With Anna Lodder

Episode Recap – Hummingbird Wisdom, Part 2 | The Midwife Life Podcast

In Part 2 of Hummingbird Wisdom, Diane Ortega welcomes back Anna Lodder for a powerful, intimate conversation about what happens when a woman stops disconnecting—and starts listening to her body. Through her journey with somatic sex education, Anna shares how pleasure, intimacy, and embodied truth became central to her healing after years of dissociation, silence, and shame.

This episode is for every woman who’s ever wondered: Is there more than this?

🌿 Pleasure is Not a Reward—It’s a Requirement

One of the most striking revelations Anna shares is that pleasure isn’t a luxury to be earned after everything else is done. It’s an essential part of nourishment, just like food, rest, or breath.

Through her work with somatic sex educators, Anna reframed pleasure as something that fills her cup and allows her to show up more fully in her roles as a mother, partner, and community leader.

“Pleasure is how I feed myself now. It’s part of how I care for myself and show up with a full cup.”

🎧 This episode invites you to stop deprioritizing joy and start recognizing it as fuel for your wholeness.

💬 Ask for What You Want (Even If It’s Hard)

For years, Anna found herself silently hoping others would meet her needs, without ever voicing them. Whether it was in sex, parenting, or friendship, she admits she often waited for someone to “just know” what she wanted.

Through body-based healing, she learned to name her needs clearly and unapologetically. This episode explores how direct communication fosters deeper intimacy, not just with others, but with yourself.

“I used to say, ‘I’m hungry,’ when I really meant, ‘Can you bring me a snack?’ I didn’t know how to ask.”

🎧 If you’ve struggled to speak your truth or make requests without guilt, this part will hit home.

🔥 The Erotic is Sacred, Not Shameful

Anna gets radically honest about unlearning sexual scripts that never fit. She opens up about faking orgasms, struggling to feel desire, and carrying shame around wanting more.

Somatic sex education offered her a new path, one where she could integrate her erotic self into her full identity, not keep it hidden away. For Anna, eroticism became a way to practice truth, boundaries, and compassion, not just in the bedroom, but everywhere.

“My erotic identity is not separate from me. It’s part of my personhood, part of my integrity.”

🎧 This episode reclaims eroticism as a sacred, healing force, one we all deserve to access.

👩‍👧 Talking to Kids About Sex with Openness and Respect

As a mother of two, Anna also shares her thoughts on raising sexually healthy kids. From navigating awkward moments (like being caught kissing in the kitchen) to deciding how to explain her return to school to become a sex educator, she models what it looks like to parent with honesty and developmentally appropriate transparency.

“I wanted my kids to grow up in a home where pleasure wasn’t shameful and curiosity wasn’t punished.”

🎧 Whether you’re a parent or not, this part offers a fresh take on how to build a culture of consent, care, and communication.

🌱 You’re Not Too Late. You’re Right on Time.

At 42, Anna returned to school to become a somatic sex educator and sexological bodyworker. Her message is clear: reinvention is always possible. Healing is available at any age. And you are not behind.

“This work changed my life. Now I get to offer it to others.”

🎧 If you’re standing at the edge of a life shift, this is the reminder you need: you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

🎧 Listen Now to Part 2 of Hummingbird Wisdom

Part 2 is an invitation to reconnect with your body, your truth, and your voice.

📲 Stream now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
💬 Tag a friend, share with your circle, and start the conversation.

You are not too much. You are not too late.
You are worth knowing, from the inside out.