The Evolving Women

I've been working with Terra to naturally manage my health since 1999. In this episode we talk about Ayurvedic principles that can help you manage menopause and hot flashes naturally.

Jeanne is the author of 5 books on menopause and is a wealth of information. In this episode we talk about the role of our physiology in how our skills and preferences change after "the change". We talk turkey about adrenal function, HRT, estrogens (yes, there is more than one type), testosterone, and more.

Understanding the physical process can help us make more sense of the multitude of changes that happen in menopause. Jeanne gives a quick tip on how to quickly manage hot flashes and talks about the importance of releasing estrogen from your system.

Chrysta is the founder and CEO of “She Goes High”, an introvert-focused leadership group for women in Colorado . She is a career coach, keynote speaker, and author of the book, Beautiful Badass: How to Believe In Yourself Against the Odds.

We talk about the importance of realizing you can only move forward from where you are right now. It's easy for ALL of us to think we should be more progressed in our careers, our relationships, even our meditation practices. But without the clear acknowledgement of where we are, we can set up unrealistic expectations that make our goals seem unachievable.

Self-employed women in midlife are particularly susceptible to this self judgement since many of us have become 'hyper-self reliant' not only as a business strategy but as a constant internal struggle to prove our capability.

Chrysta's quote for this episode: 'You can't do ANYTHING, but you can do SOMETHING".

In this candid talk about her journey to entrepreneurship, Angela talks about her career and life transitions. From a single pregnant teenager, to a student with a 6 year old who was fired from her job, she talks about the challenges she's faced and how she made things work.

We'll also get a little geeky, as Angela and I both make websites, so we'll discuss equity in the tech community and how the WordPresss community differs from the usual corporate business culture.

It's not unusual for businessmen in their 50's and 60's to be recognized as trailblazers, icons, and role models. But without an example of women who have built their careers throughout their lives and continued to excel, it becomes less of an option for all of us. Very much like the underrepresentation of people of color in popular culture, it causes us to self-limit because we assume that there is a barrier. 

Whether or not the lack of representation of older women is created by external circumstances or not, celebrating the accomplishments, intelligence and power of women in midlife is an important reminder to us all that women in midlife aren't "past their prime". In fact, they are fully in it. 

The strong personality and willingness to take on the stress of owning your own business are doubled when you are talking about a female entrepreneur. It's harder for men to fail, but it's harder for women to even start.

It seems that "hot flashes" have become shorthand for menopause. When we have obvious and clear symptoms we focus on those.

But doesn't that perpetuate the idea that menopause is a dysfunction or a sickness?

Why are the gifts of menopause so hard to see or appreciate? 

One of the main goals of this podcast is to give women a framework not only for understanding menopause (and how it relates to their self-employed status) for also a framework for appreciating it. We are depriving ourself from understanding when we focus only on the uncomfortable symptoms.

This is my 'origin story' of how I went from a grad student in Buddhist studies to an entrepreneurial single mom who was suddenly in menopause.

The loneliness and isolation that I've felt through different periods in my life is what has fueled my passion for working to empower responsible, self-employed women so they feel grounded, juicy and powerful in their own bodies and so they can be seen for the incredible HUMANS that they are.