Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bridgid Frothingham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Bridgid, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, let’s take a stroll on memory lane, back to when you were an apprentice or intern. What’s a memorable story from that time that you can share with us?

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Sure. My grandparents lived on a small lake in Olympia, WA and I’d spent my childhood summers immersed in it, studying the muck as it swirled around my feet, watching swans and dragonflies mate in the air as I floated silently on an inner tube.

My first memory of creating my own spiritual discipline was when I was around 11 years old. I was finally allowed to take the row boat out alone into the center of the lake and drift. I brought my journal and would write about all kinds of things… mostly processing my life and relationships.

I was raised in a devout Orthodox Christian household, but the lake is where I connected to source. This deep dark green lake went 100 feet into the ground and held me so delicately as I stared up at the sky. I even had my first orgasm there, kicking my legs while swiming as a little girl! It gave me so much more connection to myself and Spirit than inside the walls of a smokey church.

I only bring up the church, because it was such a contrast for me- a man made organization with very strict rules about what to eat, wear, think, say- as opposed to this gentle flowing lake where I could explore myself at my own pace.

My clients are at a place in their lives where they are doubting their cultural conditioning to behave and believe certain things: how to raise their children, how to show up in their marriage, how to act at work, how to relate to their friends. They come to me frazzled, exhausted, wondering why they feel so emotionally unstable and out of sync with their life.

I draw on my deep personal relationship I’ve developed with the earth and with Spirit over time, and help them find their own connection. I help them understand their own energy bodies and speak to their own spiritual guides. The answers they come up with are incredibly personal and authentic. I teach them ways to move their own energy as a sort of hygiene to stay empowered and connected to their goals.

What I’m most proud of, is when I lead the client into a trance state and they find an answer deep inside of them that surprises me. This tells me that my ego and influence are not standing in their way and that they are walking their own path. It’s rewarding because I get to marvel at the diversity of life and bask in its mystery. I don’t want to hear my own ideas rattle around in someone else’s brain. I want to invite them into a safe and welcoming space, teach them a few skills, and watch them build themselves up into a confident powerhouse with their own sense of boundaries and desires.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The career I pursued as a child and young adult was in vocal performance. I realized early on that singing is what got me the most praise and attention. I was able to jump up and completely change the vibe of the room with a few lines of a song, and it became my identity. What was once a pure connection) sitting at my Grandpa’s foot repeating back Irish ballads in oral tradition), became a commodity I exploited to gain notoriety and money. I earned a Bachelors in Vocal Performance, recorded as a studio session singer, and developed a drinking problem in live performances at night clubs.

When I had my first child at 26, I was devastated that I couldn’t dedicate as much of my time to the music industry, which had a grip on my entire sense of self. I thought I was dying. I must have pulled the Tower card 20 times. I tried to maintain as much of a performance schedule as I could, but the demands of parenting all hours of the day made it difficult. I decided I needed to stop performing at night when I got pulled over for swerving across lanes at 2am heading home from a show. I didn’t get a DUI because I was drinking responsibly (that night)- but it was enough to scare me into taking my lifestyle a lot more seriously.

I had to choose where I put my focus. With the help of a mentor, I realized that my priorities were my health and my family, and I would need to let the rest go for a while.

As a dedicated mother, I dove into learning about energy healing and relied on my spiritual practices to carry me through the challenges of raising a family. I sang to my baby, I sang to the forest, I sang to the sea, I sang to my house… I rediscovered the pure beauty of my voice as a connecting instrument. Now I love to sing for people again, but only do so with a pure spiritual intention, and mostly in the context of a connected circle.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I just celebrated my first friendiversary with the co-facilitator of NOURISH: A Retreat for Mothers, Teresa Regan Hess!

One year ago, we were accompanying our children at an Unschoolers Meetup at the Great Wolf Lodge. We immediately bonded about our spiritual embodiment practices, attachment parenting style, and our desire to take the next steps to develop professionally as guides for other mothers. I had just graduated from Jai Institute for Parenting with a coaching certificate, and Teresa was feeling ready to apply her years of feminine Zen study and practice to serve more clients.

We chatted about how nice it would be for mothers like us to have some sort of retreat to regain our connection to self and to source after the demands of early parenthood. One year later, we had already successfully produced our retreat! 7 Mothers accompanied us to Whidbey Island, WA where we spent three glorious days immersed in meditation, bodywork, connection, empowerment and delicious food. We were so successful with our NOURISH theme, that even us the facilitators left feeling nourished.

Meeting Teresa at the Great Wolf Lodge was a testament to the urge to step away from the laptop and engage with the world face to face. We met thanks to a mutual desire to get out and play with our kids and were able to build a powerful contribution for other dedicated and tired mothers who needed some care.

You can learn more about our retreat at www.NourishRetreatforMothers.com. Email me to get on the waitlist for next year! [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nourishretreatformothers.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bridgid.the.mom

Image Credits
David Lowrie, Teresa Regan Hess, Joan Green