Brandi Mitchell is the Founder of San Diego Soccer Women in California. Her goal is to connect and expand the global community of age 30 and older recreational female soccer players of every ability level.  At age 47 has traveled the world joining in both standard and walking soccer tournaments for ages 40 and older, as well as organizing international “Soccer Women” trips. I love that her number one goal is to increase opportunities for older women, mainly ages 30 to over 70, to join, continue or return to recreational soccer. Brandi just wants women to kick down the imagined boundaries of age and gender and I’m behind her all the way! Brandi and I have a chat that could have gone on for days! Luckily, I was able to edit it an episode though. You’re welcome.  In this episode, we’re talking about how physical, mental, economic and emotional health of women as we age relies on positive relationships with our own bodies. And that means pushing back against generations of social messaging that tells us we are never shaped, dressed or acting the way we ‘should’ in the eyes of others.  She also points out that Women are not “girls” – it’s time to be accountable for how referring to adult females as children (by both men and women) prolongs sexist and ageist behavior in society. So, sit back and get comfortable, we have a lot to cover. And by the end of it, I bet you feel inspired to go find a sport! I’m excited to be meeting Brandi and other inspiring female athletes like herself at this year’s one of a kind sports festival, The Good Games July 6th and 7th in Guelph, Ontario.

In this episode, we delve deep into the transformative potential of psychedelic therapy specifically tailored for women. Psychedelic Integration coach, Ondrea Crockett sheds light on the unique experiences, challenges, and breakthroughs encountered by women undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, as well as the ethical considerations and safety protocols involved in their use. Through psychedelic therapy, women are reclaiming agency over their mental health and wellness journeys. Tune in and discover the profound ways psychedelic therapy is reshaping the landscape of women's mental health and well-being.

As a woman I can’t say how great it is to hear menopause openly discussed in my family, friend groups, media, and entertainment. We should be talking about it. It’s such an important transition in a woman’s life so why hide it? However, the tone around menopause still needs some work! The way I hear it discussed would make any woman put the brakes on. Who is going to embrace vaginal dryness, brain fog and hot flashes with open arms? There is more to menopause than mood swings. The way we talk about menopause sets the tone for all women after us. Charlotte White Ima is the Founder of Cascade Herbal Living, and she is sharing her upbeat, unique, and inspiring perspective on midlife and ‘the change’ with you. Charlotte brings the questions of spiritual awareness to life’s phases in a way that makes complete sense to me. I love that she challenges the negative perceptions by seeing Menopause as an invitation to level up, not bypass. I hope you’ll tune in and keep your mind open to a positive way to see what’s ahead.

As winter settles in, so does Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in the workplace. As the days grow shorter and the workload longer, we find ourselves battling not just deadlines, but the urge to hibernate under our desks until spring. It's like everyone suddenly morphs into human-sized houseplants, craving sunlight, and chlorophyll in equal measure. Whether you, yourself suffer from SAD or you know someone who does, it’s important to understand what it is and to find treatable solutions to allow us to cope or help others who might need support.  In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Ariel Dalfen, MD, FRCPC and co-founder of BRIA, a virtual clinic developed by leading MD psychiatrists with decades of experience in women’s mental health care. Ariel explains what SAD is, how it impacts us in our personal and professional life and tips to help treat it. If you know someone who might be suffering, this would be a great episode to share with them. Tune in!

I’m a personal believer that you dress for your style and your energy - not your ‘age’. What does age-related style look like, anyway? Imagine being confined to a certain wardrobe because you fall into a specific age group? How limiting! And where is the self-expression? I click away from articles that talk about how to dress ‘for your age. or how to style your hair ‘for your age’. Time to throw away those old, ageist attitudes and find our fashion flair. To tell us how to seek out our style is personal wardrobe stylist, Scarlett De Bease. Scarlett shows women how to create fabulous, customized outfits, regardless of size or age, so they can show up to anything on their calendar with absolute confidence! Tune in!

If anyone loves their wine, it’s me! I don’t drink liquor or beer, but I am a huge sucker for a Californian Cab Sav. I love the flavour and I love the warm feeling I get in my belly after a few sips. It makes me feel calm, peaceful, and relaxed. Even when I don’t want a glass, I am easily swayed when others around me are enjoying a glass and I inevitably give in and succumb to a full-bodied, jammy glass of heaven.   I’m also post-menopausal and still suffer from hot flashes and weight gain. Alcohol is not my friend. However, we’ve all been so conditioned to drinking – just looking at old movies and tv shows. Booze is all around us. It makes it hard to cut it out when we feel so immersed. It has become a social lubricant and a reward at the end of a hard or challenging day. Sarah Kate, the ‘mocktologist’ behind Some Good Clean Fun dishes up the details on the benefits of going alcohol free and some great substitutes. Spoiler Alert: remember when non-alcoholic wines used to suck? Not anymore! Sarah also brings up some interesting facts that we should all know about cocktails and calories. All of this is just to provide you with a new perspective on our alcohol habits. It’s down to personal choice though. Some of us might want to cut back, some may want to cut it out all together and others are fine with things the way they are. I’m good with any and all decisions. I just want to provide you with all possible options. So tune in and let me know what you think!

For many years I’ve struggled to find the best fitness routine, the best food choices, the best way to feel better. This journey began before I even realized I was in perimenopause.  As I entered post-menopause, I started to see what people were talking about. Things were changing. More to the point – things were getting tighter. Snug. Ugh.  I’ve explored so many ways to feel better and lose this stubborn weight but it’s still a challenge. I tried intermittent fasting, and it did work. However, I started to hear conflicting reports on whether it is healthy for women in peri/post menopause to try it. I was confused.  Intermittent Fasting as incorrectly been referred to as a diet. This isn’t accurate. Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. During the fasting periods, individuals abstain from food intake for a specific duration, promoting various health benefits such as weight loss and improved metabolic health. In this episode we cover so many questions on the topic. What steps can you take to feel empowered about your health over age 50? How can we combat our expectation that we will only get sicker, heavier, and foggier forever? What is the root cause of most people’s challenges with their weight loss and health? What are your top 3 tips on how to get started with intermittent fasting TODAY? Does intermittent fasting wreck your metabolism or is it bad for women's hormones? I think you’ll want to hear the answers as well so tune in!

It’s the final podcast of the season and what better way to end the season than a conversation about …. MUSHROOMS! Hold your horses though – we’re not talking about the woo-woo kind. I am talking to the founder of Micropause - Functional mushrooms, plant powered adaptogen perimenopause symptom relief gummies for all stages of your evolving midlife journey. Emily Wagner is a longtime authority in the health and wellness space - 30 years as a trainer, 15 years as Editor-in-Chief of Groomed LA, and a stint as Managing Editor of The Chalkboard Mag with a beat on the pulse of cutting-edge wellness trends. She has literally experimented with every supplement, powder, and potion on the market. As she was experiencing the distressing and often demoralizing symptoms of perimenopause, Emily was discouraged by the limited natural relief available beyond traditional hormone replacement therapy. Emily started researching the benefits of her beloved superfoods - functional mushrooms, apoptogenic roots, plants, and herbs – and was amazed to discover their potential to bolster overall well-being during the perimenopause and menopausal stage of life. And then ‘voila’! Emily found the relief she was looking for when she combined various supplements into her daily routine and couldn’t wait to share her discovery. But she knew that when it came to the delivery system, it was imperative to offer a simple, perfectly dosed, delicious alternative to yet another pill to swallow. Want to know more? You’ll have to tune in!

Dr. Daniela Steyn, M.D. joins me in this episode of the She2.0 podcast to talk about improving our quality of life through menopause. From weight loss sleep, Dr. Steyn covered so much ground and leaves us with solutions to budging those stubborn pounds, better sleep and happiness all around!  Speaking of happiness – did you know that 90% of our happy hormone is made in our gut? Tune in to find out more about that and so much more and while you’re there, you’ll want to pick up a copy of her new book, Thrive Through Menopause.  MenoHealth 101 is specifically designed to provide us with the knowledge and tools we need to face menopause confidently. This condensed course covers everything from the basics of what menopause is to the latest treatment options available. It takes a whole-body approach by delving into topics like stress management, getting better sleep, and having a healthy sex life so you can Thrive Through Menopause! Tune in!

In this episode of the She2.0 Podcast, I’m chatting with Monika Tupholme, BSc., CPT, PN, CFN to get to the bottom of the pounds (or fluff) that won’t budge. Monika is a respected athlete and sought-after performance and fat loss specialist who works with busy, active women over 40 and 50 ++ to help them lose hormonal inches and reconnect with who they really are.  As the founder of the 3M System to Rev Your Over 40 Metabolism, Moni specializes in healing and priming the body (and mind) first before asking it to shape, at the same time working on limiting beliefs, stuck emotions, and mean girl self-talk that keeps women from lasting results. It turns out that if you want to move that needle on the scale, it's going to take more than diet and exercise - your mind has a big part in this too! How? Tune in!

The other week I scrolled through one of my favourite newsletters and came across an image of Kate and Meghan. I am so over the royal family and their war.  And just as I was about to carry on, the headline hit me. “The ugly truth about girl power’. Wow.  I always thought girl power was a good thing. So how does this relate to aging and menopause? As I read quite a few articles online about menopause and how the author/journalist felt about the experience, I expected to read words of support and encouragement in the comments section. You know – girl ‘power’. Not so. In fact, not at all!   I reached out to Monica, the author of the newsletter that caught my eye, and I wanted her take. Why do women do this to each other? Is it our fault or have we been positioned like this by society and the patriarch? This is a time when we should be supporting each other so what gives? MONICA CORCORAN HAREL is a journalist, screenwriter, and the founder of PRETTY RIPE,  If you haven’t heard of it, you’ll want to subscribe right away like I did. Pretty Ripe is a multi-media platform for women (proudly) over 40. Monica is a self-described I “midlife midwife,” easing women over 40 into middle age. As a journalist who’s written for The New York Times for over 20 years, Monice brings research and reporting to all her content.   She has been profiled in WWD and quoted in Time and InStyle. She also writes about beauty, fashion, midlife and the culture of modern women for The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter. She has moderated programming for South by Southwest (SXSW), The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Soho House—and created award-winning content for companies like Estee Lauder and Morgan Stanley.   Monica’s first feature film about two middle-aged women who swap bodies with Gen Z influencers is set up at Netflix with Eva Longoria attached to star and direct. She is currently adapting her magazine essay “My Mom Has No Friends” into a sitcom for 20th Television and Mandy Moore. She lives in L.A. with her family and really loves being an “older woman.”

I have recently been sharing the stage with author and pharmacist Irene Hogan. We’ve spoken together at a few shows on the topic of Sexy after 40.  Once we’re done, I simply move aside and let Irene answer the questions that our conversation raises for so many women (and some men, too!) Irene has so much insightful information to share about sex and things down ‘there’. She is proof that we don’t know what we don’t know – and what we don’t know can be dangerous. She even supports my belief that if you don’t use it, you could lose it! In this episode, Irene and I chat about our MIA libidos, what’s causing it, how can we get it back and interestingly, how not all our sexual health issues can be pinned on menopause. Spoiler alert: communication is also a culprit. So, tune in and learn from the author of “Hot Chix Hot Sex”. Guaranteed it will be your new bedside table reading!

For the past couple of years, we’ve talked all about perimenopause as the runway to menopause. This is the opportunity for us to acclimatize our bodies and brains for what comes next. But imagine not having that lead time? Imagine being told you’re going to skip it all together and head straight into menopause by the time you wake up tomorrow or the next day? Most women that go into post-surgical or post-treatment menopause report feeling completely overwhelmed and completely under educated or informed. This can lead to a lot of stress adding to their existing health conditions. Kim MacDonald, Weather Network Anchor Breast Cancer Canada spokesperson, wife, mom of two daughters, dog mom, and a survivor shares her experience on how chemotherapy threw her into sudden menopause which had a huge impact on her life. Few people even know that menopause is a side effect of breast cancer chemotherapy.   Tune in!

What the heck is going on ‘down there’? From dryness to pain, our pelvic health is an issue that hasn’t previously been adequately addressed. Now it seems like it’s all we talk about. And it’s a good thing we are because knowledge is power. That’s why I was so excited to meet Tracy MacNeal – a woman on a mission!  The former chemical engineer and women’s health pioneer is leading a pelvic health revolution to empower and improve the health of millions of women across the United States.  Tracy is the President and CEO of med tech innovators Materna Medical, and part of her campaigning includes championing awareness of the much misunderstood and greatly undiagnosed condition, vaginismus. Tune in and find out what it is and how you can treat it!

Did you know that 1 in 10 women leave their jobs because of menopause? Just when we're at the pinnacle of our careers, the hotflashes and brain fog come in to sabotage our success. We look at our younger, fertile colleagues who experience similar symptoms but because of their fertile status, their symptoms are 'adorable'. They get 'baby brain' and we get fired. Doesn't seem fair.  Not only are companies treating women with discrimination when they don't support them during menopause, they are losing quality talent. Women in their menopausal years bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the table. How can we just let them go or leave on their own accord because of their symptoms? Join Sharon MacArthur - AKA Miss Menopause. Sharon works with companies to help them support women through menopause and considering 100% of women will go through it - we all owe Sharon a round of applause! Here what she has to say about menopause in the workplace.

Menopause is a confusing and alienating time for most of us. We don't know whether we're coming or going and we can't seem to get the information and support we need.  Now, imagine going through that same frustration but not as a white woman, but as a black woman? Just the colour of a woman's skin can change her experience with her symptoms and the support she receives.  This inequity can be very harmful for women of colour. Omisade Burney-Scott, the founder of Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause joins me to talk about the journey she went through and how she is helping guide others through menopause.  Tune in!

Lou Featherstone is embracing menopause and taking it on the road in her ‘Self Love Revolution Tour’. It’s a tour like no other! As she roams across the U.S, Lou is helping women to rediscover their confidence and fall back in love with their minds and their bodies. She’s teaching us to step out of our comfort zone to join the Zero F*cks Club. Join Lu in Luland! Tune in! Tune in and don’t forget to follow Lou’s tour on Instagram. You’ll wish you were there!

It's HOT! We are working and sweating and looking forward to a few weeks off to celebrate all the things we don't love about winter in Canada! There's also a BIG change coming for She2.0. We hope you'll stay tuned in to find out. We are so fortunate to have built this business together but sometimes things have to change. We often talk about the need to look after ourselves first. And Ramona is walking the walk on this. She has been so instrumental in the creation of this platform and community and this is not 'good bye'. It is 'see you soon'.  Tune in!

In this episode, we’re talking about another ‘taboo’ symptom of menopause. Our mental health. Many of us feel alone and somewhat ‘crazy’ as we navigate peri/menopause. The good news is, we’re not alone. Dr. Ariel Dalfen is a psychiatrist who has specialized in treating women struggling with mental health issues across the life spectrum for 20 years. Together with 2 fabulous partners, she created started BRIA–a virtual care clinic that offers comprehensive and integrated mental health care for women with mental health issues across life stages–trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum and perimenopausal. BRIA doesn’t just focus on mental health, they focus specifically on women in perimenopause, because they recognize the significant of services available for women at this critical stage of life – like peri/menopause We hope you’ll tune in.

The one common thing we hear from our amazing audience is that they don't know where to turn for information on menopause. There are so many gaps in our healthcare that we feel overlooked and dismissed.  Well times are changing thanks to the newly launched  Menopause Foundation of Canada! Trish Barbato and Janet Ko, co-founders of the non-profit advocacy organization have had their own struggles with menopause and have decided to make menopause their cause in order to help women everywhere.  Tune in to hear more about the Foundation and why it's going to be a huge help to all women!