Magnificent Midlife

Tonya Carter is a Relationship Transformation Coach. She's full of wisdom about relationships, coping through divorce and also just about who we are and can become as we go through life. She's the author of "Divorce Your Story: A Woman's Guide to ‎Heal & Thrive after Divorce" and she runs a 12-week Program called (T.H.R.I.V.E) that stretches ‎women to look within to awaken their voice, evolve relationally, and lead personally and ‎professionally in all areas of life.‎

We talk about:

• How Tonya came to specialize in relationship transformation
• Ways women can get stuck in certain narratives especially in midlife
• What we can do to stop us getting caught up in regret
• What other things women need to divorce, as well as their partner
• The relationship patterns women tend to repeat
• How women can thrive after divorce
• What having a growth mindset means when it comes to life post divorce
• How we can embrace our singleness and why that's important
• Creating new narratives around what is possible for us
• The importance of doing the inner work – change won't come without it

And more!

Find more about Tonya:

Instagram | Facebook | Youtube

Tonya's Book: Divorce Your Story: A Woman's Guide to ‎Heal & Thrive after Divorce

Listen to Tonya's Podcast: The ReInvent U Podcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Named #18 in the best 40 Women Over 50 podcasts globally by Feedspot

Have you ever wanted to do something completely different to what you actually do? My guest Dr Kristina Dervaitis is an obstetrician and gynecologist who has reinvented herself as a singer/songwriter and released a beautiful new album. Now she does both her passions and has modified her life to make that work. She's battled with imposter syndrome and gone ahead with her dreams, and the result is sublime. We talk about her dramatic midlife reinvention.

We talk about:

• When Kristina first wanted to be a professional singer
• About her musical background
• How she juggles singing with being a gynecologist
• Her contraception advice on YouTube
• The inspiration for her songs and how she comes up with the lyrics
• Learning to dream again and stay open to possibility
• Using writing to process pain and grief
• Deciding not to have children despite working in obstetrics
• What the future holds for her medical and singing careers
• Doing the work to make dreams happen
• Kristina's advice for women who have unfulfilled dreams

And more!

Kristina's website: kristinadervaitis.com

Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | Spotify

Listen to her latest album: Overdue

Book mentioned in the podcast: The Healing Power of Singing

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Named #18 in the best 40 Women Over 50 podcasts globally by Feedspot

Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse

Laura Davis is the author of 6 non-fiction books which have sold more than 1.8 million copies. She's talking here mainly about her latest book, her first memoir: The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story. I finished the book the day before recording, and was profoundly moved by it. I was also very tearful. I'm grateful to Laura for sharing her story and giving me the opportunity to read it. I recommend the book for all women as we're all daughters. And many of us have people who we'd like to be closer to.

We talk about:

• Why Laura wrote this particular book
• The challenge of untying the mother-daughter knot
• Digging deep to tell such a vulnerable story
• The impact of life trauma on women's passion and purpose
• Coming to terms with life trauma
• Helping people heal from trauma and especially sexual abuse
• Coping with family estrangement
• What Laura has learnt about mother-daughter relationships
• How Laura's feelings towards her mother changed as she got older and sicker
• Laura's advice for women when they lose their parents and mothers especially

And more!

Find more about Laura:

Laura's website: lauradavis.net

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

Laura's latest book: The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story

Other books written by Laura Davis

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Named #18 in the best 40 Women Over 50 podcasts globally by Feedspot

Jo Pybus is a writer, feminist and what she calls late-onset to many things. She's an Ironman (Ironwoman) and represented Australia in triathlon and cycling in her 40s. She's latterly become a writer and a champion for raising awareness of menopause. Her mantra is better late than never!

We talk about:

• What inspires Jo and what being late onset means to her
• Why Jo set herself extreme physical challenges
• Running 102km in perimenopause
• How physical activity helped her cope with grief
• Having a low intolerance to regret
• How women can stop settling for the way things are
• How she learnt that her body needed to adapt through perimenopause
• Why we need to talk about menopause more
• What it means to be a late onset feminist
• The Me Too movement and the way we see things differently now
• Menopause and history
• The importance of managing our stress well
• How to set yourself up to take action
• Recognising what no longer serves us
• Accepting that we may need more sleep
• The challenge and joy of dancing
• What Jo wants for women in midlife

And more!

Find more about Jo:

Facebook | Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugh Wurlitzer are the founders of Red School and the authors of Wild Power: Discover the Magic of Your Menstrual Cycle and Awaken the Feminine Path to Power. These two remarkable women have a book on menopause coming out in 2022 and I can't wait!

This is such an empowering conversation about the innate power of women. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

We talk about:

• What their book Wild Power is all about
• The importance of Menstrual Cycle Awareness (MCA)
• How menopause prompted Alexandra to change course and focus on menstruality
• How Alexandra and Sjanie met and how Red School came about
• How Red School is preparing for Sjanie's menopause
• How being in tune with our menstrual cycle can make menopause less of a trial than it's usually portrayed as being
• The Red School view of menopause
• What women can do to prepare for a good menopause transition
• The awakening that comes with menopause
• Changing the narrative around menopause and making self-care non-negotiable
• The changes that come with menopause
• What Alexandra and Sjanie hope to achieve with their new book

And more!

Find more about Red School:

Red school's website: www.redschool.net

Facebook | Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Vicky Midwood is a health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach who specializes in helping people with disordered eating or drinking. I know this is an issue for many women, especially as a coping mechanism in midlife, so I'm delighted to share Vicky's wisdom and experience on tackling this. We talk about:

• The difference between disordered eating and addictive behavior
• The common signs of disordered eating
• Vicky's own story of disordered eating and addiction
• Why many of us use food and drink to help manage our stress
• The impact of Covid on addictive behavior
• Things that are common to sufferers
• The shame associated with eating disorders and addiction
• How to get off auto pilot when it comes to food and alcohol
• How to self soothe without food and alcohol
• Why balancing blood sugar levels is so important

And more!

Find out more about Vicky:

Vicky's website: vickymidwood.com

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Linkedin | Youtube

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

We talk about:

• How Nicki first got interested in hormones
• How unprepared she was for the changes of perimenopause
• Why we need to consider more hormones than just our sex hormones in midlife and beyond – we have over 100 hormones!
• The Feisty Four hormones that can cause us most trouble: cortisol, thyroid, insulin and estrogen
• The importance of diet and lifestyle
• How we can take better care of our hormonal balance
• The importance of stress management
• Looking after the gut and liver
• Why HRT may not be the panacea we want it to be in midlife
• Understanding our thyroid
• What to consider when things start to change in midlife
• How we tolerate certain things less well as we age
• Eliminating things like gluten and dairy short term to monitor any impact
• Being open to possibility and curious about how to fix issues
• Nicki's 4 step happy hormone code

And more!

Find out more about Nicki:

Nicki's website: happyhormonesforlife.com

Nicki's book: 'It's Not You, It's Your Hormones'

Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | YouTube

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Deb Johnstone is a transformational coach, a professional speaker, a mindset coach amongst other things, and recently, a qualified yoga coach. She especially works to help women rediscover themselves in midlife. This podcast is full of wisdom for how we can live our very best lives in midlife and beyond.

We talk about:

• Why and how Deb moved from the UK to Australia
• Coping when the kids leave home
• The events that led to her own personal transformation
• Coping with domestic borders under Covid
• Why midlife is such an opportunity for women
• What holds women back from living their best lives
• How women can rediscover themselves in midlife
• The importance of taking time to reevaluate life in midlife
• Finding creativity in midlife
• Being a grandmother and the transformation that represents
• The three levels of change (be, do, have)
• Starting a new chapter as a Grandma during COVID
• The things you notice as an observer with grandkids
• Asking yourself 'What else makes me me?"

And more!

Find out more about Deb:

Deb's website: debjohnstone.com.au

Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

Breeda Bermingham is a social entrepreneur, founder of the Midlife Women Rock Project and has just published a wonderful book Midlife Women Rock: A Menopause Story for a New Generation. She's a former midwife and nurse so she knows a lot about women's health. She also went back to full-time education at 49 and completed a psychology degree and a master's in sociology. Pretty impressive huh!

This is a truly amazing conversation. Breeda moved me to tears with her wisdom and passion!

We talk about:

• Why Breeda wanted to write her book and is passionate about changing the current narrative around menopause.
• Why it's so important to change the narrative around menopause – puberty and pregnancy may be hard but the overarching narrative is positive – not so menopause.
• The importance of crushing the taboo and opening up conversations.
• How women have been silenced for too long.
• The medicalization of menopause and the impact of the book Feminine Forever.
• Breeda's Menopause Cafes in Ireland.
• The women interviewed for the book and the power of sharing experiences.
• Going back to full time education at 49 and how Breeda coped with that.
• How women can take more control of their menopause experience.
• The importance of sleep for our long term health.
• How amazing women are before, during and after menopause!

And more!

Find out more about Breeda:

Breeda's website: midlifewomenrockproject.com

Breeda's book: Midlife Women Rock: A Menopause Story for a New Generation

Facebook | Instagram

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?

A solo episode with Rachel talking about her just-published book, Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause and Beyond!

She talks about:

• The difficulties of writing a book
• Midlife as so much more than just menopause
• How once we get the messy stuff sorted, we can create a magnificent next chapter
• Why she wrote the book and what's in it
• How her early menopause diagnosis became the catalyst for a whole new life
• A sneak peek at some of the content
• Understanding the hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause
• Coping with secondary infertility
• Learning about the impact of diet and lifestyle on hormonal balance
• How we might go about rebranding menopause
• The experience of women going through menopause in other cultures
• How ageism and the patriarchy effect our experience of menopause
• How ageism towards women is particularly bad in Anglo-Saxon cultures
• The range of things available to help our midlife transition
• The over-medicalization of menopause
• Negative language associated with menopause
• The possibilities menopause opens up for women
• Learning to see menopause as a gift

And more!

You can get your own copy of this life-changing book here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share it and leave a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening. Find out how to leave a review here: bit.ly/leavepodcastreview

You can find out more information and get the show notes to every episode at magnificentmidlife.com. That's also where you'll find strategies, support, and resources to help make your midlife magnificent. There's a midlife wellness program, courses, midlife mentoring to help make the most of your next chapter, and our online membership program. If not now, when?