Coming Home to Ourselves: Cyclical Living, Healing & Womanhood
What if understanding our bodies could change the way we care for ourselves and one another?
In this episode of Liberated Learning Conversations, Dahlia sits down with Ashley Rivera, creator of Normalize the Woo, to explore cyclical living, menstrual education, self-discovery, and the importance of reconnecting with our bodies.
Ashley shares her journey from navigating motherhood and personal challenges to discovering community, somatic practices, and a deeper understanding of her menstrual cycle.
Together, they explore how shame and misinformation can shape our relationships with our bodies, why menstrual education matters for young people, and how honoring our needs for rest, support, and connection can influence our families and communities.
In this conversation:
Reconnecting with ourselves through journaling, reflection, and community
Understanding the menstrual cycle through the metaphor of the four seasons
Rethinking how we introduce menstruation to young people
Communicating our needs and modeling self-care for our children
Breaking generational patterns of shame and silence
This conversation shares personal experiences and perspectives for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.
Dive into our worlds:
Liberated Learning website - (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUlxb01IWjBYa3hIdXpuWWNYMzlTeDlPNVhqV3xBSTVJdTVzcVRqTzh1MnVUMUp1V1VsaFVwMUJqQXktU2lHQjB1SFFPVWFzS1pEbTlXMGk2enVPSmN2SWt4Sjd4Z2ZmU1k5dDA5a0Q4NVlKRWV0MEwtaVpyb1g3QnVFcTRENEdL&q=https%3A%2F%2Fliberatedlearning.org%2F&v=5q_EYw_TB1o)https://liberatedlearning.org/ (https://liberatedlearning.org/)
Normalize the Woo on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Substack.
https://www.normalizethewoo.com/ (https://www.normalizethewoo.com/)
https://www.instagram.com/normalizethewoo/ (https://www.instagram.com/normalizethewoo/)
https://www.youtube.com/@Normalizethewoo (https://www.youtube.com/@Normalizethewoo)
https://www.tiktok.com/@normalizethewoo (https://www.tiktok.com/@normalizethewoo)
https://substack.com/@normalizethewoo (https://substack.com/@normalizethewoo)
5 Oct 2026
A Different Seat at the Table: Life, Learning, & Liberation After the Classroom
What happens when you leave the classroom, but the educator in you never really leaves?
In this conversation, Dahlia Quintanilla sits down with former educator and Acre Minds founder Amanda Zubia to reflect on the experiences that shaped them as teachers, the challenges that led them to rethink their place in education, and the different ways they continue to support students, families, and educators outside of the traditional classroom.
Together, they explore teacher burnout, the pressures of testing, the importance of creating spaces where students feel safe and seen, and what it can look like to reconnect with ourselves through movement, nature, breath, and community.
At the heart of the conversation is a reminder that leaving the classroom doesn't always mean leaving education. Sometimes, it simply means finding a different seat at the table.
18 Jun 2026
Your Body Has Been Holding Its Breath (Here's Why)
We explores the disconnection between mind and body in the context of learning, highlighting the impact of colonial conditioning and the importance of embodied learning.
Takeaways
Embodied learning is essential for a holistic learning experience
Colonial conditioning has led to a disconnection between mind and body
Chapters
00:00 Noticing Body Sensations
08:24 The Wisdom of the Body
17:30 Liberated Learning Community
https://liberatedlearning.org/ (https://liberatedlearning.org/)
https://liberatedlearning.org/liberated-learning-cohort/ (https://liberatedlearning.org/liberated-learning-cohort/)
17 Apr 2026
Liberated Learning Cohort - Is this the space for you?
More information on cohort here. (https://liberatedlearning.org/liberated-learning-cohort/)
23 Mar 2026
Releasing Colonization, Practicing Liberation
Feel into the impact of colonization, the wisdom of Indigenous knowledge systems, and empowerment.
Our daily practice leads us to liberation!
Takeaways
Colonization's impact on societal structures
Empowerment through alchemizing pain and releasing colonized schooling
Chapters
00:00 The Continuation of Colonization
07:19 Empowerment and Alchemizing Pain
12:38 Reclaiming the Body and Self-Love
4 Jan 2026
"How did you get started with Liberated Learning?"
Dahlia Quintanilla shares the personal journey that continues to shape this work.
Discover how her own healing through somatics and the courage to reimagine education led to a vision for learning spaces that heal.
For educators, facilitators, and changemakers ready to co-create healing-centered learning communities: https://liberatedlearning.org/ (https://liberatedlearning.org/)
4 Jan 2026
The Exhale We've Been Holding - 15 minute practice
This somatic practice flows through breath awareness, grounding, and movement.
This practiced is offered to co-create the space for you and your body to connect, with the intention of melting pent up stress and tension.
Invitation: Take time to practice decompression in the body, create the space for the body to be heard.
Reminder: Experience the practice how your body needs. No performance or measuring up, just allowing ourselves to be. Return to presence. We are practicing feeling presence.
Focuses
Breath awareness
Self-compassion
Full body softening
P.S. More of this lives in Exhale (https://liberatedlearning.org/exhale-seven-days-of-somatic-release/), if you need it.
Contact Liberated Learning
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