Wow, what a soul-nourishing conversation I had on my tv show Beyond Birth Trauma — From Burden to Brilliance with the incredible Raminyah Ingram! I just had to share a few highlights with you all, because this goes so much deeper than we often realize. We explored how our earliest developmental stages — from conception, through childhood, and especially marked by our first menstrual cycle — shape our cellular memory, beliefs, and adult behaviors.
Raminyah is such a powerful, radiant force. She’s a priestess, a national speaker, a mother of two, and a global mind-shift coach for spiritual entrepreneurs. She’s also the founder of the New Elder Initiative and the author of Mama’s Manual: Urban Rites, which supports mothers in guiding their daughters through that first rite of passage into womanhood. And personally? She was my mentor for the first four pivotal years when I took my business online. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.
Our talk centered around how the “first drop of blood” is a profound spiritual and biological threshold. It’s not just a physical event — it activates everything we’ve absorbed from childhood and before, including ancestral wisdom, cultural beliefs, and even our mother’s emotional state while carrying us. That rite of passage into womanhood brings to life deeply embedded patterns that, whether helpful or not, shape how we behave as adults.
We talked about how the first seven years of life are crucial, how those formative beliefs get imprinted into our very cells, and how the menstrual cycle becomes the vehicle for our body to speak these lessons back to us — through hormones, emotions, and physical changes. It constantly amazes me how much of our behavior is shaped by this deeply programmed cellular memory.
One thing I loved was Raminyah’s reminder that awareness is the golden key. When we become aware of these inherited patterns — many of which we didn’t even realize we were carrying — we have the power to break generational cycles and create a more conscious, loving path forward.
She also spoke about the importance of honouring rites of passage, especially between mothers and daughters. Creating a sacred moment when a girl transitions into womanhood — led by her mother, in the home — can have a lifelong impact on her self-worth and sense of identity. It reminds her that her body is sacred and that she is supported. So many of us didn’t get that, and the stories we carry about our first period are often full of shame or confusion. But it can be different for the next generation.
And you can, at any moment re-frame that lack of rite of passage. For me, I look back and am grateful that I could be there as a support for so many of my friends, even though my mother didn’t celebrate me becoming a woman, my sister was really there for me.
We also dove into the fascinating science of foetal microchimerism — how our children literally leave their cells inside our bodies during pregnancy, embedding themselves in our organs, our brains, and our bones. This is part of what creates that deep, intuitive connection between mother and child. Every pregnancy, every child carries its own unique energetic imprint based on what the mother was feeling and experiencing during that time. Even siblings close in age can have dramatically different perceptions of life because of this.
If you’re a parent — or even just an adult doing some healing work — we also talked about how you can begin to reprogram inherited beliefs. Some of Raminyah’s favorite tools include breath work, journaling (stream of conscious, writing it out of your body), screaming underwater (yes, really!), and connecting with a wise elder who can hold space for you as you do the inner work.
There was so much more, including tips for rebuilding your intuition, reframing beliefs, and healing relationships with mothers — even if they’ve already passed. It was a truly powerful, loving exchange. If you’re ready to connect more deeply with your own story, heal some old wounds, or just start showing up more fully as yourself, please book a free 20 minute mind shift call. You can find Raminyah at wombniversity.com and me at shannonoflaherty.com or shannonbtb.com.
Big love to all of you doing the work to heal, grow, and love yourselves — and your lineage — a little more every day. 💗
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