourself, right? It's gonna be a rebirthing of yourself in a nine month period. So it's really, um, it's for those who want to make a radical change in their life and do a huge shift in their life. And are ready to commit on a bigger level. I always say two hours a week, at least at minimum, to put into the living sexology practice where you are actually doing the qigang, the Yoga Yin and yang yoga practices, because there's different meridians that we need to stretch and understand and move energy through. And different sexual practices for each one of those four phases of the moon cycle. You really get to know those in your body. You really get to embody them and you really get to learn about your glandular system and how it relates to your chakra system and how that corresponds to your psyche. So it's really fun. It's an's incredible program, very life transforming. Okay. And then women who come to the erotic empowerment circle, they are maybe more like, okay, I just wanna get my feet wet. I just wanna like try this on. I wanna check out Dr. Willow. I wanna see what she's about. I wanna see what I can learn from her. And right when you come in, there's 23 different program, not big programs, but 23 different courses for you to kind of start to digest and assimilate and look at, like, for example, um, eliminate erotic suffering. Like let's get the eros out of suffering and into empowerment. So that's a huge, um, piece of program. And then there's other stuff in there like for heartbreak or loss, like how to overcome that deep loss and grief and heartbreak. Um, there's stuff in there around how to, uh, draw sexual energy through your body. And then we meet in the erotic empowerment circle. We meet twice a month. Same as living sexology. We meet live twice a month. And so that really gives me just the opportunity to get to know the people in these programs and then to curate, um, for them specifically what's going on for them. And I'm always in inviting my members of both programs to send me an email, what's going on with you this week? Do you need some support in your relationship? Do you need some support in your body? Do you need some support around um, anything in your life, what is it? Let's see how we can pull in the wisdom of Taoism and Chinese medicine and your body, your organ systems in your body to create more coherence, cohesiveness, and congruence in your life so that you can walk with more ease and more grace.
Leah:How great to have a Chinese Doctor at your disposal to be able to kind of bring your life to the table and get monthly support. Not to mention all the questions that get answered as you're studying outside of the live calls. So what kind of, you said, so there's a live call, there's all these courses, and there was something else. It was, what was the third comp, the lecture. So what are the lecture topics like?
Dr. Willow:so lectures could be anything from, you know, the rundown on STDs these days to deep throating, so it's range.
Leah:Fellatio anyone?
Dr. Willow:Yeah, it's quite a range. And so it really just depends on kind of the questions that are coming in. So I'll often curate the lectures around what people are asking about which is really fun. And that also gives me more information about what people are needing and wanting. And as far as future programs, so.
Leah:And so how can people sign up for the membership?
Dr. Willow:It's on my website. Just go to www.DrWillowBrown.com and you'll find it there. You can also look at the Living Sexology program, which is the nine month program. And if that looks interesting too, you'll probably want to book a call with me first to make sure that it's really going to be a right fit for you beacuse it's a good investment. And then yeah, and then we chat it out and see where you fit.
Leah:Great. It would be a great time to pick Dr. Willow's brain about your, some of your concerns regarding your sexuality or your health, or your wholeness wellness regime and what kind of protocols she might suggest for you. So, well this has been so fun. I mean, what a wealth of fascinating wisdom that is stored in this little adorable body.
Dr. Willow:Well, thank you darling.
Leah:I know every time I hear you talk, I'm like, I gotta sign up for that Living Sexology Program. I'm like, Leah, what are you waiting for? Like, for one thing, you are, how old am I? I'm 44 as of this recording. I might be younger when you're listening to it. Who knows?
Dr. Willow:Definitely will be if you do my program.
Leah:And it's like, and now I think about menopause quite a bit, and going, yes, still on birth control. Yes. I probably need to clean up my diet. Yes, I need to do this. And it's like, especially after that menopause episode, it really, it's really on my mind about wanting to prepare.
Dr. Willow:And And you all
Leah:be smart about it. I got mood swing issues. I'm, I'm going to be, I just know I'm going to be one of those women that might have a difficult time, so I want to like, get ahead of it.
Dr. Willow:Start prepping now. Yeah. I mean, if you're in your early forties, early to mid forties, start thinking about menopause and you have a good foundation. Like you eat fairly well, you eat a lot of whole foods and you work out, you lift weights. Lifting weights is really important actually for heading into perimenopause. And so, there's just all these different aspects I mean, these bodies, they're full-time job and they should be, and we should enjoy taking care of them.
Leah:Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. My, my husband's 10 years older than me, and so he's, I mean, he's feeling things faster than I am in terms of like, you get to that middle age, piece, and you start to go, here's the decline is happening. You, you start to feel it and see it. And we've been like watching all this stuff on regenerative health and there's some crazy people out there doing some crazy things and sometimes I'm like, I don't want to fucking live for forever. What do I, that's my rebellious mind that goes, who cares? I want instant gratification and
Dr. Willow:not about living forever. It's about having a good time for a long
Leah:Yes, and my, but here's what Matt keeps on telling me. He goes, you're stealing from your future self.
Dr. Willow:Oh, good one, Matt.
Leah:like, I don't even know what to do about that. Okay. Cause all right, so I'm stealing from her. She's me, she's mine. I'll steal as much
Dr. Willow:as I want. Get to do whatever I want.
Leah:I'm like, that does not help the rebel in here. You gotta come up with a better comeback than you're steeling from your future self, but he might right, does make one pause.
Dr. Willow:To think about. I mean, yeah, when you got a man who's a decade older than you, he probably has some wisdom for you sista.
Leah:He may know a thing or two this smarty-pants.
Dr. Willow:Plus, he's a wise man, so
Leah:He is. He is a stinker and he's a wise man. I'll like him a lot. Well, thanks everybody for tuning in and we'll see you on the flip side. Love, love, love.
Announcer:Thanks for tuning in. This episode was hosted by Tantric Sex Master Coach and Positive Psychology Facilitator, Leah Piper, as well as by Chinese and Functional Medicine Doctor and Taoist Sexology Teacher, Dr. Willow Brown. Don't forget, your comments, likes, subscribes, and suggestions matter. Let's realize this new world together.