Meet Sammi Barrett

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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sammi Barrett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sammi below.

Sammi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk I ever took was deciding to give birth to my 2nd child at home. My first birth was the typical hospital birth with lots of medical interventions that left me feeling disconnected from my body and a shaky foundation to embark on the journey of motherhood. This time around I was determined to trust my body even if it felt uncomfortable and unfamiliar. My pregnancy was filled with lots of stress while caring for a toddler, unexpectedly leaving our home while 5 months pregnant due to a safety issue with our neighbor, and moving into my parents house (where I would eventually birth my child). Looking back now, I can see how this was my initiation into the shadow realms of my own being and informed my current work in shadow work and somatic integration practices for mamas. Here is how the birth went:

Thursday the 17th of November I woke up in bed with a release of light pink fluid knowing labor was not far.
Sporadic cramping & contractions began & continued throughout the day. I went for a walk & bounced on the birth ball. Throughout the night sensations intensified. My husband slept in my older daughter’s room so l could focus on the waves. I needed him to get some quality rest because I knew later I would require his support. I slept here & there but eventually sensations got stronger & it was impossible to lie down. I went downstairs to have a snack & watch a movie. Moaning & rocking helped me move through the contractions as they grew stronger.
Friday morning we had a large breakfast with eggs, bacon, fresh fruit & some coffee knowing the importance of true nourishment before the marathon that lie ahead.
Around 3pm the intensity of sensation brought me to my knees & we decided to call my doula. I told her I thought things were moving along but didn’t want her to come yet because I would’ve felt bad if she had to come & then go back home if things slowed down. She wanted to listen to me through a few contractions. We talked over the course of 15 minutes & I had 3 contractions. As she listened to me moaning through them she said, “I am heading over to you — this baby is coming!” I hung up the phone & had my husband get the tub ready to slow thinas down a little bit & help with discomfort. I started to have a contraction while the water was filling up & told my husband to text my midwife and update her. Within seconds I told him to call her because this baby was coming soon.

At 5pm my doula, midwife & assistant midwife all arrived. I had been in the tub for a while & my midwife wanted me to labor out of the tub since baby’s heart rate was a little high likely due to being in the hot bath. I tried to eat some sourdough & butter with a clementine but was grossed out & all I could handle was coconut water. I knew that was a sign things were progressing along. After laboring on all fours for a few contractions baby’s heart rate was back to normal & my body began to completely relax knowing that my birth team was here & complete.
Contractions were coming one after another with barely any break.
My midwife didn’t perform any internal exams. I didn’t know how many centimeters I was dilated & so the entire laboring process allowed for my intuition to lead. My birth team let my husband & I do our thing which felt very special. My doula supported me with gentle reminders to soften my hands & my jaw…allowing my body to let go & allowing baby to move down.
Waves of sensation intensified & I threw up. It felt difficult to regulate my body temperature. At one point I looked out of the window & noticed snowflakes falling outside. I felt it was a sign that I would be snuggling my baby soon under the warm blankets of my own bed.
Around 7:30pm I got back in the tub & immediately felt a warm gush of fluid as my waters broke. Baby was using each contraction to move down. We worked together as a team. There was an inner dialogue between baby and I as we took turns using our powers of strength & surrender.
I felt strong pressure begin once my waters broke & I could feel myself dropping deeper into the realm between worlds, the birth portal, unable to focus on anything else but the dance I was sharing with my baby.
I was lying back in the tub as my husband cradled me. The waves coming & going. One hand gripping onto the edge of the tub & the other raised in the air as if I was summoning ancestors to help me birth my little one. Moaning & guttural sounds escaped from my lips as I rode the waves of labor.

It became so intense that I decided to get out of the tub since it was hard to manage the discomfort with the lack of space for movement.
I jumped out & got more vocal. The only thing that helped my contractions were counter pressure on my sacrum & folding over in a standing position while rocking side to side. The moaning helped up to this point but now I needed to yell. The increasing pressure made me realize the time to push was just ahead.
I was never told to push by anyone else…instead I did so when my body could no longer resist it.
I was empowered to listen to my body’s innate wisdom.
It was time to fully surrender. To open.
I got into a standing high squat & held onto my husband while beginning to bear down.
Each contraction took over & I felt no longer in control.
At this point I was screaming.
I needed to push against something so I got down on all fours.
My midwives set up towels underneath of me.
I pushed & the sensation peaked.
I could feel the ring of fire…baby’s head was stretching me as far as I could go…but it didn’t hurt which was unexpected.
It was the coolest feeling I had ever experienced.
A burst of relief as baby’s head came fully out.
Quickly my midwife told me to step my right foot up into lunge position & to stop pushing & instead breathe through contractions.
I knew this position was for shoulder dystocia & that there was a good chance the rest of baby was stuck. We had only a short window to get the rest of baby out.
My midwife stayed calm & so did l, ready to do whatever necessary to help baby shift.
She told me she had to put her fingers inside to unhook baby’s shoulder from my pelvis.
I didn’t even notice her doing this. It took all of 2 minutes for her to free baby up.
She told me I could push again when I felt like it & with a gush the rest of my baby came earthside.
I squatted down & held my little one.
My midwife said, “Talk to your baby. You did it.”
I didn’t hear any cries yet & my baby was kind of limp.
For some reason, I didn’t feel afraid though.

I touched my baby’s foot & felt toes curl knowing at that moment baby was okay.
I had faith & knew from watching plenty of home birth videos that sometimes babies don’t cry right away.
We put baby upside down to allow the mucus to drain out of the nose & mouth.
Choking & coughing but no crying.
My midwife was not worried so neither was I.
My husband asked me to see if it was a boy or a girl but I wanted to wait until baby could breathe fully.
We put the oxygen mask on to help clear out the mucus.
Coughing & choking but still no crying.
Baby started to pink up & Erin said with a sigh of relief, ” baby looks great. Hold your baby close and keep baby warm.”
I felt the warm little body finally responding to my touch & quickly noticed that in my arms I held a sweet baby girl.
“It’s a girl!”
My baby girl. My husband & I started laughing & crying at the same time.
She opened her eyes & looked at me with an alertness about her arrival to Earth.
Magnolia Mary. Welcome to the world sweet girl.
She was over 10 lbs & 23 inches long.
Born into mama’s loving arms in Nana & Pop Pop’s bathroom.
We have been waiting for you for so long.
She latched onto my breast.

My husband sprinted downstairs outside & screamed at the top of his lungs & then walked back inside to share the news with our families, “IT’S A CHUBBY GIRL WITH A FULL HEAD OF HAIR”.
My contractions continued as I prepared to birth the placenta.
I was passing large clots & losing a lot of blood.
I was given a tincture & shot of Pitocin to slow the bleeding.
One easy push & the massive placenta was birthed.
We let baby girl stay attached to her placenta for about an hour before my husband cut the cord long after it had stopped pulsating so she would get all that oxygen rich blood.
My birth team helped me get into bed.
My husband brought me a delicious smoothie with some raw placenta in it to help slow the bleeding & nourish my body.
My sweet Maggie lay skin to skin with me in our own bed in our own home.
We did it.
We birthed in power.
We labored in comfort & safety of home.
Now it was time to rest & nourish for baby was just born and so was I.

The risk that I took in fully trusting the wisdom of my body and the wisdom of the countless women before me who birthed in this way definitely paid off. This experience informed my work in a way that I never expected and allowed me to step into a version of myself that was finally ready to take up space and help other mamas embody their innate wisdom with the world.

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?

I am a mama and shadow work and somatic integration guide who facilitates intentional spaces for activating feminine wisdom. I have guided women to embody their feral feminine wisdom for the last decade. I graduated from Temple University with a degree in the science of education. My passion for learning, creating, and educating runs soul deep. I have led in person and virtual offerings, from individual client sessions and group classes to workshops, courses, and retreats. I have worked with over 800 students & have over 1000 hours in the following integrative wellness practices:
Trauma-Informed Hatha Yoga
Advanced Vinyasa Yoga
Somatic Yin Yoga
Immersive Chakra Balancing
Energy Work
Somatic Meditation
Somatics for the Female Nervous System
Ayurveda
Herbalism
Off The Mat, Into the World ‘Yoga Purpose & Action Leader’

I found these practices as a way to support myself through debilitating anxiety and depression in my early 20’s. Pairing these practices with what I have learned in the last 5 years of motherhood inform my work with mamas and shadow alchemy. I help mamas unlearn and rewire to become more embodied in their relationships, motherhood, or leaders in their work.

My current services that I offer are a monthly membership called Sunday Shadow Somatics for millennial black sheep visionaries ready to embody their innate feral feminine wisdom. It’s a monthly 90 minute practice that includes shadow work, somatic yin yoga, breath awareness, guided meditation, and lectures for collective transformation. Once you register for the $77/month you get access to that month’s live class and every previously recorded class as well plus an online community space for everyone in the collective to reflect, connect, and collaborate.

The problems I solve: The lack of an authentic community to lean into. The lack of connection to the natural rhythms and cycles of the feminine. The lack of resources for understanding the complexities of the feminine psyche and nervous system. The lack of capacity to hold space for shadow emotions and integration their wisdom. Fear of taking up space unapologetically in the world.

I help these women build their own communities. I help them build a well of resources to lean into the complexities of the feminine psyche and understand our unique physiology and nervous system capacity. I help them build authentic relationships, activate their soul purpose work, reclaim the self in motherhood, hold space for challenging emotions, and take up space.

What sets me apart is that my methods are multifaceted and adapt to the flow of the rhythms and cycles of life that are reflected in nature. These practices provide an intentional container for the alchemy of the mind, body, and collective consciousness. My work is filled with humor, hope, a little tough love, and a vast spectrum of integrative wellness practices that specifically support female physiology. I created a 4-step method:
1. Awaken: unlearn and explore through awareness and intention.
2. Align: honor and embody with your rhythms and cycles
3. Alchemize: integrate and rewire through feeling and neuroplasticity
4. Activate: express and expand with creativity and aligned action

I am most proud of the intentional communities I have created with women from all different walks of life that can come together, unlearn patterns of suffering, collaborate together, and tap into their innate wisdom.

The main things I am looking for: is to build up my monthly membership for Sunday Shadow Somatics.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

December of 2021 I had a miscarriage & 1 week later I got covid. We managed it at home & on day 5, I lost my sense of smell. That never happened to me before & it was incredibly disorienting. I felt good otherwise, but it induced a lot of stress & fear. That night my husband & 2 year old daughter fell asleep before I had the worst panic attack of my life. All of the fears & grief from the past few years came up to the surface.

I entered motherhood after a long & intensely traumatic birth that left me with ptsd.
One month after having my daughter the world shut down.
I was trying to trust my newfound intuition despite being ridiculed for making certain health decisions for my family & felt very lonely.
Everything I thought I knew was shattered & had to be rebuilt.
My relationships were suffering greatly.
I had just lost a baby.

All of that was sitting on my chest like a 100 lb. weight.

Then I thought to myself, “damn, it’s been a tough few years.” The wave of grief, anger, loneliness & fear all came up at once like a tidal wave.

I finally surrendered to it.

I actually let myself feel the sensations of it all…without trying to conceptualize anything. Just felt experience. Electric rage, shuddering fear, suffocating grief & hollow loneliness all at once. It was so intense.

But after that, I began to catch my breath little by little. I came down from the out of body experience & grounded back into my bones. I held space for what I had been through.

After that, my faith in my ability to deal with whatever challenge life threw at me deepened. I realized that if I could simply feel into the discomfort of life’s suffering, it couldn’t hold power over me any longer. Previously, I would’ve spiritually bypassed the more shadowy emotions in the name of love & light. That experience showed me that my shadow emotions weren’t something to fear, but instead illuminate because they helped me begin to embody my inner wisdom with ease.