What comes to your mind when you think of the word “feminine”?
Honest question - do you feel feminine – or even desire to be feminine in your life?
As a coach who primarily serves women - and someone who’s always had a heart and soul for uplifting and empowering women in every way - this is a topic near and dear to my heart.
I don’t think it’s a secret that women are struggling in the world. Don't’ get me wrong; there’s been a lot of progress, and I certainly am grateful for that.
But I can’t help but notice that so many women are still exhausted, under-appreciated, undervalued – and under-living our lives.
Women - we’re out here busy - we’re trying to build a career, build businesses, raise families, keep a household running, exercise, meditate, stay hydrated, be sexy, keep ALL the tops spinning in our life…and look good doing it.
Now, I am certainly the women who believes you CAN have it all - it’s right there, in this podcast intro: that we DO believe you can have it all.
But it doesn’t mean you can DO everything, and it doesn’t mean we have to have it all at once. Or that we do it the same as anyone else would.
The truth is that as women, we’re told millions of things we should do, who we should be, and how we should act….
It’s my belief that we are still in an awakening as women — we’re still waking up and realizing that we can actually CONSCIOUSLY choose who we want to be, what we want and go create it.
I notice that a lot of women feel confined - or limited by certain labels – and often even see femininity as a weakness. And while none of the women I know fit into a box, we’re still navigating creating our own experiences and expanding out of the proverbial box of what a woman is.
The world, as it currently sits, is still generally a man’s world – and as women, I do believe we’re trying to figure out how to step into our full power, and potential.
And the truth is, I believe femininity CAN be a superpower - if we know how to access it, build it into our lives and evolve WITH it.
Today’s guest, Sarah Bohdanova, is a femininity coach who teaches women to get that pop-bottle worthy life. Leaving a successful competitive dance career where she became a World Professional Semi-Finalist and an Award Winning Coach across North America to go full-time with her coaching business, she realized how many women were struggling to embrace their femininity as their super power.
In this day and age, this conversation feels really complicated. I will be really honest; I actually put off recording this episode for years, because I wasn’t sure how to navigate the topic mindfully.
The words woman/mother/feminine/femininity can be very triggering.
I’ve come to the realization, that despite my people-pleasing nature, my job as a coach is to both support people to explore their triggers in a brave and safe space — and to provide people with ideas/concepts/tools/strategies/conversations – and products… that can help people improve their life to live it to their fullest.
And I honestly believe harnessing the power of femininity is one of those things that CAN make a really big difference: so it’s my job to talk about it, share it and put it out there for you to explore if it might serve YOU.
If you’ve been listening since our podcast reboot this summer - I’m not willing to tip-toe and avoid uncomfortable conversations – or ignore the grey space. I actually WANT to talk about the grey – the nuance.
I want to contribute to a culture that can talk about HARD things – and strangely enough— the concept of women, femininity and feminine power feels like one of those hard things right now.
Putting together this episode, and speaking about this feels like a bit of a minefield, because myself - and Sarah - are genuinely caring people… and frankly, I think our culture has taken this SO far that we can’t even talk about things like being a woman without worrying that we will offend someone or hurt someone.
It feels like sometimes, the labels are QUICK to come out: “transphobic” on one side, “letter people” on the other side. Far left. Far right.
And I think what we need is the courage to have drop the labels, open up the invitation for conversation and work to understand each other. AND TRULY honour our differences and let that be ok – and not have it be something that says something about who we are or aren’t.
I want to open up the grey space – the nuance, the conversation, the in-between. I know - Sarah and I both don’t want to hurt people..
And also, we want to have the courage to be who we are and be women. And to inspire others to step into that, if it feels right too.
Just as a label such as woman, wife, mother, feminine, #GIRLBOSS - those may not resonate with you or may even trigger you (which of course are opportunities to explore and heal)…
It’s also ok if those words excite you and appeal to you – and call to you.
This episode may not make everyone happy, it’s certainly not for everyone, and that’s ok.
Here’s my commitment to you, and to myself:
You may not like or resonate with everything we say.
But I will be a leader who respects others’ choices. I will hold the space to talk about hard things. I come to this conversation - and all my episodes - grounded, calm, compassionate, open and coming from MY BEST self. If I don't do that, I don’t hit record.
I’m willing to get it wrong sometimes, and willing to learn.
I’m willing to hear out all the perspectives and sides and I’m very grateful that Sarah is also open and willing to have this conversation - which can - as we said, feel like a minefield to walk through.
Gosh – ALL these disclaimers — but hey - THAT’S THE GREY!! That’s the nuance. And it’s why I’m ultimately really grateful for this podcast and ability to put out longer form content that allows me to add some (not all - but some) context, some more information and perspective.
Because I think it’s longer, nuanced conversations and questions and discussions like this that will help us HEAL, RECONNECT to each other, and UNITE, rather than divide.
So – back to femininity.
Earlier this year, I started realizing I had a deep desire to be more sensual and have more sensual experiences in my life…
And when Sarah says it – that “femininity is a superpower” – I believe it!
And this episode is for you if you’re curious, intrigued, and interested in this topic.
In this episode you will:
Understand the framework of femininity, learn how to create rituals and systems and add to your femininity toolbox so you can show up in life the way you want.
Realize that you don’t have to contort yourself into someone else’s definition of what womanhood/femininity is - and instead, can start defining it for yourself.
See femininity as a superpower.
Know how to tap into your femininity.
Understand the importance of evolving as a woman, knowing how to check in (like with all goals).
Learn how to INTEGRATE femininity in your life - a way you can BE in the world, and have systems that nurture you instead of having femininity be ONE MORE thing on your too-long to-do list.
By the end of this episode:
You’ll feel inspired and know that femininity is a superpower - and attainable for you!
You’ll hear - and FEEL - that it’s possible to have a relationship, career and lifestyle that nourishes your femininity while you nourish others. And you’ll have the tools, strategies and permission to access this.
You’ll hear that femininity can be learned and harnessed – and you can choose to harness it for success in your life too!
So let’s do this. Thanks for being here - thanks for being open. Let’s dive into Femininity!
Here are the juicy bits you can look forward to:
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Resources:
Sarah Bohdanova
9 Shades of Femininity Freebie: https://thefemininityprojectinc.com/#9-shades
How to Walk in Heels Course: https://lisamichaud.slack.com/archives/D03M3CTPHGA/p1670281501377259?thread_ts=1670248200.354989&cid=D03M3CTPHGA
Website: thefemininityprojectinc.com
Instagram: @thefemininityprojectinc
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xo,
Lisa
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