Wise Women Conversations

I recently posted on my instagram account asking women to ask questions about what they were struggling with when it came to menopause, anxiety came a up a few times. On this episode of Wise Women Conversations I decided to talk about anxiety, what it is, what causes it and what you can do to manage your anxiety without having to take pharmaceutical drugs. Anxiety is different for everyone, some women feel over-excited, others have a racing heart, other women will simply shut down and freeze. It is often accompanied by a shortness of breath which can cause pains in the chest, dizziness or a sense of doom. Lowered levels of progesterone can play a role in the increase in anxiety attacks as women move through menopause but anxiety can also be caused by an imbalance in brain neurotransmitters, GABA and Glutamate. There is a difference between stress and anxiety. Stress is the body's physical response to a physical or emotional threat, this threat can be real or perceived. Stress is about the past, a reme

In this week's episode of wise Women Conversations I am chatting with a dear friend Franziska Iseli about her new book The Courage Map. Franziska is an adventurer who wants to make a positive impact on the world. Franziska is always looking for great moments of humanity and she found many when she decided to take a motorbike ride across one of the most difficult and notorious highways in the world - the Silk Road. Whilst she was on her journey Franziska had many different adventurers and met so many people who showed her those moments of humanity that she was looking for. This is a fun conversation with Franziska as she shares stories from her journey and what she learnt about courage from the back of her motorbike. You can learn more about Franziska and get a copy of her book The Courage Map on her website - www.franziskaiseli.com. You can also get a free copy of the Courage Map Journal from her website as well, so that you can start your journey of courage. If you would like to see some of the videos tha

I often get asked will my body return to the way it was and my simple answer to that question is - NO! In this episode of the Wise Women Conversations podcast I am sharing why your body won't go back to the way it was. I talk about how the changes that happen with your body at menopause change the way in which your body works and how it can never go back to functioning the way that it did. But this isn't a bad thing. Do you really want to have a monthly period? Do you really want to worry about falling pregnant every month? Do you really want to continue paying for sanitary products? There are so many benefits to being in menopause. The biggest benefit is that this is your time to create the life that you want. It is time for you to own your inner wise woman. It is a time for you to be a role model for younger women. You have so much potential in this time of life. Menopause doesn't need to be a struggle, you can make a decision that you will embrace the changes that are happening and make the deci

Recently I was a guest on the Women Re-Inventing Midlife Summit with Deb Johnstone and Deb gave me permission to share the interview on this podcast. Deb and I chat about the changes that happen to women as they come to mid-life and how important it is to look after your body at this time of life. I believe that if you can reduce your physical symptoms then this reduces your emotional stress and you can look at the world through a brighter lens. It is really difficult to have a positive outlook on life when you are in constant pain, or your body breaks out in a complete sweat every 30 minutes. This is why I help focus women on addressing their physical health first and when they feel better they naturally make better decisions for themselves. Deb is a Life and Career Coach and you can learn more about the work that she does at her website - https://www.debjohnstone.com.au/

This episode of Wise Women Conversations is another solo one from me and it is a bit of a rant. I am not sorry that I recorded this episode because I think that we need to shift our thinking around menopause but I do apologise to anyone who might be offended by what I have to say, it is never my intention to upset or harm anyone with my thoughts. I am sick of hearing the phrase "menopause sucks", then followed by a litany of symptoms that someone might be experiencing. There also seems to be many symptoms that are being blamed on menopause when there are many different causes. In fact menopause doesn't CAUSE any symptoms but it might TRIGGER symptoms to occur, if there is something underlying that is not supporting your health and wellbeing. Women who are alive today are privileged to be spending so much of their life in menopause, because if we go back a couple of generations women simply learnt living long enough to spend much time in menopause. The female body was designed to reproduce, that is it

As we get older our fashion style can change due to a changing body shape, the differences in your skin and your (possible) change in hair colour. Just because everything is changing doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of style. This week I am chatting to Silvana Patrick who is a Personal Stylist about how we can maintain a sense of style as we age. Silvana has a background in the fashion industry and spent some time working for Vogue New York. But with a sense of disillusionment she left and spent the next few years working in the corporate world. Luckily for the world Silvana realised that she could help women and men discover their personal sense of style. As someone who thinks that I have no style whatsoever, I was pleased when Silvana shared that everyone has style whether they realised it or not. One of the key things that Silvana said that really resonated with me was that she helped women "fall in love with the mirror." This was a big ahha for me as someone who has avoided looking in the m

Many women tell me that they want their body to feel 'normal' again but maybe what you think is normal was really your hormones protecting you from the harm that you have been doing to it through your food choices, the toxins you are exposed to and the stress that you can been under. In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I speak about change and accepting that your body will never be the same as it was when you were in your mid 20s. If your hormones are protecting you, then as your hormones drop that natural protection drops as well and this means that if you want to feel better then it is up to you to make some changes so that you can create your own new 'normal' way of feeling. It is possible for you to feel energetic, vital and full of life as you move into the next stage of your life, you simply need to embrace the changes that are happening, start to put yourself first and nurture your body.

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am speaking to Doris Mounsey about her health journey and how that led her to experience medically induced menopause. I often speak about natural menopause but when you have medical conditions or treatments that result in you being in menopause prematurely things can be very different. Women in this situation often experience sudden and severe symptoms as the body has to quickly adjust to the dramatic loss of hormones. This was Doris's experience and she was left feeling lost and alone as the Drs didn't really have any solutions for her. Have a listen to the story that Doris has to share, of how she found a way to manage her symptoms naturally and now helps other women who are on a similar journey to what Doris has been on. You can learn more about Doris on her website - www.dorismounsey.com or on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YogaKinesiologyWorkshops/ You can also read the article that prompted me to have Doris as a guest on the show here - https:/

This week' episode is another solo one from me and I am talking about having a vision. Now you might wonder what has having a vision have to do with reducing your hot flushes or losing weight. It has everything to do with it. It is quite easy to get stuck in the pain and discomfort of the various symptoms that you are experiencing. I don't want to dismiss the way that you are feeling but if you don't have a vision for how you want to feel it is very hard to make changes. Einstein is quoted as saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result." Often women ask me how to 'treat' menopause, my first answer is that you can't 'treat' menopause because it is a natural stage of life. I know that they are often looking for a pill to fix how they are feeling, but a pill won't fix anything it will only mask what is really going on. If you want to feel differently you need to do things differently. It is so much easier to make change if you know what it

Our money beliefs can impact so many different areas of our lives including our health and often we are not even aware that this is happening. In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I chat with Money Coach Jane Walters. Jane was a Financial Advisor for many years until she realised that while she was giving her clients the best advice it was their beliefs around money that was stopping them from getting the financial freedom that they desired. Jane then decided to become a coach so that she could help her clients to address their beliefs around money. Many women in midlife were bought up to believe that money doesn't grow on trees and that it was the husband's role to provide financially for the family while the wife raised the children. While this is likely not how we are living our lives today, those belief systems are still embedded somewhere in the sub-conscious mind and might be impacting your financial decisions today. It is not uncommon for women in mid-life to not have enough super

This week's episode of Wise Women Conversations is a re-published conversation that I had with Faith Agugu who is the creator of a fantastic event for mid-life women called Silver Sirens. Faith invited me along to her last event and it was fantastic to see such a great line up of women who are in mid-life sharing their stories and wisdom. Faith has a special interest in the mental health in African and Australian aboriginal communities and in this conversation we also touch on a very important topic and Faith shares how she got involved with an organisation called GMAR (Grandmothers Against Removals). The removal of children from aboriginal families and communities is something that needs to be changed. Even if it is deemed that it is unsafe for a child to stay with their family, the first option should be to find someone else in the community to look after this child and this is not happening. As a racial wellness coach this topic is very close to Faith's heart. Have a listen to this conversation and learn m

This episode of Wise Women Conversations Podcast is a little different from normal. The first difference is that I have a Wise Man on the podcast rather than a Wise Woman. The second difference is the topic - saving children from sex trafficking. I wish that I didn't have to have this conversation with Marc but the work that Marc does with Destiny Rescue is real and it is needed. Destiny Rescue is a Not-for-Profit organisation started in Australia over 18 years ago, and is dedicated to fighting the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in seven nations. Their highly trained agents run covert and raid rescue operations, day and night to locate and rescue children being used and abused. With the ongoing support of generous donors, Destiny Rescue has successfully liberated over 5,200 individual victims of human trafficking. They have been instrumental in the closing of many bars, clubs and brothels known to be targeting children for sex work, and have seen numerous perpetrators prosecuted. Their tir

This week I am sharing the recording of a webinar that I recorded earlier. In this webinar I delve into what happens to your hormones as you move through menopause, why you feel the way that you do and the 5 key steps you can take to thrive in menopause.

In this episode of Wise Women Conversations I chat with Beverley Webb from Step Forward Coaching. Beverley had a really tough childhood but she managed to survive and eventually become a very successful business woman. But Beverley hadn't left the trauma of her childhood behind her, it started to show up in her health and also her relationship with her children. After losing everything, including her health, Beverley saw this as the chance to remove the masks that she had been hiding behind and find her voice. Once Beverley healed the trauma of her childhood she knew that she had to help others find their voice as well. As a constant high achiever managed to retrain as a coach in a short time frame so that she could start helping others as soon as she could. Beverley that silence makes the guilt and shame worse, this is why she believes it is her legacy is to use her voice to hep others and she does this every single day with her words and her actions. This was a truly inspiring conversation that I th

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am sharing 3 facebook live recordings that I have done over the past couple of weeks. I was answering some of the common questions that I receive about menopause. The topics that I have included in this episode are 3 of the most common symptoms that women can experience - hot flushes, weight gain and body pain. I share with you what the cause of these symptoms are and what you can do to relieve them. As you listen to each of the topics I think you will start to notice a theme when it comes to the cause and treatment of these different symptoms.

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I chat with Peta Green from Strong Healthy Women all about movement and fitness. You probably know the importance of being healthy and fit but how does our fitness requirements change as we change. As your body changes with menopause so does the way you will need to exercise. Many women can experience joint pain and a loss of flexibility and a good exercise program will counter balance the effects of ageing on your body. Peta shares that the 3 keys to being healthy as you age is - strength, flexibility and balance and she share some simple exercises that will get you started if you haven't exercised for a while. To learn more about Peta and the work she does visit her website www.stronghealthywomen.com.au and you can find her on all of the socials under Strong Healthy Women and Peta Gillian. Peta has also offered you a great resource - The 5 essential steps that will help you Get Started, Stay Motivated, and Be Successful with your Active, Healthy Life.

This is the 3rd episode in the series of 3 episodes all about balancing your chakras. Learn about the throat, third eye and crown chakras. How you can balance them using meditation, food, crystals, essential oils and movement. Hopefully you have found these episodes about the chakras to be enlightening and you have been able to learn some things that will help you to feel better.

Have you ever felt embarrassed to go to the beach in your swimsuit? Have you hidden your body underneath an oversized top? Then this episode of Wise Women Conversations is a must listen to for you. I am having a chat with Anita McLachlan from Sequins and Sand which is an online store that sells swimsuits (or cossies in Australia), leisurewear and travel wear. As Anita was speaking to her customers when they were trying to find the best swimsuit for them she realised that many women simply didn't feel confident being seen in their swimwear. She heard stories of women who were missing out on fun holidays with their family because they were embarrassed about the way that they looked. This led Anita to create a campaign called the Cossie Confidence Campaign which was designed to help women to feel confident in their swimsuit and to celebrate their body. This campaign not only allowed to hear the stories of these beautiful women it allowed the women to finally put themselves first and have some fun. As

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I continue to share with you how you can balance your chakras using food, essential oils, crystals and meditation. In this episode I cover the Solar Plexus and Heart Chakras. The Solar Plexus chakra is all about your gut both physically and emotionally while the Heart chakra is about love and it is also our bridge between our physical and spiritual being. As a bonus I have created an e-book that includes all of the information that I share in these episodes plus more. You can access the e-book by visiting bit.ly/chakra-ebook and completing your details and then I will email the e-book to you. I would love to hear from you over on the Thrive in Menopause facebook page what you have learnt from these episodes and what you are doing to re-balance your chakras, or do you think that this is all a bit too woo woo for you (that's okay if it is).

In this week's episode with Sandy McDonald we talk about the stories of hope, inspiration and connection that we all have. Sandy shares her story from almost bankrupt to creating a world wide movement that has helped 10s of thousands of children in Sth Africa. When Sandy started knitting squares for her Aunt in Sth Africa she never realised the difference she would make and the stories that she would become a custodian of. The international charity that Sandy started continues today without Sandy at the helm but in the very capable hands of a community of knitters around the world. Sandy took her experience and decided to re-write her own story to become the wise woman that she is today. In this conversation Sandy shares: •why it is important not to define yourself by a label (job title, mother, wife, daughter etc) rather to see these as experiences, as part of your body of knowledge •how writing your story is a way of unpacking the value that you bring to the worldHer most important message was that your