What if the edge you keep avoiding is actually the place where more freedom, more pleasure, and more of you is waiting?

I invited Daniella Hogarth (episode #109) back to share how she has moved from fear to flow and explore how she is living bravely, wildly, and in deep trust with herself.

The conversation covers a LOT - from social anxiety, seawater phobia, and fear of the dark, to learning saxophone as an adult, joining a band, exploring wilderness skills, and undertaking a vision quest.

Daniella shares how leaning towards discomfort has opened her to more aliveness, freedom, self-trust, and joy.

This conversation is a beautiful reminder that fear does not have to be the end of the story. It can be the beginning of coming home to yourself.

Listen now to hear us talk about

• meeting your edges and why discomfort can be a doorway to growth
• Daniella’s experience of social anxiety and learning to show up as herself
• how fear of seawater became a path to freedom, confidence, and pleasure
• what a vision quest taught her about control, safety, and trusting herself
• the power of nature, wilderness, and simplifying life enough to hear yourself clearly
• reclaiming abandoned parts of self through courage and experimentation
• learning new skills in midlife and why it is never too late to begin
• how joy, pleasure, and euphoria can live on the other side of fear
• the importance of community, support, and sisterhood when meeting your edge
• practical encouragement for women wanting to take one small brave step in their own lives

Connect with her via:

FB: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/daniella.hogarth/⁠

Insta: ⁠@daniellajhogarth⁠

email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

YouTube: @DaniellaJayneHogarth

daniellahogarth.com 

Come and say hi to me over on Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Explore more of my work and offerings at: pennyvandersluys.com

Or email me directly [email protected] to share what landed for you from this conversation.

Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Website: pennyvandersluys.com

And if you’re craving spaces where you can be encouraged, celebrated, and supported to meet your own edges, explore the Wonder Women Club.

pennyvandersluys.com/wonder

Your gut is always on your team.

It’s constantly speaking through your body – sometimes it's upset and letting you know through bloating, brain fog, fatigue, cravings, flatness, discomfort, and then there's those quiet inner nudges that whisper yes, no, not this, or try that.

In this rich and energising conversation, I’m joined by the gorgeous Daniella for a deep dive into what it really means to trust your gut.

Together, we explore the connection between gut health, emotional wellbeing, intuition, flow state, energy, joy, and the body’s innate intelligence. Daniella shares her lived journey from postnatal depression, disconnection, and survival mode into vibrant health, clarity, community, and deep self-trust.

This conversation moves far beyond food.

We talk about the physical clues your body gives you, the everyday habits that can quietly disconnect you from yourself, the role of thoughts and environment, and why connection, joy, movement, and community are powerful medicine in midlife.

This episode is a beautiful reminder that your body is not working against you – it is always offering information, support, and guidance.

The invitation is to pause, listen, and trust what it’s already telling you.

Tune in to hear us explore:

• what it truly means to trust your gut
• physical signs your gut may be asking for support
• the link between gut health, mood, foggy thinking, and fatigue
• Daniella’s personal healing story and what changed everything
• how food, movement, and thoughts shape wellbeing
• why intuition often speaks through the body first
• the connection between flow state and feeling turned on to life
• community, belonging, and joy as medicine
• practical ways to return to alignment when you feel off
• why midlife is the perfect time to start listening more deeply

Daniella shares healing sessions, community circles, workshops, beautiful handcrafted wellbeing products, and transformational spaces to help people reconnect with themselves.

Connect with her via:

FB: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/daniella.hogarth/⁠

Insta: ⁠@daniellajhogarth⁠

email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

YouTube: @DaniellaJayneHogarth

daniellahogarth.com 

Free Sample Version of her Published book, Mind Your Gut Health

Get your Free Powerful Energy & Entity Clearing Channeled Prayer  - Declaration of self Sovereignty https://youtu.be/YTre2w1tqT8?si=Lk4xujejf_ZWz1pZ

Come and say hi over on Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Explore more: pennyvandersluys.com

Or email me directly [email protected] to share what landed for you from this conversation.

Have you ever wondered what your voice is really communicating about you?

What if the qualities in your voice could give you clues about different parts of yourself?

And what if learning to access those sounds could help you be heard, noticed, and cut through when it matters?

In this episode, voice coach and author Barbara McAfee shares her powerful five-element framework for understanding the voice, revealing how vocal qualities are connected to the body, our behaviours, and the ways we express ourselves in the world.

Together, we explore this framework through a practical walk-through of the five elements - so you can listen, play along, and begin experimenting with the sounds of your own voice, discovering how each one gives you access to different qualities within yourself.

Along the way, Barbara shares insights and practices to help you explore your voice more fully, including:

• how our voices can carry the imprints of our life experiences, cultural expectations and early messages about how we should sound

• why making simple sounds, laughing, singing and playful vocal expression can reconnect us with parts of ourselves that have been held back or forgotten

• how experimenting with different vocal qualities can help us express boundaries, passion, tenderness, clarity and imagination

• why tone often communicates more than words, and how the way we say something can completely change how our message is received

• how listening for vocal qualities can help us recognise people’s strengths, energy and natural gifts

• how creating a playlist of songs with different vocal styles can help you practice and explore the range of your own voice

• Barbara’s playful metaphor of taking your voice to the “vocal dog park” - letting it off the leash to explore sounds that are wilder, freer and more embodied

• how discovering new vocal range can challenge the stories we hold about ourselves and open the door to new emotional, creative and sensual expression

Connect with Barbara:

Website
https://www.barbaramcafee.com/

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/mcafeemusic

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/barbara.mcafee

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/barbaramcafeesings/

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaramcafee/

Bringing Your Full Voice to Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze763kgrWGg

How Oral Tradition Singing Helps Us Work & Live Better Together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrRQulQnaoQ

Full Voice for Leaders: Cultivating Vitality, Presence, and Impact in a Changing World
(soon to be renamed Vocal Intelligence, 2025)
https://www.audible.com/pd/Full-Voice-for-Leaders-Audiobook/B0FPPDSP8S

Full Voice: The Art and Practice of Vocal Presence (2011)
Audiobook:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Full-Voice-Audiobook/B008S06VR0

Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Full-Voice-Practice-Presence-Business/dp/1605099228

Vocal Intelligence: Leading with Vitality, Presence, and Impact
Coming Spring 2026

Explore Barbara’s original music catalogue on Bandcamp:
https://barbaramcafee.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Website: pennyvandersluys.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, sharing the episode, or leaving a review. It helps more women discover these conversations and reconnect with their pleasure, power and voice.

What if exposure through a lens wasn’t about performance… but about self-celebration? 

Not about looking perfect… but about remembering who you are?

In this expansive and beautifully honest conversation, I chat with outdoor boudoir photographer, Wren Morrow, about exposure, embodiment, and what happens when women stop performing and start remembering.

We explore:

– The difference between performance and presence

– Why social conditioning keeps women critiquing their bodies

– How nature helps us drop the persona and return to our ancient self

– Photography as a portal — not to perfection, but to remembrance

– Simple ways to reconnect with your body and send light where shame once lived

When we recorded this episode, Wren and I were dreaming out loud.

I was about to turn 50 and host a Women’s Camping Festival - a weekend of wildness, sisterhood and celebration - and I knew I didn’t just want it documented.

I wanted it witnessed.

So I invited her to come to Australia.

To be part of the festival.

To work with women in my network.

And she said yes.

As this episode is released, Wren is here in Australia, collaborating with women who are ready to step beyond social constructs and let nature guide them back to themselves. She’s also able to assist with all kinds of photography

If that’s you - reach out.

Wren will be in Australia until late April, with some time in Bali during March. If you’re curious about working with her while she’s here, send me a message or contact her directly via her website/instagram DMs below.

This episode is where the magic began -before we stepped through the portal.

Connect with Wren

Website: wrenmorrow.com

Instagram: @_wrenmorrow

Step Into Your Own Self-Celebration

My next Pleasure You’ve Been Missing Pilgrimage begins March 9.

It’s an 8-week journey into embodiment, pleasure, confidence and reconnection - without apology and without performing.

If you’d like details, or want to explore whether it’s right for you, email me directly:

📩 [email protected]

And if you miss this intake, reach out and I’ll add you to the waitlist for the next take-off.

What do women really want in midlife?

Not crumbs.
Not confusion.
Not low-effort dating.

In this bold and expansive episode, I'm joined by Anna Grosman, founder of Her Confidant – Australia’s only female-led, women-focused male escort agency designed specifically for women.

Together we explore what women crave in from men and in midlife, how intimacy can be reframed as wellbeing, and why midlife is not a decline – but an awakening.

This conversation moves beyond taboo and into choice, agency, safety, emotional intelligence, and the radical act of choosing yourself.

Whether you’re single, partnered, curious, or simply questioning what’s possible, this episode opens the door to a new way of thinking about desire and connection.

We discuss:

• What women really want in midlife
• The exhaustion of modern dating apps
• Why safety and emotional intelligence matter in intimacy
• Moving from performance to presence
• Reclaiming desire after years of disconnection
• Trauma-aware approaches to intimacy
• Couples exploring safely and consensually
• Why pleasure is a wellness tool, not an indulgence
• The power of choosing yourself

Connect with Anna:

https://herconfidant.com.au/
https://www.instagram.com/herconfidant.au/
linkedin.com/in/annagrosman-herconfidant
https://www.tiktok.com/@her.confidant.companions
https://www.facebook.com/p/Her-Confidant-61555999673521/

If this episode sparked something in you, join me for an 8-week immersive journey, The Pleasure You’ve Been Missing Pilgrimage, starting soon, from 9th March 2026.

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Website: www.pennyvandersluys.com

HRT is having a moment - and for many women, it’s been supportive and even life-changing. But the conversation has also become polarised, confusing, and at times overwhelming.

In this episode, I’m joined by returning guest Joanna McMeekin, a women’s hormone health coach, for a grounded, nuanced conversation about HRT. There is a lot of hype about it at the moment, so this is a discussion about what’s actually happening hormonally through perimenopause and menopause, why HRT doesn’t work for everyone, and what else matters when it comes to supporting your body, brain, bones and wellbeing through midlife.

This episode is for women who are already taking HRT, considering it, trying it, or questioning whether they need it - and who want to make informed, embodied choices rather than reacting from fear or pressure.

In this episode, we explore

• Why HRT has shifted from hesitation to a groundswell of encouragement
• When it’s too late to take HRT
• Why the HRT conversation has become so polarised - and how to step out of “either/or” thinking
• When HRT can be helpful, and why it doesn’t work for everyone
• How we know Perimenopause and menopause are transitions and not disease or deficiency 
• What’s often missing from the HRT conversation
• Why bloodwork, baseline health and individual patterns matter
• Supporting brain, bone and heart health with or without HRT
• Trusting your body, your lived experience, and your capacity to choose what’s right for you

Books mentioned

• The Menopause Brain
• This Is Your Brain on Birth Control – Sarah E. Hill

Connect with Joanna

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joanna.macmeikan
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanna_macmeikan/
• Website: www.joannamac.com
• Free guide: https://www.joannamac.com/free-downloads

Connect with Penny

• Website: https://pennyvandersluys.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelope.sluys

• If you’re a woman who does a lot, holds a lot, and is brilliant at being busy… this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

  
  

  In this conversation, I chat with Certified Curiosity Coach, Amanda Ewin. We explore how curiosity - simple, gentle, body-led curiosity - can become a powerful tool for creating space, truth, and turn-on in the middle of a full life.

  This isn’t about adding more to your to-do list.

  
  

  It’s about softening busy, interrupting old patterns, and discovering small moments that reconnect you to yourself.

  Listen to hear us talk about:

  
  

  • Why busy becomes such a familiar pattern for women in midlife
  • How micro-moments (even 30 seconds in the car!) can shift everything
  • Curiosity as a gentle doorway back to spaciousness, presence, and self-connection
  • How to recognise when you’re making choices from old patterns instead of current desires
  • Using the body to guide decisions, clarity, and truth
  • Curiosity as a playful way to interrupt people-pleasing and perfectionism
  • How curiosity can softly support more turn-on, aliveness, and alignment - without forcing anything

  
  

  You can connect with Amanda:

  Instagram @amandaewin.

  website: Amandaewin.com

  Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
  Facebook: Penny van der Sluys
  Website + pleasure-focused emails: pennyvandersluys.com

  If this episode resonated, please share it with a friend - or leave a comment, review or rating. It all helps this podcast reach more women who deserve to feel wild, free, sexy, and deeply connected to themselves.

  
  

  
  

What if the thing that could change everything - your stress, your energy, your relationship with your body - was something as simple and as profound as your breath?

So many women spend years pushing through discomfort, silencing symptoms, or being told their pain is “normal,” “in their head,” or caused by something unrelated.

Endometriosis, in particular, is one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed conditions affecting women - and the impact can be devastating.

In this episode, we open a conversation that has been silenced for far too long.

I’m joined by Rachael McLean, a master breathwork facilitator who endured years of chronic pelvic pain, medical dismissal, and multiple surgeries before discovering a practice that helped her reconnect with her body, regulate her nervous system, and reclaim her quality of life.

Her story is powerful, validating, and deeply hopeful - not just for women with endo, but for anyone who has ever been told to “just put up with” their pain.

A gentle note before you listen

This episode is based on Rachael’s lived experience with endometriosis and breathwork, and our shared reflections. It’s offered for information and inspiration, not as medical advice.
Always trust your body, and work with your own practitioners and health support team when exploring treatments, changing medications, or trying new approaches.

In this episode, we explore:

• What endometriosis actually is - and why so many women go undiagnosed for years

• How pain is often dismissed or mislabelled (IBS, anxiety, food intolerance, “normal period pain”)

• Why so many women learn to push through agony instead of receiving proper support

• How breathwork helped Rachael reduce pain, calm inflammation, and reconnect with her body

• The link between stress, cortisol, inflammation, and chronic pelvic conditions

• How breath regulates the nervous system and influences pain perception

• The emotional cost of not being believed - shame, confusion, isolation, and self-doubt

• The importance of advocating for your body when professionals don’t listen

• Rebuilding trust in your body after years of being dismissed

• Practical ways breathwork can support your cycle, pain, and emotional wellbeing

  
  

  Connect with Rachael:

  Website: https://therefinedbreath.com
  Instagram: @the_redefined_breath

  
  

  Connect with me:

  Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
  Explore my work at pennyvandersluys.com

What if the way you move your body could transform how you experience pleasure, confidence, and desire?

In this episode, my guest is the gorgeous sexologist, educator, and triathlete Jordina Quain who is passionate about sport personally and professionally! Her PhD is exploring the effect of endurance sport on female athlete sexuality and sense of self so she is very familiar with what it really means to be fit for pleasure - body, mind, and soul.

Tune in to hear us talk about:

• How sport can both ignite and inhibit desire

• The hidden link between pelvic floor health and orgasmic pleasure

• Why leisure is political (and reclaiming it is an act of rebellion)

• How movement and community help us rewrite old stories of shame and belonging

• The unexpected ways exercise impacts confidence, relationships, and sensuality

• And Jordi’s powerful message to women in midlife

Whether you’re an ocean swimmer, weekend walker, or just curious about reconnecting to your body in new ways, this conversation will inspire you to move your way to joy, sensuality, and self-acceptance.

🖤 Acknowledgement of Country
We both wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land where I record TURNED ON, and the Whadjuk Noongar people where Jordina Quain joined from.

We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded, and honour the wisdom, culture, and stories that continue to flow through these lands and waters.

You can connect with Jordi on Instagram @the_sporty_sexologist

I'd love to connect with you too:

pennyvandersluys.com
On Instagram @pennyvandersluys

Are you ever stuck for present ideas?

Have you ever been gifted a vibrator - or thought about gifting one to yourself or a friend - but weren’t quite sure how to go about it?

Today’s episode is for you.

In this joyful, stigma-busting conversation, I chat with Justine Vallata, founder and owner of That’s The Spot - a small Australian business on a mission to make pleasure gifting fun, affordable, and shame-free.

We talk about what makes a pleasure gift feel personal and empowering, and how affordability, sustainability, and creativity are helping more women feel confident exploring pleasure - for themselves and for others.

Join us as we explore:

+ How self-gifting can become an act of self-respect and a way to reclaim your right to feel good.
+ How to choose personalised pleasure hampers that feel elegant, inclusive, and empowering.
+ Why affordability and sustainability matter in the world of pleasure products - and how small changes in packaging and pricing can make pleasure more accessible for everyone.
+ How to start the conversation about sex toys with your partner - without ego, shame, or awkwardness.
+ And how this small Australian business is helping change the narrative around pleasure and self-care.

This episode is for every woman who’s ever wanted to give - or receive - a gift that keeps on giving and makes you feel amazing.

You can connect with Justine:
Website: thatsthespot.com.au
Instagram: @thatsthespotau
✨ Use code TURNEDON20 for 20% off all gift packs, Pleasure Power Vibes, and subscriptions.

Connect with Penny:
Instagram: @pennyvandersluys
Website: pennyvandersluys.com