When Women Lean In

I’ve been talking lately about my own perimenopause experience & I’ve been listening to others do the same when suddenly it occurred to me that when these conversations happen – women all around lean in. Physically, mentally, emotionally, biologically. While for many of us, this kind of deep communing doesn’t happen often (enough), I feel the other occasion it reliably shows up is when we the share our birth stories. You know what I am saying? Like the second a woman opens that file & finds those words, all other noise in the room stops. And almost trance-like, we’re all drawn toward the teller. An impromptu circle of women appears around her that could not have been better coordinated had it been choreographed & rehearsed! Powerful stuff.

Women’s circles we know, have a long history & tradition.

And though I decidedly spend less time in the woods with womenfolk these days, as both a naturopath & resident of the Northern Rivers for most of my adult life – you can trust I gave it a good nudge in my younger years.

But here we are. Come full circle…if you’ll pardon the pun. Others have spoken to this phenomenon far more eloquently than I’m able to but in simple terms, when women begin sharing stories, whether it’s birth, bleeding, breastfeeding, miscarriage, perimenopause, or any other deeply embodied experience, what often looks like simple conversation is actually something perhaps much more primal, it’s pattern recognition in real time. We’re listening for ourselves inside someone else’s story – asking ourselves along the way things like

What happened next?

Has that happened to me?

Could that explain what I’ve been feeling…Why I am feeling..?

Is this normal?

…Am I normal?

I don’t have to tell you guys why these have had to be the places women seek answers rather than medicine & medical authorities 😠🤬🤯🤐 And even now, when it feels perimenopause is finally now ‘a thing’ in primary care be warned sisters 🧙‍♀️that’s mostly because when symptoms get loud enough, sales soar and the ‘peri/menopause market’ is one of the biggest money makers right now for many 🥺 …so go cautiously & let’s keep these more honest conversations between us going.

Soy’s Second Act in Perimenopause 

Explores how one of nutrition’s most debated foods has moved from early promise, through backlash, into a far more nuanced clinical role. This episode unpacks receptor selectivity, equol, bone preservation, vasomotor symptoms, and why SERMS such as isoflavones may matter most during a phase defined by instability. This is a fresh look at where soy genuinely earns its place in modern peri/menopause care.

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