Moksha Through Motherhood with Tova Olsson | Ep 40
I have butterflies sharing this one with you. And I say it because when I name it, I can breathe into it and relax. Because this episode asks something of both of us. It asks us to be real.
I sit with Tova Olsson, known in our community as Saraswati Studies, a Shakta Tantra teacher, scholar of religion, PhD candidate, mother of two and devoted worshipper of the Divine Mother. We had been in each other's field for a while, my students had studied with her, and when we finally came together during the Inner Light Jyotish Festival, I just felt it. Now is the time.
And so we dove right in. Both of us. Fully.
For the very first time I speak out loud about getting pregnant, about not being able to find my true answer until the very last moment, and about the choice I made. And what came through that portal the birth, the body, the Shakti, the grief, the healing, the rituals changed me in ways I am still integrating. I feel like a different woman than I was before all of this.
And Tova brings her story with the same depth and courage. Of becoming a single mother of two, of how the Goddess arrived in her life as pure limitation, and how that pressure became the very fire that transformed her sadhana and her understanding of love.
We also go deep into what it means to mother ourselves. The fears that live in the body that we don't even know are there until something cracks them open. How many women have carried so much in silence, unprocessed, unnamed. And how much can shift when we finally speak it and receive it with love.
This is a conversation between two women who have walked through it. Not around it.
Through it.
And we are here on the other side to say it is possible to love yourself completely through everything the Goddess brings.
Jai Ma.
P.S. Tova and I are planning to host something together soon so stay updated.
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Keynotes
- Moksha or liberation through motherhood and trauma
- How pregnancy and birth serve as powerful initiations and goddess practices
- The healing power of rituals
- Sexual trauma and its impact on spiritual awakening and maternal courage
- The importance of community, ancestral rituals, and trauma integration
- How attachment, societal expectations, and body changes influence the spiritual path
- The role of feminine archetypes
- The significance of holistic practices for healing and empowerment
- The evolving cultural and spiritual support systems for women and mothers
ABOUT Tova Olsson
Tova Olsson is a scholar of religion, author and yoga teacher with over 20 years of experience in education. She is appreciated for her deep knowledge, her ability to explain esoteric ideas and philosophical concepts in an accessible way, for her skillful storytelling, and heart led teaching method. As a 'Scholar-Practitioner', she strives to combine an academic, critical understanding with the experience of a long-term practitioner, offering teachings that provide liberating knowledge - on many different levels. She holds a MA in Religious Studies and is currently working on her PhD, researching the construction of gender in contemporary tantra in Europe. Tova is the author of Yoga and Tantra: History, Philosophy and Mythology, published by the renowned Motilal Banarsidass, as well as numerous academic articles. She also runs the online school Saraswati-Studies and is part of the teaching faculty on several international yoga teacher trainings, where she shares her passion for yogic and tantric philosophy and mythology.
LINKS:
https://saraswati-studies.teachable.com/
https://neoyug.com/dasa-mahavidya-sadhana-2-month-live-cohort-with-tova-olsson/
https://www.mysticart.org/_files/ugd/2f7760_c83876d9815f4feb98f59c14b677ae30.pdf
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Follow Sharada Devi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharada_devi_school/
Website: https://www.devischool.info/
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Also, if this conversation is touching something in you, Shereen Öberg and I are holding a Divine Mother Grief Circle on Saturday May 23rd, 2026 11am to 1pm CEST on Zoom.
Shereen is a Kurdish doula and practitioner of TCM, with a degree in reproductive health and rights, as well as religious studies.
This will be a sacred space of sisterhood for those walking through the initiations of reproductive trauma: infertility, abortion, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, stillbirth, embryo loss, SIDS, traumatic births, and reproductive surgeries.
Space is limited, and the exchange is €13 to €22 on a sliding scale.
We feel deeply honored to be with you.
Come if it is calling you.
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Join the Mother Village our Eros Medicine Women’s Collective (FREE Telegram Group): https://t.me/themothervillage
Experience the Devi Temple Sanctuary (FREE) for Feminine Embodiment, Ceremony and Voice Liberation: https://www.devischool.info/devi-temple-experience
Join the Devi Temple Membership- sanga community, our virtual altar: https://www.devischool.info/devi-temple
Eros Medicine Journey Immersion in:
Portugal (July 8th-12th, 2026)
Sweden (Aug 13th-17th, 2026):
https://www.devischool.info/eros-medicine-journey
Be on the Waitlist for the next cohort of The Muse: The Golden Womb: https://www.devischool.info/the-muse-online-group-coaching
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Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/born-to-be-free/id1732123169
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4w1KLIoHKxifsUo7odfFSV
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