Embodiment: From Shades of Beige to Bright Colors with Bernadette Pleasant

How much do you enjoy your body?

If you’re anything like me… Even the question itself would make me shut down and want to crawl under the covers.

What do you mean, how much I enjoy my body? If I lost 10 lbs, I would enjoy it more.

For years, my love for my body… Ahem… Not “love” — my toleratingof my body was completely conditional on whether that said body complied with and conformed to the expectations that I had of it.

Which were really, really simple.

Staying at the same constant “ideal” weight.

And not aging.

Really, is that too much to ask?

It took me some time — and awareness of what I now call Patriarchy Stress Disorder — the trauma of 1000s of years of oppression and how it has shaped our relationships with ourselves, our bodies — among other things… To ask that question.

My relationship with my body. My expectations of my body. Were they really… MINE… or were they issued by Patriarchy Press?

You can probably guess the answer.

Can you relate?

Asking that question and confronting the truth of the answer was hugely liberating for me. It liberated me from the constant war against my body. It put me on the path of healing my relationship with her.

No longer an IT, but a HER.

And she — she has been so grateful. She’s been waiting for my to truly see her and truly love her, unconditionally, just the way she is — for close to 40 years.

No matter how many years it’s been for you and her, your body, it’s never too late.

 

 

Our brilliant guest Bernadette Pleasant shares on this episode of Her Success Radio some deep wisdom of embodiment and healing through authentic movement.

She’s glorious and gorgeous.

But she wasn’t always this free, this confident, this comfortable in her own skin.

It’s hard to believe, looking at her now.

So don’t take my word for it.

Listen to Bernadette share her story on this episode.

And please leave us a comment: What stayed with you from our conversation?

 

The first question I asked Bernadette was,

“When you first read the words, Patriarchy Stress Disorder, what did you feel and what did you think?”

Bernadette Pleasant: “It just felt so incredibly aligned. I’ve read that and I’ve thought, ‘Whoa, it’s certainly a condition.’ So, how brilliant of you to call it that… I personally saw that and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I get that. I see that every day.’ 

I personally have experienced it and I see it in so many people. How they’re shut down and how they are reacting. There are just so many ways of how this disorder affects our lives and how there’s a need to heal. 

So quite honestly, it just felt so aligned and clear. A sad truth, but naming something — you know how important it is to name something — because then you can do something about it… It’s an awareness of something that exist, and therefore — what can we do about it?”

We talked about how Patriarchy Stress Disorder — the trauma of 1000s of years of oppression — manifests in it feeling unsafe for us to show up in our full authentic expression of our emotions, feel connected with ourselves and others, feel confident and comfortable in our own skin, and live bright, shiny lives — as the bright, shiny beings we came into this world as.

We talked about Bernadette’s personal journey and how she created Femme! — her brilliant body of work — out of her own need to liberate.

How a repressed emotional range leads to disempowerment and under-living, under-enjoying all areas of live — or, as Bernadette calls it, half-assing your emotions and your life.

May our conversation serve as validation of your experience of feeling under-expressed, under-powered in this patriarchal culture and inspiration for re-powering yourself by getting in touch with your body, your emotions — and reclaiming them.

Please tune in and give your precious body the gift of your unconditional love for her.

Get Bernadette’s special gift for you:

How can we consistently carve out space for ourselves? How do we make me time a habit – that is, something that is so ingrained in us, that it becomes difficult to avoid or give up? By beginning to create rituals and practicing them as often as we can, until they take hold and transform our lives! Not having enough time is often the biggest barrier and so, we’re removing it! We’ve come up with ideas for you to practice self-care, no matter how busy you are!

Download your gift: Self Care Tips No Matter How Busy You Are

Connect with Bernadette:

Connect with Bernadette on her website (make sure to watch her amazing 12 minute signature talk, “From Half Ass to Badass”), Facebook, and Instagram.

Opportunities to work with Bernadette:

March 1-3rd – Femme! Immersion and Teacher Training taking place in LA
March 24th – “Emotion in Motion” workshop taking place in NYC

More upcoming Events taught by Bernadette or any of the Femme! Licensed Teachers can always be found here.

MORE ABOUT BERNADETTE PLEASANT:

Intoxicating and energetic, Bernadette Pleasant is a fiery sensual Speaker, Somatic Healer, and Creator of Femme!, a mind-body wellness program. The Femme! Experience is a fusion of primal movement, sensual dance, meditation, creative visualization and celebration of the human form. She facilitates transformation for those who desire to live out loud through a physical, emotional, energetic and immersive journey. Bernadette travels globally empowering all through classes, private workshops, retreats and conference engagements.

MORE ABOUT YOUR HOST:

A former college professor, researcher, yoga instructor, therapist, and personal development junkie, Dr. Valerie Rein is a psychologist, author, and founder of Her Genius, Inc., dedicated to helping high-achieving women, their partners, and teams master the game of “how good can it get?” in their work in the world, relationships, and health. Based on the cutting-edge scientific evidence of genetic transmission of trauma, Dr. Rein has discovered and pioneers healing Patriarchy Stress Disorder™ (PSD) — ancestral, collective, and personal trauma of oppression that underlies the stress, burnout, and dissatisfaction epidemic among women entrepreneurs, leaders, and corporate executives.

Her clients have dubbed PSD “the missing link” to their ultimate success and happiness, productivity and creativity, authenticity and power, freedom and fulfillment. Dr. Rein holds an EdM in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College of Columbia University and a PhD from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and companies committed to tapping into women’s authentic genius and advancing their success and wellbeing.

Valerie can share with your audience of high-achieving women:

– Why despite having checked all the boxes of accomplishment, high-achieving women are still dissatisfied, and why it’s not our fault.

– What secretly drains 90% of your energy and productivity and how to reclaim them.

– The missing piece to the upper limit problem and a solution that ends your big leap struggle.

– Why fighting against your inner critic, self-doubt, and anxiety backfires and how to turn your inner adversaries into your strongest allies.

– The biggest untapped resource of a woman’s personal power (that is also an antidote to stress and burnout), why it is locked up, and how to set it free.

And so much more…

Get my special gift for you:

Thank you for listening. Here’s my gift to you that will support your journey of empowering through embodiment. I use it every day and teach it to all of my clients.

Download my Instant Re-power Tool to restore your productivity, creativity, focus, concentration, confidence, and presence anywhere, any time — in under 3 minutes.

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