Latest / The Cyclical Doula Podcast: Fertility Awareness, Charting Cycles, and Reproductive Health Education / Trusting The Body to Heal: Biomagnetism & Hormone Support with Kim Foss
Transcript
- emmamma: Welcome back to the Cyclical Doula podcast. Today, I'm joined by Kim, founder of Magnetic Wellness. Magnetic Wellness is a bio magnetism practice dedicated to supporting the body's self-healing capabilities through energetic and pH balance. Kim women and mothers in the Somerville and Charleston Tri-County area. Emmamma: Hey, just popping in real quick to say sure you're subscribed to the Cyclical Doula podcast on whichever platform you're listening to. ⁓ Thanks so much for being here today on the cyclical doula podcast. If this episode resonated with you, the most powerful thing that you can do is to share it, send it to a friend, text it to your sister, forward it to that group chat. This is how conversations about our bodies start changing, quietly, organically, woman to woman. If you are listening and thinking, okay, I want help applying this to my cycle, emmamma: uses therapeutic magnets to help regulate the nervous system, support hormone function, improve gut health, and promote emotional regulation. I am so excited to have Kim on today. Such a cool story about how Kim and I met. We met on one of those, like the peanut app, like one of those like friend apps ⁓ we both moved to the area, but we are both were living in Vermont beforehand. So like, ⁓ a fun random way to connect. Emmamma: And don't miss upcoming conversations. If this episode is resonating with you, please share it with a friend, rate it and write a review. This is how this movement grows, not through algorithms, but through women talking to women. All right, let's jump back into it. I offer free cycle clarity calls. It's a relaxed conversation over Zoom we talk through your goals, your charting practices, and kind of support that would actually make sense for you. can book one at emma.com slash free. And if you already, make sure you're following or subscribe to the Cyclical Doula - podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. emmamma: but I'm so excited to have you here, Kim. Kim: Thank you. I'm really happy to be here too. emmamma: Awesome. Well, is there anything you'd like to share just about who you are as like just a human being outside of the work aspect of it? Emmamma: And if you feel called to leave a rating or review, it genuinely helps more women find this work. So thank you. You deserve to understand your body. You deserve to feel confident in your reproductive choices. And you don't have to figure it out alone. I'll see you next week. Thanks for being here. Kim: Yeah, there's a lot outside of the work aspect, right? There always is. I'm a mom of two little people. And that's really consuming, ⁓ course. But they're also like a really ⁓ huge for doing this work ⁓ and of getting into this work. So it's all ⁓ emmamma: I know this is so much of who you are. Yeah. For sure. Kim: It's all connected, like all of the things, like everything we're gonna talk about today, we're gonna be like, well, that's because it's connected, right? So magnetic wellness has truly been like the connector of all of the things, like a lot of passions, as well as like ⁓ like need for ⁓ and my family. So I'm very passionate about all things, natural living, healthy food, fitness as well, so. emmamma: Awesome. Kim: And I also hate wearing shoes, so that's a brand new thing about me. emmamma: That's a good fun fact. I like that. It's so good. I've been asking all of my podcasts gets what their favorite like rhythm or ritual is in this current life season. Is there something that you come back to on a daily basis? Kim: Yes and no. So I thought about this for a long time and I was like, I'm not gonna be that person that's like, well, like, I just get up before my kids and I do this seven step routine and I, you know, that's not me. I've tried all of those things. And for me, it's just this like continual check in with myself, like what is the rhythm and routine that I need today? ⁓ that's been, that's been really helpful not to like emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kim: put myself in a box of like, this is the routine that is how I survive because kids are really not routine people. ⁓ the routine needs to be not having a routine and not having ⁓ like giving myself permission to, know, days let of that. ⁓ And some I have, you know, the dry brush, the sauna, the ⁓ castor oil and I'm sitting in front of my red light. emmamma: Yes. Kim: but that's not realistic to do that every day. And so I have been, you know, just trying to check in with myself every day and see like, what is the, what does that need to be? So. emmamma: Yeah, that's so good. I love that. And yeah, your kids are little too, so it's hard to, I'm sure, to have any type of strong routine, even as they get bigger. Absolutely. Kim: Yes, so we kind of just fly with rhythm versus routine and the rhythm is really just that we're flexible, I think. emmamma: Yeah. I love that. That's so good. All right. Let's dive into it. What for people who are listening who have no idea what we're talking about, tell everybody about what bio magnetism is. Is that how you pronounce it? I should have asked you before. Okay. Emmamma: Welcome to the Cyclical Doula podcast. I'm Emma, a certified fertility awareness educator, miscarriage doula and the founder of Emmamma Kim: Biomagnetism, yeah. And it's sometimes called magnetic pair therapy because you're pairs ⁓ magnets on the body. So there's always going to be kind of two. Well, there's usually way more than two, but ⁓ intentionally placing pairs of two at a time. And ⁓ in introduction, you kind explain that a little bit. The goal is to restore balance in different areas the body. So ⁓ when we create a balanced internal environment, our body is able to self correct and So ⁓ really just kind of like return that power to our body in a gentle way so that it can then ⁓ itself. it's of as, it can be as simple as that or it can be way more complex ⁓ and sciencey, emmamma: Mm-hmm. Kim: It's a really cool modality because it does mix kind of the of like kind of energy work, ⁓ but ⁓ like science of magnets the body and pH and, ⁓ you know, that can thrive in acidic environments and that of thing. So, yeah. emmamma: Yeah. Emmamma: This space is for women who want to understand their bodies deeply, not just memorize information, but actually feel confident in interpreting their cycles. Here we talk about ovulation, hormones, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, and all that's messy in between emotional layers that come with being a woman. We talk about trying to conceive, avoiding pregnancy without hormones. emmamma: Yeah, that's good. So what drew you into doing this? Maybe I know that it started with you using it yourself, but what drew you into? Kim: Yes, so I discovered it through my own health journey and was ⁓ really transformative for me. I struggling with various different autoimmune dysfunction in my as well as awful, awful allergies amongst a variety of things. And ⁓ I had been trying of the things, all of the supplements, all of the protocols, all of the Emmamma: postpartum transitions, pregnancy loss, perimenopause, and everything in between. Because body literacy isn't just about charting. It's about the autonomy. It's about informed consent. It's about not outsourcing your reproductive decisions to guesswork or fear. Each week, you'll hear conversations with women's health professionals, ⁓ workers, ⁓ Kim: you know, come stress reduction. And I struggled with these things pre-kids. So ⁓ I discovered bio magnetism after my first, my was born. So I was definitely in a different season and things were ⁓ a lot during that time. So I was seeking that was safe to do when I was breastfeeding. Emmamma: and researchers along with solo episodes where I teach practical skills you can apply to your own cycle right away. if you have ever felt like you should have learned this information sooner, if you have ever felt disconnected from your cycle, emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. for sure. Kim: which was really huge because a lot of supplements you can't take. You have to be really careful doing any kind of detox or restrictive diet that might've potentially helped me at the time. ⁓ so I just went all in on, ⁓ I like, have nothing, ⁓ like have other options right now. So sure, I magnets all over my body, right? And emmamma: Mm-hmm. Emmamma: If you want to raise the next generation without shame around their bodies, you are in the right place. So grab your tea, open up your notes app, and let's build a cycle confidence together. Kim: I was kind of like, heal me. So ⁓ then, you know, after I worked with a practitioner for, I would say a few months, I forget exactly, but I went like almost every week for a lot of weeks. And all a sudden I was no longer taking really high strength allergy meds. And little by all of a sudden I... emmamma: Yeah Kim: I didn't have these issues where one little thing would kind of set my whole system off. And then I got pregnant with my daughter and we moved to South Carolina ⁓ it was like a whirlwind. And then I kind of call it catching my breath again or breathing or something like that, I kept pulled ⁓ back to and I knew. ⁓ I knew in my heart that like that was what I wanted to do. And it was what was really aligned for myself and my family and, you know, building a business that was working the way that I wanted to be working and doing the kind of work that I felt called to be doing. So here we are. emmamma: I that. That's so cool. All right. I have like talked to you a teeny bit about this, but I feel like I still don't fully understand how the whole magnet thing works. So can you explain the like, I get like that it can be energy work as well, but can you explain like a teeny bit of like the science of why magnets on our bodies is helpful? Kim: Let's see. Yes. So when our body is stressed, whether that's physically, chemically, or emotionally, like our emotions have a huge impact on our body. Like stress is ⁓ and and anger and all these things are acidic. So ⁓ one area of body will draw hydrogen ions or hydroxide from another area. altering that pH, and creating either hyperalkaline or hyperacidic So we know that all different kinds of pathogens, bacteria, virus, parasites ⁓ can only survive one given ⁓ condition. So ⁓ when there is dysfunction ⁓ emmamma: Right. Kim: there is something like that active somewhere in the body we gently restore what is optimal pH for that region, those things are ⁓ longer to thrive there. So then ⁓ system able to process those things detox restore balance in that emmamma: Right. super cool. I feel like like what a cool way that our bodies can react to that. having the pairs of magnets help to keep that to help those levels. Is that why you put them down in pairs? Kim: Yes, so the creators of bio magnetism, like literally dragged ⁓ over the body for various different health concerns and came up with each of the pairs that when, ⁓ it's ⁓ like so cool. when we're in a session, we use muscle testing. muscle testing getting biofeedback from the body. ⁓ emmamma: Mm-hmm. Kim: and it's shown by viewing a leg length discrepancy. ⁓ there is imbalance in, ⁓ going like this because my muscle testing ⁓ ⁓ with the feet, so I'm like ⁓ about doing it. But when you place the first magnet, the leg length discrepancy is there, and when you place the corresponding magnet, ⁓ they back into balance. ⁓ So it's really, really cool thing that... emmamma: You do the, yeah. That's really cool. Kim: you're kind of like, wait, it does work. ⁓ ⁓ like every single time that I'm working and I'm just like, ⁓ I this works, but then it does work. So it's really cool to see that exact ⁓ feedback the body. emmamma: Yeah. Yeah, that's super cool. So talked about how it can be super helpful or just that our bodies produce a lot of stress during all sorts of different times. Is so specific to the person on how this is ⁓ helping regulate their nervous system and coming back into balance or is it consistent on like a Kim: Yes. emmamma: general basis about how this is how is working. Kim: So yes and no. We all are so, so different and kind of talk about it visually as like an onion. We all have these different layers of things going on and everyone's onion is like ⁓ different. So ⁓ never know ⁓ layers you've got going on. ⁓ But in general, magnets on the body signal safety and we feel safe. ⁓ feel calm. ⁓ can shift out of fight or flight mode. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kim: and really activate that parasympathetic nervous system. yes and no, because we are so bio-individual. But general, everyone says it's very relaxing when they're laying on the table, some people fall asleep and really go, like sometimes they're And that is like, that is perfect because ⁓ emmamma: Yeah, that's good. Bye bye bye. Kim: That's the epitome of calm. emmamma: Yeah, that's so good. How long are your sessions usually? Kim: So an initial consultation and your first session is usually between an hour and a half to two hours. Mostly because just with and getting to know their health history and their goals their, you know, that takes time and so much information from the body. So. emmamma: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Kim: We try to shoot for an hour and a half, but a lot of times it's more like two hours, especially if it's someone totally new. mean, honestly, because even if it's a friend, we're like, what? We time to chat quietly? And then ⁓ a session is usually ⁓ an hour and 15 minutes, because it's really just a little bit more of like jumping right into it and less catching up. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Absolutely. Talk about other things. Yeah, that makes sense. That's awesome. So cool. Okay, so are with women, mothers through all different types of seasons of life, but I know that you started in your postpartum season. So what do you feel like is the most important thing that bodies need during those ⁓ times like postpartum, maybe even preconception, stuff like that? Kim: Yeah, so I think preconception, there's so much underlying that maybe we are aware of, maybe we aren't. And that's a really interesting time because we really can just support the body and prepare it and improve optimal function in the body so that it's ready to conceive. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Kim: as we're moving into postpartum, like we need slow, we need rest, we need to like nurture us. ⁓ it truly is that as we're integrating huge hormonal shifts and emotional shifts ⁓ and stored and, you know, even if your birth was not full of trauma, our bodies experience trauma. ⁓ emmamma: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Ciao. Mm-hmm. Kim: There's so, so much in there. So it's like a permission flip to come in rest and. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah. Kim: like just rest and re- gently rebalance the body during a time that needs ⁓ ⁓ so. emmamma: Mmm. Yeah, for sure. So it's a huge aspect of like, those physical changes of our happening in our body that like space and the emotional side of all of those things is what it's sounding like to me. What when it ⁓ when all those things are happening, do you feel like clients that you're working with, like is it all at once that they're starting to feel like or is it like slow integration into all of those different aspects? Kim: It can be either. So the cool thing about magnetism ⁓ using testing ⁓ is tapping into ⁓ whatever body is ready to work on right now. So there might be ⁓ underlying that we don't see until a fourth or a fifth session because your body is not ready to deal with that. ⁓ And can be. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kim: that can be like actual underlying, like I had Epstein-Barr virus and all these other things and that wasn't discovered until like way further on. Cause there was like a lot of other layers of my onion was covering up some stuff. And so that goes the same with like emotional stuff. There's so many things that can impact our body that we aren't even aware of. emmamma: Yeah. Hmm. Kim: which is where it gets really incredible, as well as the stuff we are aware of. emmamma: Yeah. Right. so ⁓ as we're talking about this, feel a lot a lot of the women that you're probably working with have tried, maybe have tried like, like you had said earlier, with your story had tried like all the different things and like, or like, kind of like, all right, like what else could possibly work? Which I feel like maybe comes from a lot figuring out how to trust themselves to. ⁓ how do you approach care or like, what have you seen is helpful for people ⁓ when they're kind of like that like overwhelm of ⁓ doing all the things but are not trusting and still don't feel great. Kim: Yeah, I think it's really this reminder that are not like broken and it's not a matter ⁓ doing better or trying harder or researching the right thing that's gonna fix this. And sometimes it's like realizing that you can ⁓ down, ⁓ into your body ⁓ like cut away some of the noise like. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Kim: I'm definitely not someone who's going to be like, well, stop taking all of your supplements and, you know, stop doing this because no, you that's your choice. You can discuss that with your doctor. But I in my ⁓ own journey and evolution, simplifying things has really helped. tuning into that, giving ourselves like emmamma: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kim: the reminder that our bodies are doing these things for a reason. It's information and we are the people who our bodies ⁓ ⁓ live in them all the time. ⁓ you know, just when shift that back to we hold power, it becomes more like... emmamma: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Kim: collaborative with our body instead of kind of like us versus our body or forcing this onto our body. So I for women that been working with lately, like they've read my own story where I was just like, but wait, if I can just try harder and manage this better and do this better, I will achieve this thing here, you know, and ⁓ emmamma: Yeah. Kim: when we like surrender to guess. Surrender to softness. Maybe that's my slogan for the year, surrender to softness. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah. I love it. So good. Yeah, I think that's really helpful. think taking that time to just and I like like you've mentioned and being in seasons where especially early postpartum or like young kids when there's so much just stuff to get done that like mothers are known to put themselves at the forefront of making sure that we're taking care of and being able to to put that as a priority is Kim: Yes. emmamma: awesome and being able to do it in a way that's really helping overall is really great. Kim: ⁓ And even like just to the mindset of like trying to choose like let's say healthier non-toxic things in our life or you talk about like that can be toxic too because ⁓ ⁓ know there is like the stress from that ⁓ on system ⁓ the stress from ⁓ whether be restrictive dieting for ⁓ emmamma: Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kim: managing your gut problems or you know, I don't know, there's like a variety of different things, but that can be toxic to our body too, even though our intention is so, good, but sometimes just slowing it down. emmamma: Right. for sure. Yeah, that's I think that's really important to remember if just like, even even when you're trying to do the best of all the things, it can still cause all of that stress in areas where it's going to harm the like physical and mental part of your own well-being as you're trying to do all of those things that are right with with all of those things. So yeah, absolutely. 100 percent. What else do want people to know about bio magnetism? because you've talked about a bunch of different things. there anything else that you're thinking of that you want to share? Kim: I think mostly just like have an open mind about it because you know people could be listening to this from ⁓ from anywhere the world obviously but ⁓ if it's a it's a local ⁓ southern ⁓ listener it's not really of ⁓ around here but New England there's actually like so many practitioners because it's used for management of Lyme disease and all the different co-infections that go with that. ⁓ think like just being open to a different modality, ⁓ subtle, but it's powerful. And bodies like know what to do. ⁓ And just need a little bit of help kind of like removing those so it can do. ⁓ emmamma: Okay. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kim: what it's supposed to do. So I think like it doesn't have to be restrictive or hard or harsh that it really can gentle and it should be gentle. emmamma: Yeah. Mm-hmm. so good. Yeah, that's I do think one of things where, especially when it's something that we've never heard of before, that you're like, is that really a thing? when you're able to, like you said, when you're able to physically see when the second magnet goes on, that you're able to see ⁓ the change in the that's really cool. ⁓ Kim: And some clients experience like feel it. Like I joke around and I pick on my husband because he is like so annoying to muscle test because he's like, I felt my right leg get longer and I felt this one get shorter. And like, so he, interestingly enough, is like so in tune with his body in terms of, and he's not someone who you would like think would be like that. and then some clients don't feel anything and there's no like right or wrong, but it really is this emmamma: Yeah. Yeah! Kim: very cool. Like you're not necessarily gonna like if you were laying on my table you wouldn't see it yourself but I could take a picture for me if you wanted. And it is it's a really really really cool. emmamma: Right. I'm thinking about this, I feel like it could be applicable to like ⁓ anybody ⁓ using But there a group of people or like a season of life where using bio magnetism is like not a good option? Because I feel like that's easier than saying like who should ⁓ use Yeah. Kim: Yes. ⁓ So I do not work on pregnant women. And I also do not practice remotely. ⁓ if I was some which I plan to learn ⁓ But right now I really like the hands on. ⁓ So I practice remotely, I could work remotely on pregnant women. But that's mostly the ones that I don't work with. emmamma: Yeah. Kim: I'm still figuring out how to work on little people because they like playing with magnets. ⁓ And occasionally when they've been sick, they'll let me put some on. I'm trying to navigate that just in my own life, like what actually works for kids because they see me work with them. They love playing with them, like that sort of thing. And occasionally they'll leave them on their body, but they're not ⁓ it. ⁓ emmamma: Yeah, that was gonna be my question. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kim: long enough. that's kind of where I would say like maybe eight years old when they, I don't know if that's the right age or not, but like where maybe like they would just want to listen to the music and you could do like a shorter modified session for them. That would be, that would be better. But right now my kids are not eight. So I'm not working with them. Yeah. So mostly just little kids and pregnant. emmamma: Yeah, no, that's a good. Yeah, that makes sense. Awesome. How long, we talked about like how long the session was, but how long are the magnets on somebody for that whole like hour timeframe? Okay. Kim: So you go through the whole muscle testing, which takes probably like 15 or 20 minutes. And then you start placing the pairs. And honestly, that takes the most amount of time just because it's this like very individual like map of getting back. It's all over your body. So that takes the most time. And then they sit for 15 minutes. So I would say they're probably like from start to finish, it's like emmamma: for sure. Okay Kim: maybe 30 minutes between putting them on and actual like full marination. emmamma: Yeah, no, that's helpful. Because I was thinking about like, as we were talking about little kids and age, I'm like, okay, like, if there's a timeframe of like, could your little kid lay still for 30 minutes, then maybe that depending on the age, but most four year olds are not gonna be able to do that. Kim: Yeah, like mine when When my kids have been sick and I tape them on and let them watch TV or something, on occasion they'll actually just let it be there. But for the most part, they're just like, yeah, put magnets on me. And they're on for a minute and they're like, I'll just fix things. emmamma: Mm-hmm. Two seconds. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I love that. That's good though. Helpful. alright, what else do you want to share or what do you hope people are walking away with as we're wrapping up this conversation? Kim: Yeah, think one thing for any local listeners ⁓ I will be hosting an in-person ⁓ workshop ⁓ March for anyone curious about this modality. You'll get a chance to actually use a few detox pairs on your body. So it'll be like ⁓ a small setting ⁓ at Collective in Summerbell. And so it'll a chance to like ask questions and see if it might be a good fit for you ⁓ like committing to one-on-one sessions in a package and all that. emmamma: That's awesome. How else can people find you? Kim: Yes, so I'm on Instagram at Magnetic Wellness Mama. And that is also you can find my website, which has ⁓ information about the modality, what sessions ⁓ like, and of more about my story. There is also a booking link there that kind of gives you ⁓ an on availability. And for the most part, I'm working Friday afternoons and weekends right now. So I've actually found that that works pretty well for most people. And I a home office that I'm sitting in. And then I also am offering services at Collective Wellness in Somerville. So ⁓ if you're maybe more located in the Charleston area, ⁓ that would a little bit more. centrally located, we both live in Somerville, but we're like 45 minutes away. emmamma: Yup. I know, it's one of the craziest things. Yeah, awesome. Well, thanks. Kim: I am on Facebook too, but I feel like people aren't in Facebook groups much. ⁓ emmamma: I would agree with that, but we'll make sure that we link all the things in the show notes. So I'll put all of those things that Kim talked about in the show notes so that you can be sure to find her. And I hope that you follow her and connect with her and we'll make sure that that ⁓ for that March experience is in there for people who are local. ⁓ And yeah, thanks so much for being here and sharing your story and what you're working on. Kim: Cool. Thanks for having me Emma, that was awesome. emmamma: Awesome.