Wise Women Conversations

What do you do when you reach your mid-stage of life and you look in the mirror and don't really know who you are anymore. Anne McKeown is my guest on this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations and she shares what happened when she went through this. Anne is now a Life Coach who helps other women to find themselves and create successful lives, in ways that are meaningful to them. We discuss discovering who you are beyond your label as a mother, wife, daughter etc and the endless possibilities that are available to you. Anne shares a simple exercise that you can do to discover who you really are. Anne is so passionate about the work that she does with women particularly when it comes to finding your purpose in life. If you would like to learn more about the work that Anne does you can visit her website http://annemckeown.com/ or on social media https://www.facebook.com/2Mpower.co/ https://www.instagram.com/anne_mckeown_coach/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/2mpower/ https://twitter.com/2Mpower_

In this week's episode of the Wise Women Conversations Podcast I am sharing the final Pillar in navigating menopause with ease. This is all about your mindset and beliefs around ageing and menopause. Your belief systems will play a significant role in the way in which you are able to move through this time of life. If you believe that menopause will be a struggle then this is likely how you will experience it. It is possible to move through this time of life with relatively few symptoms, I know because I did it and many of my clients have as well. Even if you are currently experiencing symptoms such as weight gain, hot flushes, sleep issues plus more by following the 5 steps that I have been sharing you will find that this can be a truly wonderful time of life. If you would like to take part in the next free 7 Day Hormone Reset you can register for the waitlist here - bit.ly/7day_hormone_reset

When I first heard the term going AF, I wasn't sure what it meant until I asked Mitlè Southey to explain it to me. In this episode of Wise Women Conversations we chat about being alcohol free (AF), I am not sure why we need another label but here we are. Mitlè shares her journey with alcohol and how she got to the stage where she considers herself to be AF. I also don't drink alcohol, I stopped drinking it 2 years ago because I was sick of being in constant pain. Once I stopped the small amount of alcohol that I was drinking all of my body and muscle pain went away. I don't really miss the alcohol and I also don't miss the constant chatter in my head about whether I will drink or not on a night out, Mitlè talks about this in our conversation. Alcohol has serious impacts on our health and wellbeing, yet many women are reluctant to give it up. Society has taught us that we can turn to alcohol in the good times and the bad, in the happy times and the sad. Listen to this open conversation between Mitlè an

In this episode of the Wise Women Conversations podcast I share with you Pillars 3 and 4 to navigating menopause with ease. These recordings were taken from a recent 7 day Hormone Reset that I ran. Pillar 3 is all about your environment and reducing your exposure to toxins that can cause imbalances in your hormones. In Pillar 4 I talk about stress and the impact that is has on the manner in which you will experience menopause, in fact stress is the underlying cause of most symptoms.

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am talking with Janet McGeever who is the Co-Author of Tantric Sex and Menopause (with Diana Richardson). This was a beautiful conversation with Janet gently sharing how it is possible to be intimate after menopause despite the changes that happening in our body's. Janet's book and this conversation is about relearning what we think we know about intimate relationships. She shares the importance of understanding energy, receiving and giving, when it comes to intimacy. I really enjoyed this conversation with Janet, her voice is so gentle and she holds space while we talk about a topic that can be a sensitive one for many women. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her book and had many ahha moments as I was reading through. There is so much that we can still learn about intimate relationships, things that are completely different to what we have learnt in the past. I hope that you enjoy this conversation and if you would like to learn more about Janet you can

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am sharing the first 2 Pillars to navigating menopause with ease. Menopause doesn't have to be a struggle there are some simple steps that you can take to reduce your symptoms and enjoy this next stage of life and it doesn't need to include taking any pills or potions. You have the ability to be in control of your health simply by choosing what you put in your body, the way that you move, the toxins that you expose your body to, the amount of stress you have in your life and your mindset around ageing and menopause. It is you choice. When you make different choices you will feel differently. Over the next few solo episodes I will be sharing all 5 Pillars that I teach my clients. These 5 Pillars have made a significant difference in my life and in the lives of my clients and once you know what to do it is remarkably easy to stick to.

This week's episode of Wise Women Conversations was a fun one when I had Bron Roberts who is a Laughter Yoga Teacher. I had heard of laughter yoga before but I wanted to find out more. Bron shares the years when she lost her laughter and what she did to get it back. Bron also found that laughter got her through some tough times when her Mother was very sick. There was so much fun and laughter throughout this episode particularly when Bron shares the story of the time she turned "crazy old lady" to get a flight upgrade. Bron has so many fun stories to share and she is proud of her "crazy old lady" status. You will also learn a quick exercise to help you start laughing, follow along with Bron and I guarantee no matter what mood you are in, you will very quickly feel your mood lift as you experience the healing effect of laughter. If you want to learn more about Bron you can visit her website www.letslaugh.com.au or find her on LinkedIn as Bron Roberts.

Many women are afraid of deteriorating brain health as they age, this is particularly significant for women who have had a parent with dementia or Alzheimer's Disease. This week is Alzheimers Disease Awareness week so I thought I would talk about what you an do to improve your brain health and reduce your risk of neuro-cognitive diseases. I share with you 10 things that you can do to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. The earlier that you address these 10 things the more likely you will remain healthy and alert as you grow older. It is believed that there is a window of opportunity between 40 and 50 where women can prevent the progression of neuro-degeneration. We know that women are more likely to experience neuro-degeneration than men and now there is research being done to see the role that menopause plays as well. This research is showing that there is a hormonal switch that occurs as oestrogen starts to drop that increases the risk of Alzheimer's Disease. That doesn't mean that t

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am honoured to welcome Deb Johnstone as my guest. A few weeks ago shared an interview that I did with Deb for her Re-Inventing Midlife Summit so I thought it was time for me to have her as a guest to share her wisdom. As a Life Coach who works with women as they reach their midlife, Deb has a lot of wisdom to share. Deb helps women who are feeling lost and confused to get clarity and confidence to step into the next phase of their life. She also shares the importance of feeling the emotions that might come up for you rather than trying to bury them. Deb is running a second free Re-Inventing Midlife Summit in early November, if you want to be a part of this fantastic event you can register at www.womenreinventingmidlife.com/summit2

Sleep is one of the most common issues that concerns women as the move through menopause. As your progesterone levels drop you can find yourself having problems with your sleep but it is not only progesterone that can cause issues with your sleep. Your sleep habits play a very big role and many people have unhealthy sleep habits. This week's episode of the Wise Women Conversations Podcast is a recording of a facebook live that I did during the recent 7 Day Hormone reset that I ran. In this recording I provide an overview about sleep cycles and what impacts them plus I also share some simple things you can do to support healthy sleep cycles so that you wake refreshed. If you would like to learn more about how you can navigate your menopause transition with ease why not grab my free e-book called Understanding Menopause here - bit.ly/menopause_ebook

In this week's episode of Wise Women Conversations I am chatting with Lynn Jenkin from Horsanity. Lynn has lived a varied life in many countries and had many different careers but the one constant in her life has been horses. Now Lynn combines her love of horses into her coaching business. Lynn shares that the horses don't do anything except "be" horses but it is within this beingness that we can learn to connect to ourselves and to the horses. We talk a lot about energy, the energy we give out and the energy that horses can give us. Lynn also shares some of the stories that she has seen played out when different people experience the energy of the horses. This was a very calming conversation, Lynn has obviously learned how to use energy like a horse with all of her years living with them. Have a listen to the entire episode to learn about the role that horses can play in helping us re-write our stories and to connect with ourselves. For more information about Lynn and her horses visit www.horsanity.c

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