We spend so much time talking about health, longevity and optimisation — yet almost no time preparing for the one experience we are all guaranteed to face: death.

In this deeply powerful and emotional episode, I sit down with Cara Walker — independent funeral director, celebrant and death doula — who is redefining how we approach death, dying and grief in modern culture.

From her journey as an eco-fairy to founding a more human, personalised approach to funeral care, Cara shares what is missing from the current system — and why reclaiming ritual, touch, and connection is essential for true healing.

We explore how death has been removed from the home and outsourced to systems, how this impacts the grieving process, and what it actually looks like to support someone through a conscious, dignified end-of-life experience.

This conversation is not just about death.

It’s about how we live, how we love, and how we prepare for what is inevitable.

• Why death is the last major taboo in modern Western culture
• How the funeral industry has shifted away from community-based care
• The role of a death doula and what end-of-life support should look like
• Why removing touch, presence and ritual complicates grief
• The physiological and emotional process of dying
• How to support loved ones during the final stages of life
• The importance of normalising death conversations within families
• How children process grief and why inclusion matters
• The difference between traditional funerals and personalised rituals
• Voluntary assisted dying and curated end-of-life experiences
• Practical ways to prepare for death before crisis hits

• Death is not just a medical event — it is a deeply human, relational and emotional process
• Avoiding death conversations often leads to increased trauma and confusion during grief
• Touch, presence and witnessing are critical components of healing
• Supporting someone through death requires unlearning many instinctive caregiving behaviours
• Ritual and personalisation can significantly change how grief is experienced and processed
• Preparing for death is one of the most powerful acts of love we can offer our families

Cara Walker is an independent funeral director, celebrant and death doula based in Perth, Western Australia.

With over 30 years as an eco-fairy and community figure, Cara transitioned into death care after witnessing the limitations and lack of compassion within the traditional funeral system.

She is the founder of Walker Family Funerals, where she provides personalised, community-led funeral services and advocates for more natural, conscious approaches to death care — including education, home-based dying, and reform around end-of-life options.

• Walker Family Funerals: https://walkerfamilyfunerals.com.au
• Free death care workshops (via Cara’s website)
• Petition for natural body composting in Western Australia

This episode may bring up emotion — and that’s the point.

Death is not something to avoid.

It is something to understand, prepare for, and honour.

And in doing so, we often find a deeper appreciation for life itself.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it.

And if you haven’t already, leave a review — it helps these conversations reach more people.

What if better movement was not about punishing your body, but learning to trust it again?

In this episode, Jodi sits down with movement coach Ben Verrier for a rich conversation on movement, resilience, recovery, nutrition and longevity. Together they unpack why personalised movement matters, how to build a body that feels capable and adaptable, and why more people need to think beyond conventional exercise advice.

They discuss the role of plyometrics, handstands, barefoot training, outdoor movement, morning routines, nutrition and the importance of asking better questions when it comes to pain, injury and performance.

This episode is a reminder that movement should not make your world smaller. It should expand it.

1. There is almost always something you can do to improve how your body feels
2. Movement is not just exercise — it is feedback, adaptability and confidence
3. Small, consistent movement habits can create major change over time
4. Training should be individualised, not one-size-fits-all
5. Nutrition and recovery need to support your output, not work against it

If this episode resonates, share it with someone who wants to move better, feel stronger and age more powerfully.

Instagram (best contact point) @benverrierr

1. Reach out via DM for questions, training enquiries, or general movement advice
2. This is where he is most responsive and open to conversations

In-person training

1. Works out of Aspire in Osborne Park, Perth
2. Offers 1:1 personalised training sessions

Future

1. Online offerings are in development (worth following him on Instagram to stay updated)

Medicinal cannabis is one of the fastest growing areas of modern medicine — yet it remains widely misunderstood.

In this episode of The Revital Health Podcast, Jodi Duval speaks with Matt Shales, CEO and Co-Founder of MediCann Health, about the evolving medicinal cannabis industry in Australia and the science behind producing high-quality cannabis medicine.

Together they explore how cultivation, genetics, extraction methods, and rigorous testing all influence the safety and effectiveness of cannabinoid therapies.

The conversation moves beyond stigma and headlines to examine what truly defines a pharmaceutical-grade cannabis product and why quality control is critical for patient outcomes.

They also discuss the rapid expansion of medicinal cannabis prescribing in Australia, the role of clinical research, and the future of cannabinoid medicine.

In this episode we discuss:

1. How medicinal cannabis is grown and why genetics matter
2. The importance of cultivation methods and environmental control
3. Terpenes, cannabinoids, and the “entourage effect”
4. What defines a high-quality medicinal cannabis product
5. The challenges of regulation, stigma, and education
6. The future of cannabis research and clinical trials in Australia

This episode offers a fascinating insight into how a complex plant is being transformed into a regulated therapeutic medicine.

Connect with Matt Shales

Website

www.medicannhealth.com.au

Socials

Facebook: Medicann Health

LinkedIn: Medicann Health

Instagram: @medicannhealth

In this episode of The Revital Health Podcast, Jodi Duval is joined by Chanae Brookes, for a cycle-aware conversation on female training, performance and recovery.

Together they unpack what can shift across the follicular phase, ovulation and luteal phase, and how these hormonal and physiological changes may influence insulin sensitivity, inflammation, pain tolerance, perceived exertion, recovery demand and injury risk.

They also explore what can happen when women overtrain, underfuel and live under chronic stress, including protective endocrine suppression patterns that may show up as cycle disruption, reduced ovulation signalling, impaired recovery, mood changes and downstream performance decline.

The conversation covers practical takeaways for women who train, including cycle tracking as a readiness report, the value of biofeedback over rigid programs, and a grounded discussion about the oral contraceptive pill in sport. The episode closes with a timely discussion on creatine: potential benefits, why dosing needs to be individualised, and why lab markers and kidney function context matters when supplementation trends go mainstream.

If you’re training hard and want to protect your hormones while still building performance, this episode will give you a smarter framework.

Topics we cover

1. Training through the menstrual cycle: follicular, ovulation, luteal
2. Recovery demand, perceived exertion and cycle-aware programming
3. Ovulation, confidence and ligament considerations
4. Overtraining, under-eating and hormonal suppression
5. Oral contraceptive pill considerations for athletes
6. Creatine: benefits, dose context, and “test, don’t guess”

Where to find Chanae

Revital Health (Global Telehealth). Chanae also offers free 10-minute discovery calls.

www.revitalhealth.com.au

In this episode, Jodi Duval is joined by Lindsay Hilder, body therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience and Co-Director of the EMMETT Technique International, to explore a unique, results-based approach to manual therapy used worldwide across humans and animals.

The EMMETT Technique is a light-touch neuromuscular release method designed to work with the body’s own intelligence rather than force change. It is results-based rather than time-based, highly precise, and intentionally inclusive rather than exclusive, meaning it can stand alone or integrate seamlessly with other therapies.

Lindsay shares the lineage of the technique from founder Ross Emmett, how EMMETT points are identified and applied, and why timing, precision, and practitioner presence matter just as much as technique.

1. What the EMMETT Technique is (and what it is not)
2. Light-touch neuromuscular release and its effects on posture, pain, function and lymphatics
3. The “body electrician” analogy and indirect access points
4. Why timing matters: sedating rather than irritating the nervous system
5. Results-based treatment versus fixed session lengths
6. The 7As: attitude, atmosphere, environment and their impact on outcomes
7. Application across adults, babies and animals
8. Practitioner training pathways, including workshops, practitioner modules and professional levels
9. Health autonomy and restoring agency to individuals and families

Lindsay Hilder brings both lineage knowledge and contemporary clinical insight to the ongoing evolution of the EMMETT Technique. Raised alongside the development of the method and now teaching internationally, her work focuses on inclusivity, integration, and practitioner-agnostic education.

1. Official website and practitioner directory: https://www.emmett-technique-hq.com/
2. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmetttechniqueinternational/

This episode is a grounded reminder that sometimes less force, greater precision, and better listening create the most meaningful change.

In this episode of the Revital Health Podcast, Jodi is joined by Shannon McKendry, an Integrative Health Practitioner and educator in women’s health and medicinal cannabis.

With training in functional medicine, nutrition and fitness, and extensive experience supporting clinics, prescribers and patients around Australia, Shannon brings a deeply informed, evidence-based lens to women’s wellbeing and cannabinoid medicine.

Together, we explore how cannabinoids can be woven into an integrative toolkit for women, rather than positioned as a quick fix.

In this episode we cover:

• Shannon’s personal journey from young mum and law student to autoimmune patient, and ultimately to integrative practitioner and educator
• The endocannabinoid system as a master regulator for sleep, pain, mood, inflammation and stress responses
• Why women are often more sensitive to cannabinoids, and why “low and slow” dosing is crucial
• Clinical patterns across the lifespan:
• Teens and young women: anxiety, sleep, cycle symptoms and nervous-system load
• 30s–40s: chronic stress, autoimmune conditions and invisible illness
• Perimenopause and menopause: sleep dysregulation, pain, mood shifts, thermoregulation and cognitive changes
• Endometriosis, PCOS and gynaecological pain:
• Emerging research on cannabinoid creams and sublingual oils
• Real-world shifts in pain, function and quality of life
• How cannabinoids can act as a catalyst, helping women access enough nervous-system stability to actually implement foundations like nutrition, movement, light and sleep
• Common concerns and misconceptions among prescribers and clinics
• “THC is dangerous, CBD is the only safe option”
• Fears around psychoactivity, driving and safety
• Overwhelm with the number of products and delivery formats
• The importance of:
• Individualised assessment and careful titration
• Working within current Australian legal and regulatory frameworks
• Ongoing education for clinicians, and collaboration between prescribers, integrative practitioners and referrers
• Using cannabinoids not only in chronic disease, but as part of proactive health optimisation and longevity strategies

This conversation is for you if:

• You are a woman navigating anxiety, pain, sleep issues or hormonal transitions and want to understand where plant-based medicines may fit
• You are a practitioner or prescriber seeking a grounded, integrative view of cannabinoid medicine in women’s health
• You are a referrer wanting clearer, safer pathways for your patients

To learn more about Shannon’s work and clinical education in this space, you can explore MediCann - https://www.medicannclinics.com.au/

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Talia Steed

In her new book, Choosing the Witness Self, Talia writes:

In this way of being, we can make contact with pure awareness. Awareness beyond the thoughts, beyond the feelings, beyond the sensations in the body. And this is the essence of spirituality. Discovering that you are the witness to the experiences of your life. Nothing more, and nothing less.

In this conversation we explore:

• The difference between the will to live and the will to heal
• Why the body is not punishing you, but illuminating what needs attention
• How chronic symptoms can reflect misalignment in work, relationships and lifestyle
• What it means to “choose the witness self” instead of being run by the ego mind
• How to create space, safety and self-compassion so change feels possible
• Practical entry points for people who find stillness, silence or “self-care time” confronting
• The power of self-validation and taking ownership of your own healing journey

We also talk about our new collaboration:

Choosing the Witness Self – Monthly Book Club (Perth)

Dr Talia is hosting an in-person book club at Skol in Scarborough on the last Friday of each month at 1pm, starting 30 January. We’ll be moving through Choosing the Witness Self chapter by chapter, aligned with this podcast series, so you can integrate the material slowly with community support.

Reserve your place here:

Book Club Tickets – Eventbrite

Connect with Dr Talia Steed

• Website: www.drtaliasteed.com
• Instagram: @bodi_alchemy
• Facebook: Bodi Alchemy

Connect with Jodi & Revital Health

• Clinic: Revital Health, Perth
• Podcast: The Revital Health Podcast

In this episode, Jodi sits down with Jordan from Mode Healthcare for a deep and refreshingly honest conversation about what it takes to build a new healthcare model in Australia.

Together they explore:

• Jordan’s personal journey into the health space and the PTSD event that reshaped his life

• the early days of Mode and why “make it matter” became the foundation of their clinic design

• communication, culture, and why relatability is critical for patient trust

• the difficulties clinics face in Australia: regulation, TGA rules, compliance, dispensary errors, supply inconsistencies

• the difference between proactive health coaching and traditional reactive medicine

• the risks of recreational-style thinking around natural therapies — and why quality, dosing, safety, and continuity must stay central

• the creation of Mode’s GrowHouse system: an integrated treatment, prescribing, communication, education, and logistics platform for improving outcomes at scale

• yoga, breathwork, mobility, music and lifestyle as essential components of long-term wellness

• the importance of matching the right doctor to the right patient — and why patients have permission to “fire” their doctor and find better fit

• the future of medicine in Australia, why burnout is happening at every level, and what a more sustainable system could look like

This episode is for anyone interested in integrative medicine, business innovation, patient safety, cannabis medicine, or the future of health care delivery in Australia.

In this episode, Jodi sits down again with Jason from Supreme Shrooms to unpack the real world of medicinal mushrooms – beyond trends and social media hype.

Together, they explore:

Why mushrooms are not a fad

• Ancient medicinal use of Reishi and other species
• Why interest and the evidence base keep growing

What actually makes mushrooms “medicinal”

• Beta-glucans, triterpenes, polysaccharides and terpenes
• Why medicinal varieties can have up to 100× the active compounds of culinary mushrooms
• How dual extraction keeps quality powders stable in hot drinks

Brain health, dementia and nerve repair

• Lion’s Mane for cognition and nerve regeneration
• Dementia research and the power of lifestyle interventions
• Real-world clinical outcomes for focus and clarity

Cancer, immunity and fungal myths

• Shiitake and turkey tail in cancer-supportive care
• Mushrooms as immune modulators, not overstimulators
• How they support Candida and gut terrain balance

Gut health, dosing and integration

• Beta-glucans as food for the microbiome
• Why consistency beats intensity
• Safe dosing for adults, kids, and sensitive systems

Stacking and synergy

• Combining mushrooms with creatine, omega-3s, collagen, hemp and adaptogens
• Custom blends for hormone balance, menopause and brain optimisation

If you’re curious about mushrooms for brain health, immune balance, hormones or long-term prevention, this conversation is a grounded, practical deep dive.

🍄 Explore Jason’s range: supremeshrooms.com.au

💡 Follow Jodi: Instagram @revital_health | @jodi. duval| revitalhealth.com.au

What if your depression isn’t psychological — it’s metabolic?

Dr Matthew Bernstein joins Jodi Duval on The Revital Health Podcast to explore how mitochondria, nutrition, and light can reshape the brain.

Together they explore:

•⁠ ⁠The bi-directional link between metabolism and mental health

•⁠ ⁠How ketogenic interventions are transforming outcomes in severe psychiatric illness

•⁠ ⁠Why mitochondria may be psychiatry’s most important therapeutic target

•⁠ ⁠Practical markers and tools: insulin, HbA1c, BHB, CGM, and lifestyle protocols

•⁠ ⁠How to integrate food, light, and movement for true metabolic repair

This conversation bridges psychiatry and cellular medicine — redefining mental health from the inside out.

Guest: Dr Matthew Bernstein — Clinical Psychiatrist & CEO, Accord

🔗 Follow: Instagram @accordmh | X @accordmetabolic | Facebook @accordmh

📧 Contact: [email protected]

Host: Jodi Duval | Revital Health | @revital_health | @jodiduval