Birth trauma doesn’t always end when you leave the hospital.

For some women, the birth was years or even decades ago. The baby was healthy. Life moved forward. And yet something from that experience never quite did.

In this episode of Hey Heather, What About?, I sit down with Licensed Professional Counselor and trauma-informed therapist Leah Harlan for a powerful conversation about birth trauma, the nervous system, and what it means to heal.

We talk about the experiences women often minimize: an emergency C-section, an unexpected intervention, a NICU stay, pregnancy or infant loss, feeling unheard during labor, losing a sense of control, or simply experiencing birth in a way that felt frightening or unsafe.

We also talk about what can happen afterward. Birth trauma can affect the way you feel in your body, your relationships, intimacy, parenting, future pregnancies, and the way your nervous system responds to stress long after the birth itself is over.

But this episode is ultimately about healing.

Healing doesn’t require you to forget what happened or convince yourself that it “wasn’t that bad.” And there isn’t an expiration date on getting help.

If you’ve ever looked back at your birth experience and thought, I should be over this by now, this conversation is for you.

No matter how much time has passed, your experience still matters. And healing is still possible.

To contact Leah Harlan: https://leahharlan.com/

To contact Heather Shaw or visit us in studio: https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/

Autoimmune disease can feel like a collection of unrelated problems: fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, digestive issues, skin changes, thyroid problems, or symptoms that seem to come and go without explanation.

But what if those symptoms are connected?

In this episode of Your Body Has a Story, Heather takes a closer look at autoimmune disease and what happens when the immune system designed to protect you begins targeting your own tissue — a kind of biological friendly fire.

We talk about why autoimmune disease can take years to diagnose, why women are disproportionately affected, and how hormonal changes may influence immune activity. We also look at where autoimmune disease can show up throughout the body, including the gut, thyroid, skin, joints, connective tissue, and more.

Heather breaks down lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ME/CFS, including her own experience developing chronic fatigue syndrome at 19 and learning how closely nutrition, inflammation, stress, sleep, gut health, and immune function can interact.

And most importantly: what can you actually do with this information?

We talk about testing, tracking symptoms and triggers, anti-inflammatory nutrition, gut health, sleep, stress, medical treatment, and why supporting your body doesn't have to mean choosing between conventional medicine and lifestyle care.

Your symptoms may not be separate problems.

Your body has a story. Sometimes you have to connect the dots to hear what it's saying.

To contact Heather: [email protected]

To visit us in studio or to learn more about The Plan: www.theexquisitehouse.com

Autoimmune disease can feel like a collection of unrelated problems: fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, digestive issues, skin changes, thyroid problems, or symptoms that seem to come and go without explanation.

But what if those symptoms are connected?

In this episode of Your Body Has a Story, Heather takes a closer look at autoimmune disease and what happens when the immune system designed to protect you begins targeting your own tissue — a kind of biological friendly fire.

We talk about why autoimmune disease can take years to diagnose, why women are disproportionately affected, and how hormonal changes may influence immune activity. We also look at where autoimmune disease can show up throughout the body, including the gut, thyroid, skin, joints, connective tissue, and more.

Heather breaks down lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ME/CFS, including her own experience developing chronic fatigue syndrome at 19 and learning how closely nutrition, inflammation, stress, sleep, gut health, and immune function can interact.

And most importantly: what can you actually do with this information?

We talk about testing, tracking symptoms and triggers, anti-inflammatory nutrition, gut health, sleep, stress, medical treatment, and why supporting your body doesn't have to mean choosing between conventional medicine and lifestyle care.

Your symptoms may not be separate problems.

Your body has a story. Sometimes you have to connect the dots to hear what it's saying.

To contact Heather: [email protected]

To visit us in studio or find out more about The Plan visit

www.theexquisitehouse.com

What happens when your thyroid labs say everything is normal but you’re tired, cold, foggy, struggling with your weight, and you know something doesn’t feel right?

In this episode of Hey Heather, What About?, we’re talking about the thyroid in and why this small gland can have such a big effect on how you feel.

We look beyond TSH to talk about how thyroid hormone actually gets used by the body, the role your gut and liver play in that process, and the difference between hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease.

We’re also talking about one of the biggest problems for women in midlife: thyroid dysfunction and menopause can look remarkably similar. Fatigue. Brain fog. Weight changes. Poor sleep. Hair changes. Temperature changes. It’s easy for symptoms to get lumped together and dismissed as “just menopause.”

This episode isn’t about diagnosing yourself or abandoning conventional care. It’s about understanding your body well enough to ask better questions.

Because “within range” and “I feel well” aren’t always the same thing.

Lindsey Kilgo has spent 17 years in wellness — as a competitive athlete chasing triathlons, Strongman competitions, and marathons, and now as a homeschooling mom teaching women a completely different approach: joyful, low-stress, high-impact self-care. In this episode, Lindsey opens up about the shift from pushing her body to its limits to understanding what stress actually does to women in their 40s and 50s — the burnout, the exhaustion, the quiet sense of having lost themselves in caring for everyone else. We talk about her Burnout Quiz, her Pro-Sleep Protocol, why journaling is foundational (not just a nice extra), and what it really means to align your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. We also dig into our upcoming "Destress and Align" event this August — mat Pilates plus real stress-relief strategies — and why now, right as life ramps back up, is exactly the moment women need to pause. Whether you're local to RVA and can join us in person, or you're listening from anywhere and want to explore Lindsey's programs, this

To contact Lindsey Kilgo:

[email protected]

https://www.manifestingwellnesscollective.com

https://ironpodium.com/

Instagram: @manifestingwellnesscollective

To contact Heather:

[email protected]

https://www.theexquisitehouse.com

GLP-1 medications and peptides are two of the most talked-about — and most misunderstood — tools in menopause wellness right now. In Episode 3 of "Your Body Has a Story," we look at both through the same lens as every episode in this series: The Big 3 — inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormonal cascade. This episode covers what semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), and six emerging peptides — BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, GHK-Cu, MOTS-c, and Thymosin Alpha-1 — actually do, what the research shows, and who they're not right for.

To receive the Research Document on GLP1s and Peptides go to: www.theexquisitehouse.com fill out the inquiry form and type Research Doc on the comment field.

To contact Heather: [email protected]

A note about Guests:

We're intentional about who joins us on this podcast. We're not looking for a platform for your launch or your brand — we're looking for people whose real goal is helping women feel strong and well in perimenopause and menopause, with exposure as a byproduct, not the point. If that's you, please include your bio, social media handles, audience demographics and more about the one thing you'd want our audience to walk away understanding.

Bloated, anxious, inflamed and no one's connected the dots to your gut health? In this episode, Heather breaks down what's really happening in your gut microbiome during perimenopause and menopause, and why fixing it isn't as simple as "eat more fiber."

We're covering:

• What your gut bacteria are actually doing for you (hint: it's not just digestion)
• How estrogen decline shifts your microbiome and drives gut inflammation
• The real difference between healthy digestion and dysbiosis
• Why the vagus nerve and stress respond directly affect your gut
• Why more fiber can backfire if your gut is already out of balance
• A self-assessment to find out where your gut stands right now
• Heather's step-by-step healing protocol to restore gut function

This is Episode 2 in our "Your Body Has a Story" series, connecting gut health, hormonal changes, inflammation, and insulin resistance — the Big 3 Root Causes behind so much of what we feel in midlife. If you've been told "it's just menopause," this episode will change how you think about your body.

For more information about The Plan our functional nutrition program visit: https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/pages/initial-title-8

To join us in the studio: https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/

To contact Heather: [email protected]

Guest Submissions:

We love bringing on guests who add real value for our listeners but every guest needs to be the right fit for our community first. Before submitting a request, please take a few minutes to review [Exquisite House's About page] to get familiar with our mission, our audience, and the way we approach women's health. We're looking for guests whose expertise and message align with what we teach here not just a platform to promote a product or program. If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you. If our brand and your work aren't quite aligned, we'll be honest with you about that too, it's not personal, it's just about making sure our listeners get content that truly serves them.

For years, we've been told that the answer to weight loss, sluggish metabolism, and that relentless fatigue is simple: eat less, move more. But what if the real story isn't about willpower at all? What if your body has been trying to tell you something, and we've just been speaking different languages? In this foundation episode, Heather breaks down the diagnostic framework that changes everything—introducing "The Big 3 Root Causes" that explain almost everything happening in a woman's body at midlife. This isn't about finding the "best diet." It's about looking under the hood, understanding your unique metabolic picture, and finally recognizing that feeling bad is NOT part of aging. Through personal vulnerability—including her own 80-pound transformation and the menopause plot twist that taught her the most—Heather lays out exactly how we measure your body, personalize your nutrition, and build a protocol that works with you instead of against you.

This episode is the backbone for everything coming next. Once you understand your root causes and how your metabolism actually works, all the specific protocols—from gut healing to GLP-1 optimization to thyroid support—make perfect sense. Because every woman's body has a story. And this is how we decode it.

To learn more about The Plan visit:

https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/pages/initial-title-8

To reach out to Heather:

[email protected]

To visit us in studio:

https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/

n this special 2-year anniversary episode, Heather sits down to tell the story of why she built Exquisite House Pilates & Wellness. She's honest about the gaps she saw in the wellness space and what drove her to create a boutique studio where midlife women could find not just Pilates, but a complete wellness ecosystem—one that weaves together movement, nutrition, and education into something that actually works for real life.

This episode is for anyone who's wondered what it takes to build a studio that prioritizes belonging over performance, and who believes feeling good is not just possible—it's essential. Heather breaks down her vision for who this space is for, how she got here, and the difference between recovery and transformation.

Whether you're a current member, considering our reformer Pilates classes, exploring our nutrition coaching, or just curious about what makes a boutique studio different, this episode explains it all.

To join us in the studio: https://theexquisitehouse.com

To sign up for The Plan: https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/pages/initial-title-8

To contact Heather: [email protected]

What if everything—your body, your emotions, your surroundings—vibrates at a specific frequency? In this episode, Heather sits down with Crystal Yee of Lost Art Yoga to explore the science and spirituality behind energy, Reiki healing, and how vibrational frequencies impact our physical and emotional well-being. Discover practical ways to raise your vibration and align your energy for greater health and peace.

To work with Crystal and Lost Art Yoga:

https://lostartyoga.com/

To visit the studio:

https://www.theexquisitehouse.com/

To contact Heather:

[email protected]