Unlocking Healing and Empowerment Through Microdosing and Cyclical Living - Leslie Draffin

Discover the transformative power of microdosing mushrooms with our guest, Leslie Draffin, a distinguished women's somatic coach and psychedelic microdosing guide. This episode unravels Leslie's inspiring journey from a TV news anchor burdened with anxiety and shame to becoming a beacon of healing and empowerment for women. Dive into her innovative cyclical microdosing method that synchronizes with the menstrual cycle to ease PMS and PMDD symptoms while enhancing sensuality and creativity. Learn how mushrooms, with their anti-inflammatory properties, can not only alleviate physical discomfort but also boost neuroplasticity, leading to profound personal insights and healing. 

Our conversation takes a deep dive into the realm of self-awareness and its crucial role in nurturing meaningful relationships, be it with partners, friends, or children. We address the apprehension around exploring psychedelics and provide thoughtful guidance on navigating these fears through introspection and alternative practices like somatics and breath work. Leslie shares how you can connect with her transformative work through her Instagram, YouTube channel, and email, encouraging listeners to embrace both joy and pain for a richer life experience. Subscribe to "Pleasure Principles" for more engaging discussions and share this episode with anyone who could use some extra light and laughter in their life. Stay curious, courageous, and true to yourself.

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Chapters

• 0:07 Microdosing Mushrooms for Enhanced Intimacy
• 12:47 Embracing Joy Through Healing Work
• 17:58 Healing and Connection With Leslie

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hey there, everyone. Welcome back to Pleasure Principles. I'm your host, avik, and today we are diving into a topic that's as intriguing as it is transformative Microdosing mushrooms for increased pleasure and intimacy. Yes, you heard that right. Joining me is the incredible Leslie Rappin, so welcome to the show, leslie.

Speaker 2: 0:29

Thanks so much for having me. I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Lovely, lovely. So, leslie, like before we start our conversation, I'd quickly love to introduce you to all of our listeners. Dear listeners, leslie is a woman's somatic coach, psychedelic microdosing guide, breathe walk teacher and menstrual cycle educator. So her journey from being a successful TV news anchor, battling anxiety and shame, to becoming a guide for women looking to heal trauma, retain their bodies and find deeper pleasure is nothing sort of inspiring. So Leslie has even developed a groundbreaking cyclical microdosing method, an approach tailored to the menstrual cycle. That's helping women not only heal PMS and PMDD, but also reconnect with their sensuality, creativity and the inner power. So this conversation is going to get real, raw and revolutionary. So why do you wait? Let's jump in. Welcome to the show again.

Speaker 2: 1:37

Thank you so much for having me. That was such a great intro.

Speaker 1: 1:40

Thank you, thank you. So let's say like your story of transformation is definitely incredible, like moving from a place of shame and disconnection to empowerment and the purpose. So, if you can share the moment that you realized that psychedelic mushrooms were a catalyst for your healing.

Speaker 2: 2:01

Sure.

Speaker 2: 2:01

So I had really gone the Western medical route to help me with my anxiety and my depression, and so I had been prescribed medicine, I had been to therapy, and yet it didn't really feel like anything was working.

Speaker 2: 2:17

On the personal side, you know, I was also meditating, I was exploring embodiment practices like breathwork and movement, but again I felt like I was blocking my own healing because of how intellectualized I was around the trauma that I had experienced, and so for me, mushrooms became an opening, a way to, like you said, ally, with a catalyst that was able to subtly and gently open me to my subconscious.

Speaker 2: 2:46

I heard about them on a podcast which is fabulous because here we are talking about them on a podcast and then, pretty quickly afterwards, I had that woman on my show and then hired her to help me because I had a lot of fear around psychedelics. Right, they're very taboo, they're still illegal in a lot of parts of the world. And yet for me, I was at this point in my life where I was ready to say enough is enough, I've got to go deeper, I have to try this next level thing, take on a little bit of risk. But for me it really became such a bountiful reward because it did help me move through a lot of the blocks that I just couldn't do it in therapy.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Understood. That's really, really interesting, I would say that's really powerful to hear how intentional use of psychedelics can go beyond the trippy experiences and actually serve as a bridge to self-compassion and healing. Yeah, so, yeah and um, so you have developed the cyclical microdosing method, as I mentioned also so which is tailored to align with the menstrual cycle. So why do you think that this approach has been so effective for women? And, um, if you can also tell us, like, how does it work?

Speaker 2: 4:06

Yeah, so it works by changing up the number of days a week you ingest mushrooms based on where you are in your menstrual cycle, and so, super simply, you would split your cycle basically in half, the first half being those weeks when you feel great, and then the second half being those weeks when you feel great, and then the second half being the weeks when you don't always feel great. So when you feel good, you would sit with medicine two or three times a week, and then, in the two weeks that do feel more challenging, you would microdose as many as five days a week. And so it's backloading sitting with medicine and microdosing during the two weeks leading up to the period when estrogen is coming a little down, progesterone is rising and you may have more PMS and PMDD, and then, in the weeks where you feel really good, you have less time microdosing, so that you have more time doing those really energizing and positive habits that can help you make positive change in your life. I believe that it's working because of two things One, it's helping you intuitively live in sync with your cycle, which I know is just such an important part of a woman's life, yet it's something that we often overlook. And then the second reason I think it's working so well is because of the magic of life. Yet it's something that we often overlook.

Speaker 2: 5:25

And then the second reason I think it's working so well is because of the magic of mushrooms. Right, these teachers allow us the space to look within ourselves, get to the root causes of some of our issues, open that door to the subconscious and, I like to say, hold our hands as we walk through. And so that might seem a little bit more of a mystical explanation, but if you want more of a biological explanation, I think that this cyclical microdosing method works well because of the anti-inflammatory properties that mushrooms tend to have when we ingest them more often during the times of our month where we have more things like pain, headaches etc. I believe that's one reason, biologically and physiologically, that they're helping. And then the other reason is when we look at our menstrual phase, the days that we bleed physiologically in the brain, that line between the right and left hemispheres thins just a little, and so our neuroplasticity and our ability to communicate through those two parts of the brain turns on right. It's much more, um, yeah, like sort of just lit up.

Speaker 2: 6:37

It's one reason why your dreams might be really active when you bleed. It's another reason why you might feel like you just get these great aha moments if you have a meditation program with your life already. But with microdosing added into that phase, I think we become really tuned in to things like our purpose, to things like what's working in our life and what's not working in our life, to things like our habits that we need to change. I see women get super energized right after their period when they're on the cyclical microdosing method to make really aligned changes in their life Everything from changing what they eat to changing the people that they are around, to changing what they ingest, as far as media goes, and so those are some of the reasons why I think it works.

Speaker 1: 7:23

Lovely, that's really lovely. And psychedelics and pleasure, two words we don't often hear in the same sentence. See if you can explain like by micro I mean how microdosing mushrooms can actually enhance the intimacy and pleasure both with ourselves and with the partner.

Speaker 2: 7:45

For sure. So I like to say that microdosing helps you develop self-intimacy, and so this, in my definition, is that knowing of yourself, and I think that it starts not exactly with pleasure, although, interestingly enough, my very first protocol, the reason I hired a coach, was to help me with the sexual shame that I'd experienced for most of my life. And so I, when we begin to really start to understand who we are, when we start to understand what we need, what we want, what we desire, through a microdosing protocol, we know ourselves more and we are often able to give ourselves more compassion, we are able to slow down and to have that pause. Now, I don't believe that you can fully experience pleasure without being present and without being in that pause, and so I think that's the first reason that microdosing is really helpful it brings us back into the present, it reconnects us to ourselves. The second reason I think they're really helpful is because, when we do pair microdosing with self-pleasure practices, which can be anything from a more sexual self-pleasure practice to just bathing or getting a massage or going for a walk in like the beautiful nature, when we pair those two things together, we start to show the brain. Oh, this is the new habit that I want to be embarking on in my life, and so we build those new neural pathways between this pleasure response, this benefit and reward response, and microdosing in the way it works in your brain helps to make those pathways stronger the more you do whatever that pleasure seeking activity is.

Speaker 2: 9:28

And so the third reason I think it works is when you are in a partnered relationship and you've been doing the work to become more in tune with yourself. You've been creating rituals that bring you more pleasure. Then, third and finally, you can then open yourself up more fully to a partner and explain to them what it is that you truly want and need and desire. And when you have a supportive partner, I find it certainly has impacted my relationship, my marriage, you know, exponentially, but I find that you feel safer to be more vulnerable and open. You find ways to more clearly express the things that you want, especially in the bedroom, which can be a very vulnerable place. And then, if you really want to jazz it up, maybe your partner eats mushrooms too and you microdose together while you create that pleasure practice to reconnect as a couple and also show your body and show your brain. Okay, now, this is the positive benefit, that habit that we now want to embark on through our life and our relationship.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Exactly, exactly, very true, and yeah, and then I love this the idea that pleasure isn't just a surface level experience, it's tied to a safety connection and the authenticity also Really defining what it means to experience pleasure on a kind of soul, deep level yeah, yeah, yeah and um also, uh, this thing is coming. I mean, uh, the intimacy in the relationship. So how has your work with these psychedelics and um the somatic practices change the way that you approach connection with others, like both romantically and platonically?

Speaker 2: 11:19

Yeah, oh, that's a good question. So I think for me and I should say this is something that I have also experienced with clients the pairing of somatics which for folks who might not be that familiar, is basically an approach to whole body healing that really specifically focuses on healing the mind-body connection by teaching you ways to understand and listen to your body's sensations. So when you focus on somatics and psychedelics together, again it brings with intention when this is your intention, it can bring your nervous system back into resilience, it can begin to show your body that it's safe. But I'll also say, you know, one thing that I felt was really healing long-term, but did not feel that great short-term, was the fact that somatics and psychedelics together really did bring up some things that were deeply triggering for me my body image issues, my sexual shame, and it was like I had to clear away that debris within myself and my psyche in order to fully open and become unblocked. And so if you are starting to work with this medicine and are hoping that it's going to bring you more pleasure, do not be surprised if it does bring up more shame, if it brings up wounds from your past that you have maybe forgotten about. It's a reason why I always suggest working with someone if that's your goal.

Speaker 2: 12:47

But to answer the question of how the relationships in my life have broadened and deepened, because I did that work of looking at those shadows and looking at the things that didn't feel that good, I knew myself more deeply. I knew what I needed, what I needed support with, what I needed help and love around, and I was more able to express to my husband. You know, this is what's coming up for me. When you do this, it makes me feel this and when I do this it makes me feel this. So the communication was so much deeper because I knew myself at such a broader level. And the same goes with outside platonic relationships. You know, for me I have found that I'm much more able to be present, to be patient, to be better communicator with the friends in my life, with the children in my life, and I really find that that has made me a happier person and in turn I think those relationships happier as well.

Speaker 1: 13:42

Exactly exactly. That's very true, and also I mean I can't wait because there are a lot of things to discuss about within this short span, but I'm trying to cover most of the things. So microdosing psychedelics can sound intimidating to someone who's never tried it, so what would you say to someone who's curious but maybe nervous about taking that first step?

Speaker 2: 14:13

Yeah, I was too. I was too. I was really nervous to explore this very taboo thing. And so if you feel nervous too, that is totally normal. And then I'd ask yourself where is that nervousness feeling in the body? Is it in the chest, Is it in the belly? Do you feel it in the head? And what's the nervousness showing you? Is it that you're worried you're going to get in trouble? Is it that you're worried that this is wrong? Is it that you're worried that someone in your life is going to judge you?

Speaker 2: 14:44

So do a little bit of soul searching and a little inner work about where is the fear and what's the fear showing you. And it's highly probable that the fear might be showing you that you're worried about losing control, You're worried about getting in trouble because that's, to be honest, unfortunately a liability in this work. And then if you move past that and you still realize you know what this is worth the risk, because it was for me then I would just encourage you to do the research that you want to do. I have a free guide I'd be happy to send you about ways to microdose intentionally, ways to do it with sacredness in mind, with reverence for the medicine in mind. But yeah, just know that this is an option, right? Psychedelics is an option and it might be for you and it might not be for you. That's one reason why I love somatics and breath work and cycle syncing, because those can also be incredibly potent and powerful tools for your pleasure journey, If you decide that maybe psychedelics is too much of a risk for you right now.

Speaker 1: 15:52

That's really awesome, yeah, yeah. And so you have worked with so many women to help them embrace their authenticity and build a life that they are excited about. So what's one piece of wisdom you would want every woman listening right now or maybe they will listen later to know about their capacity for joy, healing and the pleasure.

Speaker 2: 16:16

Oh, wow, what a great question. What I would say is this is maybe not the popular opinion, but what I would say is you will never feel the depths of your joy if you will not look at the depths of your pain. I really believe that we operate at very much like a stagnant place in life. Maybe we're a little happy, a little sad, like a lot of us are, in that blah, and it's because of all of the society that we live in, it's because of capitalism, it's because of the fact that you know we are so driven to work and to do versus be, and so if you have found that you don't feel you have a big capacity for pleasure, or you don't have time for pleasure, or you feel like you can't get super happy or super joyful, I would look at where are you holding on to sadness? Where are you holding into grief? What's your story around anger? And know that sometimes you need to go into both the dark and the light, the shadow and the light, to fully feel the things that you want to feel.

Speaker 1: 17:29

Lovely, lovely. So, leslie, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your wisdom, your vulnerability and your groundbreaking work with the audience, to all of our listeners. So, from microdosing to somatic practices, you have definitely shown us that healing and the pleasure aren't just possible, but they are our birthright. Am I correct Right?

Speaker 2: 17:55

Yes, for sure.

Speaker 1: 17:57

Okay, yeah. So listeners like, if you, if, if you, if you want to learn more about leslie's work or try her cyclical micro dosing method for yourself or for someone whom you know, check out the links into the show notes. I'll put into the show notes for your easy difference. And always remember that healing isn't about kind of rushing to the finish line, but it's all about taking that one small and intentional step at a time. So, leslie, if someone wants to connect with you, how they can connect.

Speaker 2: 18:30

Well, I think you said it. You can go to the show notes Also on Instagram, and I'm on YouTube. I started a YouTube channel last fall so you can find me there. It's mostly meditations and breath work. My Instagram is at lesliedraffin and if you want to reach out and you have a question, hello at lesliedraffincom is my email.

Speaker 1: 18:50

Perfect, perfect. So, dear listeners, do not forget to follow Leslie's work and also follow and subscribe to Pleasure Principles for more inspiring conversations like this one, and share this episode with someone who could use a little extra light and laughter in their full life, all today, starting from today, definitely so, until next time. This is your host, avik, signing off. Stay curious, stay courageous and, as always, stay true to yourself. So thank you so much.