Ancient technology & modern science: the power of the shamanic drum - Sophie Messager

Episode 518, released 18th September 2025.

In this week’s show, Lian is joined by Sophie Messager. Sophie bridges worlds that rarely meet. A former reproductive physiologist with a PhD, she traded her microscope for holistic practices after experiencing the transformative power of an empowered birth. Her decade-long journey as a doula, birth educator, and author of Why Postnatal Recovery Matters deepened her exploration of the rhythms surrounding women’s transitions.

Listen or watch on:

Transcript is here: episode518transcript

Now a holistic life transition mentor, Sophie guides women through significant life thresholds – from birth to perimenopause and beyond. Her unique combination of scientific expertise and spiritual insight allows her to serve as a compassionate space holder for those seeking to harmonise their analytical and intuitive selves.

In this episode, Lian and Sophie explore the ancient and immediate power of the drum… how it once belonged to priestesses and women of the land, how it was silenced by culture and religion, and how it is now returning as medicine for body, mind, and birth. Together, they trace the threads of history and lived experience, revealing why rhythm has always been a companion in times of transformation.

Sophie shares her journey from research scientist to doula, and the moment a single drumbeat opened a path that has carried her ever since. They speak of birth rooms where drumming restored sovereignty, of hospitals where rhythm returned power to a woman’s body, and of the everyday rituals that root us in calm and clarity.

They also explore what happens when women collectively reclaim the drum: the nervous system shifts, the mind quiets, and a deeper wisdom becomes audible. At its heart, this is a conversation about remembering… rhythm as medicine, voice as courage, and community as the ground of healing.

We’d love to know what YOU think about this week’s show. Let’s carry on the conversation…  please leave a comment below.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• How women once held the drum as a sacred tool of fertility, labour, and trance… and what was lost when that rhythm was silenced

• Why a steady beat can shift brainwaves, calm anxiety, and even transform the experience of birth

• How reclaiming the drum today awakens both personal sovereignty and a wider cultural remembering

Resources and stuff spoken about:

• Visit Sophie’s website

• Buy Sophie’s book: Why Postnatal Recovery Matters

• Sophie’s online courses about perinatal & life transitions rituals:

  • Drumming for birth

  • Postnatal rebozo massage and closing ritual

  • Rebozo techniques for an easier birth

  • The art and science of postpartum wrapping

  • How to run a Mother blessing

  • How to prepare for a nurturing postpartum

• Join Sophie on social media:

  • Instagram

  • Facebook

  • Linkedin

  • Youtube

• Join UNIO, the Academy of the Soul. This is for the old souls in this new world… Discover your kin & unite with your soul’s calling to truly live your myth.

Don’t want to miss a thing?

Subscribe (BTW, it’s absolutely FREE) to the show on your favourite platform or app by clicking the relevant button below… That way you’ll receive each episode automagically straight to your device as soon as it’s released!

Thank you!
Lian & Jonathan