UNLOCKING BETTER FEMALE HORMONE HEALTH THROUGH CHAKRAS AND NUTRITION w RENATA TREBING

Join me as I explore female hormones health with intuitive nutrition coach, Renata as she takes us through her journey into nutrition, ignited by her eldest child Olivia's gastrointestinal issues as an infant. This experience sparked her interest in hormonal health and nutrition, which is our main discussion today.

Hormonal health plays a significant role in our lives as woman, in fact a crucial one. In this conversation, we unpack what symptoms like bloating, weight gain, and breast tenderness can be a sign of,  we delve into the importance of keeping your gut health in check, considering it's the key to managing Estrogen levels. As we navigate the complexities of women's health, we also venture into the realm of energy and chakras, giving special attention to solar plexus and sacral chakras linked to gut health and menstrual cycles. Discover how societal norms and cultural standards can influence these areas, and be playing a role in our hormonal health, adding another layer to understanding women's health.

The journey to holistic health can be full of twists and turns. In this episode, we share somatic practices and holistic approaches that can help release energy and tension from the solar plexus and sacral chakras. We discuss practices like breathwork, meditation, Kundalini yoga, and self-massage, highlighting their potential to cultivate self-love and aid healing. Our bodies can hold onto old conditioning and trauma, and it's through practices like these we can release them and move towards better health. Join me and Renata as we emphasize the importance of a holistic approach to health, sharing tips to help you get in tune with your body and energy.

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Referenced previous episode on hormonal health: https://empowerthyselfwithhannahgarner.buzzsprout.com/1789887/10026034

HANNAH IG:
https://www.instagram.com/hannahkategarner/

RENATA:
Website: http://www.nourishwithrenata.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/nourish_with_renata
Free FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/getnourishedwithrenata
Book a FREE 20 minute nutrition consultation: https://www.nourishwithrenata.com/book-a-call
Listeners can request the Masterclass by sending me an email renata@nourishwithrenata.com. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:25

Hello and welcome to this new episode. I'm so excited to dive in today, but I'm actually recording this post recording. I'm adding a little caveat in here, because you know me when I learn something new. If you know something and you can do better with that information, then I want to share it. And this is because we mentioned Chakras in this episode and actually we've been saying all wrong. I'm sure it's because the Western world has different accents in the way they pronounce things get misinterpreted. However, chakra means nothing, and let me explain why. And this is why I wanted to add this caveat to the start of the episode because, going forward, I'm going to make sure that I'm using it properly, because when it comes to old wisdom, old knowledge, eastern traditions, I think it's really important to honor and respect those as much as possible. And, at the end of the day, we don't always know, but once we know, it's important, and so I'm sharing it with you. Because I know that this is spoken about all over the internet and I actually learned this from somebody on the internet and it was really, really powerful. So I went away and did my research and, lo and behold, chakra is not the correct terminology, it's actually Chakra, which is a yogic term, and it's really important to make sure because it's from the Sanskrit language, it's complicated, it's not easily translated. It's very important to pronounce the vowels and consonants correctly, which we haven't, and from an excerpt that I read basically, in summary the mispronunciation of such words in the Sanskrit language changed the spelling and therefore changed the meaning. So Chakra means nothing and ultimately there is, according to this language, in this tradition, yogic language. Yogic terms hold vibrational and different symbolism when they are said correctly, and so it's really important just to share that with you. And, as I said, I say Chakra throughout this whole interview, as does my guest, just because that's what we know, that's what we hear. Right, but actually it should be said like Chakra, so it's CH and then the Ukkra is separate, so Chakra, not Chakra, and, as I said, I'm sure it's just how we've heard it, like I've never heard it being said any differently. Having said that, I haven't taken the time to listen and understand and learn about that from somebody who maybe has been taught in depth or comes from that tradition or uses that tradition and learn that wisdom, you know. So I just thought I'd add that in because I find it really interesting and, as I said, once you know better, do better, so I thought you would like to learn something new as well. Anyway, this episode is amazing. I won't continue sharing anymore. I just thought I'd add that in now. I can't wait for you to hear it. And now back to the original recording of the episode.

Speaker 1: 4:28

Hello, welcome back to empower thyself podcast. I'm your host, hannah Garner. Thank you so much for being here. I'm really really pleased that you decided to tune in today. If you're new here, don't forget to subscribe, and I am really excited to dive into today's episode now.

Speaker 1: 4:44

If you are new here, you may not realize, but firstly, I'm really into female hormone health. It's something that I've been on my own journey with and secondly, I'm really into spirituality and energy in particular. It's a really been a really big part of my life more recently and it's something that I'm exploring more and more and I love diving into. So this episode is combining both of those and I'm really excited for you to tune in now. I want everybody listening just to have an open mind if you maybe not come across some of these concepts. You might not have heard about some of them, but they are going to be really, really powerful and, as women, I always think conversations around female health, female hormone health is really really important, particularly given the state that many of us are dealing with health-wise in that area at the moment. I know so many of my friends, so many people out there, really struggling with various conditions, various even just you know pains month to month that then they're not sure how to manage. So I'm hoping opening up this conversation today is really going to be not only really interesting and exciting, but also really helpful. So we're going to dive into that today. I can't wait to kind of share more with you and to do that, I've invited my lovely guest on today, renata, and she is an intuitive nutrition coach, global speaker, author, wife and mum of three beautiful kids.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Her mission is to empower women to nourish their bodies by understanding foods that work best for them, how these foods impact their energy and redefining their relationship with food and their bodies. She loves creating good for you recipes that taste amazing, that honor your body's energy and support your health transformation. Welcome, thank you so much for joining me today. Hi, thank you for having me. I'm really excited. So, before we dive into the good juicy bits, I think it's really important just to set the tone, let people listening know who you are, what your journey with and with getting to this stage in your life and being being that person who coaches were in through their hormone, health and nutrition. What does that look like?

Speaker 2: 6:47

yeah, well, I think this is a really interesting place to begin, because what's so funny is my journey into nutrition and into health really began with my kids. So, like you mentioned, I have three kids and my oldest, olivia. She is almost 11 now her birthdays in a couple of days but when she was an infant, I actually found that she had a lot of gastrointestinal issues, so she struggled a lot with, you know, just number one. As an infant, we know that they want to be held all the time, but for her it was to the point where I had to stay up all night holding her because otherwise she would have terrible gas pain. She couldn't sleep like it was one of those things that really affected her badly, and then it became even worse, that her symptoms were awful, I mean, the worst of which was she had blood in her stool, and as an infant, that's very, very worrying. So what we ended up doing was going back to her pediatrician and had a great conversation with him where he mentioned that, since I was breastfeeding her, it was likely that I was eating something she was allergic to or intolerant to, and that was what was causing her gastrointestinal issues, and so I ended up taking out dairy. What I didn't realize at the time was that dairy is one of the most common allergens for children, and so taking that out was like a light bulb turning on for me and for her. So she saw like such a huge market change in her behavior.

Speaker 2: 8:15

Once I took dairy out, and what's interesting is then I noticed that I felt better too, and I had been walking around basically with this constant level of like yeah, my energy is not great, yeah, I'm kind of bloated and constipated, but it wasn't until I took dairy out of my diet that I realized whoa, I'm actually feeling so much better and my daughter is also feeling better. So that's when I really started to put together all these clues about how food can either harm our bodies or it can really heal us. And from there I really started to get into creating recipes and sharing with people about nutrition, because I was just became obsessed with this idea of what impact is food having on our bodies that we might not even realize. So I moved into nutrition coaching because I was just so passionate about helping women, particularly during COVID.

Speaker 2: 9:02

I mean, so many women were multitasking to the nth degree they were homeschooling their kids, they were working, they were cleaning, they were trying to grocery shop, they were like disinfecting everything that came into the house. I mean, it was intense the amount of stress women were under, so much so that I remember a friend of mine came to me and she said I literally don't even know how to take care of myself anymore, like I'm just so used to looking after everybody else, and so that really got me the mantra that I talk about all the time now, which is that food is the ultimate form of self-care, and when we can look at food in that way, it really can heal our bodies, it can heal our relationship to our bodies and it can create the healthier and happier lifestyle that we really want.

Speaker 1: 9:47

Yeah, I love that and I think that's a really powerful journey. And, you know, it's interesting that you actually mentioned about the milk allergy and dairy allergy, because I was actually watching a video because my other half has lactose intolerance as well and we were actually watching a video on YouTube because he's of African descent. So we were looking at how, actually, as Europeans, there's been like a gene mutation that kind of improves or not improves but allows that kind of more overtime, more tolerance to lactose, and then in more Asian and African countries that's not the case. And it's just so funny you mentioned it because I was literally watching the YouTube video, learning more about it yesterday, because I was trying to understand why is that like and it's, you know, really interesting. But with the, for example, I don't have a lactose intolerant, but I know that's actually a mutation. But actually historically, humans as a general, for example, shouldn't be having dairy is very inflammatory, unless you've kind of been able to have that DNA mutation and I was really intrigued by that.

Speaker 1: 10:49

But it just goes to show, actually, that our bodies are always talking to us in one way or another and listening to that and knowing, okay, like for me, I know, you know, as I said, dairy is not a huge issue for me. Do I eat it all the time? Do I drink it? No, I don't. But I can have it and be fine.

Speaker 1: 11:05

But there's some people, like my other half, who for a long time would make like porridge with milk and this and was having serious issues and just like kept overriding it and it's like your body will speak to you. So when you come to the nutrition for women and kind of starting that journey because obviously nutrition can really support female hormone health, because obviously our cycles are a monthly thing and you know this is something I've only learned more recently and I just wish I'd known about it earlier what is kind of the start process of identifying, I guess, how to nourish yourself generally, but then, particularly as a woman, where should you start? Because people listening to this might be like I just eat what I want and see how it feels, or I don't see how it feels and that's that, and I want to change something, but I don't know what to do.

Speaker 2: 11:57

Yeah, great question. Well, let's start off with what do you actually eat so that you know works for your body. So first step is paying attention to how your body feels after you eat. You'd be surprised at how many people don't even pay attention to that, right, because we've been so trained, and even from a young age like I myself grew up and perhaps you or the other listeners grew up with parents saying you know, you got to finish everything on your plate because there are kids in insert the name of a country that don't have food, so you got to eat everything on your plate. So you're eating beyond your internal feeling of fullness, and that, over time, is that messaging keeps being repeated to you affects how well or not well you listen to your body. So that's the first thing how can you listen to your body cues? How can you pay attention to when are you feeling full, when are you feeling hungry? Because some people you would be surprised, some people are like I don't even know if I ever get full. So what does fullness actually mean, or what does hunger actually mean? And then afterwards, after you eat, listening to okay, do I feel energized, do I feel sluggish, do I feel fatigued? Do I feel like I could go run a mile right now and connecting that with the idea of how do I actually want to feel, because there are going to be times when you do want to kind of slow down and not have a ton of energy because you're winding down to go to bed, or perhaps it's the beginning of the day and you don't want to load yourself down with a bunch of food that's going to be heavy, but you want to have energy. So, paying attention to, okay, how do I want to feel and what foods would actually support the energy I want to have in my body, that's really the first place to start.

Speaker 2: 13:32

And then, in particular for women, when it comes to hormonal health, the first place I always talk about is your menstrual cycle. So, just like you mentioned, so many women think about their menstrual cycle like it's associated with pain. It's associated with cramping or issues with your digestion, or headaches or your breast tenderness or whatever else. And what's interesting is that many of those PMS symptoms don't have to be your normal. So what's really cool is when you start to see a pattern in your PMS symptoms. That's when you can actually start to attribute it to certain hormones. So you might be having very heavy periods heavy meaning that you have a lot of flow, that you might have to change your period products every hour or two for a couple of days. You might have issues with bloating. You might have issues with weight gain around your midsection or breast tenderness that we talked about earlier.

Speaker 2: 14:26

These could all potentially be signs related to estrogen dominance or basically having more estrogen than your body may not necessarily need, and so these trends in your menstrual cycle help you to determine what hormones could potentially be out of balance and what can I do about it. So if you do have estrogen dominance or too much estrogen, one of the reasons could be because you're not having good elimination through your bowels. So, basically, estrogen is produced by the uterus and then gets pumped out to different organs for usage and then, when it's done, it's supposed to turn off and then be eliminated through your bowel movements. But if you're not having regular bowel movements or you're not getting good elimination from your bowel movements, you have the potential to reabsorb all of that estrogen back into your body, which then increases your estrogen. So that's just one way of paying attention to your menstrual cycle, because it's called the fifth vital sign for a reason it's telling you so much information. We just need to learn how to take those clues and put it into action.

Speaker 1: 15:25

Yeah, I think that's really important and that's definitely something, as I said, I've only learned about more recently. And it's crazy really to think that these conversations, yes, are growing, but actually for such a long time. You know, we were, I was at school and I was taught about a tampon and a pad and that was about it and to think that that affects our whole lives and how we feel our energy. You know, some days it can be a write off if you don't manage your period well, with symptoms and pain and things. And you know, I think it's really important that we start trying to understand our bodies. And when you first start, I think it can be daunting and overwhelming because you second guess like, oh, is this a feeling or is this not a thing?

Speaker 1: 16:07

But I think where what I learned the best was to start tracking it and really kind of either whether it's on an app or whether it's literally just notes in your phone. That's how I started because, for example, I get hormonal related migraines and I figured out that maybe I was lacking some magnesium from that. So I started taking some magnesium and that's really helped with my migraines. And, you know, eating better generally made a huge difference to my periods, my cramps, all of that. And so when you're kind of like getting to the stage where you're like, okay, I've been tracking my nutrition, I'm feeling, you know, I'm feeling like I know what makes me feel energized, my periods, I can see my symptoms Then how do you think we should work kind of with our food at different times in our period, because obviously we're going to have different times with our lethal phase and all of those kind of different phases in our period are menstrual and I go into that in another episode and talk about it, so I'll link it in the show notes if you kind of want to listen to that kind of part.

Speaker 1: 17:07

But how do you start kind of eating the best foods? Now, I know not, the best foods is kind of a very, very term in the sense of some people might not find it the best for them, but generally speaking, are there groups of food that are better at different times of the month?

Speaker 2: 17:22

Yes, 100%. So, just like you said, the menstrual cycle is divided into four phases, and when you know these four phases, it actually helps you to understand your cycle better and it helps you to understand which foods you want to focus on for those phases. So, the first phase being that menstruation phase, which is when you're actively bleeding, and because you're bleeding, what I always recommend is making sure your iron levels are good. So iron is in blood, and if you're losing a lot of blood, then your iron levels could potentially be quite low, which would affect things like your energy level and mood. So iron is going to be found in animal products like red meat, which most people know, but also, for our vegetarian and vegan friends, it's found in things like dark leafy greens. Now, the only thing with that iron is that it's not as easily absorbable versus the animal proteins, so we want to pair it with a vitamin C rich food. So if you do a squeeze of lemon on top of your spinach salad, that's a perfect way of doing it, because the vitamin C helps to increase how much iron you absorb. So that's always my focus for the menstruation phase, whether you're a meat eater or not. Then we move into the follicular phase, which is basically right after your period or your bleed phase ends, and so during this phase, you're probably feeling a little bit higher energy because your estrogen and your progesterone is starting to increase. These are two female sex hormones really important for your overall menstrual cycle health. So, as these hormones are increasing, you might have a ton more energy, you might be more communicative, but also you might notice that your hunger levels are a little bit less during this follicular phase. And so during this phase, I like to make sure we're focusing on protein, which is going to be great for your muscle building, for basically many things in your body, as well as being very satiating, and focusing on fiber. So protein and fiber during this particular phase. Fiber is going to help with regularity, gut health. It's going to also help with feelings of fullness. But because we're not super hungry or many women tend not to be as hungry during this phase instead of just stacking on chips and things like that that are giving you less nutritional value, let's try to prioritize protein and fiber.

Speaker 2: 19:30

Then we move into the ovulatory phase, and so this is when you actually ovulate. So during this particular phase, or right after it, we're starting to see some hormones slowly descend, and so one thing that I haven't mentioned is seed cycling, and this has been a really powerful practice for so many women. So seed cycling is basically when you take a couple of seeds in different phases of your cycle and you eat them each day, and basically the purpose is in these particular seeds. It helps with your hormone synthesis, so it helps with supporting your hormone levels. So making sure, especially in this latter part of your cycle, making sure you're doing that seed cycling in both your ovulatory phase and your luteal phase. So the seeds in these two phases are going to be sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.

Speaker 2: 20:16

And once again, because we're seeing these hormones slowly go down after you ovulate and into your luteal phase, any rapid drop in these hormones are going to cause PMS.

Speaker 2: 20:28

So, as much as we can to support these two phases with the foods that we eat. That's going to be key to reducing or perhaps even eliminating some of your PMS symptoms. And then, in addition to that, obviously, making sure you're really well hydrated. Many women find in the latter half of their cycle it's much harder to stay hydrated. So keeping up with your hydration, adding electrolytes to your water can also be really helpful and through that you're getting things like magnesium, which you spoke about earlier. So magnesium is going to be so helpful for helping to stave off those cramps and, in addition, if you find that you crave things like chocolate as you get closer to your bleed phase. Many times I look at women with those chocolate cravings and think, okay, they might just need magnesium. So increasing magnesium rich foods such as cocoa which is the reason why we crave chocolate or dark leafy greens really helpful for helping to increase magnesium in the body and preparing you for the bleed phase coming up.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Wow, and I think, yeah, I've realized that about a week before my period, that's when the worst of my symptoms happens, in the sense of I suddenly feel really tired for a day or two. I want to eat all the fatty foods. I'm just like I'm starving, like nothing can seem to get away a lot of the time. And, yeah, sometimes do I go the healthy way? No, sometimes I do, but I do find when I do actually put myself and prepare myself better, when I become more aware of it, I definitely it's a lot easier. It's like my PMS symptoms are a lot easier. So I know that it does work and it can be so simple. But it's just having that awareness.

Speaker 1: 22:02

So I've had to start like making little alarms in my phone like, oh, you're kind of coming up around this time, just be wary, because otherwise, if I'm kind of left unguarded, I'll just eat like all the fatty foods, all the chocolate and I, and then I still feel crap but I'm just like can't stop. So, yeah, I definitely relate to that. And so you mentioned sunflower seeds and sesame seeds in your ovulatory phase. Is there any other seeds that you need to take at other times?

Speaker 2: 22:29

Yes, so the sun yeah, so with the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, that's in your ovulatory phase and your luteal phase, so basically, kind of the second half of your cycle before the bleed phase and then in the first half, so that's your menstruation phase and your follicular phase.

Speaker 2: 22:46

The seeds are different, so they're going to be pumpkin seeds and flax seeds and once again, you're just taking one to two tablespoons of each seed daily. You can add it into salads, you can add it into smoothies on top of yogurt. It's super, super easy and really, in terms of anything when it comes to women's hormones, making sure you're getting enough healthy fats is key. So that's one thing that so many women cut back on, especially with the emphasis on weight loss. So we try to minimize everything, like we just eat less, especially in terms of fats, because we think, oh my gosh, if I eat fat, I'm going to get fat, which is not the not the case, and unfortunately it has such a negative impact on our hormone production. So please make sure you're having enough healthy fats, and what I mean by that is about one to two tablespoons of healthy fats at each meal.

Speaker 1: 23:34

Yeah, 100%. Avocados are my best friend.

Speaker 1: 23:37

I love avocados, so yeah, when everyone used to say I remember it's so interesting, like just thinking about how we conditioned. I was at work one day and I was having like an avocado on toast and I was putting like half an avocado on it, you know, on a nice piece of sourdough, and one of the ladies who was definitely older than me and you know where that conditioning was she was like oh, you're not worried about eating that avocado because they're really high in fat, aren't they really bad for you? And my mind was just blown because the irony of the fact that I was making this avocado, which is a whole food, it's you know from well, I was going to say from the earth, but from a bush, I think and she was there eating something that was processed and really like no nutritional value. And I just sat there and you know I didn't say anything and I wasn't trying to judge her, but I just thought, wow, the fact that we've been so conditioned to think that a processed meal, you know like a ready meal, with all these salts and uncontrollable things in there, that we, you know half of the stuff, we don't even know what it is, and you're worried about eating half an avocado, like there is definitely a disconnect and you know, as I said, that was an older generation person and I do think you know younger generations are definitely more in tune and, you know, not necessarily listening to that in the same way, but we are still infiltrated by it all around us. Like that diet culture and that kind of relationship with food for so many women is so difficult.

Speaker 1: 24:58

And if there's one thing that I've learned from being, you know, ill with sexist I've mentioned this quite a few times using food as medicine has been one of my biggest, yeah, biggest realizations that how powerful it actually is if you take the time to learn how your body feels. And so, yeah, I kind of now my view is I don't really I take everything everybody says with a pinch of salt. So even things like healthy foods, if it doesn't feel good in my body, then I'm not going to have it, even if, say, for someone like you, you love it, energizes you. So I definitely think, people listening, if you're going to kind of have foods and stuff, it's great to have guidance and follow these things, but your body knows best and that's what I've really learned and it's like that tapping into that energy, which is why, as well.

Speaker 1: 25:50

I really wanted because I know we had this conversation before we started recording you very much have many clients where you look at energy and you look at chakras and you look at the womb space as well and they're so interconnected. And whilst the foundations of what you've shared with nutrition and kind of getting that introduction is important, I'd really love to dive more into the energy space with this, because I think this is something that isn't often spoken about, isn't something that we necessarily know much about unless you're made aware. So just I guess, to start with, to lay some foundations, share with me how that came about and what that looks like with your clients, just so that people can kind of get an understanding. When I mentioned chakra is like what the hell do you mean? Hannah? Go go into that bit for me.

Speaker 2: 26:41

Yeah, well, this is a great question because, just like you said, I think a lot of people don't really understand what this means, and so I call myself an intuitive nutrition coach. Many people think I'm talking about intuitive eating, which in part I am, and so, basically, for anyone that doesn't know, intuitive eating is listening to your body's cues to figure out what foods would work best. For me, it's like an anti diet culture way of eating. It has been shown to be incredibly effective for people, especially if they've had trauma around food or had issues with disordered eating in the past. So that's part of it. It's really helpful. It's really healing.

Speaker 2: 27:16

In addition to that, for me, the word intuitive refers specifically to myself, so I'm using my intuitive nature to pick up on things that someone might not be saying, and for me, the way that I experience this is through energy, and so, if you're, you might not be, or you may be familiar with the chakras, and so there's lots of different chakras, but there's basically seven main ones that we focus on throughout the body, and with these particular energy centers, the foods that we eat and the way that we experience the world can affect our energy levels, so it's really important when I'm noticing someone's energy is off to relate it to a particular energy center, and the two in particular that we wanted to focus on today was the solar plexus, which is around the stomach region and also relates to things like gut health, and the second is the sacral chakra, which is the womb space, so basically all around the pelvic floor region, and relates to the menstrual cycle that we discussed earlier too. So for women, these two particular areas are the ones that I've noticed are the most affected by how we take in societal norms or cultural standards, as well as how we relate to our bodies. So what's really interesting is many of these things are influenced, or can be influenced, by external things, such as what did your mom tell you about your body? Oh, how did you perceive your mom talking about food and her body? What does society tell you you should look like? Should you have a flat stomach? Should you eat less? All these things?

Speaker 2: 28:45

That actually decreases your personal power, which is what is housed in the solar plexus chakra. So if you're constantly giving away your power and listening to what everybody else is saying about what you should be eating or what you should not be eating, or what you should look like or what you should not look like. You're constantly giving away your power, you're lessening yourself in order to what I assume is to fit in and to be like everybody else and, as a result, many women also experience things like health related issues. So maybe they're not regular, maybe they have significant bloating, maybe they can't process foods very well, you know, maybe they have a very limited diet because they cannot actually eat foods without feeling pain. These are all things that could potentially occur when a woman is unfortunately not listening to her body and we've talked so much about the connection to the body and its clues, and that's why this intuitive sense not just for me being intuitive with someone else, but for an individual to be intuitive with their self is so, so important and then, secondarily, with the sacral chakra.

Speaker 2: 29:48

So this womb space, as you can imagine, can be so affected by things like, obviously, our sexual organs and our mental cycle, health, but also we need to consider generationally how that's being impacted by our parents, and particularly our mothers when we're women. So what people don't often talk about is trauma gets affected in a cellular level and it might not be something that you can necessarily see at first, but there's been so many more studies to show hey, like people's cells people's it's called the epigenetics, or basically how their DNA gets processed and gets attributed or shown to the world that actually changes depending on trauma. So if you're growing up in a household or a mother, let's say, for instance, is significantly affected by diet culture, not only are you observing that as a young girl, but it's also causing an impact to your epigenetics, to how your DNA is expressed, and so imagine then going through the world and thinking that you have to do those particular things too. It's really going to affect your sacral space, your sacral chakra, because it is going to say things like you shouldn't experience pleasure, perhaps when it comes to food. You shouldn't be creative.

Speaker 2: 30:59

When it comes to food, you just need to eat in a very regimented way. Or perhaps you don't experience a lot of self love and instead you have a lot of self doubt and lack of confidence. These are all things that can be affected by how you're grown up and how society tells you you should look or eat like. So these two chakras are really fascinating, because I've been noticing more and more women are getting attuned to like hey, something doesn't feel right in my body, and oftentimes, when we can support that with holistic healing and nutrition, then those two chakras can feel so much lighter and can feel so much like they have the power within them.

Speaker 1: 31:36

Yeah, and I think this is really interesting and you know if this is a new concept to you, it might sound a bit out there, but the reality is we know how much and, as you mentioned, there's more science now to support the fact that we hold so much energy and potentially trauma in our body that even if you were, you know, as you mentioned, nutrition can absolutely support it. But even if, for example, you really get your nutrition on point and you're still struggling, if you've not dealt with the internal energy that stagnant in that area in the body, until you do that work there, it's going to be really hard I'm really frustrating to actually see changes and I think that's something you know. I would say I would say probably nearly 100% of women, to different degrees of course, have to deal with because ultimately, like you say, there's the conditioning in society about how we need to behave, how we need to present ourselves, how we need to treat our sexuality. You know, you know if a woman sleeps with too many men, she's a whore, but if she doesn't sleep with enough men, then she's not attractive like you. Just make yourself attractive and us, then you know she's not a good wife and just. There's so many contradictory information out there that it's almost impossible to ignore, not to mention the fact that we know that. Isn't it something like our eggs and whatever are in? Our grandma has our eggs in us because you're born with the eggs that you have kind of as you're developing.

Speaker 1: 33:12

So to think that there's an absolutely no way that any trauma can not be passed in between those kind of very, very interconnected times, you know it's got to, it's got to happen. So, even if you don't directly experience it, absorbing that has to be really powerful. So I guess, with that, people thinking, listening and thinking, okay, well, you're probably right. You know, maybe I have like a bad relationship with with food and you know, I remember seeing my mom always on the scales or telling me I shouldn't eat that in case I put on weight, or you know something like that, or an experience when it comes to, you know, expressing their sexual side or anything. When you have that realization, what other, I guess, tips and tools you can start using to explore that safely and to start actually processing it? Because I think it is definitely a journey? But where should people start?

Speaker 2: 34:11

Yeah, this is a great question, and so for each person this journey is different. So I'll give some really general ideas to get you started. So, if this conversation sparks something within you where you do think like, oh, you know what, I think that I'm starting to recognize I might have some preconceived notions about food or about my body from childhood or from my parents or from society. The first thing to do is get really clear on what that is. So I find that journaling is really helpful, so writing down you know what are my preconceived notions about food or about my body, or even like about the menstrual cycle, because there's a lot of stigma and taboo around the menstrual cycle too. So getting really clear like, what do I think about these things? And writing it out can be very eye-opening for people because it really forces you to see exactly what you're thinking. Like when you just keep things in your head, then it's easy to ignore it on, to bypass it, but once you get it out on paper, it's being radically honest with yourself.

Speaker 2: 35:10

And then, once you do that, the next step is really, is this serving me? Is this actually helping me to move towards my health goals? Because I believe that all of us, you know, have good intentions. We really want to be healthier, we really want to be happier, and so do any of these thoughts actually help me to move closer and closer to whatever my goals are?

Speaker 2: 35:29

And then, lastly, the third step would be if they don't, then what? It would be a new thought, what would be the way that I want to think about my body, or about food, or about my menstrual cycle? What do I want to think about that? And getting that clarity is equally as important as the first step, because it really is allowing you to take your power back, to really say, with confidence and with leadership and like self autonomy hey, this is who I want to be, this is how I want to feel about my health, about my sacral space, about my solar plexus, about my menstrual cycle, about my body. This is what I want for myself. So getting clarity is always the first place to start.

Speaker 1: 36:12

I absolutely agree with that and I think it's crazy because when you start, as you say, actually writing these things down rather than just keeping them in your head sometimes I'm reading them out loud almost seems laughable because there's so many. And I say that in a nice, with levity, not with, let's judge it, it's just from the sense of, oh, that's really what I think. But actually I know that that isn't true because I've seen other people experience the complete opposite to me and I think sometimes being able to see that, for example, there's women that have pain-free periods and don't have symptoms and don't have this, actually okay, maybe it isn't the norm, but we've normalized it because it's become more common and so actually that was a big thing because again, only in the last 18 months, two years, have I realized period pains and various symptoms and things are not normal Because we've been dealing with massive increases in endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome and just general bad PMS as society of women and lack of research and support in those areas. We have really been, I guess, underrepresented in those areas so badly that we've normalized it. But actually to know that, oh, because, as I mentioned, I had very hormonal headaches. I used to have really bad period pains and don't get me wrong, occasionally I do, but I don't have them anymore. So I can try. And you know I had issues with, you know, the female hormone pill and things like that and I'm not on anything. Now I've come away from that and I've really started following my cycle.

Speaker 1: 38:01

As I said, all of those things that I thought I had to have I don't really experience now and that was like oh so different truths like with a small tea can exist at the same time and that was really refreshing and it gives you a lot of hope.

Speaker 1: 38:16

But I also know that you know it can be very triggering when you are going through such a difficult time and you're thinking, but like I'm going through all of this and this pain and I'm not getting seen, I'm not getting helped. It can be really hard. But sometimes just having conversations with other women and opening up this subject can just give you a bit of comfort and be like, okay, actually people are experiencing similar things to me, but we can, you know, work through this. So you know you've mentioned that you're seeing a lot of this energy in that area. Is there any kind of somatic practices or other things outside of nutrition that can support this, because obviously I do believe that if we hold things in our body, we need to release them out of our body. Is there anything that you work with clients on to support that as well, not just nutrition?

Speaker 2: 39:06

Yes, 100%. So holistic practices are totally my jam, because I do support releasing the energy that you might be feeling is stuck or stagnant in the solar plexus and sacral chakras, for instance. So number one for me is always breath work or meditation. So if you've ever done any kind of breath work, you know it's not just about deep belly breathing, it's also about intentionality. It's also about breathing new energy into those spaces and the release can look different for different people, because for some people it is the exhale. That's the release. For some people it's tears. For some people it's moving the body and just like literally trying to move that energy out through free movement.

Speaker 2: 39:49

Many people also really like things like Kundalini yoga. So if you've ever tried that, it's a form of yoga that also incorporates a lot of breath work, a lot of pelvic floor contractions and a lot of deep belly breathing with varying paces. So that can be very healing for people because it's utilizing those lower areas or those lower chakras and then really emphasizing energy movement through the body. So those are a few that I start off with and then from there also there's things such as leaning into meditation specifically around those chakras. So maybe it is really focusing on. What does the energy look like in that area? Let's visualize it moving through the body and let's visualize what's coming into that area.

Speaker 2: 40:34

And then, in addition to that, another thing that I really love to do is massage. So self massage with an essential oil that feels good for the person, also has a nice fragrance that you like. That's a great way of getting in tune with your body. And as you're massaging yourself, focusing on how can I release not just the muscle tension but the energy, how can I really work on that area of my body and visualize, at the same time, moving the energy through with every need, with every you know finger press. Really, the self massage is a great way to learn to love your body even more.

Speaker 1: 41:09

Yeah, I love that and I think, as women and you know, again I'm generalising a bit there are going to be people who maybe don't. But I know that for me, like touching yourself even, you know, not sexually even, but just in a loving way, can feel very alien, like it's not something that we necessarily are used to doing, and I definitely didn't do it, you know, apart from you know you get up, you quickly rub on some moisturizer and you leave it. But I actually did a podcast with somebody a few few episodes ago around healing and she went through a really traumatic journey and one of the things that she mentioned was, like you mentioned, like self massage. You know, at the end of the day, it really grounds her into a body. For a slightly different reason. She did it in her hands and feet, but I started trying to incorporate that more recently because I was like I've never, you know, I've done. I'm into trying all of the things.

Speaker 1: 42:01

I've done a lot of healing techniques, I've done a lot of things, but the thing I loved about this one is it's so easy and accessible for you, for, you know, free. Obviously yeah, you have to get in it, you know a nice oil, but other than that. It's something that can be done and it's such a loving practice that, to be honest, when I first started it, it almost felt, as I said, a bit awkward, a bit alien, because I wasn't used to giving myself that love and I don't necessarily class myself as an individual with, you know, bad self love or anything like that. So that was really interesting to me because I thought, you know, the fact that I find this awkward is really telling sign that maybe actually I do need to give myself some more nourishment and some more love. And so when I started doing that, that was something that really I actually really enjoyed and I really look forward to now. So definitely something that I recommend.

Speaker 1: 42:51

And it's just interesting, just and I wanted to mention that because you know, I think a lot of the time as women, we go through things and like we might think, oh, this doesn't feel right or this feels awkward, or you feel you almost judge yourself or you, or you suddenly have realizations like, oh, maybe I'm not as nice or not as loving to myself, as I realized. And I just want to say that you know, nobody's alone in that. But what's the one thing that you can do for yourself today.

Speaker 1: 43:18

That shows you that bit more love, and I think even that in itself can really help with your connection with your room space, with your energy spaces, because I you know that that area is our superpower, you know we are, given that it's so sacred, and actually trying to build that relationship with that area, you know, is not only going to help with your PMS, but even if you are somebody who does want to have children or has had children, you know that in itself is a whole journey as well, and building that relationship of an honoring that area can really be so profound, and it's definitely something that I'm on a journey with as well.

Speaker 1: 43:56

And so when you kind of work with your clients and when you're kind of experiencing these releases, what things are you seeing, these with the benefits that these women are having, Because you know it's always nice, you know we don't just want to talk about the harder parts and the taboo parts of this. You know what are the benefits of looking after your hormone health? What are the benefits of moving that energy? What kind of changes do you see?

Speaker 2: 44:22

Yeah, I love that you asked the side of the question because we so often focus on the traumatic side and there's so many benefits. So, you know, with one particular client we work through a lot in terms of her food relationship, which did have an impact from her mother. And what was so interesting was I mean number one she lost weight, which for many women that's often one of their health goals. But what was interesting was she was losing weight in an effortless way. She was losing weight because she was no longer holding on to that weight around her midsection, which was protection. So we talked about the solar plexus, right.

Speaker 2: 44:58

When we don't feel like we have personal power, oftentimes for women it becomes easier than to keep weight on, especially around the midsection, because we're literally trying to protect ourselves from hurt, right.

Speaker 2: 45:11

And so for her she was seeing weight loss. She was seeing her waist and midsection go down in an effortless and easy way, because she suddenly was able to see how her upbringing influenced the way that she looked at food and how she would hide food, for instance, from her mother. So she wouldn't have to deal with the judgment, right. But then when she realized, oh my gosh, so many things in my life actually are a byproduct of this old conditioning. She could choose how she wanted to move forward and she wanted to move forward in a really positive and loving way. So the food she was giving her body no longer was it diet food that you know. Many times women feel like, oh, now I have to eat a salad as punishment. It was looked at in a way like how can I really love my body through food today? And as a result, it changed her body composition, it changed her gastrointestinal health and, most of all, it changed her mindset about herself.

Speaker 2: 46:06

And then another woman. She worked so diligently and so deeply around the old conditioning which was telling people around her her family members, her friends, telling her about her body's bigness and that, as you can imagine, over years and years of that happening. Imagine what you start to think about yourself. Imagine how you start to degrade yourself through your thoughts because you just think, oh my gosh, I'm bigger than everyone else and I shouldn't be so. That was a lot of deep work, and what benefited her from doing that was we talked about the release of the anchor.

Speaker 2: 46:46

So those anchors that tied her to the people in the past that kept telling her about her body she could release that. She could let go of those expectations of others and she started to really learn to love her body and, as a result, she had improved gastrointestinal health, she had an improved sense of health for her cycle, her menstrual cycle, and not only that, she was able to mentally and emotionally come to a peaceful place instead of constantly being at war with her body, with her cycle and with how she looked. Now, of course, these are things that happen over time. I would love to be able to say, oh, we just do a 30 minute session and then you're healed. But this is the work, it's the constant every day of working on yourself, and that's what I think is what I love about it, because it literally is a sacred practice. It's how you're continuously giving back to yourself.

Speaker 1: 47:40

Yeah, I love that and I definitely think as well. When we start to move through this journey and start, as I said, treating our cycle as the sacred thing it is in our womb space and our energy and our feminine energy with so much honor, and starting to improve our relationship with self in that way, you naturally become so much more magnetic as well. And so, like you say, not just the way you know, not the weight loss necessarily is the goal for people, but not just that side of things, but you can start magnetizing things much more easily, just generally, because you're no longer holding up those barriers or those protection mechanisms that stop you building deeper relationships with other women or with other romantic partners. Like it can really open up a whole new world to you and I think you know reclaiming that power is something that we are seeing out there. We are seeing a movement and I think it's amazing and I just hope that, as I said, if we can start doing that now, the benefits are going to pass down to our children and their children and so forth, so that in a few generations time we're not going to have to be dealing with the same issues because let's be real, millennials kind of age and either side of that are dealing with the worst symptoms and, as I mentioned, you know, the increase in all of this stuff with endo and polycystic ovary syndrome and stuff.

Speaker 1: 49:13

So I think it's really important work and, yes, we shouldn't take it lightly. So, even if you know you can do one thing for yourself every single day, that kind of just checks in with your room space and with how you're feeling there, I think it could be, you know, real life changing. So just to kind of, because we've kind of covered a lot and I think you know we could talk on this topic forever. I think it's so fascinating. Are there any kind of things that we maybe haven't touched upon that you think is really important to mention for people listening right now?

Speaker 2: 49:48

Yes, I'm so glad you asked this, because there's definitely one thing that's been occurring for me, and that is women not getting as much support as they need from people like doctors or people in more traditionalized medical practices. Now, not saying that all doctors are bad, far from it. I am saying that I've, in particular, been seeing more women that are not getting the answers that they need from doctors. Now, sometimes with doctors, even though they might be specialists, there's constantly new research coming out all the time and there are things that we experience as women that might not yet have a scientific study to show that it's true. Right, it's based upon our own experiences as opposed to something that can be repeatable in a scientific study. So, number one so many women. If you are looking for answers in medical professionals and you're not getting it, please do not give up.

Speaker 2: 50:44

Ok, because I literally saw a woman on Friday, so just a few days ago. She had been going to a gynecologist about a particular issue that has been occurring for two years, so years and years, and her doctor was literally scratching her head in front of this patient, saying I really don't know why this is happening. Your tests are coming back normal. There's no reason why this should be occurring, like all I can do is give you another cream, another ointment to try to help you with what you're experiencing. And then a one hour conversation with her where I asked her about what are her symptoms, you know, and for the purpose of understanding how her hormones are shifting and changing throughout the cycle, I was able to theorize.

Speaker 2: 51:28

I think this is what is happening.

Speaker 2: 51:30

That's why you're experiencing these symptoms, and it matched up.

Speaker 2: 51:33

So my hypothesis was able to match up with all of her symptoms and it was such a weight lifted off of her shoulders because she's been carrying around for two years that something's wrong with her and feeling like nothing in the medical world could actually help her.

Speaker 2: 51:48

But when we could talk about at a deeper level those symptoms and also talk about, hey, food again is an amazing healing tool, I think that she can actually powerfully heal from these particular symptoms, and it's through something as simple as food. So please, if you are having any symptoms that cannot necessarily be tested for, or your tests are coming back normal, or your medical professional is saying that they don't know what's going on, please don't give up. Please seek out someone that might have more of a holistic approach because, just like you mentioned the energy around our bodies, the energy in our certain energetic centers is also an important thing to consider as well, as sometimes someone with a medical upbringing may not ask the same questions as someone in more of a holistic practice, and sometimes we need to consider the whole person, not just what's on a lab test.

Speaker 1: 52:38

Yeah, 100%. I think that's actually a really great point and you know, just to give that some context as well, you know, if you actually look, most of the studies done up to very recently have been on perimenopausal women, ie women not dealing with the female hormone cycle, or men, and the reason that was done is because women's hormones are so complex there are over 28 days and not over 24 hours that it was easier for drug companies to create drugs that suited the man, that suited the 24 hour non hormonal cycle of a man and, as I said, perimenopausal women or menopausal women. And as a result of that, you know there are so many. As I said, we're so underrepresented and because we are much more complex, and that's why I think you know what you said is so powerful, but also why I'm such an advocate of really you know we've mentioned this at the start and it kind of might sound like a bit of a stuck record but learning to get in tune with your body and your energy, not only in relation to your female hormone health, but everything is going to just give you that confidence to say, like you mentioned, even if you're not necessarily having someone give you the validation that you need or kind of coming up with something to be like.

Speaker 1: 53:59

I know like this is not what was happening to me before, and so let me figure out a way, and there always is a way, like you mentioned. It might not necessarily be down your normal route, but there is always a way, and I think that is something again that I've learned as I've grown older, that it's so powerful and I think if we can start coming back to ourselves every time we make decisions and every time we're looking at our health and our well being mentally, spiritually, physically that is going to be such a powerful tool. So, just to round up the episode, are there any hot tips or things that you would just like to add that might be useful, that maybe people you know can go away and try, or anything like that if it resonates with them?

Speaker 2: 54:44

Yeah, well, definitely. First tip, which is something you mentioned earlier, is please start tracking your cycle in whatever way works for you. So it could be as something as simple as on the note of your phone and many of the thousands of cycle tracking apps, which is awesome or could literally just be a piece of paper and a pen. What you track is can really vary, but most of all, noting where you're at in your cycle. So what day and day one being the first day of a full bleed not spotting, but a full bleed and you're going to count every day there after by adding one until your next bleed phase begins. The reason why that's so important is because it allows you to get more in tune with each phase. Like we talked about earlier, it also helps you to see like, okay, hey, am I experiencing any like ovulatory pain? Like, do you feel like a little cramp when you ovulate, or are you starting to notice your PMS symptoms are coming out earlier and earlier, or not? That's really helpful to get to know your body. So that would be the first tip. My second tip would definitely be to look into seed cycling or nutrition for your hormones. So I do have a free masterclass that I can share, which is all about nutrition for your cycle, and we do a deep dive into how hormones change, as well as the foods to support those hormones really powerful stuff.

Speaker 2: 55:57

My most popular masterclass and the third tip would be and this is not necessarily for just one individual, because what I find so cool is because we, as women, are the most powerful learners, because when we learn one thing, we share it with all the other women we know.

Speaker 2: 56:15

I mean, like, imagine the last time you found a product you loved and you were like calling your friends and your family, you're like you have to get this. It's amazing. It's the same with educating yourself about your hormones or your health. So if you learn something today, the most powerful thing that you can do is share it with another woman. So, whether that be about cycle tracking or seed cycling or nutrition for your hormones, or if it's about sharing your story because that's something else If another woman can see you sharing your story about your hormones in whatever way suits you, it allows them to speak up about their menstrual cycle, about their hormones too, and this is how we take a stand for other women. This is how we elevate the conversation around women's health globally, because we start talking about it, and the more that we talk about it, the more we normalize it, and the more we normalize it, the more we're able to have real systemic change when it comes to the medical field and women's hormones in general.

Speaker 1: 57:09

Yeah, 100%. I love that and I think that's such a great way to end and I'll make sure that in the show notes, obviously the masterclass is linked. Also, a couple of episodes, as I mentioned, around female health, that I've already done gut health, in fact. I'll just make sure they're there because, like you say, the more you know the better, because then you can make real changes. And you know, I've learned so much having these conversations that I've applied and so, like you mentioned, if it can just help one woman change how they are experiencing their cycle, then that's amazing. And so, before we end the episode, I always like to ask my guests this one question and it's actually not related to the episode, but I love to find out what's going on for you, and that's what's one thing right now, whether that's a material product, something you're using, something you're creating, something you're doing, that is really exciting. You right now.

Speaker 2: 58:01

Great question. So the thing that's really exciting me right now is actually a new offering all around women's cycles. So it's a new program that's called Love your Cycle, and the reason why this came into existence was because I was just seeing so many women not understand their cycles, and I love that we've talked about this throughout today's conversation because, like you mentioned early on, so many women think, oh, my cycle means I got to be in pain, like I got to be angry, I got to be all these things, and I find that sometimes that occurs because we're so at odds, like we're constantly trying to run away from having a period. Basically, right.

Speaker 2: 58:39

And so what I think is so powerful because it is our superpower is leaning into the cycle, leaning into those symptoms, leaning into what is my cycle telling me, because for me, through my journey, that's how I've learned to love myself more. Like when I understand why things are happening, when I understand how I can be the self leader around my health, I'm taking a stand for me, I'm taking a stand for other women, and so I wanted to be able to create a community where other women could feel so empowered with their health they could actually transform their relationship with their bodies and with their cycles and learn to love themselves again. So that's what I'm feeling so called to and so pulled to right now, because I do think we're seeing health shift towards women's health so powerfully, and I'm very excited about how this is going to impact not just the women in this generation, but in generations to come.

Speaker 1: 59:32

Amazing. I love it. You can just tell how much you are really in you, just yeah, you can tell how much it excites you, how much something like this is more than just it's a mission. You can tell it like you're living and breathing that just from having this conversation with you. So I really think that's just amazing. And if people do want to get into your energy, if they want to connect with you, what's the best way to do that?

Speaker 2: 59:54

Yeah, well, definitely come over to my Instagram so that every day I'm sharing more about cycle, health and nutrition, and so that is at nourish, underscore with underscore another, and then I have a ton of articles and recipes on my website, which is nourishwithrenadacom.

Speaker 1: 1:00:08

Amazing. Well, I'll make sure that all in the show notes for everybody, and thank you so much for joining me today. I've really enjoyed it, thank you.