Women Gone Vibrant| Ayurveda For Midlife & Menopause

Have you ever said Yes to an event you really wanted to say No to and then ended up dragging your feet there? I have. Do you tend to take on work although it is not really your job and you don’t get paid extra for it either?…. yep, know that one. Do you keep babysitting for your friend although you really wanted a day off? … I learnt not to. Many of us struggle setting boundaries. Yet setting boundaries skillfully is an integral part to a healthy and happy life. Creating mutually beneficial relationships is based on having explicit ground rules between one another. Being able to say No when we mean No, and being able to say Yes when we mean Yes will let another know where they stand and how much they can ask of you. Boundaries will protect you from burn out, resentment, anger and frustration. So then…I ask..…If setting boundaries is so important why do so many of us struggle to set them? And how can we learn to set them skillfully? Lael Peterson, long time therapist and coach, and I shine some light on the is

Whatever you think and feel has a vibration. Whatever vibration you carry is what you attract. You are probably familiar with the ‘law of attraction’: a law states that “like attracts like” which means whatever you think you attract. This is not wowoo or esoteric. Thoughts are simply energetic patterns that can manifest into reality. In other words our reality is manifested thoughts, our reality is thoughts densified. Taking that as our premise Kelly Mishell and I shoot shine light on how to work with thoughts and emotions to create the life you want and desire. What you get from tuning in: How to create what you want using your mind Tools to change thoughts and emotions to create a better life The Shri exercise to create beauty and positivity in your life Why simply making a choice is powerful in itself. The trigger and perk up list …and why you want to have one “The Wouldn’t it be  nice if…..”exercise     Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better

Bone loss and bone weakening is a major concern for many women especially when getting older. The diagnoses of osteopenia and osteoporosis are dreaded ones not alone because it makes many of us feeling helpless. A year ago, Jackie Prete had been diagnosed with osteoporosis (bone loss) after a bike accident. This was on the heels of dealing with osteopenia (reduced bone mass) for a number of years prior to that. The numbers were very high and the doctors pressured her intently to take drugs. She refused. Jackie shares with us her approach on how she reversed her diagnosis using diet, lifestyle, exercise, Ayurveda and yoga; and how she dealt with the pressures from the medical community.   What you get from tuning in: The difference between building quantity vs quality bone Why digestion is crucially important to healthy bones Holistic strategies to navigate and potentially reverse your diagnosis Jackie’s 20 min routine to keep her bones healthy and reverse bone loss The role of the mind in bone loss One cruc

As if pregnancy, childbirth and menopause wasn’t enough fun for women, there are a whole set of challenges associated with our female parts. 1 in 3 women experience some form of pelvic floor disorder. That’s a significant 33%. Think uterine and bladder prolapse, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections, yoni flatulence or rectal incontinence. In a study from 2007 with close to 9,000 women it was shown that ….. 25% of women experience rectal incontinence 15% stress incontinence of the bladder 29% had multiple surgeries because of pelvic floor disorders 38% farting/flatus out of the yoni 6% pelvic organ prolapse Pelvic floor disorders aren’t discussed much in our society and many women have to suffer in silence. Imagine not being able to have sex due to pain. Or having to wear diapers because of leaking. Or the deep embarrassment that comes with leaking stool. Leslie Stager shares her insight and experience as a holistic pelvic floor specialist. Pelvic floor work is not sexual, sensual, clinical or pain

Menopause is a birthing process that, when embraced consciously, will help us transform into the powerful, authentic wise elders that our society needs so badly. In other words, menopause is an opportunity for women to transform into wise crones. Many women dread menopause. They dread the hot flashes, night sweats, gaining weight, mood swings, hormonal changes, getting old and whatever else comes with the menopausal transition. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right tools, menopause can be the doorway into wisdom, insight and intuition. Menopause is a metamorphosis and can be a wonderful unfolding process into a beautiful butterfly. Cathy Skipper works with the spiritual transformation of midlife using the process outlined by Carl Jung. As an aromatherapist she also works with essential oils to make the journey more graceful and easeful.   What you get from tuning in: The 7 alchemical stages of menopause Strategies to work with the stages gracefully Making friends with our inne

  In the US, 1 in 5 women of childbearing age do not have children. That is a significant 20%. Given the historic role as women as mothers and the fact that a woman’s body is designed to create life, it is still tough for many women to swallow being childless. Emotions may go wild. Grief takes over. Going to blessing ways becomes an agony. Kathleen Woods and I talk our way from what it means to be a childless woman, to how to deal with our emotions, and arrive at plan B.   What you get from tuning in: Understanding and compassion for being a childless woman how to let go of plan A and live plan B How to navigate emotions that commonly arise when being childless What to do with invitations to friend’s blessing ways How to view the thought “If I don’t have children, I am not a real woman” Ancestral DNA, karma  and the shame of being a childless woman 52 nudges to arrive and live plan B       Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause Upgrade

Our sexuality, creativity, vital life force energy and the way we digest trauma are intrinsically interlinked. Krista Woroschuk and I shoot the breathe on how we can arrive in our bodies, unravel our sexuality and unleash our creative potential. What you get from tuning in: The link between trauma, vital life force energy and sexuality    5 Strategies to drop into the body to release trauma and access your sexuality and vital life force energy    Debunking the myth about women becoming less sexually desirable after 40    What is trauma and when are we most impressionable to it    How holding on to stories prevents us from healing our emotions    The relationships between emotions, sexuality and water element    The women’s movement of marrying yourself     Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause Upgrade your body experience. Apply for Body Joy  

Emotional eating, eating disorders and body image issues are an inter-generational phenomena. It starts with children, spans across teenagers and young adults and can go way into old age. What is it about food that has such an attraction that so many of us use it like a drug or refrain from using it at all? Carolyn Ross MD shares her personal story around healing from a severe diagnosed disease and what lessons she has learnt. She now applies those lessons and her knowledge from integrative medicine with her patients who suffer from food addiction and eating disorders. What you get from tuning in: What attracts or repels us so much about food The pleasure loop How Dr. Carolyn overcame chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia holistically The cause and commonality in all types of food disorders The link between black and white thinking and food disorders Early warning signs of food disorders       Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause

The Healing is the personal story of Saeeda Hafiz and a true page-turner. Saeeda is an African American woman who grew up in impoverished conditions and an abusive family. Her idea out of misery was to uplevel herself into the middle class. While having been successful career wise in most people’s perception, she yearned for more. A cooking class opened her eyes to more than just the normal sense of success. She started exploring natural healing methods, in particular food as medicine and yoga as a pathway to more happiness. Saeeda discovered that being truly happy is not only about having more money and a better career but that releasing undigested thoughts, feelings and traumas from the past are a crucial component to being joyful at the core. Yoga and her food choices led the way.   What you get from tuning in: The real life story of how Saeeda transformed her life from trauma to happiness Inspiration on how food is a powerful medicine to shift you out of trauma Sugar – the ally that keeps you stuck Yoga

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.  It is one of the yearly invitations to tune into the rhythms of nature. Some peoples say that at the winter solstice the moon gives birth to the sun. It is the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. The dark gives way to the light. The word solstice is a combination of the latin word sol, which means sun. It also refers to the sun god. The second part of the word, sistere, means to stand still.  Thus, during the solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky as seen from the earth. Another way to look at it is, that the solstice celebrates the end of a gigantic six month exhale and the beginning of a massive six month inhale. And with every breath there is a bit of a pause at the end, a waiting period. The end of the gigantic exhale is an invitation from nature to go inward, regenerate and renew. It is a beautiful opportunity to self reflect and enjoy the beauty of darkness. Yet, in an effort to turn inward, society and

  If you are like most people eating healthy and well is high on your new year’s resolution list. Is it? That’s not surprising. After all, good food is a foundational piece to lasting health and happiness. With bad food we feel blah, bloaty, uninspired. Who wants that? With good food we feel uplifted and inspired. I attest to it. Well, I hate to break the news to you, but if you want to feed yourself well, home cooked food is essential for a peaceful and harmonious mind … and a vibrant body of course. Are you cringing? Does cooking at home sound like a whole lot of work? Hold your horses and read on … If you are a person who eats out a lot you have very little control about what goes into your body (and mind). Restaurants typically get their ingredients from big suppliers who give a d&*% about where they source their food from. The main goal is to keep costs down so you can eat affordably. It’s likely that you eat artificial ingredients,  hormone fed beef and unorganic lettuce. Those ingredients ain’t cre

This is a practical episode about food to help you stay on the bandwagon of healthy eating during the winter holidays. For most of us, winter holidays mean lots of cookies, home-baked goods, many parties and lots of alcohol. And with it comes what? You guessed it, tight fitting pants and a sluggish, heavy digestion. In the last episode we talked about the 3 phase holiday feasting strategy. If you have not listened to that episode, do it now. Then tune in here to get four satisfying recipes to PREP FOR and RECOVER from the feast. What you get from tuning in: 4 recipes to recover from winter holiday parties The digest-ability scale and why you need to care The eat light, eat simple, eat veg principle How to find healthy feasting recipes      Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause Upgrade your body experience. Apply for Body Joy  

Holidays and celebrations feed our soul. They are a way for us to honor the abundance of earth and connect with friends and family. On the downside, the holidays present us with  tons of temptations. Think cookies, home baked sweets, elaborate feasts. Can you already feel your pants getting tighter just thinking about it? And on top of it, you may be wondering if you should make another hole in your belt to accommodate all those goodies. As soul feeding and nourishing as the holidays may be, feeling heavy, sluggish and bogged down by all the goodies is no fun. Proper feasting takes some skill and awareness. In this podcast, I share with you how I approach the holidays and feasting in general. You can apply the principles I am sharing to any feast really…..may it be your birthday celebration, your 20th wedding anniversary or your nieces wedding…you get the idea. What you get from tuning in: The 3 phases of feasting The 80/20 rule and how to apply it to the holidays The pre- and post holiday meal schedule 5 s

This is the story of how Jackie Prete healed herself from a traumatic accident and how you can too. She found herself in excruciating pain and motionless in a hospital bed after being run over on her bike. The prospect was dire. Her shattered leg may leave her unable to walk, teach yoga, being potentially deformed for life and/ or permanently on crutches. Not a sunny outlook for anyone but especially dire for someone whose livelihood depends on teaching yoga and movement. A four hour surgery put her body back together. Her resilience and strong belief that she will heal carried her through mentally and emotionally. Simple and down to earth practices from Yoga and Ayurveda, diet & lifestyle practices were integral to her healing as well. Today Jackie travels worldwide again to share the power of yoga asana, diet and lifestyle practices.   What you get from tuning in: 5 simple strategies to work with the body and mind after an accident How to use yogic practices to heal more quickly from a severe accident

We are talking about clothes of all things. What me? Yes. That’s right. Clothes and everything that comes with it, shoes, accessories, jewelry is important to many women. Period.  And clothes are something that in the world of yogis, with whom I have been hanging out, has often been suppressed and shunned. After all the development of the soul is more important, right?…..and what do clothes have to do with that? Well, truth be told, a lot. The way you dress reflects a level of self confidence, self worth and self love. Clothes reflect your identity and who you are as a person. Clothes also express what you want to experience at any moment in time. Remember a day when you were in pyjamas all day? You were probably going for comfort and snuggle time. Now imagine a day where you dressed up, in a beautiful and carefully chosen dress, adorned with jewelry and maybe high heels (likely not me, but you get the point). Were you going on a date?  You probably felt immediately more powerful, worthy and self confident. A

Most of us have no concept around what it means to invest in ourselves. You may have invested in your career or maybe in a house but have you truly invested in yourself? I venture to say that most people SPEND on themselves but not INVEST. Hahh? What’s the difference? You will find out in this podcast and way more on what is holding you back from creating more happiness and joy in your life. You can read more on this on my blog “The 3 biggest reasons why we don’t invest in ourselves & how we can” What you get from tuning in: The difference between investing and spending on yourself What you get from investing in yourself The 3 biggest reasons that is holding you back from investing in yourself The Hell Yes concept The top tool I use to decide what to invest in     Visit my Website  Join my private Facebook Group  Watch the free video series 5 secrets to a Better Menopause Upgrade your body experience. Apply for Body Joy  

Divorce suck but life doesn’t have to. Getting divorced is not a failure. Getting divorced can be a massive opportunity for growth. There are no mistakes in life. There is only lessons learnt. But truth be told a relationship death can also be tremendously heartbreaking. Using the language of “getting un-married” versus “getting divorced” is one way of signaling that you are ready to empower yourself as a woman. Blooming after marriage is a skill than can be learnt. Daniella, psychotherapist and transformational coach, shares her journey through her own divorce, what feminine empowerment means to her and how to cultivate it.   What you get from tuning in: The lessons one can learn from divorce How to move from ‘once married’ to ‘empowered’ The power of receiving without guilt What it means to be a woman in her feminine energy Danielle’s top strategies to deal with grief caused by divorce How to step into your inner queen How to attract a high quality partner How to untangle co-dependent relationships    

Elise makes bold claims on the front flap of her book Superager. She says: You can look younger, have more energy, a better memory, and live a long and healthy life. First of all, what in the world is a superager? And how come she feels so confident about claiming that we can all be one? Elise is answering all those questions plus she shares inspiring stories of wise elders. We also talk about how aging has changed over time and what it means to age today. You can be a wild, wise, vibrant one too at age 70, 80, 90 and beyond. There is many things you can do for that. “ According to those born on Okinawa, the island with the most centenarians in the world, our Ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning. Our Ikigai is hidden deep inside each of us, and finding it requires a patient search.” Elise Marie Collins   What you get from tuning in: What the heck is a Superager? The inspiring story of May Musk and other women How has aging changed over time and what does it mean for us today The role of Ikigai as y

Finding your feminine essence in a masculine world is not an easy feat. It’s a discovery, it’s a curiosity. As women, regardless of sexual orientation, we carry a watery nature, an essence, a juiciness and creativity that has been given to us by nature. We can create and birth a human being. Menstruation is one way the body expresses that power. Amenorrhea, or the absence of menses, during a time in our lives when we are expected to have it aka when we are not postmenopausal, is a sign of imbalance. A sign, that points toward something undiscovered. Kristen so thoughtfully shares how she is peeling away the layers to find her feminine essence; how she willingly sets her PhD-achiever-self aside and embraces the softness and flow of the feminine.   Your feminine essence is already there. You just need to find it.   What you get from tuning in: What living in your feminine feels like How to tap into your watery, unctuous, feminine nature Why menstruating is divine and important even if you don’t want to have c

18% of the US population suffers from generalized anxiety. That’s almost 1/5 of the population. That’s huge. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet less than 40% of those suffering receive treatment. Hand in hand with anxiety often comes depression. Yikes.   I had severe anxiety in my early to mid 20s, too. So did Jamie. We have walked the path and came out the other end way more grounded and self confident. Jamie used to be on anti- depressants and was frequently so anxious she would cancel a yoga class she was scheduled to teach last minute. Looking at Jamie today, you see a firm and empowered woman across the table.   Yoga and Ayurveda offer simple, low cost and no-side-effect tools. We share with you what worked and still works for us.   “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”  Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation   What you get from tuning in: The difference between constructive vs. crippling anxiety The mental attitude you need to adopt to emerge from