Latest / Modern Sacred: Women's Work / Why We Started Modern Sacred: Sisterhood, Divine Feminine & Trauma Healing
Transcript
- Abby: Hello everybody. Chelsea Henderson: Hello. Abby: Welcome back to our podcast. Chelsea Henderson: Aha Abby: Chelsea and I were just Chelsea Henderson: I love it. Abby: kind of talking about what we wanted to talk about today. and we wanna tell you our story again about Modern Sacred and about the podcast and how we started and where we're going and what we're all about, 'cause it's been over a year since we started. Last episode we did some celebration on how far we've come and the things that we're proud of and today we wanted to spend some time just talking a little bit more about our vision and our values Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: and what we're building and how it started. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: So that's where we're going today. Chelsea Henderson: Yes. And I I was thinking too, because I mean, when we started this we each told our own story. But I guess technically we haven't really told the story of this kind of collaborative space and you know, modern sacred itself. So it's like a Abby: That's true. Yeah, that's true. Chelsea Henderson: it's a a new a different version of our story. So Abby: Well and also when we started Modern Sacred, she didn't have much of a story yet. She was just being born. Those first two episodes Chelsea Henderson: No, she didn't. Mm-hmm. Abby: was like she was just being born. So it's like what has she turned into? Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. We were recording those on like Google Me, I think. Hashtag Riverside. my god. Do you remember that? That was so fun. Yeah. We do Abby: Mhm. Yeah. And then try and figure out how to put it on a Yes. Thank you, Riverside, for making it easier. That was so fun. Chelsea Henderson: we do love you even though you take a lot of our bandwidth. Like d on a technical Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: level, not on an energetic level. yeah. We're Abby: Yes, technical bandwidth. Yes. Chelsea Henderson: still trying to figure that out. Yeah. What an interesting year this has been. I think okay, Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: so for you and I, I like I keep being reminded that like my story feels redundant to me because it's my story and I tell it all the time and I think it all the time and I live it. but I guess it does bear repeating, if this is even repetitive to some, where we you and I, our friendship came from, right? From Welcome Goddess, the women's center where we met. the book club, we talk a lot about that. but how I think that that space emerged for us because you and I and so many of the friends we made in that space found each other through this searching for something Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: that felt like home, you know, and and I think it as an extension of that Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: developing the feeling of home within ourselves, right? That's been such a journey Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: for me. to be like, right, I have to feel at home in in myself, in my own body, in my own kind of spirit. And then Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: that extends into the relationships that I have. But I think that was a a place where that kind of sparked for us, right? It it a lot of what I feel like I had when I was younger kind of reemerged in that in that space and friendships were born and then that was a brick and mortar space. Which was amazing and also I think Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: really hard to carry. One day we'll Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: talk to Catherine about that and she'll tell everybody about the beautiful birthing of that space and how hard that was. Abby: Yes, tell her amazing story. Yes. Chelsea Henderson: And that was not didn't end up being sustainable as a brick and mortar. And so I think for you and I, extending it is how we got here, right? Like Abby: Yeah, that was the there was a void that was felt when the brick and mortar closed. Also I moved, Chelsea Henderson: Mm yeah, yeah. Abby: so I was like Well, at least no one's hanging out without me Chelsea Henderson: Right, there's that. No FOMO because everything had ended. Abby: Yeah, no promo 'cause everything has ended and I remember being in Utah where we had moved to and thinking, right, everyone else is probably feeling this too because Welcome Goddess closed. So, you Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Yeah. Abby: know, it's easy when you move away to think, I miss the book clubs, I miss the classes and being in that community and then being like, wait, no, like it's closed and then thinking, I wonder how Chelsea is doing. I wonder how Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: Sue is doing. I wonder how Kelly's doing, these women that we met and would interact with on like a weekly basis and then reaching out and having phone calls and trying to stay connected and Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: Yeah, but I r I really liked the idea of what even led us to welcome goddess. Like what was that that led us there? That's where it all starts, I think. Chelsea Henderson: Okay. I found Welcome Goddess by accident. I so I am on the board of Women Dis Women in Design Denver. It's a design organization supporting women working in and around the built environment in the front range. And I've been with them for ten years and as part of my role, I helped to run events throughout the year. And so we had an event we were doing. We were doing this really fun concoctions. It w it was like infusions we were doing and we were w my Abby: Mm, cool. Chelsea Henderson: committee was doing it with another committee through Women in Design and the woman one of the women on the other committee knew Catherine had was friends with her and was like, my friend just opened this space in Golden, we can have our event there. And I we we've done events all over the city. And usually you walk in and it's like a showroom or, you know, some Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: sort of kind of more design-centered commercial Type of space and a gallery Abby: Gallery, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: of some sort, right? It's like very, a very different vibe. And we were doing this really fun thing where we were infusing oils and something else, chewing like vinegars, maybe more for like cooking, but it was a Abby: Okay. Chelsea Henderson: a real, a really fun kind of concoction-y kind of thing we were putting together. And I remember walking into Welcome Goddess and just kind of being like. What's happening? Like, as I walked in, I Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: was like, this is not like a flooring showroom by any means. Like, there's like a really different energy here. And there's this beautiful woman behind Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: the counter, and there's this like long table with chairs, and there's these like very plushy pink sofas. Yes, and like Abby: Pink velvet couches and nudes on the wall. Chelsea Henderson: feminist books and I was like, well this is not what I was anticipating. And like walked to the back patio, we did our event. It was tons of fun. Everyone enjoyed it. And as I was wrapping up, my friend through Women and Design was like, yeah, let me introduce you to Catherine. We met and I was like what are you doing here? Like what's happening? What is this? And she was like, Yeah, there's t kind of creating this women's center, you know, a community. And Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: having classes and just trying to create space for the divine feminine and, you know, this kind of modern spirituality that a lot of us practice. And I was like not anticipating that at all. And Katie Smith Abby: Wow. Chelsea Henderson: was there and she was like, Yeah, we're s we just started a book club and tonight was the first night. And you should join. And I was like, Absolutely. And I joined the book club and I joined Abby: Cool. Chelsea Henderson: y'all the next week or yeah, I can't never remember. Was it weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, I don't even remember. But I joined y'all Abby: I can't remember. Chelsea Henderson: for the next one. And you were there. And there was a couple Abby: Yeah, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: other women. It was not a big group. It was it was intimate. And yeah, I Abby: Mm. It was intimate, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: started going whole hog after that. And it was really only another, I don't know, seven or eight months that she was open. But in that time, like I was Abby: She closed, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: driving out to Golden one, two days a week, some weekends, and we were doing Abby: And that is not a short drive. Chelsea Henderson: no, no it is not. And yeah, I mean we c we did goddess practices, I did, you know, Central Flow. some of the she did those really cool breath work, like the Abby: Yes. Chelsea Henderson: from like Indonesia, Circle Abby: Circle of bliss. Chelsea Henderson: of Bliss. Yes. So a lot of practices. And she I will cr Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: really credit Catherine with that. She really had a good I think her experience with practices that help you get in your body, right? If we're kind of backing it up to like what Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: the fuck this even means to people who have never done this before, all these practices are along the lines of meditation and what yoga represents to some. you know, of like getting in your body to be present Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: in your life and to have more autonomy in participating Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: in your life through presence and, you Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: know, being comfortable, alleviating unnecessary suffering through embodiment. And she had Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: a really keen sense through her lived experience and through her connections. And she curated these these workshops and classes that were just so I mean if I was like, Yes, I will drive thirty Abby: So cool. Chelsea Henderson: five minutes across the city at rush hour because it's worth it. Forty five minutes, an hour. No, no, no, it doesn't. Mm-hmm. Abby: 'Cause I there this doesn't exist anywhere else. And this doesn't exist anywhere else. Like I yeah, I'm gonna drive this far because I can't find this type of offering anywhere else. And that Chelsea Henderson: No. Abby: it it was so unique what was happening there. I learned go ahead. Yes. Chelsea Henderson: And we the community was instantaneous, right? That I think was p a by product of that is like the safety within our own bodies that was created there, then immediately just it was just like I mean, i it was just there, right? The safety Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: to just be like, Yeah, we're very close friends, aren't we? Like we have we Yeah, yes. Abby: Yeah, we're all here for the same reason. And this feels so good to be learning how to do this. And I had learned about Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Abby: Catherine, I one of my neighbors I think had said, I met this really cool woman and she's starting this like women's studio here in Golden and I was like, Wow, that sounds so cool and then I heard about it because I lived in Golden. So I had met like a couple people who were talking about it, but it wasn't open yet. And then I think I went to the website and I saw the opening ceremony and I went. I was like, I'm off that day. It's like a Saturday or whatever. I'm gonna go. It's like so close to my house. And they were doing like the ribbon cutting and she had a demo Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: of every class that was gonna be offered there. It was like ten minute versions of Circle of Bliss, ten minutes of sensual flow. and so I went and I did all the different demos and I was like, this place is so freaking cool. And watching so for the sensual flow class, this is a class women only, no mirrors, dim, dark kind of room with like this deep mauve color on the walls where women learn to embody themselves in movement. In a way that has been stereotypically labeled as sexual, but is actually just how women's bodies like to move. We like to snake, we like to grind, we like to move our hips and circles, and that has been labeled by men as sexual and for them. But really it's Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: how our bodies move. And so Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: this space to learn how to do that, they brought in Catherine brought in several instructors who were trained in this method. Chelsea Henderson: And were wonderful. Abby: Of female embodiment and were wonderful. And this demo was Kirby and who I never did a class with, but it was her, and I think Brandy was there. And they just demonstrated this type of movement. And we watched, we witnessed them doing this, strip teasing, so just so good. I can't even describe it. And I was crying in the Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Yeah. Abby: watching. I was weeping. I was like, I want to move my body like that. But the weight of shame that's been attached to me moving my body like that, or it's not safe for me to move my body like that in public because then men will come over and think that I'm wanting something that I'm not and Chelsea Henderson: Right. You're inviting something. Abby: there's nowhere for me to I can move my body like that and it's okay. I was just like, they looked so free. And I was like, yeah, I wanna come and do these classes and Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: they had done the book club once before and I wasn't able to join because I was working that day, so I joined the second round and that's where I met you and Sarah and Katie and started learning about all of that. Chelsea Henderson: And there was s others in the class. I don't remember who else was there. I think it died down to just the three of us at the end. It was very small. Yeah. Abby: It was very small. We were the consistent group. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: We were. Yeah. Yeah, there was yeah. Yeah. I I Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: love that you talk about how it yeah, it just makes you cry because there's Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: so much there. It's hard to explain it, right? But it's Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: like when you and I think this is where like zealotry comes from because when you find something that works in any way, Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: you know, I think that the recent Life on this planet for me has been just some awareness around suffering is a part of this, you know? And I Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: I get a little frustrated because it's like, yes, and we've created so much, like we've solved so many problems. People are living on average Abby: Yeah. Right. Chelsea Henderson: to like eighty or a hundred years old. Like you can have a child that is really more than likely gonna live to adulthood. Whereas a hundred years ago could potentially die at any point and it was very likely, right? I mean, like these very simple things Abby: Yeah, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: or not these very not simple things that have been simply solved, and yet we're Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: still suffering so much unnecessarily. It feels unnecessary to me, I guess, because I feel like we we have all these tools and innovations, and yet we're kind of in our own way. We're still fighting over Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: bullshit like you know, this i i i pr improperly doled out resources and you know the color of Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: people's skin and the gender of their bodies like who fucking cares? None of this matters. It's not none of this matters anymore and we know that now, but Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: we're in our own way, you know, and we're Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: we're devastating the natural environment. We're, you know, it's all the things, all the things. And I think For me, these practices have allowed, at least for me in my body, to create a practice where I can alleviate some of the suffering that comes from just being a person in this world because we have Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: the resources and the wherewithal and the understanding to do so. And so I think that that I don't know, it does it does make you cry because it does feel like just like taking off a heavy coat when you're underwater and you can't breathe. Yeah. And like being able to float to the surface. It's just crazy. Abby: Yeah. Well, and like an embodied grief. Like even in that sensual Chelsea Henderson: Mm. Abby: flow class that I witnessed and then I would I went to the classes and started learning to do this for myself. It's like some some emotions can't they need to like move through your body in order to leave or to feel like expressed fully. And how many times I would be dancing in sensual flow and I would like start crying because it was like Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: a release and a release of shame, a release of grief for the way the world is, for the way I've been treated as a woman in my life, for the things going on to other people. It's like I could just move it through and it could leave my body. And I I know that we are very kind of disembodied in our Chelsea Henderson: Mm. Abby: culture that we are very heady. We like to think, Chelsea Henderson: Mm. Abby: think, think, read, read, read, write, a lot of things in our mind. And then but this body of ours has a way of like just moving things through. And even yoga, like you've talked about, yoga can be kind of rigid, even in its own way of like, yes, this is what we're doing and then next is the next move. And then sensual flow is so like Fluid and dynamic, and you got to move your body how you wanted to move it. You could move slow, you could move fast, and and it just felt like such a big release of some of that Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: grief that I'd been carrying and agency, like what you were saying, with it gave me the ability to process emotion in a way that felt safe and real. and I also remember Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Yeah. Abby: in the book. club talk, they talked about the courtesans, which we could maybe circle Chelsea Henderson: yeah. Mm-hmm. Abby: back to, but I'll talk about it now. The Cortesans were French, I think. Weren't they French women who were not married, didn't have children, and they were I don't know, you maybe you can speak to it more, but they would just they were very magnetic. Magnetic through amazing parties, yes. Chelsea Henderson: They were almost like muses. Yeah. And they were they were Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: creative hostesses almost. It was Abby: Yes. Chelsea Henderson: they held a space that it seems like everyone craves, yet so many hold against, you know, that sh the Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: systems and structures that we've created and live within somehow wanna push against, right? And like We all feel this Abby: Yes. Chelsea Henderson: thing, but n we're not supposed to. I was like, well, that's who said Abby: Uh-huh. Chelsea Henderson: that? That's so dumb, right? Like and I love you because I love that you'll take I I I have this I it's almost I can't even stop myself. I just go big picture. I'm like, this is all fucked up. Abby: Ha ha Chelsea Henderson: I can't take it. Like, what are we doing? Who can we talk to about this? Like this is like there's a just a always a kind of like overarching kind of awareness that I have and it gets a little bit grandiose, big. You know, it's not helpful sometimes to be at that meta level. And Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: I love that you what you're saying is the distillation of like, yeah, this is really it can just come back to the self, it can come back to the experience. And I think the courtesans were so important in this kind of sphere, and at least in what we're talking about, because they just Allowed for what is natural. You know, yes, there Abby: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: was there was sexuality there, which I know is just off so fundamentally taboo for all the wrong reasons, right? And it turns Abby: Right. Right. Chelsea Henderson: out everybody has that. Like we're all that's how we're wired. Abby: Yeah, and sh craves it. Chelsea Henderson: It's how we're built. We are animals. You know, these things that we're trying so hard to build, these human structures and, you know, guardrails around is like We're we're killing ourselves. You know, we're like Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: suffocating ourselves. And so for me, like reading about the courtesans was about really about permission and ex Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: you know, really kind of invitation. Like it's it's a it it feels good to have fun. It feels good to let creative juices Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: flow. It feels good to, you know, be how you are. You mean you talk about yoga versus central flow, you know, yoga is great. I practice yoga. I'm certified yoga teacher for fuck's sake. Like I've been practicing yoga since I was a teenager. I do love it. I think it's a great practice. It's hilarious Abby: Yeah. Yeah, I do too. Chelsea Henderson: to me how Westerners have taken what was built in an Eastern culture by men for men only and made it something that is used by more women than anybody here. And is Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: really less about anything than just fucking exercise because our culture is so obsessed Abby: Yeah, of course. Chelsea Henderson: with that. So we have bastardized it a bit, but I think that it's funny with yoga, there is a right and a wrong. You know, like you are in Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: that posture the right way and there is an awareness around that. Even if it's not judgment per se, and in sensual Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: flow, there is no wrong answer. Like you move Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: how you wanna move. As long as you're not touching another person with you know, or putting something on another person. Abby: With your body. Yep. Chelsea Henderson: It's about you and your experience and Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: you're doing it in witnessing each other and doing it around each other, but it's not, Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: you don't have to worry that someone's gonna come up and touch you, you know, or or it's not about that. It's about like whatever emerges, Abby: Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Chelsea Henderson: letting it flow. Because to the point that you made, which I think is beautiful, is like at the end of the day, there's a simplicity to this human experience in these bodies, and that the chemical the hormonal chemical reactions that are happening that make us mad, sad, glad, bad, whatever the fuck. Like, Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: if we stifle it, it stagnates and causes disease. It's pretty much Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: like we understand that at this point. So if you let it flow, it goes away. It's it's kind of magical. Like I'm feeling anxiety. Abby: Mm, mm hmm. It is magical. Chelsea Henderson: I have to let me tap into that, right? Let me, okay, I gotta shake my shoulders. I gotta shrug. I gotta I f you know, it's like when you're in labor. Some people will get this, some people won't. But like your body is like, I need to be on the floor, half upside down, one leg in the air. Like it doesn't make any sense, but it's what needs to happen. And Abby: Yeah, doesn't make any sense. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: questioning it makes it harder. And letting it flow Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: makes it easier and makes it go faster, get done quicker. The hard stuff Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: is inevitable. We will have to deal with them. So if you just let it flow. You experience it and it's over. If you hold against it, it's harder, harder, harder, harder, harder, harder until you break. Right. And I think Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: that that is such an interesting thing with something like central flow is like it's kind of helping you recondition yourself to allow for that, to allow for the fact that we are just Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: we're animals and those are hormones Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: cause the emotions that's part of us physiologically and there is actually a full process that already exists there. We've talked about this before when we talked Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: about the nervous system and you talked about prey on the savannah. You know, your your Abby: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: little gazelle guy gets caught but doesn't get killed. And if he can get that moment to shake it off and let those let all that cortisol cortisol cortisol cortisol flow through it will dissipate and Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: then the next thing kicks in and you're off to the races. You're it's you're on to the next thing. And you can get safe. It's remarkable. And it seems so out of range. Abby: Yeah, and you can get safe. Yeah. These natural body things that we do. It is remarkable. Chelsea Henderson: And in a c in an a in a culture like ours, I spent so much of my youth doing everything. Dissociating, I mean, drugs, alcohol, sex. What can I do to not feel this? Okay, well it turns out that I go out for a night of drinking and sex with a stranger And I wake up the next day and it's back and it's even worse, right? Like, okay, then Abby: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: I'm gonna go to the doctor and they're gonna put me on a pill, and this pill is gonna make that dull. But then I also can't make my art anymore. I can't cook anymore. I don't really wanna have sex anymore because I'm dulled, right? So then you take that pill Abby: Yeah, right. Chelsea Henderson: out and then fuck, it's still fucking here and it's worse than ever. Like the call is coming from inside the house and you've got to figure Abby: Yes. Chelsea Henderson: it out. And then you go to a central flow class or you do breath work or you do somatic therapy Abby: Hmm. Chelsea Henderson: or you just like go on a walk with a friend and let it out and cry and talk and get a hug and then it's less. It's like what? But like it could be it could be. Abby: Yeah. It's gone. It's not maybe gone, but sometimes it would be gone. Like I would walk into some sensual flow classes feeling Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Abby: like I have so much going on right Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Abby: now. Maybe I just got in a fight with my husband. Maybe it was in-law stuff. Maybe it was work, money, stress, business, Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: whatever you're carrying, and then to go in there and to have the lights dimmed and then and they would play loud music. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah, Abby: like loud, sexy Chelsea Henderson: so satisfying. Mm. Abby: music. And you or and women would wear clothes that they were okay getting torn up. Old t-shirts, vishnets maybe, or like just shorts or whatever, but a lot of us would wear like something that you could pull on, that you could like drag Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: across your body and like you could you could actually interact with your clothing and you could roll around on the ground and I remember so many times just craving that class because I'm like, I have shit that wants to move. I have shit Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: that wants to move and get out of me and I would go and I would get it out and I would feel so good. And then we would all talk afterwards. We would let the lights Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: come up a little bit after an hour and we'd be like, Okay, so like what moved through you and and Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: It was so like un unlike anything I've ever had the experience of having and I've looked here in Portland. I've there's n that doesn't really exist anywhere, other than like actual pole dancing classes and stuff like that, which are very like there's a right and a wrong way to do the trick and that's, Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: you know, not embodied in that same way and I just like crave it so much. It was such a uhuh, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: It's not as safe somehow. Yeah. Abby: It needs it's a very the container that was built was very safe. Here are the rules, Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: here's what might happen in your body, here's what you might feel, if it starts to feel like too much, here are some safe moves for you to ground yourself. There was like a whole onboarding process. And I just remember thinking everybody needs to do this. And some of the women in my one one course were sixty five years old, seventy years old moving. Chelsea Henderson: yeah. Totally. Abby: in this way Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: and crying and being like Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: I haven't moved like that since I was fifteen and I have Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Abby: didn't haven't had any idea how much I've been craving being allowed to move my fucking body however feels okay other than labor because that's a similar to labor like where it's like yeah you wanna just move how you want to move. Chelsea Henderson: Alone in my room. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But there's so there's so much conditioning because I feel it even talking about it now. You know, I have to keep reminding myself that we're having these conversations to share with those who already are curious, are already in this sphere, right? This isn't a space where we're trying to convince others that our we're not going into some, you know, tightened up Abby: Right. Well Chelsea Henderson: conservative space to try to be like, hey, have you guys thought about Central Flow? If you want to include this part, you can for our listeners to let them know that we've been having technical difficulties. We're in the modern of it all. Abby: Yes we have. Yes we are. Chelsea Henderson: so all right. So I think it would be really cool. You just said this. I think this is such a cool idea. What we initially had to talk about here is like how can we reflect this. This is our s our origin story. Like if we're Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: superheroes. And the origin for us was this invitation to, you know, to experience these new practices and to Abby: Yes. Chelsea Henderson: learn ways to I don't know, I always struggle with wording here because I'm like basically like I feel like Abby: Yeah. I know. Chelsea Henderson: someone gave me reminders of things that I already knew, things that lived Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: for me had lived at with other I Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: had experienced at other points in my life, but even more than that were like in me somehow. You know, these these practices, Abby: Hmm. Chelsea Henderson: these tools. Abby: I mean that's why we would wanna go get drunk and dance at the clubs. That was like like it's in us. Like I wanna go get Chelsea Henderson: Right, exactly. Yeah. Abby: fucked up, dance, get sweaty, like I there's Chelsea Henderson: Yeah yeah. Abby: there's these desires to like let Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: loose and party. And that's like kind of the courtesans is at least that idea of like these women's who know how to party. They know how to have a great party. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: They have the pink boas and they're strip teasy Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: but they knew exactly what they were doing because these women made a lot of money. They were very wealthy, independent, Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. And they had power. Abby: unmarried women with power because Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: they knew the people out there are so businessy but they all want to have a good time. And who's out there having a good The party. This is like the Samantha Jones in Sex in the City. She's always like my first example of like that courtesan energy. Like, let's just have fun. Like, that's Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: all. Let's let it loose. So, yeah, just then having that space close and having experienced all of these things. And then you're Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: like, Well, I'm not done. I'm just getting started. What? Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: No. Turns out this is a lifestyle. And it's a really interesting I feel like it's a it's a really interesting act of rebellion, you know. I I think because Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: this is so there's aspects of this that are so potentially triggering because it goes against something longstanding. I mean, even when you said Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: that about getting drunk and partying at the clubs, like that was always a great way to blow off steam for me when I was younger, but it was not a safe space. I was groped, Abby: Right. Chelsea Henderson: I was forced, I had penises Abby: Right. Chelsea Henderson: pulled out and put on my body, and like I mean just treated in ways that like it has it has really we have kind of created what has been created here has contorted and morphed into some pretty ugly shit. We're like trying Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: to cap this and suppress and repress and oppression This out of Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: human beings has turned a lot of humans into pretty fucked up little weird little individuals. And that's men and women alike. Absolutely, but and it makes it scary and it makes it so natural. Yeah. Abby: And it's put it into the shadows, right? It's put it into the shadows and into the darkness when it's really just like a natural and it's great to have a room of only women with strong boundaries. There's no touching, there's no nudity. Here's Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: what you do if you don't feel safe. You can always ex exit the room, you know, and Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: here's a place for you to move. in this way that feels safe, which yeah. Chelsea Henderson: But that and that extends so far into I mean that's somatic therapy, you know. I mean people in this Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: we're in such a like kind of regimented, you know, you have to have credentials and you have to have a background and you have to have this and so if you want it Abby: Ha ha Chelsea Henderson: if you want it in that in that language, then Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: like a therapist, right? Somatic therapy, like you're working in the Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: same space. You're you're allowing what's stuck to get unstuck and process and flow so that you can live your a better life. Right. I mean, really, just Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: at the end of the day, just be the better version of yourself, be more comfortable, be with less suffering, be more in your experience. And however you get there, there's all these means. I think for us, you know, this was a a a place where this was kind of just like no holds, like just it's all here. We're doing it with intention. We're not tiptoeing around it. No one here is apologizing. No one here is Abby: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: talking around it. We're here to heal. We're here to be together. We're here to do this better because we see it as a way to have a better experience for ourselves and our loved ones, our communities. And then that's just gonna ripple out and affect a world that is overall pretty sick and struggling. And those, Abby: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Chelsea Henderson: you know, creepy individuals who feel like they have to hide these natural elements of themselves, you know, become these perpetrators that we're all afraid of. Abby: Right. Chelsea Henderson: And this is a way for us to push back against that and to even invite those people out of the darkness. And I think Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: it exists in a lot of different ways. There's a lot of ways to get there. And I think for you and I, that then translated into how do we keep that alive and growing? How do we offer this Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: invitation that was given to us to others? And so then that was Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: like the birth of our little baby here, right? Abby: Well yeah, I think it started as we d wanna keep having the conversation. Because that's what the podcast was, is like we're having these conversations. Our friends are saying they miss having these conversations. So we've lost the dance studio, we've lost the brick and mortar, but the conversation that it started is still so alive. And so let's start a podcast. to at the minimum send to our friends that we met in this space to Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: feel like all of us are still participating in this conversation. Let's have some of those friends on the podcast. We've had Sue on the podcast. We've had Katie on the podcast. Let's get them on so that our friends can hear Katie's story and be like, I'm listen you know, it was very much, at least for me, it was let's keep the conversation going for our community. And then if other people find us and want to listen in and it's Where they're at and what they're thinking about and needing, that's awesome and it'll grow Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: from there. It was very much like this is still happening and we need to talk Chelsea Henderson: Yeah, yeah. Abby: about it. And I don't wanna not talk about it and just go back to the way I was living before. I need an outlet to talk about Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: all of this stuff. Chelsea Henderson: And and yes, absolutely. And I feel like everywhere I go, I feel that craving in others. You know, I mean we Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: we have had this conversation in a lots of different ways. And the experiences that like I see whether we're talking globally, what are whether we're talking politically, environmentally, you know, there's just still so much of the same shit being perpetrated. And Abby: Hmm, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: every day, every everything we do, everything we build as a collective, as a species, we learn a little bit more why that's stupid. Like it doesn't serve. It you know, it's the few Abby: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: thousand people that have always been served here for for hundreds and hundreds of years. You know, these are the same Robert Barons, the same industrialists, it's the same fucking families, you know, and that's in maybe more of a of a material sense and a political sense, but it's still affecting all of us. And so I think that for Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: for many of us, it's that idea of like, how do I break free in my own experience and and address Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: that yearning and feed it something truly satiating and Do it in concert with others because that's the best way to do this as a human. Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: And and push back, right? Like, you know Abby: Mm-hmm. It reminds me a lot of the Bad Bunny Super Bowl show. Did you ever see that? I mean that Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Yes, I did. Yes. Abby: is there's that movement, there's that freedom, there's life, there's food, there's fruit, there's singing, there's Chelsea Henderson: Gorgeous human. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Abby: acknowledging all of America, there's rebellion, Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: and it's so magnetic. Everybody Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: loved it, even if they hated it, they couldn't stop talking about it. Chelsea Henderson: What that was my favorite part. Yes. Abby: And there was all of these memes of like when you're at like the super conservative football party and the bad bunny games come on, and then there's all the guys being like, what is this? This is stupid, and all the women are like, I kinda love it, you know, and they're like, also though, bad bunny. It's that's that's that magnetic that we all want. And it's like that Chelsea Henderson: Yeah, but also have you seen him? He is gorgeous. Look at his body. Uh-huh. Yeah. Abby: really exposed both like what you were saying, the political side of it, the socioeconomic side of it. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: And like where I wanna move like them. I wanna you know, I want a piece of that for myself and I'm just, you know, that Chelsea Henderson: And flow like them. Abby: flow and that freedom and that's what we need. Chelsea Henderson: Because he's moving his body that way and that's amazing. And also what's magnetic about it beyond that is the creative flow. He is in touch with what speaks Abby: Yeah. And the bravery. Chelsea Henderson: to him and what speaks through him. There, you know, that's Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: why we're so entranced by artists. We're so entranced by musicians Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: and comedians and actors and you know, because whatever is coming through them, they're not stifling it. They're allowing it. And it's uncomfortable. I mean, have you ever acted in a play? Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: Have you ever done stand-up comedy? Have you ever sang in front of people? Like, there are moments I've never done stand-up comedy. Those people are braver than anybody in the world. Holy shit. I mean, not literally, but but close. Abby: It's very brave, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: but I have I've acted, I've sang in front of people, I've spoken in public spaces. Like that feeling of discomfort, of fear. you you're moving past that to truly allow what lives in you and what lives through you to come out. And what ends up happening is that it moves you and it moves others and it shifts things. Abby: But Chelsea Henderson: And it is so fundamentally important. And when you're in a time like ours where we're we're realizing, fucking hey, are we seriously looking at like fascism like threatening our democracy again? Like we're we're dealing with this shit Abby: Again, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: again. We didn't learn the first time, the second time, the third time that my God, this is exhausting. You know, what do they do when they're trying to take over with a fascist regime? They kill the people who are creative, they shut down the people who are knowledgeable, they they get rid of that expression because it allows them to perpetrate the scarcity and the fear. more effectively to stifle people so that they can maintain control, so that they can have power and money. It's the same old sad little song and dance that like so many or still wanna do. And I I don't understand that. It feels outrageous to me. There's plenty to go around and to be a in a place of expression and connection feels amazing. I don't understand why everybody Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: doesn't want that, but they don't, right? That still exists for us. So I think that like The simple act of us sitting in circle together and regulating our nervous systems through intentionality and breath work or enjoying a meal together or going to therapy Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: and letting yourself cry and talking about the time that you were hurt or humiliated or shamed. Like these things matter and they create Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: the change. So you know, I think it that that The bad bunny is such a great example because what we're seeing is just true flow, Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: true creative expression. And it's like kind of insane Abby: Exactly. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: how I don't know, if it's beautiful. Abby: It's beautiful and I want some of it. And yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: girl. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. Abby: So to bring it kind of full circle as we finish up here, that's kind of our our origin story. It's hard to explain what the experience of Welcome Goddess was and who I was that brought into that space and who I was when I left and the embodiment that came from all of that and how it sparked. this conversation I kinda wants to keep happening and then throughout the podcast journey bringing on these amazing guests and being Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: blown away by all of the amazing work that these women are doing about embodiment, Ayurveda, astrology, all of these different offerings and contributions from the people in our community, people that we've never even met before, that have been on the show. That has now started to spark the next phase of modern sacred, which is Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: bringing all of these amazing practitioners and people that we know together at a common virtual table to continue the conversation and keep learning from each other Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: and we our values are not to be prescriptive, not you should do this, everyone should do this and but to just offer the wisdom of the circle and people can come for what resonates and just be part of the Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: conversation. yeah, that's kind of mhm. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Recreated a little bit, right? Recreated our version of it as an invitation. F and and I mean, we talk about this but then it just creates that space where we get to keep practicing it. Abby: Yeah, yeah, and we get to keep learning. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: feels good. It's a better life. I mean, it's just it's a better experience. You know? Those I just I don't go to gatherings anymore and leave feeling like shit, I missed it because I was trying so hard to perform correctly. I was trying Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: so hard to look a certain way. Like I I leave feeling full because I went in a state of presence. You know, Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: I live I my day-to-day life more in a state of presence because all the things that we're learning from others, all the things that we learned in that beautiful community space, all the things that we're teaching each other through sharing non-prescriptively, you know, those practices amount to a better quality of life. So I think that's really I know, that's the origin Abby: Yeah. For us and the people around us. Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: story, that's the superpower, right? Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: That's our so it's interesting. I guess like we came into this space to talk about us and you know, I feel like we o often touch on this the why and the you know, we talk a lot about the how when we have these beautiful women on sharing their gifts and you know, one day men too, I'm sure. There are lots of them out there Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: doing that as well. But for us so far it's Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: been women. And it's just encouraged us to start this start this, right? And to have these conversations in this space and then to build Modern Sacred further to have this virtual membership space and to have these in person events and you know, just to kind of Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: cement the practices and to continue to offer and expand and invite. I don't know, that feels like the why. Keep it alive. Yeah. Abby: Mm. To keep the keep it alive. Yeah, we're keeping this fire alive and blowing on the flame and just like, yeah, let's let this spread to other people who are looking for it and are needing it. And especially people Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Yeah. Abby: who might not live in a place where it's really offered, which is the Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: benefit of doing it virtually. You know, we have friends in Wyoming, we have friends even me in you know, Portland is a very You know, a city that has a lot of that but at the same time not, you know. So it's it's like great to have a virtual space that bridges all of the gaps of time and distance where people can find that. Chelsea Henderson: I love that. Yeah. Abby: Yeah, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. And it's a good reminder. I I feel like we talk about this too, of like just 'cause you know something doesn't mean you're always gonna keep it in practice. So I feel like for me, Abby: A hundred percent. Chelsea Henderson: I, you know, felt like I was running around this morning with that energy of like the tightness in my chest, the f the something was driving me that wasn't true desire, that wasn't true alignment, Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: that wasn't, you know, which is stupid because this morning I was going around doing things that I like. I was connecting Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: with a woman who's gonna do an amazing chakra meditation and and Reiki offering to our membership. I I was, you know, getting a delicious iced matcha and a a delicious veggie breakfast burrito. Like you know, I was having coffee sitting at the table with my son. Like none of those things should be triggering that in me yet you've I forget, you know, and then I come into this space with you and we talk about it for a few minutes and I get to share and be seen by someone who loves me and supports me and knows me and sees me. And I get to take those deep breaths and now I don't feel that way. So it's like, Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: right, every day this is a practice. Every day it's working Abby: Yeah, it is a practice. Chelsea Henderson: out. It's eating well. It's meditating. It's all the things that like we know make it better. Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: when we do them. And so I think that's Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: also part of it is just the like, right, we gotta just stay in it. This is a day-to-day. And either you're living day to day without putting effort into the practices and you're flying by the seat of your pants and you're uncomfortable and disconnected. And I've lived that way. Lots of people live that way. If you want something different then you shift this way. And for me, I want something different, right? And so I practice. But I need, I Abby: Mm-hmm, mm hmm, yeah. Chelsea Henderson: need you. I need my other Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: friends and community to keep holding up that mirror and reminding me, like you wanna be a good person, you wanna be the best version of yourself. So practice the practices, you know? Put those tools into play. Abby: Yeah. Practice the practices and and y I will say to anyone who's listening, something that we are always kind of dancing with at Modern Sacred is how to build a business without getting into hustle, grind, scarcity, that never ending to do list. Like we're not we're not trying to build like an empire that's so hard to manage that you end up just right back where you started. So Chelsea Henderson: Right, right. Abby: trying to create a business that allows time, flow, that feels sustainable while living i a life that makes room for family, children, friends, parents, sunshine, movement. time off of our screens, it's such a balancing act. So that's something we could do a whole episode on that. On like that Chelsea Henderson: We should. Abby: holding that intention is sometimes harder than I realized and the importance, Chelsea Henderson: yeah. Abby: at least for us, of reminding each other, like how, you know, let's keep it simple, let's not add too much, let's Yes, we can do all these things. That doesn't mean that we need to right now. Like Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: there's other things on our priority list because it's such a temptation to just pedal to the floor, go all out. And yeah, that's a constant that's a value at Modern Sacred is that we want to build a space from our values and embody Chelsea Henderson: Absolutely. Abby: our values that, you know, if we're having workshops about embodiment, slow living, conscious living. nervous system regulation, the importance of connection, we want to be embodying those things in our lives while we build this space. So that's always, yeah, a balancing act. Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. And I love how you call it a dance. It's so a dance. And we're lucky we have these beautiful humans coming into our our world that are working in that space as well with really clear intention and really strong framework. And I think, you know, Abby: Yeah, to spread the load. Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: we'll we'll be lucky. I think in the next several months we will be hosting things with those women, you know, around Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: entrepreneurial entrepreneurial efforts without hustle and entrepreneurial Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: efforts integrating technology with integrity, right? I mean, there's all these areas that we're gonna get to kind of play and practice in that these women are are bringing their expertise into and building framework and i and infrastructure to be Abby: Mm. Chelsea Henderson: able to step into and utilize. And I I really appreciate that. And I think this has been so expansive in that Abby: Yeah, me too. Chelsea Henderson: way as well. So that we're getting to build it because that's our intention and then I it this keeps happening to me along this this road of living this life this way. we just keep the lights keep going on. Like, we are not alone. They're doing it too. Look at them. they're doing it too. Right. It's like that feels really good. Lots of others. Lots of others on the path. Abby: Yeah. Yeah. And that's that collective effort. Many hands make light work. You know. I saw that Chelsea Henderson: Mm, yeah. Abby: recently helping a friend take care of her urban farm where she Chelsea Henderson: Mm. Abby: had this party and brought all kinds of people together and there was mulch to lay down, there was trimming to be done, there was apples and things that needed picked and there was so much for this one woman to do. But Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: when she picks up some bagels and some fresh fruits and co makes some coffee and invites all of her friends. We got it all done in an afternoon. And, Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: you know, that's and everybody was at ease. My job was just to spread the mulch that the other person brought with the wheelbarrow that someone else loaded into the wheelbarrow. Each person just has their little Chelsea Henderson: I love it. Abby: job and then we get it all done and I see that naturally starting to happen at Modern Sacred where we have women that Chelsea Henderson: Me too. Abby: are saying, I wanna help, like I can do this small piece here and Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Abby: Turns out that's a huge piece and very Chelsea Henderson: Yes. Abby: integrated and needed. And then someone else, I can help with this part here. And then you just spread that load out so that each person is doing a simple task that feels good for them, that they're excited about, that fits within their lifestyle, and then it's just we can all stay in that state of flow. Not any one person is burning out trying to build this thing. Chelsea Henderson: Yes. I mean, my gosh, I feel like this is one of our staple concepts that we kick around, but like none of this is supposed to be done in a vacuum. Humans are not supposed to Abby: Yeah, exactly. Chelsea Henderson: work alone. The whole silo isolation thing is is a is a construct of a system Abby: Hmm. Chelsea Henderson: that does not actually feed humans. So Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: it's pretty important. And it is magical. That seems magical. I was getting chills when you were talking about that. And it's like Abby: It is it's so cool. Chelsea Henderson: it's magical. And yet it is one of the oldest kind of Abby: Mm-hmm. Chelsea Henderson: philosophies and and functionalities of our species that we just all come together to do the thing and the thing gets done so quickly. It's just it's all doable. my gosh. That makes me feel good. I love you. Abby: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I love you and I'm just so glad we had this time to kind of tell people about the journey 'cause yeah, Modern Sacred started a year ago and it it's you Chelsea Henderson: My gosh. Abby: know, it's changing and it's growing and people are joining us. And if you're out there and you're a listener and you're enjoying the show and you're wanting to get more involved, keep a sign up for our newsletter. Keep an ear Chelsea Henderson: Mm-hmm. Abby: out 'cause we've got some ways coming up soon for you to get involved and meet in person, you Chelsea Henderson: Yeah. Yeah, our our membership Abby: know, meet live, yeah, our membership. Chelsea Henderson: And all the events that are coming. I mean, really cool things coming up. So Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: yeah, it's exciting. It's really exciting. I'm excited Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: that I got to build it this whole year with you and with all of our friends who have been involved and it's pretty amazing. Makes it Abby: Yeah, me too. Yeah it is. Chelsea Henderson: a wonderful antidote to some of the things that feel challenging in the world and in this experience. So I'm grateful. Abby: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I'm grateful too. All right, I love you too. Chelsea Henderson: I love you, sweetie. Love to anyone listening. We are grateful for you and yeah, excited to see what what all comes next with everything we've been building. Abby: Yeah. Chelsea Henderson: Okay, until next time. Abby: Okay, until next time. Bye bye.