Your pelvic floor is the undercarriage of your abdominal organs. It is the channel through which we birth, receive and let go. This seat in the body holds so much power and is often a place where we can manifest traumas, both physical and psychological.
This conversation with the warm, knowledgable and accessible Kirsty Nel is an introduction to your own anatomy or the anatomy of your partner. We talk to the impact that the pelvic floor has on continence of urine as well as the impact that pelvic floor dysfunction can have on sexual experience and the menstrual cycle.
We speak to vaginal versus caesarian baby deliveries and the impact of birth trauma on this group of muscles. A pelvic floor physio can have an incredible influence on your healing journey after a traumatic birth or in preparing your pelvic floor for a birth in the antenatal phase.
It is not normal to leak urine or experience pain with penetration. This conversation will empower you to know when to ask for help and where to find it. You can follow Kirsty Nel #and.her.physiotherapy for more learning and to book an appointment.
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Carly Seager is a functional medicine dietician with an interest in prevention and reversal or relief from disease, through the healing power of food. This episode is so full of wisdom.
We talk about the gut brain axis and impact that food can have on mood, anxiety and energy. A global rise in autoimmune disease has a relationship with how we eat too, the gut-immune axis is so important to consider if you are at risk of autoimmune disease or if you have a diagnosis.
We cover gluten, fibre, the microbiome, the importance of detoxification and healthy bowel movements. The metabolic impact of carrying visceral fat on our cardiovascular risk and how insulin and cortisol can impact weight loss and gain. We get into nervous system regulation, stress and the relationship that we all have with food and our bodies.
This episode will hit the spot for medical and non medical people giving a beautiful framework for thinking about nutrition and wellbeing.
This densely informative episode is followed by a Part 2 coming soon talking to women's hormone health and food.
You can book an appointment with Carly via her website; http://intelihealth.co.za/employees/carly-seager/ or follow her on instagram @carly.seager.dietician for more wisdom.
Here is a short reflection on the history of smoking, its evolution to the modern day vape and the impact that it is having on our spirits, our habits and our cells. Pause for breath.
Dr. Alan Rozanski is a distinguished Professor of Medicine and Cardiologist whose research established a groundbreaking link between psychological stress and heart disease. His work speaks to the body mind connection and
how our relationships, diet, movement and community impact our cardiovascular risk of disease and death. Prof shares his rich experience and research on the subject as we explore the intersection of health and life, cholesterol, exercise, diet, mindset and more.
If you are looking for practical ways to improve your heart health and understand what heart disease means, this episode is for you.
Dr Suzanne Gilbert Lenz is an Obstetrician-Gynaecologist with qualifications in Ayurveda and Integrative medicine too. She is an author, a clinician, a mother, a breast cancer survivor and a regular guest on the Drew Barrymore Show. She brings a lens to this work that is intimate, whole bodied and balanced. She is the author of an empowering and beautifully written book called Menopause Bootcamp which offers support to women all over the world.
This conversation is close to my heart. So many of the women around me have crossed the threshold into this landscape of changing hormones. It can be gnarly and tumultuous and wonderful all at once. Dr Suzanne reminds us, we will all land on the other side! We speak to the array of symptoms that this time can bring and the various pieces to consider when thinking about supporting the body through these transitions. We debunk cancer risk and hormones and explore some of the patriarchal impositions that this field of medicine is bravely shrugging. Lets get into sex after menopause, keeping the v*gina and v*lva healthy and tips and tricks for prescribers
and patients.
You can connect with Dr Suzanne on instagram @askdrsuzanne
It is with gratitude and excitement that this episode goes out into the world.
This episode is a chat between two like-minded humans who reflect, appropriately concisely, on the potential magic of restreaming things, paying attention to what fills the space in your life and decluttering. Our living spaces are a container for our thinking, being and doing; and creating environments that cultivate joy and presence have an impact on the way that we experience and express our worlds.
Alex Parry is a first-time author and long-time writer (for other people), a small business owner, self-confessed animal-lover, horse-rider, chardonnay aficionado, sister, friend, wife and free-thinker.
Alex runs a creative studio called The Vision Board and has recently extended her creativity into a decluttering passion with Clarity & Co. If you would like to book a decluttering consultation with Alex, you can email her at always@alexandraparry.co.za or find her on Instagram at #alexandraparry
At a time of year that we should be reflecting on what we have and resisting the urge for more accumulating, this conversation might be just what you needed to hear.
Please subscribe to this podcast if you haven't already and show us some love with 5 stars and a loving comment.
Scott Plate lives in Silvercity New Mexico and is a master and student of many things. He is an award winning actor, director, teacher and story teller. Scott is a writer, a life coach, imago facilitator, death doula and co-founder of Native Heart Seed.
This conversation is a confluence of many ideas and reflections. Scott speaks with such warmth and eloquence about his own ADHD, growth and expansion. We talk about honouring transitions small and big, his personal relationship to death, disease and dying and his work as a death doula, actor and writer.
This episode is the embodiment of authenticity and the power of paying attention to the right things, places and people.
You can connect with Scott for coaching or facilitation at https://nativeheartseed.com
This is an information dense episode unpacking the physiology of fat and the impact of extra fat on metabolism. We delve into why we need fat, how our bodies strive to hold onto fat at all costs and how this impacts our metabolic, cardiovascular and mental health. Dr Patrick is a health tech entrepreneur with a passion for supporting patients on a weight loss journey. His online platform, Flourish, is a place where specially trained professionals can support patients on a weight loss journey with a multi disciplinary team and the right medicines to support them. We talk about all of the weight loss drugs available to us, their risks, benefits and the new ?wonder drug - Ozempic that everyone is trying to get hold of. With its origin discovery in the stomach of the heeler dragon, this episode will empower professionals and non medical persons with a deep understanding of how to navigate weight loss in an obesogenic world.
This episode is an invitation to reflect on how you can be the change you want to see in the world. Sam shares about the realities of marginalised women in South Africa and how you can step up to help. We explore the burn out of empaths and the importance of filling your own cup. We talk about body autonomy, the challenges our legal system faces and how many social institutions can perpetuate cycles of abuse. We don't have all the answers, but we hope this conversation helps you to open your heart, your mind and your privilege towards more sharing, upliftment and healing.
Sam works full time for Doctors Without Borders as the head of Philanthropy and partnerships. She is driven by a deep seated passion to fight for justice and empower African women. Sam founded an award winning social justice and advocacy platform, Lady Liberty, that brings free legal advice and support to women in distress and need.
This conversation with the wise, empathic and astute Dr David Dansky dives into the applications of Ketamine, it is a must listen for practitioners or patients who are interested in this modality. David has been practicing emergency medicine for the past 40 years and in the last five has added Ketamine to his armament of tools. He lectures and empowers colleugues on the subject of Ketamine and shares wonderful stories in this interview about how the unexpected reach of this drug has revealed itself to him through his practice. We explore the history of anti depressants, the mechanisms through which Ketamine opens the reward pathways of the brain and allows us to change them and the different ways in which this medicine can be administered and used. We touch of the pharmacokinetics of other psychedelics and how these are similar and different to Ketamine. We talk about risks and possible adverse outcomes too. David is one of those rare jewels of a doctor, who knows that we are only instruments in the healing process and that our ego's often get in the way of the work that is required of us. This episode comes with deep gratitude for wonderful humans.
This episode is a toolkit for understanding the most common type of baldness or hair loss and provides insights into almost everything you need to know about approaching this problem. Dr Asi is warm, charismatic and passionate in equal measure about life and hair! He is currently doing his doctorate in hair transplant surgery and works alongside his brother Dr Eric Peretz. Together they are changing the landscape of hair transplantation, bringing artful flare, cutting edge science and a real desire to empower patients with education along the way. You can follow this heart warming duo on TikTok or instagram @trichogenics or trichogenics.com
Michelle is a long time yoga practitioner, yoga teacher, folk herbalist, non-dual dharma practitioner, contemplative psychotherapist (in training) and nature enthusiast. Her passion is exploring the application of therapeutic tools of the yogic and dharma traditions to build resilience, cultivate lasting change and instill life-long positive habits that support and balance her clients. Michelle trains yoga teachers and runs retreats and mentorship programs in South Africa and Europe. Her love for plants and plant healing led her to Peru as a teenager and birthed a life long love and fascination with the Amazon basin. She has spent time immersed with local tribes gaining knowledge and understanding the plants and cosmologies of healing while doing personal work and facilitating retreats in the Amazon.
Her path has woven together plants, people and spirituality in order to cultivate an environment of peace and growth. Her wish is that all beings may benefit from what she shares and through this, recognize the preciousness of this human life. In our conversation we traverse the landscape of Michelle's work and daily practice and share with you invitations, ideas and hopefully, inspiration.
It's not every day that you meet a surgeon with the insight and sensitivity of an empath. In this conversation with Sumesh, affectionately known as Dr Sumi, we talk of all things urology and help to familiarise you with the terrain of this vast speciality. Dr Sumi shares of his own personal experiences and how those shape the care and sensitivity with which he practices. If you struggle with sexual dysfunction, recurrent UTIs or difficulty holding your wees in, this episode is for you. It's an empowering dialogue about the signs and symptoms you should never ignore and guidance on how to care for your urogenital system best.
We live in a fat phobic society and at the same time are more overweight than we have ever been. Rue Cornfield, a health coach, takes the middle road with her healthy-ish wisdom. Rue shares her values and the building blocks she recommends to her clients for getting strong, fit and vital. We focus on keeping things simple and moderate and never depriving yourself. Rue reminds us that exercising discipline is essential and hat it takes time to change old habits. Join us for a giggle and a chat about how to eat, stay grateful and keep fit.
When we are intentional about how we move and think, we reap the rewards. Music is so central to how we celebrate, mourn and regulate ourselves, but how often are you that intentional about what you are listening to? This conversation explores the listening journey, from the first sound that you hear, your mother's heart beat.. to the ballads that we hope you will serenade yourself with. You will gain a deeper understanding of the tools that music therapy offers as a healing modality for those who identify with less linguistic emoting. Nathanielle, a classically trained soprano, shares her voice, her wisdom and her perspectives on the power of your own internal voice and her experience using music for healing in brain injury, dementia and embodiment. This episode is sure to get you humming, at the very least!
If you are a human being, this podcast is for you. If you are a parent, you are obliged to listen. Esther Hecht shares pragmatic, inspiring and accessible wisdom on how to create safety, boundaries and connection. The principles of conscious parenting can be applied to every relationship in your life. Here is a road map for better self regulation, modelling helpful behaviours and teaching missing skills to your children. This enriching episode is an invitation for your own growth and development and Esther gives us the 'how to' with warmth, grace and vibrance.
I loved connecting with Dr Simone Silver. Simone is a functional medicine doctor with an interest in chronic stress and balancing sex hormones. She is a gracious embodiment of the work that she does and she brings to life in this conversation the impact and intricacies of cortisol and how it affects thyroid, your microbiome, your sex hormones and your serotonin production. We explore tools for better regulation and the downstream cascade of events when a person's nervous system doesn't have an off button. Dr Simone so beautifully articulates the fine balance between our body, mind, spirit and environment. We hope that you feel inspired to moderate your own stress responses after you listen to this, chronic stress certainly leads to chronic disease and here is some of why. You can find Dr Simone Silver at https://hormonalhealth.co.za/.
It was a joy to connect with Brad and Anthony and talk about their work using Ketamine in the psychotherapeutic context. The power of a psychedelic experience does not lie in the medicine alone, but rather, the therapeutic system within which it is grounded. With thorough preparation, careful attention to set and setting, a trusting therapeutic relationship and ongoing integration, the power and magic of such compounds is unleashed. For anyone looking to explore their own psyche and extend their growth and development or anyone who is looking for alternatives to address depression, anxiety, OCD or addiction, this conversation is door opening.
Dr Emma Bryant, a powerhouse of surgical skill, passion for women's health and advocate for women's rights to care; takes us on a journey through gynaecological cancers. We delve deep into screening, signs not to ignore and appropriate investigation and management. This episode tells you everything you need to know about HPV, HPV vaccination, Colposcopy and Cervical Cancer. Ovarian cancer, the most insidious of them all is explored and the risks that we have control of for increasing our endometrial cancer risk. This is a wonderful review for primary care doctors and nurses and incredibly empowering for all patients too. Please email me for CPD points for this episode on drskye@healthwithheart.co.za Dr Emma works in Pretoria and her practice can be found here: https://dremmabryant.co.za/
In this monologue, we will talk about nature versus nurture and get into the genetics of inherited cancers. We will unpack the most common cancers affecting men and women in South Africa and talk about some simple strategies to reduce risk and improve screening and early detection. If cancer is something that you worry about, then this is an empowering episode to reduce anxiety and give you some actionable take aways.
