In our last episode for the series, we speak with Gabrielle Mentz from Womens Health Loddon Mallee. While we've spent much of the episodes learning about how we can support ourselves through perimenopause and menopause, we also recognise that the systems that we are currently living with are not often conducive to women and AFAB moving through this transition and Gabrielle shines a light on the bigger changes that we need to create.

In this week’s episode of The Pause, somatic psychotherapist Fran Woodruff unpacks why midlife stirs up old survival strategies, how unmet needs show up as rage or burnout, and why menopause can be a powerful rite of passage rather than an ending.

Fran’s message: This is hard, but it can also be the richest, most authentic season of your life. 

Chinese medicine practitioner Rima Truchanis also shares how ancient wisdom helps us move through menopause with more balance. From yin and yang to finding your voice, Rima reminds us that this is a time to come home to ourselves — body, spirit, and all. Tune in for a grounded, heartening chat about the art of balance, the beauty of change, and the power of embracing our next season. 

Enjoy the episode, share with friends and we’d love you to comment/rate/review so other folks can find us!

We sit down with sex educator and therapist Dr Linda Kirkman to talk about menopause and intimacy and Jasper Peach a trans, non binary and disabled writer who shares their experience navigating the medical system.

This week’s episode is a double whammy!

We’ll hear from Naturopaths Susan Lintott and Lisa Eastley. They’re a complementary team with both offering wisdom from different elements of their professions.
Susan talks us through the variety of herbs that provide specific support at different stages of the transition that is menopause and Lisa talks to us about how light affects our hormones and how stopping for that cup of tea has multiple benefits.
Enjoy the episode, share with friends and we’d love you to comment/rate/review to help other folks find us!

Jane Bennett is a force of nature! As a menstrual educator and creator of the Chalice Foundation, she draws on years of research in this space to expose menstrual shame and explains how silence leaves women unprepared for perimenopause and menopause.  Her work also shows how early celebratory menstrual education positively transforms school culture. 

Jane makes the case that cycle awareness is a superpower for managing the menopausal transition, and workplaces have a duty of care to support people during this transition.

Jane also explores the role of the patriarchy in shaping medical language, and the power of language in general to perpetuate menstrual and reproductive shame.

She offers immediate, practical steps including  tracking cycles, seeking trusted practitioners, evidence-based resources and menstrual policy templates to create change in the workplace.

As usual, we hear personal and candid stories from our community.  

Please share this episode with friends, family and colleagues who will benefit from listening!

We had the pleasure of speaking with Jesse Curran, local Pelvic Health and Continence Physiotherapist. We learnt so much about the impact that menopause can have on the pelvic area and how this can impact every aspect of people’s lives.

Jesse breaks down the power of exercise: not just for physical strength, but for easing menopause symptoms and supporting mental wellbeing. She explains why the type of exercise matters and we hear about how pelvic floor exercises we may (or may not!) be doing need to be done correctly to be beneficial, and why some people actually need to relax those muscles, not strengthen them.

Jesse opens up about her own experience with chemically induced menopause, describing the rarely discussed sensation of hormones “falling off a cliff.”

As always, we’re grateful to hear from local voices who generously share their stories and insights.

So many topics are explored in this episode with Clinical Nutritionist and Functional Medicine Practitioner, Nikki Valentini. 

Nikki explains how estrogen and progesterone natural exist in ratio to each other and how things in our environment like xenoestrogens can really mess with our menopause. We also hear about phytoestrogens and how they can counter the impacts of this imbalance. 

You’ll have to listen to the episode to know what these big words mean!?

And with the decreasing levels of estrogen, or 'the pleaser' coursing through our bodies, she describes the feeling of ‘coming out of the mist’ - the reconciling of the choices we have made and the things we may have allowed. 

Jane has been teaching Yoga for decades. Her own experience of menopause spurred her on to develop a specific style of yoga to better support people in peri M and menopause.  She speaks passionately about the benefits of following the lunar (moon) cycle when our own cycle starts doing its own thing. 

She also speaks candidly about her experience of menopause whilst in a leadership position and how the lack of workplace support ended her high-powered career. 

In this episode of The Pause, we sit down with Dr. Louisa Hope, a local Castlemaine GP who’s been supporting people through every stage of life for over 30 years. Louisa brings warmth, wisdom, and a whole lot of honesty to the conversation about perimenopause and menopause.

She takes us through the steps of how a GP should be responding to patients in perimenopause and what support options she thinks are best practice.

What makes this chat special is Louisa’s deep respect for each person's unique experience. She’s all about listening, validating, and helping people to find what works for them—whether that’s natural therapies, medical treatments, or just having a good support network.

Shownotes:

The Imperfects Podcast Episodes with Dr Louise Newson: Maybe It’s Menopause, It’s Hormones. Period. 

Louise mentions Jean Hailes Menopause Services

Check out the  The Pause Podcast Webpage for more resources.

Music by https://freesound.org/

In our first episode of The Pause, Bron, our local community health nurse, gives us the lowdown on hormones – specifically those involved in our menstrual cycles and what’s going on with them when we enter perimenopause.

We’re going back to basics so everyone is on board!

Bron also shares her journey into menopause education, sparked by the needs of theCastlemaine community. With over seven years in her role, Bron has become a passionate advocate for empowering women through knowledge, connection and in building their menopause ‘toolkit’