If you've been wondering what is actually happening in your body during perimenopause and menopause — beyond the generic "your hormones are changing" — this conversation is for you.

I'm joined by Salena Walker, herbalist, naturopath and nutritionist, who has over twenty years of teaching experience supporting women's health. Salena brings something I deeply value: root-level understanding of why the body does what it does — and what we can actually do about it.

In this conversation, Salena walks us through:

— Why perimenopause is a natural transformation, not something going wrong — and why the way society is currently talking about it is steering us toward fear rather than understanding

— The endocrine system as an orchestra: how the pituitary, pineal, thyroid, adrenals and ovaries all work together — and what happens when one part of that orchestra slows down

— Why the adrenal glands are so central to this transition, what happens when they're exhausted (which, let's be honest, most of ours are), and how that shows up in our symptoms

— The drink, eat, think, excrete framework — starting with something as simple as water, and why constipation is quietly recirculating oestrogen back into the body

— Food as medicine: eating close to the garden, rainbow vegetables, what to let go of and why — including the question to ask yourself at every meal

— Getting the drama out of your head: the morning pages technique from The Artist's Way, and why our own internal therapist only comes through once we clear the noise

— Loving our liver and our routes of elimination — and why high oestrogen is usually recirculation, not something arriving from nowhere

— Three herbs we probably already have: sage (and the studies on hot flushes), rosemary (protector of the liver and the recalibrating brain), and fennel seed (gentle oestrogenic support, including for vaginal dryness)

— Two supplements worth looking at: B vitamins and magnesium — and why we need to meet our herbs and supplements halfway rather than using them like pharmaceuticals

And Salena's closing wisdom: it's like going through puberty — but with all the wisdom of being a woman.

I found this conversation genuinely moving. I could feel how much Salena loves the plants, how she understands the way the body communicates with itself, the way things flow and dance and talk to each other. I hope it lands the same way for you.

Salena's online course Hormones and Menopause is available at https://www.salenawalker.earth/menopause

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Melanie Swan is a Trauma Resolution Specialist, Womb Medicine Woman, Perimenopause Guide, and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast. 

With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature. 

She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman.

The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.