The Tampon Aisle

In Part One, we talked about the emotional side of money. The shame, the fear, the ways our nervous systems get wrapped up in it.In this episode, we move into the practical side. What it looks like to actually sit down with your money and start working with it.We talk about: how to figure out what your life actually costs the difference between bills, household, and personal spending why most “budgeting” advice doesn’t work (and what to do instead) how to approach debt in a way that feels more manageable and less overwhelming simple ways to start organizing your money without shutting downThis conversation is for anyone who has avoided looking at their numbers, felt overwhelmed by debt, or wanted a more grounded and supportive way to relate to money.If you haven’t listened to Part One yet, I’d recommend starting there for more of the emotional context.Jenny MacLeod aka Jenny Girl Friday is a feminist business, tax, and money guide, and the author of How to Become Self-Employed in Seattle. For 12+ years, she’s helped clients learn the skills to confidently run their businesses and/or work with their money in a feel-good way. Her approach is trauma-informed, whole body, anti-grind, and all about empowerment. Jenny lives in Green Lake with her husband, has two grown kids. Fave pursuits include complex table-top games, astrology, olympic lifting. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

We’re taking in more information than the human body was designed to process.Not just more information, but more intense information. Constantly. Rapidly. Without context or pacing.In this episode, Olivia sits down with journalist Kara Hackett to explore what it actually costs to stay informed right now and why “being informed” has quietly started to mean “taking everything in.”Together, they unpack the emotional and physiological impact of modern news consumption, the pressure to care about everything, and the reality that more information doesn’t always make us more effective, ethical, or engaged.This conversation is about finding a more sustainable way to stay connected to the world without losing your capacity to function, relate, and show up in your life.In this episode, we explore: Why the news is not neutral and how it impacts your nervous system The emotional whiplash of scrolling between light and distressing content How journalists themselves are affected by repeated exposure to traumatic material The difference between being informed and being overwhelmed Why “taking everything in” is not the same as caring How to discern what is actually yours to hold What it means to stay human in a world that feels like too muchA key reframe:Someone needs to know what’s happening.But it doesn’t have to be you. And it doesn’t have to be all of it.If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, or unsure how to relate to everything happening right now, this episode offers a more grounded, intentional way forward.🎙️ The Tampon Aisle is a space for honest, nuanced conversations about the body, relationships, culture, and what it means to be human right now.--Kara Hackett (she/hers) is Co-Founder of The Local Fort Wayne newsletter with her husband Michael Metzler. Their goal is to make the news more approachable, relevant, and manageable for the citizens of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Let’s be honest.A lot of us don’t have a confidence problem.We have a visibility problem.And not because we don’t have something to say.But because being seen feels… activating.On The Tampon Aisle, I talk about the things we’re usually encouraged to shrink around. This week: microphones, rejection, and why women are still wildly underfunded.I sat down with Krista Ripma — founder and CEO of Authentic Audience, marketing strategist to the spiritually ambitious, and professional mic-grabber; to talk about what it actually takes to build something in public.Not the Pinterest version.The real one.The one where:You follow up seven times.You get ghosted.You post anyway.You pitch anyway.You show your face anyway.Because here’s the thing:Who gets seen gets funded.Together we get into:* Why “founder forward” is a decision, not a personality trait.* The uncomfortable truth about female founder funding.* Why rejection is a KPI :)* How fear is just excitement without the breath.* What happens when you stop making visibility about you and start making it about service.* And the mic metaphor that honestly might rewire the way you think about being seen.We also talk about:* The female friendship wound.* Why co-working might actually be co-regulation.* Why consistency is devotion in disguise.* And why your desire to take the mic might be there for a reason.This one is for the founders.The gonna-be-founders.The healers building practices.The creators with half-written Substacks.The women who feel both “too much” and somehow still underfunded.You don’t need to become louder.You might just need to become visible.We had fun with this one. And by fun I mean mildly activating in the best way.See you in the Aisle :)xo,OliviaPssssst! Prefer to listen elsewhere? This episode is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Public. Send to the group chat.Krista Ripma is the founder and CEO of Authentic Audience, a female-run digital advertising agency that amplifies authentic voices and fosters genuine connections. With over a decade of experience, Krista has a proven track record of building million-plus Instagram followings, tripling online awareness and engagement for brands, and guiding hundreds of business owners to find and speak their truth.As a marketing strategist, she has worked with some of the biggest brands in astrology, spirituality, health and wellness, alongside best-selling authors, business educators, and 7-8 figure entrepreneurs. Krista’s passion for community shines through her work as the host of the Authentic Audience Podcast, her annual Body Mind Business Retreats, and weekly business classes inside the Authentic Business Club.Her unique, radically honest methods promise to cut through the noise, transforming both your business and your life. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Your body isn’t broken. It’s cyclical.In this episode of The Tampon Aisle, I sit down with Dr. Molly Latin to talk about periods, pelvises, and why your body might be smarter than you’ve been taught to believe.Dr. Mo is a naturopathic doctor and yoga teacher whose work blends real physiology with deep embodiment. Together, we explore how understanding your menstrual cycle can change the way you relate to your energy, emotions, intuition, and rest.We get into:• Why your cycle has four phases (and why you feel like a different person every week)• What ovulation is actually doing• Why luteal phase deserves a PR campaign• The myth of the “period” on birth control• How living in a linear world makes cyclical bodies feel broken• What shifts when you stop overriding your body and start listeningThere’s also talk of womb wisdom, being “in your pelvis,” fertility awareness, candlelit bleeding fantasies (yes really), and the radical idea that your body might not need fixing. It might just need attention.If you’ve ever wondered why some days you feel magnetic and clear, and other days you want to cancel everything and sit on the floor with a candle, this episode is for you.Come curious.-Dr. Molly Latin (she/ her) is a naturopathic doctor and yoga teacher whose work blends science with embodied practice. She supports children, families, and people with cycles by cultivating healthy roots in community systems, elevating menstrual and cyclical wisdom, and emphasizing seasonal attunement. Her approach guides people back to the rhythms that nourish both physical and spiritual wellbeing. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

What It Costs to Feel Safe, Part OneOn money, survival, and learning to want moreMoney carries more than numbers.It holds family stories, nervous system patterns, and quiet beliefs about what we are allowed to want. For many of us, it is not the math that’s hard. It is the feeling.In this episode, Olivia sits down with Jenny Girl Friday, a money, tax, and business strategist who has spent over a decade supporting self-employed folks, especially women, creatives, and healers. Jenny’s work bridges the practical and the emotional, helping people build financial lives that actually feel sustainable and safe.Together, they explore the emotional side of money. Why so many capable people freeze, avoid, or feel shame around it. How living paycheck to paycheck becomes a normalized state of stress. How survival skills can quietly become a ceiling. And what begins to shift when we ask different questions about safety, desire, and choice.This conversation is for anyone who feels competent in many areas of life, yet overwhelmed or tender when it comes to money. You do not need to have it figured out to listen. Curiosity is enough.In this episode, we explore:Why money often triggers the nervous systemHow family stories shape our relationship with moneyThe emotional cost of living in constant survival modeWhat it means to partner with money instead of bracing against itWhy wanting more can feel scary, and why it mattersYou are not bad with money. You were trained. And training can change.Learn more about Jenny:jennygirlfriday.com Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

What happens when the spaces that once held us stop holding?This week on The Tampon Aisle, I sit down with Chris Curia (he/they), a therapist, educator, and community organizer who has spent years asking what it means to heal when the system itself is sick.We talk about life after church - not the loss of belief, but the reimagining of it. Why healing is never just about the self, and how liberation begins in the smallest, most relational ways.It’s part therapy, part theology, part reckoning with what happens when your community dissolves and you have to build one again - out of your neighbors, your nervous system, and whoever’s still showing up on your doorstep.This one’s about healing as resistance, belonging as practice, and the quiet revolution of learning to hold each other well.See you in the aisle,Olivia 🤍✨ Meet the GuestChris Curia (he/they) is a psychotherapist, educator, and community leader based in Seattle, WA. Chris holds graduate degrees in counseling psychology and community development from The Seattle School, a small, psychoanalytic graduate institution where Chris works as a member of the Instructional Staff. Chris’s graduate research explored strategies for more equitable mental health outcomes through trauma-informed, community-centered care models and innovative civic partnerships. In a similar spirit, Chris serves as an appointed member of Seattle’s LGBTQ Commission, advising public officials and city departments on issues and policies affecting LGBTQ+ Seattleites. Beyond these roles, Chris is an accomplished speaker and writer who resides in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.✨ Meet your HostOlivia Lehman (she/her) is a therapist, writer, and host of The Tampon Aisle, where she explores the intersections of embodiment, healing, and creative expression. Through her private practice and community platform, Rhythmós, she offers 1:1 therapy and somatic-based intensives that help people reconnect to the intelligence of the body and rediscover a more grounded, relational way of being.The algorithm’s not gonna heal itself — share this one.🎧 Listen to this episode of The Tampon Aisle on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Another week, another taboo cracked open.What if pleasure isn’t the problem — it’s the permission?This week on The Tampon Aisle, I talk with Olaiya Land, a Pleasure and Sexual Empowerment Coach who helps women and gender-expansive folks get out of their heads and back into their bodies.We get into purity-culture hangovers, the politics of the word slut, and what actually happens when you stop performing for the male gaze and start orbiting your own erotic power.It’s part therapy, part confessional, part group chat best listened to with the volume all the way up.This one’s about unlearning shame, turning the lights back on in your body, and remembering that pleasure was never the thing to repent for.Enjoy this one for me — and take some pleasure in it.Yours,Olivia🎧 Listen to this episode of The Tampon Aisle on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.✨ Meet the GuestOlaiya Land (she/her) is a certified, trauma-informed Pleasure and Sexual Empowerment Coach who helps women and gender-expansive folks reclaim their bodies, their pleasure, and their power.Her work blends somatic healing, tantra-based intimacy, sacred sexuality, and gentle trauma release to guide clients into lasting transformation — where sex becomes not only deeply pleasurable but truly life-changing.As a Black, biracial, queer, poly, and kink-positive coach, Olaiya creates spaces where all bodies are celebrated as worthy of love and liberation.Having once felt disconnected from her own sensuality, she knows the struggle of numbness and self-doubt — and the joy of coming home to a body alive with confidence, desire, and unapologetic aliveness.She now helps others awaken to that same possibility and embody the full power of their erotic selves.🔗 Work with Olaiya or explore her upcoming events: wearelionesse.com✨ Meet your HostOlivia Lehman (she/her) is a therapist, writer, and host of The Tampon Aisle, where she explores the intersections of embodiment, healing, and creative expression.Through her private practice and community platform, Rhythmos Collective, she offers 1:1 therapy and somatic-based intensives that help people reconnect to the intelligence of the body and rediscover a more grounded, pleasure-centered way of being.Psssst… a few lines worth underlining 💄 Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

This week I sat down with Ariel June (she/her) - psychedelic guide, mystic, and professional reminder that your soul has better things to do than people-please. We talk drugs, God, and what it actually means to live like you meant to be here. Ariel’s work isn’t about “fixing yourself” - it’s about remembering, rebelling, and choosing radical aliveness over spiritual beige.If you’ve been feeling that quiet whisper that says there’s more to life than inbox zero, consider this your permission slip to listen. To find out more about getting connected with Ariel, visit ⁠https://www.arieljune.com/⁠.To work with Olivia, please visit: ⁠www.rhythmoscollective.com Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Dear listeners~In this intimate conversation, Core Energetics practitioner Natasha Kuhn invites us to move beyond the edges of a diagnosis and into the textured landscape of lived experience. Naming PTSD can feel like stepping into a delicate frame—one that holds both the weight of pain and the invitation to transformation. Natasha offers a tender exploration of what it means to embody trauma without being defined by it, weaving somatic awareness with a slow, compassionate inquiry.Through her work, she holds space for the nervous system’s whispered stories and the body’s own knowing, guiding us from survival toward the profound emergence of healer. This is an invitation to listen deeply—to the self, the body, and the subtle alchemy of healing that unfolds when we stop resisting and start feeling._______Natasha spent her formative years in the former Yugoslavia, until she became a refugee in 1994 due to civil war. Arriving in Canada allowed her to embark on her healing journey, and explore ways to give back by supporting others to do the same. Her passion is working with individuals and groups. She has a private practice in Seattle, WA, where she lives with her family.Find out how to work with Natasha by checking out: https://www.somaecology.com/To work with Olivia or to view her upcoming events, visit www.rhythmoscollective.com or email [email protected] next time,Olivia The Tampon Aisle Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Olivia takes you on a personal journey of disembodiment, starting with childhood and the moment she began strategizing instead of feeling. From quoting The Parent Trap to trying to fix her parents’ relationship, Olivia shares how early experiences led her to leave her body and live in her head. She dives into the consequences of that, how society rewards us for being “rational” and “in control,” and why embodiment is a necessary rebellion against that.Olivia also shares how yoga cracked her open and helped her come back to her body—how meeting the stuck places and really feeling them shifted her life. In this episode, we explore why embodiment isn’t just about healing—it’s about reclaiming power, rewriting our stories, and learning to live from the inside out. If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, this episode is for you.About Olivia:Olivia Lehman is a somatic therapist and embodiment coach passionate about the healing power of therapy and body-based practices. With a background in counseling psychology and training in Core Energetics, she supports individuals and couples through trauma, anxiety, life transitions, and issues of sexuality and shame. Olivia works with a special focus on women navigating pregnancy or healing from birth-related trauma, helping them reconnect with their bodies and break free from limiting patterns to create lasting emotional and relational growth.Olivia’s practice is deeply inclusive, creating space for people from all walks of life to explore their stories and identities without judgment. She believes in the transformative power of personal growth and has been on her own therapeutic journey for over a decade. Outside of her work, Olivia is a yogi, dancer, writer, and passionate explorer of embodiment and femininity. She values connection, meaningful conversation, and the beauty of good food and company.You can learn more about Olivia and her work at www.rhythmoscollective.com or https://www.rhythmoscollective.com/events-2 to join her on April 13th. Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Lace up your skates—or, honestly, just sit back and get comfy—because E Corry Kole (they/them) is gliding straight into your ears with a podcast that’s part existential reckoning, part late-night sprawl across the kitchen table. death, rebirth, & queerness (feat. roller skates) does exactly what it says on the tin: an unflinching, deeply human exploration of the messy, magical transitions that shape a life.Doula, community weaver, artist, and all-around midwife of change, E unpacks birth, death, and the liminal spaces in between. Expect conversations on the radical roots of midwifery, the art of holding space for beginnings and endings, and why skating is, obviously, a spiritual practice. There’ll be detours—into art, embodiment, and the ways we find ourselves (and each other)—because the best journeys never go in a straight line.Thanks for reading The Tampon Aisle Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.E (they/them) is a parent, full spectrum birth, death and rebirth doula, community organizer in the reproductive health space, writer and artist living out their days as a settler on the unceded lands of the Narragansett and Wampanoag people. They midwife change in all of its forms: from families, to organizations, to movements, believing in the restoration of all things.They trained with Mama Shafia Monroe as a Full Circle Perinatal Doula in the legacy of Black midwifery, which is the ongoing work of uprooting oppressive systems and co-creating a more human, connected and liberated world. They are currently enrolled in a Masters program at the California Institute of Integral Studies, pursuing the work of Transformative Leadership, and are a proud member-owner of the Rhode Island Birthworker Cooperative and founding member of Rhode Island Abortion Doulas. You may find them rollerskating at a local rink, or with headphones on and watercolors in hand. They are grateful and honored to have one small part to play “in the family of things” mary oliver.You can check their work out at:www.doorspvd.orgIG: @ecorrykole_pvdIG: @doorspvdYou can work with Olivia by heading to:www.rhythmoscollective.com» Embodied Feminine Retreat - APRIL 3, 2025 «IG: @olivialehman_ Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to The Tampon Aisle, where we’re talking astrology, human design, and shadow work with none other than Sunny, aka Sunlight Oracle—a professional spirit artist and psychic medium previously based in Los Angeles, now in the Midwest. Sunny’s cosmic insights (and no-BS delivery) will help you trust your gut, embrace your mess, and live a life that feels true to you.In this episode, we dive into the magic of artistic expression, the clarity that comes with sobriety, and the wild world of spirit communication. Plus, Sunny shares what it’s like to channel messages (and portraits) from the other side, all while living her most authentic life with her husband and their chihuahua, Fortune.Whether you’re new to the woo or a seasoned stargazer, this episode is your permission slip to explore, create, and align with your true self. Let’s dive in. Learn more about Sunny here ☀️Sunny’s instagramSunny Strader Get full access to Inner Signal at thetamponaisle.substack.com/subscribe