Inflammation. You’ve probably dealt with it before when you took an NSAID for a headache or had a cut that got sore and inflamed, but did you know that there’s inflammation in your body all the time? Unfortunately, there are many internal and external factors in modern-day living that cause inflammation in your body and lead to all kinds of uncomfortable symptoms. Joint pain, headaches, bloating, and autoimmune conditions can all be signs of chronic inflammation, to name just a few. So, what can...
Nov 16, 2023•28 min•Ep. 28
What do you want to be when you grow up? Maybe you thought you’d have an answer to that question by now but you’re realizing you have no idea. You might be reassured to know you’re not alone. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have it all figured out, but what does that even mean? Let’s unpack it in this episode with some guidance from our special guest, Erin Harrigan. Erin Harrigan is a Christian wife, empty nest mom, speaker, author, and business coach for high-achieving Christian women ...
Nov 09, 2023•29 min•Ep. 27
Did you know that you can use your chakras to find comfort and balance in midlife? If you’ve heard of chakras but you’re not sure exactly what they are or what they do, this episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive is the perfect place to start. Lauren Leduc is walking us through each of the seven chakras to teach us what they are, what they do, how they become blocked, and why you might want to work on unblocking them. Lauren Leduc is a visionary, yoga teacher, intuitive, mentor, and mama. With the spe...
Nov 02, 2023•29 min•Ep. 26
Did you know you can start experiencing perimenopausal symptoms as early as your mid-thirties? Many women feel confused and alone during perimenopause because the world totally fails to prepare them for it. If you relate to that, you’re in good hands because my guest, Monique Willingham, and I are passionate about helping women understand what’s happening in their bodies during this time. This episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive will help you understand your hormones and empower you to reclaim your...
Oct 26, 2023•30 min•Ep. 25
Do your emotions feel pretty out of whack right now? In this episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive, I invite you to explore with me how Chinese medicine can support you through the emotional changes of perimenopause and menopause. Are you feeling depressed or angry because your body hurts? Upset because you're exhausted all the time? Anxious because you don't know what each day will look and feel like? You are not alone, and you’ve come to the right place. Chinese and functional medicine can be helpf...
Oct 19, 2023•18 min•Ep. 24
How prepared do you feel to navigate the changes of midlife? No one prepares you for the vast majority of the things you experience during midlife, so don’t blame yourself for feeling underprepared, but what can we do to take matters into our own hands? Lisa Shires is here to share some of the tools you can add to your life kit to handle the stressors that many women face in midlife such as empty nesting, aging parents, and changes to your body and relationships. Lisa Shires is a Certified Profe...
Oct 12, 2023•32 min•Ep. 23
The changes and transitions of midlife can really do a number on your sense of self. I’ve called in reinforcements to help me unpack what happens to your sense of self in midlife and how to rebuild it. Lisa Maholchic and Marna Brickman are therapists practicing in Annapolis, Maryland, at Guiding Therapy and they’re here to share their tips and tools for creating a firm foundation from which to navigate the many twists and turns of midlife. We’re talking about why it’s so important for women to h...
Oct 05, 2023•33 min•Ep. 21
Do you want to have the best sex of your life? Like many other women in midlife, you might think that your opportunity for an amazing sex life has passed, but I’m here to tell you that that is far from the truth. To prove it to you, I’ve brought on Tantric Sex Coach Angela Dawn to teach you how to have your best sex in midlife. Angela (she/her) coaches her clients to find their own unique way through life, love, and relationships. After deeply delving into intimacy and relationships later in lif...
Sep 28, 2023•35 min•Ep. 21
It’s time to talk about ADHD. This topic is near and dear to me because I was diagnosed with ADHD as a teenager, and it took me many years to learn how to acknowledge the benefits of having ADHD as well as ways to manage the parts of ADHD that make my life a little bit more challenging. I’m joined in this episode by Dr. Cristine Ehly to discuss what options are available to you to manage your ADHD, no matter how old you were when you got your diagnosis. You might need help with your focus, mood,...
Sep 21, 2023•26 min•Ep. 20
Where on earth do you start with exercise and nutrition? There’s so much information out there now that it can be extremely overwhelming to get started when you want to try something new. First of all, you should be proud of yourself for making it this far. Too often we put ourselves last and don’t find the time to do something for our own wellbeing, but you’re here and showing up for yourself. I invited Pam Adams to join this discussion to share her expertise in the exercise and nutrition world...
Sep 14, 2023•34 min•Ep. 19
Gut health. What is it, why is it important, and how do you look after it? Carrie Chojnowski is joining me in this episode to break it all down. She’s walking us through why gut health affects so many other areas of our well-being and what you can do to improve your gut health and feel your best. Hormonal imbalances, mood swings, headaches, fatigue, and other more mysterious ailments can all be tied back to your gut. I’m not saying that healing your gut will solve all your problems, but I can pr...
Sep 07, 2023•35 min•Ep. 18
How do you age gracefully? Every woman going through midlife wants to look their best, and that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. We all go through a natural aging process, and understanding it can truly help us feel our best, no matter our age. In this episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive, I am so thrilled to sit down and chat with Monique Willingham to talk about all things skin and aging gracefully as we journey through midlife. Despite what we might have heard in m...
Aug 31, 2023•25 min•Ep. 17
Have you considered practicing yoga in midlife? The thought of showing up at a yoga studio with no experience might be intimidating, but there are lots of accessible ways to get started with yoga, and there are lots of really great reasons to give it a try. In this episode, Julie Blamphin will teach you how yoga can benefit you in midlife and what it means to use yoga in real life. She’s sharing positivity practices to boost your mind, body, and spirit; yoga poses to try around the house; and te...
Aug 24, 2023•33 min•Ep. 16
There is a lot of advice out there for new parents on how to parent babies, toddlers, and young children, but what about when those children grow up? Parenting teenagers and young adults brings a whole new set of rewards and challenges and requires different skills, but it’s not something that’s talked about quite so openly. We’re changing that in this episode. Samantha Straub is here to help you master your role as a parent to teens and young adults while also adjusting to midlife. She’s sharin...
Aug 17, 2023•45 min•Ep. 15
What does leadership look like in the past, present, and future of your life? In this episode, Paula Castillo and I are breaking down what it means to be a leader in midlife. If you relate to the feeling of standing in the doorway of the past and the future as you decide what you want next, you’ll enjoy this episode. Paula is explaining liminal spaces, the Gallup strengths assessment, and how to better understand your leadership skills. If you're looking to make a change in your career, up-level...
Aug 10, 2023•42 min•Ep. 14
Do you feel like you can’t exercise because you don’t have enough time? One of the biggest hurdles that women in midlife face when they’re trying to exercise is finding time, so I invited Tara De Leon to join me on the podcast to talk about how to fit exercise into your busy schedule. In this episode, Tara is talking about how to make time for exercise, be efficient with the time you do have, and make your workouts count. A workout doesn’t have to be an hour long. You can get a lot of benefits f...
Aug 03, 2023•24 min•Ep. 13
Do you struggle to get quality sleep on a consistent basis? I brought sleep expert Morgan Adams on the podcast to explain why women in midlife so often suffer from poor sleep. Anyone who has ever laid awake at night trying to will themselves to sleep knows how frustrating it is, but is there a simple solution? In this episode, Morgan is sharing some quick and simple tips for getting more sleep and, more importantly, improving your sleep quality. She’s also explaining the causes of poor sleep so ...
Jul 27, 2023•36 min•Ep. 12
Would your life look different if you decided to choose to be brave? I sat down with Sandy Travis Bildahl to talk about how making brave decisions can change your life for the better. Midlife is a transitional time that brings change and embracing change takes bravery. It might seem easier to stay in your comfort zone where you feel safe, but how many experiences are you missing out on because you’re scared to say yes? Sandy is here to convince you to dare to be brave and go after the things you...
Jul 20, 2023•32 min•Ep. 11
Do you ever hear messages about aging that you absolutely hate? As a society, we have all kinds of ideas about what it means to age, what you “should” do as you age, and what is age-appropriate, but all of these ideas are meaningless. What really matters is how you feel about your life. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Amy Johnson to talk about how to get in touch with what you really want at any age and find lasting freedom from unwanted habits, anxiety, and self-doubt. Amy Johnson, Ph.D., is...
Jul 13, 2023•26 min•Ep. 10
Do you have questions about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopause but you don’t know who to ask? Enter our guest in this episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive, Jennifer Gularson. Jennifer is a functional medicine practitioner who specializes in HRT for perimenopausal and menopausal women, and she’s here to answer your burning questions about HRT. This is something that isn’t talked about a lot, so it’s no surprise that you have unanswered questions. This episode will provide you with some fo...
Jul 06, 2023•33 min•Ep. 9
Let’s talk about sex, baby. No really, I’m joined in this episode by Dr. Catalina to talk all about sex in midlife. We’re running through some common scenarios that women face in their sex lives in midlife and what you can do to reclaim your sexuality and get the sex life you want. It’s time to challenge the sexual norms that aren’t serving you and take control of your story. Dr. Catalina is sharing practical tips that anyone can use to start getting back in touch with what brings them joy and p...
Jun 29, 2023•41 min•Ep. 8
TW: mentions of suicide We all know that attitudes toward women in the workplace have changed a lot over the years, but have you ever thought about how women’s attitudes toward other women in the workplace have changed in recent years too? Molly Wilmer is here in this episode to talk about the unique set of career challenges that women in midlife face. She’s sharing what she’s noticed about the shift towards women supporting other women in the workplace, how we can find more fulfillment in our w...
Jun 22, 2023•32 min•Ep. 7
What if you could make peace with food and your body once and for all? Special guest Elizabeth Harris is here to talk all things intuitive eating in this episode of the Midlife Rise + Thrive podcast. She’s teaching us what intuitive eating is, the value of gentle nutrition, and why she’s working to shift the focus of health away from weight. If you’ve heard of intuitive eating and wondered what it’s all about or thought it sounded great but couldn’t imagine how it could actually work, Elizabeth ...
Jun 15, 2023•35 min•Ep. 6
Are you tired of annoying and uncomfortable symptoms that your doctor can't get to the bottom of? Looking for a solution besides being on hormones and antidepressants for the rest of your life? Listen up, because I think you’ll be interested in this episode about how acupuncture, East Asian medicine, and functional medicine can help you through menopause. I brought in a pro, Heather Bergstrom, to teach us everything we need to know. She’s sharing her experience with frustrating symptoms and limi...
Jun 08, 2023•32 min•Ep. 5
If you feel stressed about the changes happening to your body, you’re not alone. So many women have concerns about their bodies getting weaker in midlife, but the truth is there is so much you can do to strengthen your body no matter how active you’ve been before now. I promise it’s not too late! We’re lucky enough to be joined by Dr. Gina Hahn in this episode to teach us some simple and practical ways to get moving and get stronger. I wanted Gina to be one of my first guests on the podcast beca...
Jun 01, 2023•31 min•Ep. 4
What do you know about breathwork? Did you know that you can use it to regulate your body, nervous system, mood, digestion, and more? If that sounds good to you, listen up! I’m so excited to be joined in this episode of Midlife Rise + Thrive by Trish Brewer. Trish is here to teach us the basics of breathwork. Think of this episode as Breathwork 101. It’s the class we all needed in school, and yet none of us got it. The good news is, it’s never too late to get started. Trish is sharing how breath...
Jun 01, 2023•29 min•Ep. 3
How much time are you spending relaxed vs. stressed? Did you know that there’s a strong relationship between stress, hormones, and blood sugar levels? In our day and age, most of us are spending a lot more time in a stressed state than our bodies were prepared for, and it turns out that’s having some serious effects on our health. To help us understand what’s going on in our bodies, Dr. Erin Kinney is joining us in this episode. She’s teaching us what happens to our hormone and blood sugar level...
Jun 01, 2023•37 min•Ep. 2
Welcome to the first episode of the Midlife Rise + Thrive podcast. Are you ready to change the way you think about midlife? If you’ve found this podcast, I’m guessing you’re looking for ways to improve your life. In this episode, we’re taking the first step. So often we feel out of balance but we don’t know how to fix it or where to start. That’s where the Wheel of Life comes in. In this episode, I’m teaching you what the Wheel of Life is and how you can use it to assess your happiness in differ...
Jun 01, 2023•11 min•Ep. 1
