Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson speaks with Renee Rekes from Motherhood Village about social isolation, peer support and the importance of creating spaces where mothers feel welcomed, accepted and understood.

We often hear that it takes a village to raise a child, but we speak far less about the village a mother needs around her.

Motherhood can be deeply rewarding, yet it can also bring loneliness, exhaustion, identity changes and a sense of disconnection from the world outside the home. Even women who appear to be coping may quietly feel isolated or uncertain about where they belong.

Renee shares how Motherhood Village provides a safe and inclusive place where women can simply arrive as they are—without needing to explain, perform or pretend that everything is fine.

Sometimes support begins with something beautifully simple: time to sit down, enjoy a cup of tea, speak honestly and connect with other mothers who understand.

Together, Leone and Renee explore the power of lived-experience peer support, the difference acceptance can make, and why mothers should not need to reach crisis point before seeking connection.

They also discuss the value of creating a village where every mother has a place, where vulnerability is met with compassion, and where women can rediscover the comfort of genuine human connection.

This is a warm and heartfelt conversation about motherhood, belonging and the reminder that no woman was ever meant to mother alone.

You can reach out to Motherhood Village here

Motherhood Village | Join Our Supportive Community Today

facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092848422351

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherhood_village_au

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

Could the modern sedentary lifestyle be affecting male fertility more than we realise?

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson speaks with medical researcher, author and Cool Beans Underwear founder Saara Jamieson about the overlooked role of men’s health in fertility.

Saara’s work began with her own deeply personal experience of infertility and pregnancy loss. While much of the investigation and responsibility initially centred on her, she began asking an important question:

What about the male side of fertility?

Drawing on her medical research background, Saara began exploring sperm health, testicular temperature and the potential effects of prolonged sitting and heat exposure.

During this fascinating conversation, Leone and Saara discuss research suggesting that sitting can raise scrotal temperature, why the testes need to remain cooler than the rest of the body and how everyday habits may influence sperm quality.

They also explore the striking differences sometimes observed between physically active and sedentary occupations. Could the movement naturally built into many blue-collar jobs help explain why some research has found better semen parameters among more physically active men than among men who spend most of their working day seated?

The conversation also examines concerning predictions about declining global sperm counts and what male reproductive health could look like by 2050 if current trends continue.

Together, Leone and Saara discuss:

• Why fertility is still too often treated as a women’s issue
• The potential relationship between sitting, heat and sperm health
• Why sperm count is only one part of the male fertility picture
• Sperm motility, morphology and DNA fragmentation
• The difference between association and proven causation
• Why men’s fertility deserves attention before a couple begins trying to conceive
• The emotional burden women frequently carry during fertility investigations
• How Saara turned personal adversity and scientific curiosity into Cool Beans Underwear
• Why male reproductive health needs to become part of a much broader public conversation

This is an eye-opening discussion about fertility, physiology, innovation and the everyday lifestyle factors we may not think about until something goes wrong.

🎧 Listen to Are We Sitting on a Male Fertility Crisis? With Cool Beans Founder Saara Jamieson on The Natural Narrative.

Website - Cool Beans Men's Health Underwear – Cool Beans Underwear

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/coolbeansunderwear

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coolbeansunderwear/

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

What if a child’s behaviour is not the problem—but a form of communication?

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson speaks with Chantelle Ryan, founder and director of Spear & Arrow Therapeutic, about supporting children and families through curiosity, collaboration and compassionate care.

Chantelle explains why parents are the experts on their own children and why professionals need to listen carefully to the knowledge families bring. Parents may not always have clinical language, but they understand their child’s patterns, sensitivities, strengths, triggers and everyday experiences better than anyone.

Together, Leone and Chantelle explore what may sit beneath behaviours commonly described as challenging, disruptive or defiant. They discuss neurodiversity, trauma, nervous-system regulation, sensory needs, family stress and the importance of asking what a child may be communicating before attempting to correct the behaviour.

This conversation challenges us to move away from judgement and compliance-based thinking—and instead become curious about the child behind the behaviour.

In this episode:

• Why parents are the experts on their own children
• Behaviour as communication
• Curiosity before correction
• Looking beneath labels such as difficult or defiant
• Trauma, neurodiversity and emotional regulation
• Supporting parents without blame or judgement
• Why meaningful care must include the whole family
• Creating environments where children feel safe and understood

A compassionate and practical conversation for parents, educators, practitioners and anyone who supports children and families.

You can reach out for help here

Behaviour & Therapeutic Support Service | Spear & Arrow

https://www.facebook.com/spearandarrowtherapeutic

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

 Can tapping on specific acupressure points really help reduce stress, anxiety and the impact of trauma? In this episode, Leone speaks with EFT practitioner and trainer Khadine Aharon about healing, resilience and why the body often holds onto experiences long after the mind wants to move on. 

Many people understand trauma as something that happens in the mind. But what happens when our bodies continue to carry the emotional weight of past experiences long after the event has passed?

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone sits down with Accredited Social Worker, Advanced EFT Practitioner and Trainer Khadine Aharon to explore Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), commonly known as Tapping.

Drawing from her own lived experience of Complex PTSD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and recovery, Khadine shares how EFT became a powerful tool in her healing journey and why she now teaches it to practitioners across Australia.

Together, they discuss:

•  What EFT Tapping actually is 
•  The connection between trauma and the nervous system 
•  How emotional experiences can become "stuck" 
•  Why healing isn't always a purely cognitive process 
•  EFT for anxiety, overwhelm, stress and self-belief 
•  The role of empowerment in recovery 

This is a thoughtful conversation about healing, hope and reconnecting with ourselves in a deeper way.

to connect with Khadine or train as an EFT Tapping Practitioner

Embrace Empowerment EFT Tapping Training and Workplace Training and Development

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

 🌿 Herbal medicine is more than tradition—it's chemistry, pharmacology and thousands of years of human observation. Join Leone Wilson and Diana Bowman as they explore why nature remains one of our greatest teachers. 

What if some of our most powerful medicines were growing all around us?

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson sits down with herbalist, educator, researcher and mentor Diana Bowman to explore the fascinating world of herbal medicine and the science that underpins it.

Diana was one of Leone's lecturers during her naturopathic studies at Endeavour College of Natural Health, and years later they had the opportunity to work alongside one another teaching and mentoring future naturopaths. Together they share a passion for understanding how plants can support health and wellbeing through their complex chemistry and therapeutic actions.

From ancient healing traditions to modern pharmacology, this conversation explores the remarkable relationship between plants and medicine. You'll discover how herbs exert their effects through active constituents such as alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides and terpenes, and why herbal medicine remains an important part of contemporary integrative healthcare.

The discussion also highlights the fascinating origins of many modern pharmaceuticals, including aspirin derived from willow bark, digoxin from foxglove and the plant-based discoveries that continue to shape medicine today.

Diana also shares insights from her doctoral research into herbal medicine use among breastfeeding mothers, discussing the importance of evidence-informed practice, safety and the evolving role of herbal medicine in modern healthcare.

Whether you're a practitioner, student, herbal enthusiast or simply curious about the healing potential of nature, this episode offers a thought-provoking exploration of both the magic and the science of herbal medicine.

In this episode we discuss:

🌿 The history and evolution of herbal medicine
🌿 Plant chemistry and active medicinal constituents
🌿 Herbal pharmacology and therapeutic actions
🌿 Traditional knowledge and modern research
🌿 Whole plant medicine versus isolated compounds
🌿 The origins of many modern pharmaceutical medicines
🌿 Herbal medicine in breastfeeding and women's health
🌿 Evidence-informed naturopathic practice
🌿 Why nature remains one of our greatest teachers

A fascinating conversation that reminds us that long before laboratories and pharmaceuticals, there were plants—and many of them are still teaching us today.

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

When we think about cancer, we often focus on diagnosis, treatment and survival.

But what happens when treatment ends?

What happens when everyone expects you to be "back to normal," yet life feels fundamentally different?

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson is joined by counsellor, breast cancer survivor and founder of Second Life Counselling, Michelle Aziz, for a powerful conversation about survivorship, resilience and transformation.

Michelle shares her personal journey through breast cancer, the physical and emotional realities of treatment, and the often-overlooked challenges that emerge once the medical appointments become less frequent and life is expected to resume. Together, Leone and Michelle explore the grief, uncertainty and identity shifts that can accompany survivorship, as well as the opportunities for growth and self-discovery that can arise through adversity.

A recurring theme throughout this conversation is metamorphosis – the process of being transformed by life's most difficult experiences. Michelle reflects on how cancer changed her perspective, her priorities and ultimately her purpose, leading her to support others navigating their own life transitions.

The discussion also touches on a fascinating metaphor: feeling as though chemotherapy restored her to "factory settings" – stripping away the unnecessary and creating space to rebuild life with greater intention, clarity and authenticity.

This episode is not just for cancer survivors. It is for anyone who has experienced a life event that divided their story into "before" and "after" – illness, grief, trauma, burnout, loss or significant change.

In this episode we discuss:

• Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment
• The emotional reality of survivorship
• Identity after cancer
• Fear, uncertainty and resilience
• Relationships and support during recovery
• Post-traumatic growth and meaning-making
• Metamorphosis and personal transformation
• Rebuilding life after adversity
• Finding purpose through lived experience
• Supporting others through healing and recovery

A thoughtful and deeply human conversation about what it means not simply to survive, but to create a meaningful second life.

To reach out to Michelle at Second Life Counselling

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583051827023

[email protected]

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

 Beauty has no expiration date — and women over 40 are not past their prime, but often standing right in it. A conversation with Vanessa Van Straaten about the 40 Over Forty Project, visibility, confidence, and celebrating women not despite their age — but because of it.

In this episode, Leone sits down with photographer and creator Vanessa Van Straaten to explore the powerful vision behind the 40 Over Forty Project — an initiative celebrating women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond through portraiture, storytelling and community. 

Together, they discuss visibility, identity, confidence and the cultural narratives women are taught about ageing. Vanessa shares how the photographic lens often acts like a mirror, allowing women to truly see themselves — sometimes for the first time in years.

This conversation explores why women over 40 are not fading into the background, but often stepping into one of the most powerful and authentic stages of life. The 40 Over Forty Gala Exhibition & Magazine Launch celebrates women at the peak of power — not despite their age, but because of it.

Because beauty has no expiration date.

KEEN TO ATTEND THIS EVENT?                                                                                              Here is a TWO FOR ONE special link

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/40-over-forty-gala-exhibition-magazine-launch-3rd-edition-tickets-1987184170347?aff=oddtdtcreator

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

 Birth. Loss. Fertility. Trauma.
 These experiences are more common than we speak about — and resilience isn’t the absence of them, but how we move through them. 

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone sits down with counsellor and perinatal mental health midwife Astrid Tiefholz to explore the often unspoken realities of birth trauma, reproductive trauma, fertility journeys, and perinatal loss.

Together, they unpack the emotional and psychological layers that can follow experiences in the perinatal space — from feeling unheard or out of control during birth, to the repeated cycles of hope and grief that can accompany fertility challenges, and the quiet, often unseen weight of loss.

Astrid shares a powerful perspective that resilience is not a fixed trait or a place we arrive at, but a dynamic, lifelong process — one that shifts and evolves as we move through different seasons of life.

The conversation also draws on the concept of Kintsugi — the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — as a metaphor for healing. Rather than hiding what has been fractured, Kintsugi honours it, suggesting that there can be beauty in the rebuilding.

This episode offers a gentle, trauma-informed space to better understand these experiences — not to minimise them, but to give them language, context, and compassion.

Whether your story includes birth, fertility challenges, loss, or something that doesn’t quite fit into a category — this conversation is a reminder that your experience matters, and that healing is not about returning to who you were, but allowing yourself to become something new.

If this episode resonates, you’re invited to share it with someone who may need to hear it — or simply sit with what came up for you. These are the conversations that remind us we’re not alone.

You can book Medicare Rebated Pregnancy Counselling with Astrid

https://HARVESTINGHEALTHBOOKINGS.as.me/?appointmentType=77039996

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

What if your symptoms weren’t a sign that something is wrong with you — but a signal asking to be understood?
In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone is joined by acupuncturist Natasha Erickson to explore women’s hormones, acupuncture, and the shift from self-judgement to body awareness. 

In this episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone Wilson is joined by acupuncturist Natasha Erickson for a thoughtful and grounded conversation on women’s health, hormones, and the way we relate to our bodies.

A central theme throughout this discussion is the idea that women are often taught to view their bodies through a lens of deficit — something is lacking, not working, or in need of fixing. But what if symptoms were instead understood as signals of imbalance, rather than evidence that something is inherently wrong?

Drawing on principles of acupuncture and traditional approaches to health, Natasha shares how the body can be viewed as an interconnected system — where hormonal changes, stress, sleep, digestion and emotional wellbeing are all part of a larger picture. Rather than isolating symptoms, this approach invites a more non-judgemental, responsive relationship with the body.

In this episode, Leone and Natasha explore:

•  The difference between a deficit-based and imbalance-based view of women’s health 
•  How acupuncture supports hormonal regulation across all life stages 
•  The role of stress and the nervous system in shaping hormonal symptoms 
•  Why many women feel disconnected from their bodies — and how that connection can be rebuilt 
•  A more compassionate, sustainable way of approaching symptoms and healing 

This conversation offers a gentle but powerful reframe — supporting women to move away from self-judgement and toward understanding, awareness, and trust in their body’s signals.

You can book with Natasha using this link

Natasha Ericksen Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine - Book appointment

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/

Send us Fan Mail

 You can be capable, reliable, and holding everything together — and still not feel safe inside your own life.
 This episode explores the quiet cost of coping well, and why functioning is not the same as living well. 

There is a type of strength that the world rewards — being capable, dependable, and able to keep going no matter what life asks of you.

Many people who function well learned early how to cope, adapt, and carry responsibility quietly. Over time, that capability can become an identity — one that looks successful from the outside but leaves little room for rest, softness, or feeling truly safe.

In this reflective solo episode of The Natural Narrative, Leone explores the difference between high functioning and genuine safety, and why coping well is not always the same as living well.

This conversation is not about fixing the past or pathologising resilience. Instead, it offers a compassionate understanding of how early adaptations shape adult life — and how it may be possible to move beyond survival without losing the strength that carried you here.

Shared gently and without detail, this episode invites listeners to consider a quieter question:

What changes when coping no longer has to be your full-time role?

 This episode may resonate with anyone who has ever been described as “strong,” “independent,” or “the one who holds everything together.” 

You can find us at -
https://harvestinghealth.com.au/
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeoneDeborahWilsonNaturopath
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/harvesting_health_hub/