This week I sat down with Kate Hinkens, founder of The Sting Lab, which is a center for bee venom therapy and research and Kate is an expert in the bee venom therapy field.

In the episode, Kate shares her story of a debilitating and mysterious illness as a child, again in teen years and again after graduating college and working as a professional. She was finally diagnosed with late, chronic stage Lyme in 2019.

Despite pursuing intensive treatments, both western and alternative, Kate’s health continued to deteriorate. She went from being a successful college student and professional to dealing with memory impairment, extreme fatigue, constant pain, difficulty walking, and an inability to work.

When Kate first heard about bee venom therapy, she thought it sounded far-fetched, even though she had spent years in the alternative and allopathic healthcare world attempting to heal Lyme.

After extensive research, Kate discovered bee venom therapy's valid medicinal properties and potentials for not only Lyme disease, but also several types of cancers, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, IBS, EBV and other autoimmune and inflammatory illnesses.

In the episode Kate shares about the science behind bee venom therapy and why it works, and Gwen shares how working with Kate and bee venom has helped her immensely with just three months of treatment. Kate also shares what happened in her life after one year of bee venom therapy.

About the Guest:

Follow Kate Hinkens on Instagram @katehinkens

Learn more about The Sting Lab, visit https://www.stinglab.org/

About Gwen:

Follow Gwen on Instagram @gwendittmar

Learn more about Gwen’s monthly membership, RISE Group and Activation Breathwork Certification and free resources to support your emotional, mental, spiritual and somatic levels as you heal physically at www.gwendittmar.com

Dr. Anoop Kumar realized from a near death like experience in medical school that our healthcare system was deeply flawed and sought to provide a solution to bridge the science of consciousness with Western Medicine. Dr. Kumar is a Board-Certified Emergency Medicine physician, holds a Masters in Management with a focus in Health Leadership.

Through reflecting on his childhood that was centered in nature, organic food and remedies, spirituality and consciousness, and experiencing how flawed our medical model and healthcare system is, Dr. Kumar created a bold, new version of healing and healthcare based on the science of consciousness and wellbeing.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Kumar and the upcoming School of Consciousness programs, please visit numocore.com

If you would like to learn more about Gwen’s work, you can sign up for her newsletter and free meditations and guided breathwork offerings at gwendittmar.com

In this heartfelt episode of the Beautiful Grit, Gwen Dittmar welcomes Jami Crist, author of The Losses We Keep. Together, Gwen and Jami dive into the transformative power of group coaching for women, letting go of the old ways of operating as women in order to step into true alignment, pregnancy loss, the grief and challenges women experience and hold, and exploring how grief can shape our lives in unexpected and profound ways. Jami Crist shares her deeply personal journey of navigating repeated loss and finding healing, reflection, and resilience through the pain of letting go.

This conversation touches on the universal human experience of grief even if you have not experienced pregnancy loss, and is an important one to hear to remember what losses women might be keeping while working, running homes and families. You will be inspired by Jami’s courage, authenticity, and the wisdom she’s gained through her own trials. Whether you’re seeking comfort, understanding, or tools for your own healing, this episode holds space for all who carry the beautiful grit of life’s losses.

If you would like to follow along with Jami visit her website https://jamicrist.com/the-losses-we-keep and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jamicrist/

If you would like to learn more Gwen’s RISE Group Coaching that Jami shared about in the episode, you can learn more, book a discovery call, and receive the early bird $500 off at https://www.gwendittmar.com/rise-group-coaching

Dan Regan is a personal growth consultant, teacher, speaker and guide. His specializes in the inner work and shadows with his clients and as a Gene Keys Ambassador, Dan helps individuals unlock the wisdom within their genetic blueprint, fostering profound self-awareness, emotional healing, and personal growth.

With a deep understanding of this unique synthesis of ancient wisdom and modern science, Dan empowers others to explore their shadows, activate their innate gifts, and align with their highest potential. His approach is compassionate and insightful, making the Gene Keys accessible to those seeking clarity and purpose—especially during pivotal life transitions like midlife.

Dan’s work goes beyond theory, offering practical tools for self-discovery and transformation. Through his teachings, he inspires others to embrace life’s challenges as opportunities for growth and to create lives of deeper fulfillment and connection.

In the episode Dan and Gwen share their personal journeys into the Gene Keys and how this system has profoundly influenced their understanding of challenges, obstacles in trauma, healing, relationships, work and wealth, and human potential. Together, Gwen and Dan explore the connection between your genetic blueprint, emotional resilience, and the higher states of consciousness waiting to be unlocked, especially as women navigate the ungrounded phase of life called perimenopause.

Whether you’re scientifically curious, spiritually inclined, or simply looking to deepen your self-awareness, this episode provides an inspiring look at how the Gene Keys can illuminate your path to greater clarity, connection, and fulfillment.

If you would like to learn more about Dan and his offerings, please visit his website https://danregan.co/ or Dan’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iamdanregan/?hl=en

Thank you for being a podcast listener. Please use the code 500BLACKFRIDAY for $500 off Gwen’s upcoming RISE Group Coaching and Activation Breathwork Certification. Learn more here https://www.gwendittmar.com/

In this episode, Amy Southorn of Root Cause Healing, bridges the worlds of science and spirituality to shed light on chronic fatigue, mold toxicity, and Lyme disease. With a rich blend of evidence-based insights and intuitive wisdom, Amy shares her personal healing journey and offers guidance for navigating these complex health challenges.

Amy shares about the science and somatic factors of chronic fatigue like mitochondrial dysfunction, immune imbalances, and systemic inflammation play a role, alongside the emotional toll of the condition. Amy also shares about mold toxicity and environmental illness healing through unpacking the hidden dangers of mold, ways to identify exposure, and protocols for detoxification, supported by both cutting-edge research and energetic clearing techniques. We also discuss Lyme Disease and the layers of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing required to confront this elusive illness. Amy highlights the role of trauma, stress, and belief systems in chronic illness, emphasizing practices like mindfulness, somatic therapy, and energy work to support recovery. We also discuss the importance of integrating clinical treatments, supplements, limbic, somatic and spiritual practices, such as breathwork and meditation, for a holistic approach to wellness.

Amy’s approach resonates deeply with those who seek a balanced path to healing, where the empirical and the experiential coexist. As an advocate for integrative health and wellness, specializing in chronic illness recovery with a unique blend of scientific expertise and spiritual insight, Amy shares her personal battles with chronic fatigue syndrome, mold toxicity, and Lyme Disease and dedicates her life to empowering others to heal and thrive, along with implementing more joy and laughter.

If you would like to learn more about Amy Southorn and her work you can visit her Instagram, amylouisesouthorn, and website: https://amylouisesouthorn.com/

If you would like to connect with Gwen and experience $25 off of a Somatic Medicine session for somatic and breathwork healing around your chronic conditions, please visit and https://gwencoach.as.me/90breathwork and use the code PODCAST25.

This week’s guest, Heather Rebecca Wilson, is a Trauma-informed Leadership Mentor, astro-ancestral healing guide, Embodied Empowerment Coach, Speaker, and Intuitive Empath.

Inspired by her own lived experience and ancestral healing journey to dismantle internalized oppression, she empowers forward-thinking individuals and organizations to embody transformation of deep cultural programming and conditioning and shifts to higher levels of consciousness to rediscover empathy and connection for a more just, peaceful, and compassionate world. Heather’s life experience as a trauma-informed facilitator of women circles, embodied empowerment coach, transformational leadership mentor, astro-ancestral healing guide, multiracial woman of color, and extensive training as a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) practitioner allow her to serve and hold loving, compassionate space for her clients.

In the episode Heather delves into the transformative themes of ancestral, racial, sexual, and relationship healing for women. She and Gwen discuss how reconnecting with ancestral knowledge and addressing the impacts of generational trauma can serve as a profound pathway for healing. Wilson explains that this process involves exploring the cultural and familial beliefs women inherit, especially those around identity, sexuality, and self-worth, and how these influence present-day relationships, self-perception, our work in the world, and wealth.

Heather emphasizes the empowerment that comes from understanding these inherited patterns and using them as a foundation for personal and relational healing. Wilson also discusses the importance of addressing and integrating difficult emotions related to race and sexuality, aiming to help women reclaim a sense of agency and authenticity in their lives. Through this blend of introspection and active healing, the episode encourages listeners to find deeper connections with themselves and their roots, and to foster healthier, more liberated relationships.

If you would like to learn more about Heather, visit her website and Instagram account https://www.heatherrebeccawilson.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/heatherrebeccawilson/ or her podcast, The Cycle Starters Podcast, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD9i3ypYFNJo1rKKg16WI8ZDB-fBEj1MV

If you would like to download Gwen’s free Somatic Medicine Meditation for your human healing, growth, expansion and soul evolution, visit: https://www.gwendittmar.com/limitless-energy-summit-optin-download

Alyse Bacine, founder of Alyse Breathes, specializes in dissolving childhood relational and ancestral trauma, helping you discover your deeper purpose, and guiding you to build a successful business or life that aligns with your soul's calling. Alyse combines decades of experience in the mental health field, breathwork, trauma healing, and business coaching to lead you toward creating the long-lasting results you desire.

In the episode Gwen and Alyse discuss the journey of having other careers plus years of experience leading healing and breathwork and the metamorphosis of becoming an entrepreneur. Alyse emphasizes the importance of taking the time you need to experience the initiations required to have a successful healing business and the tremendous value of having long term mentors and coaches in your life. Alyse and Gwen also discuss trauma, what it means to be trauma-informed, and how valuable it is to understand the mother wound, safety and fear, feeling supported versus survival, in order to experience true abundance in our businesses and lives.

You can connect with Alyse Bacine through her website https://www.alysebreathes.com/ and Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/alyse_breathes/

If you would like to download Gwen’s free Somatic Medicine guided session for your human healing, growth, expansion and soul evolution, visit: https://www.gwendittmar.com/limitless-energy-summit-optin-download

Ronit Menashe and Vida Delrahim of WeNatal dive into how their personal experiences with loss and fertility struggles led them to redefine prenatal care with a holistic, partnership-focused approach.

In this episode, the WeNatal co-founders emphasize the importance of preparing both men and women for conception, introducing the concept of "trimester zero," a period of proactive health steps taken in the months before conception. They share how men’s sperm quality plays a critical role in fertility and infertility, and that men’s sperm count is quickly declining due to modern lifestyle, stress, and toxins. This perspective challenges the traditional, female-centered narrative around fertility and recognizes the shared responsibility of both partners in preparing for parenthood.

Ronit and Vida’s company, WeNatal, endorsed by Functional Medicine advocate, Dr. Mark Hyman and Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Kelly Levec, developed a dual supplement line to support the health of both men and women during this preconception period, underscoring the critical impact of each partner's health on successful conception and a healthy pregnancy. Through education, they aim to reduce the stigma and isolation many women feel in fertility struggles, advocating for an inclusive conversation that supports both members of the couple.

If you would like to learn more about WeNatal, visit their website: https://wenatal.com/ and Instagram: we_natal.

If you would like to connect with Gwen and experience $25 off of a Somatic Medicine session for somatic and spiritual healing in your fertility journey, please visit https://gwencoach.as.me/90breathwork and use the code PODCAST25.

Sarah Shealy, a seasoned nurse, midwife and menopause expert, shares why she left the path of medical school for midwifery. and now a menopausal expert. From perimenopause to post-menopause, Sarah offers a virtual practice, speaking, practical advice, expert insights, and compassionate support for women navigating these life changes.

Through her own journey of a host of health issues and hospitalizations, Sarah discovered the connection between her challenges was hormonal imbalances of perimenopause. Through balancing her estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone Sarah came back into balance and discovered that many of her patients come to her because with 60 or more symptoms causing immune deficiency, and neuro-inflammatory responses.

Sarah explores how women, particularly in their mid to late 30s and early 40s, often continue to push through physical discomfort due to a deeply ingrained pattern of enduring low-grade suffering. This is something many women have adapted to because of their experience with monthly menstrual cycles, which trains them to carry on despite feeling unwell.

Sarah also explores how trauma survivors, and black women, suffer more from of perimenopausal symptoms, and how our ancestors might have experienced menopause.

By also shedding light on the path of suffering that so many women have been conditioned to lead, Sarah shows us how to break free from this cycle as one of the rites of passage of perimenopause and advocating for a more compassionate and self-aware approach to health and well-being during the menopause transition. Often women do not know how bad they are feeling until they start to get proper support and feel better.

If you would like to learn more about Sarah or book a consultation visit her website: https://www.sarahshealy.com/

Articles referenced in the podcast: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7880696/ and https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8777090/

If you would like to connect with Gwen and experience $25 off of a Somatic Medicine session for trauma healing please visit and https://gwencoach.as.me/90breathwork and use the code PODCAST25.

Jasmine Khorsandi, the founder of Sonobreast, is this week’s guest on the Beautiful Grit Podcast. Jasmine is here to discuss a revolutionary approach to breast cancer detection and the limitations of traditional mammograms. Sonobreast focuses on automated breast ultrasound (ABUS), a technology Khorsandi champions as a safer, more effective alternative, especially for women with dense breast tissue.

In the episode you’ll learn about the limitations of mammograms while widely used, are often less effective for women with dense breast tissue, which can obscure potential abnormalities. Dense tissue appears white on mammograms, as do tumors, making detection more challenging.

You’ll also learn about radiation Concerns and the potential harm of repeated radiation exposure from mammograms, particularly for younger women or those with a family history of breast cancer, advocating for less invasive methods.

Jasmine shares about the Role of Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS), emphasizing the benefits of ABUS, which uses sound waves to create detailed images of breast tissue without radiation. ABUS is particularly effective for dense breast tissue and offers clearer results, often catching issues missed by mammograms.

And why it is so important to empowering women with choices encouraging you to be proactive in your healthcare, ask questions, and seek alternatives like ABUS if they are concerned about mammogram accuracy or radiation risks.If you would like to learn more about Jasmine Khorsandi’s work with Sonobreast and her advocacy for ABUS is reshaping how breast cancer screening is approached, particularly for women with dense breast tissue, you can visit her website www.sonobreasts.com and Instagram at www.instagram.com/sonobreasts

If you would like to learn more about Gwen’s metaphysical approach to perimenopause and supporting women through the different stages of womanhood and using each opportunity in to heal, grow as a human and soul, download Gwen’s Guided Somatic Medicine Meditation:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5tdx2pimqok0pkq113xzc/Guided-Somatic-Medicine-Process.m4a?rlkey=g9266ynfiarr9v1x8bfvn9aco&st=u9u2646s&dl=0