It’s generally easy to tell myth from reality.

Dragons? Mythical. Clash of the Titans? Pure Greek mythology. Sasquatch? Legend, unless Harry and the Hendersons is to be believed.

When it comes to your health, especially the health of your breasts, it can be harder to distinguish what you’ve heard from what may actually cause breast cancer.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and we’re here to set the record straight.

Antiperspirant deodorants with aluminum don’t cause breast cancer.

You’ve heard: “antiperspirants block toxin-releasing sweat, so the toxins build up in breast tissue.” Or, “the aluminum in antiperspirants changes your estrogen receptors.” Or, “when you shave your armpits, you create tiny nicks that let in cancer-causing chemicals.”

Despite the pervasive myths, there is no scientific evidence that aluminum-based antiperspirants cause breast cancer.

Even the strongest aluminum-based antiperspirant doesn’t block all sweat, and sweat isn’t even how your body filters out most toxins: that work is done by your liver and kidneys. Lastly, you’re exposed to more aluminum through food than you are through your antiperspirant.

One truth: don’t wear deodorant with aluminum on the day of your mammogram. The aluminum can show up as specks on your mammogram, creating confusion for your doctor.

Still, deodorants can contain parabens and other nasty things. There may be some truth to the link between shaving your armpits and being diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age, though more evidence is needed.

Alternatives

If you want to stay fresh, au natural, give one of these natural deodorants a try; you might need to try a few to find the best fit for your “˜pits, but they do work–contrary to another myth.

Are underwire bras harmful?

Another myth: “underwire bras cause breast cancer by preventing lymph in your breasts from being reabsorbed by your body.” So, do underwire bras cause cancer? Again, there is no evidence to support this claim or any other claims that underwire causes cancer.

This rumor may have started because women who are overweight are more likely to need the support of an underwire bra than slimmer women, who can comfortably wear a bralette. Because obesity after menopause is a risk factor for breast cancer, this population will overall have a higher incidence.

But their undergarments have nothing to do with it.

Your beauty routine might be ugly for your breasts though.

A 2018 study determined that moderate to frequent use of beauty products is linked to a 10-15% higher incidence of breast cancer, but was not able to determine whether the risk is tied to specific chemicals, combinations of chemicals, or related behavioral factors.

The three p’s. Parabens (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben), phthalates (especially monoethyl phthalate [MEP]), and synthetic phenols (including bisphenol A (BPA)) may be found in daily personal care products like soap, shampoo, nail polish, hair sprays, deodorant, sunscreen, toothpaste, lotion, foundation, lipstick, and mascara. They can all be absorbed through your skin, inhalation, or ingestion, and have mild estrogen-like properties, a breast cancer risk. More research is needed, however.

Carbon black. Would you rub coal tar on your face? Sorry to break it to you like this, but if your mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, nail polish, or other make-up includes carbon black (also known as D&C Black #2, acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black, and thermal black) that’s exactly what you’re doing. Carbon black has been linked to all sorts of cancers and organ toxicity.

Alternatives

You can find cleaner beauty brands like Honest Beauty, RMS Beauty, Juice Beauty, Ilia, Gabriel, 100% Pure, Lawless, Plain Jane Beauty, and cocokind online, at beauty stores like Sephora or Ulta, or even Target. Note: these are all just options we’re listing for your convenience; Gennev is in no way affiliated with or profiting from any of these companies.

Hair dyes and relaxers may lead to breast cancer.

While most hair dyes are safer now than when your mother was going through menopause, there may be a link between hair products and breast cancer, especially in Black women, hairdressers, and people who dye or relax their hair frequently.

Hair dyes contained known carcinogens until the early 1980s. Today, hair dyes still have a lot of harsh chemicals (like ammonia, parabens, phthalates, and more), and researchers don’t know whether or not all of them are completely safe. Darker shades of dye have more potentially harmful chemicals.

Black women are thought to be more at risk because they are more likely to dye their hair darker colors and use relaxing agents due to prevailing stigma and discrimination against natural hair and wigs, while white women mainly dye their hair. More evidence is still needed, however.

Alternatives

Go natural! Embrace your hair’s natural state. Why should George Clooney have all the fun? Gray hair is incredibly sexy on both women and men. Curls are beautiful. Find a hairstyle that makes the most of what your mama gave you.

Switch from Oxidative (permanent) to Non-oxidative (semipermanent) dye. If you aren’t ready to embrace the gray, you can at least go with the lesser of two evils. Permanent dyes have more chemicals and oxidizing agents, like ammonia, to strip your hair of its natural pigment. This irritates your scalp and creates a point of entry for any potential carcinogens. Semipermanent dyes still have chemicals and potential to cause cancer but are gentler on your body.

Henna is the most natural permanent hair dye option. Aveda and Madison Reed are safer alternatives to most dyes, or try Manic Panic for a punk-rock pop of color. Note: these are all just options we’re listing for your convenience; Gennev is in no way affiliated with or profiting from any of these companies.

Nail polish poison

Did you know that nail salons have higher quantities of certain toxic chemicals than auto garages or oil refineries?

Nail polishes can contain some pretty nasty stuff; the “toxic trio“ of formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and toluene; diethylhexyl phthalate (one of the phthalates mentioned earlier); and triphenyl phosphate are all known carcinogens or estrogen disrupters.

“Tough as nails” doesn’t exactly apply to your fingers; you can absorb the toxins in nail polish through your skin or the nail bed itself.

While manufacturers have phased out many (but not all) of these chemicals, you may want to toss that bottle of Sally Hensen you’ve had since your 35th birthday–and check the label on its replacement.

Women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer or have had lymph nodes removed need to take extra caution with nail care to avoid infections that can lead to lymphodema, particularly on the impacted side of the body. Bring your own nail tools to the salon, keep your cuticles intact, or skip the manicure altogether.

Alternatives

Look for nail products that are at least “eight-free:” these do not contain dibutyl phthalate (dbp), toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, or triphenyl phosphate (tphp).

Zoya, Honeybee Gardens, LVX, Flora 1761, Tenoverten, Londontown, Butter London, Base Coat, Jinsoon, Côte, and Orly Breathable have options to cover almost any taste or style, and may even be available at your local pharmacy, department store, or Target. Note: these are all just options we’re listing for your convenience; Gennev is in no way affiliated with or profiting from any of these companies.

Harm in the home

The FDA requires food, cosmetics, and drugs to provide a full list of ingredients on their labels; everything else is a Wild West of chemicals, including dish soaps, detergents, disinfectants, glass cleaners, carpet cleaners, stain removers, air fresheners, and other household cleaners.

You could be exposing yourself to estrogen disrupters like triclosan, BPA, phthalates, parabens, alkylphenols, and benzophenones while doing chores and you would never know it.

Even children’s toys  may not be safe.

Alternatives

Make your own cleaning products. Lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda are all-natural cleaners that you probably already have in your pantry. Try scrubbing hard-to-remove food on stainless steel pots and pans with salt. Here are some other ideas and recipes for non-toxic DIY cleaners.

Buy products with natural ingredients. Organic cleaners like Method, Seventh Generation, Ecover, Dr. Bronners, Bon Ami, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, and Branch Basics are getting easier to find at mainstream grocery stores. Note: these are all just options we’re listing for your convenience; Gennev is in no way affiliated with or profiting from any of these companies.

One word: plastics.

You’ve seen hormone disrupting BPA, commonly found in plastics, pop up on this list a few times now. All plastics can leach chemicals like BPA if they’re heated or scratched.

Even BPA-free plastics may not be safe.

While it’s impossible to avoid plastic altogether, reduce your exposure to BPA and other chemicals by limiting canned food lined with plastic, avoid handling carbonless cash register receipts, don’t cook or heat food in plastic containers or bags, use waxed paper instead of plastic wrap, and eat out of ceramic, glass, or stainless steel dishware, never Styrofoam.

Breast practices

Talk to your doctor. If you’re concerned about your breast cancer risk, talk with your doctor or one of ours.

Always check labels. If you tend to keep and use make-up for years (which is bad for many other reasons), throw out anything that contains the potentially carcinogenic stuff listed here.

Deal with known carcinogens first. Why waste energy worrying about something that might cause breast cancer when alcohol and smoking are scientifically proven to increase your risk? Limit your alcohol intake and quit smoking. Seriously.

Avoid plastic whenever possible. We know it’s hard! You don’t need to obsess, just be more aware.

Get your annual mammogram. There are many myths around mammograms as well. The tiny risk from radiation does not outweigh the benefit of being able to pick up breast cancer in its early stages, when it is actually curable. Women 40 and over should get a mammogram every year or on the schedule recommended by their doctors.

How do you care of your breasts? Have you heard other tips for care and you’re not sure which are legit and which are myths? Join our online forums and get tips from our health care practitioners.

Sore gums. Burning sensations. Dry mouth. All of these can result from the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause. Annoying enough on their own, they can also contribute to periodontal disease, so let’s talk menopause and dry mouth.

During perimenopause, things just start to get drier: eyes, mouths, skin, hair, vaginas, sense of humor”¦.

Estrogen as and this one surprised even us as plays a very important role in the creation of saliva, and the lack of it in perimenopause and menopause can trigger a feeling of scalding, burning, numbness, itch or stickiness in the mouth or a metallic taste and increased thirst.

We already know that fluctuations in estrogen levels can impact our sense of taste partly due to lack of moisture; in more severe cases, xerostomia (dry mouth) can even make it difficult to swallow or speak.

What you need to know about menopause and dry mouth

If your mouth chronically feels dry, or if it gets progressively worse during the day, you should probably take steps to combat the problem.

Why?

Saliva, even more than your toothbrush, is your first and best line of defense against tooth decay. The film of saliva that coats your mouth protects your teeth against bacteria. It helps pass food along so it doesn’t sit in your mouth, attacking your teeth. It neutralizes acids that can break down tooth enamel and even brings in minerals to rebuild enamel.

Not only can insufficient saliva promote tooth decay, it can make it hard to break down food and increase the chance of infections like thrush. The less saliva you have, the less healthy your mouth is likely to be (and possibly, the worse your breath). And if it’s affecting your ability to access the nutrients in your food, the downstream affects can be even more severe.

What can I do to combat the effects of dry mouth?

First, you need to be sure you’re dealing with a perimenopause or menopause issue. Dry mouth can also be caused by Sjögren’s syndrome, diabetes, and several medications, including sedatives, heart medications, asthma and allergy meds, and antidepressants. Check with a doc to determine you’re not facing any of these other issues.

Burning mouth can also be caused by vitamin deficiencies as well as gastric acid reflux and anemia, so it’s good to check for those as well (here’s some tips to find safe vitamins). Plus, as we age, we can become more sensitive to substances or chemicals, so a change of toothpaste or mouthwash may be in order.

If hormonal changes are the culprit, lifestyle changes can make a big difference:

1. Dehydration can contribute to dry mouth.
2. Chew sugar-free gum or candy to produce more saliva (be careful not to overdo it with the artificial sweeteners, though, as they can cause gut problems of their own.)
3. Check your meds. Your doc can tell you if any of those is a factor and perhaps prescribe an alternative.
4. Be on the alert for signs of infection, like white patches or sore spots. See a doc or dentist if these appear.
5. Smoking, alcohol, and drugs such as marijuana can worsen cottonmouth, so limit exposure to these.
6. Salty, spicy, and acidic foods can make dry mouth worse.
7. We recommend rinsing your mouth 4-6 times daily with a solution of 2 teaspoons of baking soda in 8 ounces of water. This can reduce cavity causing bacteria.
8. There are saliva substitutes you can suck on or spray into your mouth to keep it hydrated. Ask your doc or dentist about these.

If you need help getting rid of dry mouth, a menopause-certified health coach can be helpful. Book 30 minutes for your personal consultation with a Gennev Provider.

According to a Penn State University study, smiling makes you seem more likeable, even more competent. Smiles are contagious, lifting everyone’s spirits (seriously, there’s science). Smiling a lot can actually rewire your brain to be more positive more often, turning positivity into your default response. And that can make you less stressed and more successful.

Perimenopause and menopause can be plenty challenging, so preserve your smile and your sanity! If you’re experiencing dry mouth, check with a doc or dentist, then make some changes, if necessary.

If you’ve dealt with oral issues as a result of perimenopause or menopause, what did you do about it? You know the drill as share the details with the community by leaving us a comment below, or talking to us on our Facebook page or in Midlife & Menopause Solutions, our closed Facebook group.

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If adopting one lifestyle change could ease many of your menopause symptoms, would you do it? Learn how the simple act of drinking more water could help you be healthier and have fewer menopause symptoms.

Your body is powerful.

We don’t just mean for lifting weights or doing hard physical work, though women’s bodies can certainly do that too.

We mean your body is a powerful healer. Given the right conditions as good food, enough rest, movement, etc. as your body has “an innate capacity to restore itself to health.”

Naturopathic medicine is the practice of providing ideal conditions and removing barriers for the body to get on with what it does so well.

Naturopathic medicine 101 with Dr. Jane Guiltinan

If you’ve ever wondered about naturopathic medicine or considered seeing a naturopathic doctor (ND) but just weren’t sure what to expect, Dr. Jane Guiltinan, recently retired Dean of the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University, explains it all.

In this Part I of our two-part series on naturopathic medicine, we talked with Dr. Guiltinan about what naturopathic medicine is, how and why it works, the state of naturopathic medicine in the US, and how to find a qualified ND.

1:38 as What is naturopathic medicine?

Most of us on team Gennev are new to the idea and practice of naturopathic medicine, so we asked Dr. Guiltinan to explain the difference between naturopathic medicine and what most of us consider “traditional” western medicine.

Dr. Guiltinan described how we often get in the way of our body’s natural ability to heal itself (poor diet, too much stress, not enough exercise, etc.). Naturopathic physicians both treat and educate patients to get them to health and maintain optimal health going forward.

4:35 as Why “doctor as teacher” is so empowering for patients.

Naturopathic doctors teach their patients to become an integral part of their own healing and health. Docere, the Latin word for “teacher,” is a founding principle of naturopathic medicine. Dr. Guiltinan explained why it’s so powerfully healing to put patients in charge of their well-being.

6:20 as What it means to be aware of your own body.

In the western-medicine tradition, many of us are taught to hand over control to medical professionals as leaving us ignorant about our own bodies. How do NDs work with patients to bring them back to an awareness of their bodies? Dr. Guiltinan said all NDs practice very active listening, which can educate both the doctor and the patient. Hear how. (Bonus: margaritas are NOT off limits as woot!)

8:10 as Preventing illness before it happens

Most western medicine focuses on the treatment of illness or injury. Naturopathic medicine is also about maintaining wellness, and in an ideal world, says Dr. Guiltinan, people would visit their doctors before problems appear. NDs are working to shift our mindset from “cure” to “prevention,” and it’s a powerful sea change.

10:40 as Yeah, but are they “real” doctors?

Naturopathic doctors are unevenly credentialed and recognized across the US, and many of us aren’t sure if NDs are “real” doctors. Dr. Guiltinan takes us through how a true naturopathic physician is educated, licensed, and credentialed.

15:08 as Dr. Guiltinan’s evolving practice and career

Dr. Guiltinan has been practicing naturopathic medicine for more than 30 years, and during that time, her practice gradually evolved to focus on women’s health. Most of her patients now are women in the menopausal transition and beyond, looking for ways to maintain health as they age.

17:26 as What do women in midlife want “fixed”?

Because she has such a depth and breadth of knowledge on women in midlife, we asked Dr. Guiltinan what symptoms women in that category come to her to “fix” most often? Classically, it’s hot flashes, she told us, but naturopathic medicine can help treat a wide range of symptoms, including headaches, dry skin, vaginal dryness, weight gain, joint and muscle pain, and depression, among others.

19:25 as Why women consult an ND

Why do women come to NDs? For a variety of reasons, Dr. Guiltinan told us: they’ve exhausted “conventional” options or they want a more natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), or, in many cases, they just don’t feel well but aren’t sure what the problem is.

20:44 as How to find the right ND

So, we asked Dr. Guiltinan, if I think a naturopathic doctor might be able to help me, how do I go about finding the right one? Do NDs specialize? NDs don’t have recognized specialties the way conventional Western medicine does (neurologists, dermatologists, etc.). NDs’ practices often naturally evolve around an interest or passion such as women’s health, she told us, so it’s worthwhile asking the questions to determine if an ND has a focus in the area you need.

22:18 as Is my ND legit?

I’ve decided I want to talk with an ND, we told Dr. Guiltinan. Now what do I do? Proceed with caution, Dr. Guiltinan told us: Depending on your state’s regulations, some people may be able to call themselves “naturopaths” with little formal training or licensure.

To be sure you’re getting someone qualified as an ND (whether they’re able to call themselves “doctor” or not in your state), be sure they graduated from one of the seven accredited doctoral programs in North America. States that have licensing have a state record of licensed NDs, as well as professional associations. Washington state, for example, has the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians. If your state doesn’t have licensing standards for NDs, you can find a credentialed naturopathic practitioner in your area on The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians site.

In our second segment, Naturopathic medicine for women in midlife & menopause: part 2, we explore with Dr. Guiltinan some specific ways naturopathic medicine can help women in menopause. Check it out and subscribe to Gennev on iTunes, SoundCloud or Stitcher, so you never miss an episode.

Dr. Jane Guiltinan recently retired as Dean of the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. A practicing naturopathic physician for thirty years, Dr. Guiltinan graduated from Bastyr in 1986, and has served as a clinical professor, medical director and dean of clinical affairs during her tenure there. She was the co-medical director for the first publicly funded integrated health clinic in the United States, the King County Natural Medicine Clinic. She served on the board of trustees for Harborview Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center and part of the University of Washington Medicine system for twelve years and was the first naturopathic physician on the board of a large public hospital. In 2012, she was appointed by Kathleen Sebelius, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the Advisory Council of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a center within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Guiltinan’s practice is focused on women’s health, primary care, disease prevention, and wellness promotion.

On a recent Sunday, team Gennev gave me $25 and a challenge: Shop Seattle’s beautiful Ballard Farmers Market and find the foods that optimize the health of a woman in midlife. Watch the video to get inspired by all the gorgeous produce, then learn more below”¦

What’s not to love about this challenge? Farm fresh food, live music, gorgeous flower stalls at every turn, and a sunny day in Seattle! There are so many seasonal goodies available now which made this challenge so palatable.

However, like many farmers markets (there are over 8,000 in the U.S.!), the size of this one is quite substantial, and the choices can be overwhelming. This inspired me to put a plan and some tips in place to help you shop smart and healthy during your next trip to your local farmers market.

The key to successfully shopping the market is”¦a plan! If you don’t have a plan, you end up running around the market buying everything that looks beautiful and spending a lot of money on food you may or may not end up eating because you don’t know how to prepare it. Hello, rhubarb and kohlrabi! You’re gorgeous, but I haven’t the faintest idea what to do with you.

Three easy tips for staying on plan:

1. Come prepared with a list and a recipe or recipes. This will help you stay on task and on budget.
2. Peruse the market first. Check out all of the vendors, their selection and their prices.
3. Bargain with the vendors. Especially if you come at the end of the day, a lot of farmers are trying to part with their produce and may be able to give you a deal.

My plan for my visit to Ballard was to stock my refrigerator with mainly nutrient-dense foods that I can easily prep and eat all week long. I created my list prior to my visit and settled on produce/foods that are uber healthy,  taste divine, and have a decent shelf life.

• Beets: Juice them, roast them, eat them raw. Thinly shave them with a mandolin and put on top of salads. Rich in vitamins and minerals and high in fiber, beets pack a powerful punch, improving blood pressure, increasing stamina, even diminishing the risk of heart disease.
• Blueberries: I love adding these to smoothies, oatmeal, seltzer water, even salads. Blueberries have the highest amount of anti-oxidants of any fruit! Plus they are high in fiber and Vitamin C and low in calories.
• Green Beans: Pickle them, roast them, make a summery salad with them, eat them raw! Green beans are extremely high in iron, calcium and magnesium, plus Vitamins A and C and antioxidants.
• Snap Peas: A great all-around snack or addition to stir fry. High in Vitamin C which boosts immunity and stimulates collagen production. Also high in Vitamin K and antioxidants.
• Eggs: While research indicates that that farmers market eggs aren’t necessarily healthier than mass-produced eggs, they are indeed far tastier than grocery store eggs. Free range chickens eat the healthiest diet in the summer months, which in turn means a more delicious egg dish for you.
• Kale: Braised, sautéed, tossed into salads or into smoothies, this super green that hails from the cabbage family is rich in folate, Vitamins A, C and K and rich in fiber and protein.

At the end of my shop, I had a few dollars to spare so I treated myself to some Kombucha, a fermented tea drink that’s made by adding bacteria and yeast to sugar and black or green tea and allowing the brew to ferment. Kombucha does a ton of good things for us: it may help to aid digestion, stimulate the immune system, prevent cancer, stop hair loss, and even improve liver function. Kombucha can now be found at most super markets, but the one that I tried was from a local Kombucha maker, CommuniTea Kombucha.

I hope that these tips were helpful, and now I challenge you to get your list together and head to your local farmers market.

Cheers to your health!

Check out more great content from Michelle on savvy shopping on a budget, conquering the bulk aisle, avoiding holiday stress eating, and more.

If you’re in perimenopause, even if you’ve completed the transition and are in menopause, you likely have questions. Our ob/gyn Director of Health has answers.

Just like every part of our bodies, we need to take care of our reproductive system. Wellness expert Jovanka Ciares shares her easy herbs for female health.

In the weight-loss world, carbs are the current “bad guy,” but is it necessary to give up carbs? Or is going carb-free actually causing weight loss to stall? We’ll break down the best time to eat carbs

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Throw out our carbs? Maybe when you pry that baguette from our cold, dead hands.

Fortunately, we may not have to. As Debra Atkinson writes for PRiME WOMEN, giving up carbs completely may be the wrong strategy for those hoping to lose weight.
What if you could tie in good sleep, weight loss and renewed energy? Here&rsquo;s the key.&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t ditch carbs completely. The team at <a href=”https://gennev.com/”>Gennev</a>breaks it down with Debra Atkinson.</p>

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Is It Bad To Eat Carbs At Night? When is the best time to eat carbs?

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Include complex low and slow carbohydrates at every meal. Increase the number of carb servings at each meal throughout the day. Start with eating carbs at a lower amount for breakfast and have the most carbs at dinner. Shocked? Here&rsquo;s how to make sense of that
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Cortisol levels ideally peak in the morning and fall throughout the day. When cortisol drops you can become more edgy. If calming carbohydrates increase as cortisol decreases you’ll avoid that hangry feeling.

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Sleep yourself skinny? Recent studies support this dream of getting slim passively. There’s growing evidence that longer sleepers (compared to individuals who don’t sleep nearly as long) are slimmer, with lower body mass index (BMI) levels, and they perform better. In spite of exercise and diets that should result in weight loss, your body could actually conserve your fat, at the expense of your lean muscle, without the right amount of shuteye.

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If you have a hard time getting adequate quality or quantity of sleep, pay special attention when eating carbs. Eating the largest por&shy;tion of carbohydrates at your evening meal will calm you with some serotinin and help you get a better night&rsquo;s sleep. If you’re in the habit of decreasing your carbohydrates at night to help prevent weight gain, and you’re not sleeping well, this small change by itself may improve weight loss. More carbs for weight loss? Who knew?

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All carbs are not the same, however. Choose low and slow. That is, low Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) foods that are released slowly. Quinoa, brown rice, legumes, and sweet potatoes are good examples.

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Eat for Sleep

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Nine out of ten women who begin a Flipping 50 program have two things in common.

They have severely reduced carbohydrate consumption at night.
Their rating of sleep quality is 5/10 or less.
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That’s not coincidence. If you are struggling to sleep and lose weight both, there&rsquo;s a chance that the very thing you’re doing to reach your weight loss goal is sabotaging both that and short-sheeting you on sleep.

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Eating carbs boosts your natural production of serotonin. Serotonin is your feel-good hormone. Women have lower levels of it than men. Too little of it can make you feel depressed. The right amount helps keep you calm and will improve your readiness to sleep in the evening.

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Though simple math about carbohydrate storage in the body can make you lose weight quickly by removing carbohydrates, it could sabotage you later. For every one-part carbohydrate stored, three parts water is stored. Eliminate carbs and you’ll lose water weight. After a short time, driving your carb intake too low can disrupt your sleep and cause cravings you can’t out-willpower.

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Dinnertime is a good time to eat more carbohydrates. That is, eat more than you have at previous meals in the day.

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Still with me?
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I know it’s often the exact opposite of what you may be doing. But if you’re both sleepless and weight loss has stalled, what have you got to lose? Women usually come back within a week and tell me they can&rsquo;t believe how much more energy they have, and how much happier they are! We do love eating carbs. The trick is to not go for the breadbasket or the chips to do it.

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Try one or two of these suggestions for a full week and see what happens.
Tonight, have a sweet potato with your dinner. If you prefer, have some brown rice or quinoa. Make a butternut squash soup or have chili made with beans. Finish with a small cup of berries.

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Since sleep affects every aspect of life, it’s important to be aware of the fact that sleep duration not only enhances your weight and your weight loss efforts, it also benefits the quality of your sleep. It’s a two-way street. It may not take a lot to improve your sleep. In fact, as little as 10 minutes of exercise a day can boost self-reports of sleep quality by nearly 30 percent. Couple that with eating carbs at night, and you are on your way to weight loss!

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Have you tried bumping up your healthy carbs to improve sleep and help with weight management? How did it work for you? Talk to us on our Midlife & Menopause Solutions.

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If you have ever experienced electric shock sensations, it can be quite scary. Women have described it as feeling like a rubber band snapping on your skin, a zing of electricity shooting through you, or as serious as a jolt likened to a taser. Electric shock sensations, or ESS, aren’t typically attributed to perimenopause. And for most, ESS is generally harmless and short-lived, but for some it has been the signal of an imminent hot flash.

Electric shock sensations: What’s happening?

It’s not exactly clear what’s going on, but these zaps could be related to aging, or possibly fluctuating hormones. Estrogen works with your central nervous system to send messages along nerves to the brain. When your hormones start to go haywire, signals may get crossed, amplified, short-circuited, or otherwise distorted, causing the sensation of a shock or tingling all over your body or elsewhere.

Some medications, particularly those prescribed for hot flashes, may also contribute to the sensations. Anxiety may increase the likelihood and severity of ESS.

While ESS won’t harm you, it may disrupt sleep and increased anxiety, creating a vicious cycle. In some cases, it may be a symptom of a more serious condition.

What to do about electric shock sensations

Since hormones and anxiety seem to be triggers for ESS, reining both in may be your best defense. Here are some options.

Eat more phytoestrogens. These compounds occur naturally in foods like soybeans, tofu, chickpeas, flax seeds, broccoli, berries, wheat bran, and green and black tea, and act like estrogen in the body. The addition of dietary estrogen may level out the hormone dips that are implicated in many perimenopausal symptoms. An analysis of multiple studies found that they can provide some relief from hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Get stuck. While acupuncture can sometimes cause electric shock sensations, this ancient Chinese practice has been found to help ease anxiety and hot flashes and improve sleep and quality of life for perimenopausal and menopausal women.

Consider hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  If symptoms are disrupting your life, it’s worth talking to your doctor about HRT. The goal is to provide some additional hormones to attenuate the drop in your levels and minimize the accompanying unwanted symptoms.

Get your B vitamin levels checked. Low levels of B12 may actually cause those annoying electric jolts.

Learn to relax. Pick what works for you””yoga, soaking in the bathtub, deep breathing, meditation, a walk in nature. The effect will be less anxiety, which may turn down the voltage on electric shocks.

And, like so many other menopause symptoms, ESS may respond to overall healthy habits, such as:

1. Drinking more water. When you’re properly hydrated, all systems in your body perform better.
2. Getting moving. Exercise boosts your mood to help you cope with the emotional side of perimenopause. It also reduces stress and anxiety, which may help alleviate ESS.
3. Practicing good sleep habits.  A lack of sleep can adversely affect all body systems, increasing your risk for a host of health issues, such as heart disease and obesity, and likely amplifying any perimenopausal symptoms you are experiencing.
4. Curbing caffeine. It stimulates your nervous system which may contribute to ESS.
5. Cutting out alcohol and nicotine. They can lead to nerve damage that may result in ESS.
6. Eating right. Make sure you’re getting the right nutrients in the proper amounts, so your body works right, rests well, and heals correctly. Nutrients like omega 3s found in fish, nuts, seeds, and plant oils such as flaxseed, soy, and canola, and magnesium, found in legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and green leafy vegetables, are important for a healthy functioning nervous system.
7. Considering supplements. If you worry you may not be getting the nutrients you need, a supplement may help reduce ESS and other symptoms and support your overall health.

When to get help with electric shock sensations

As with all new and unexplained symptoms, it’s a good idea to consult with a doctor to rule out other possible causes.

If you have shock sensations down your leg, it could be related to a herniated disc or spinal stenosis. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy can cause shooting pain sensations in the legs and feet. Osteoporosis of the spine increases your risk of experiencing ESS, so you may want to talk with your doctor about a bone density test. Dysesthesia, or abnormal sensations, related to multiple sclerosis can be confused with ESS, but it is usually more painful.

So, before you chalk it up to menopause, consult with your physician or a Gennev doctor. Our menopause specialists can help you understand electric shock sensations as they may relate to menopause, plus discuss your symptoms and their impact on your overall health and wellness.

The information on the Gennev site is never meant to replace the care of a qualified medical professional.  Hormonal shifts throughout menopause can prompt a lot of changes in your body, and simply assuming something is “just menopause” can leave you vulnerable to other possible causes. Always consult with your physician or schedule an appointment with one of Gennev’s telemedicine doctors before beginning any new treatment or therapy.

Historically, it’s been tough to start a business that caters specifically to women. Investors have often been reluctant to invest in a business focused on menopause, for example.

But that’s changing, with female entrepreneurs leading the charge, forming partnerships to support one another and the women they serve.

A Chat With Handful Active Wear CEO Jennifer Ferguson On Supporting Women

In this podcast, Health Coach Stasi Kasianchuk talks with CEO of Handful Active Wear Jennifer Ferguson and CEO of Gennev Jill Angelo about women, business, and the business of supporting women.

Love Handful? We do too! Listen to the podcast for a special code to save on Handful.

If you’d like to watch the video of their conversation, visit (and subscribe to) our YouTube channel.

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Are you an entrepreneur or interested in becoming one? We’d love to hear about your trials and triumphs, so join us on the Gennev Community Forums!

TRANSCRIPT

Stasi Kasianchuk, Gennev Director of Health Coaching

I am Stasi Kasianchuk. I’m the registered dietitian, nutritionist and exercise physiologist and Gennev’s Director of Health Coaching. And I am absolutely thrilled to have both Jennifer, the CEO and owner of Handful Bras and Jill, Gennev’s CEO here today. The story it’s been an evolving process, this collaboration for this webinar and podcast. And I have to say I happen, you know, working for Jill. I know about her story and starting Gennev and obviously I work for the company and when I learned about when I learned about Handful Bras and their mission and read about Jennifer on her website, I was like, I gotta get to know her. And so and what ended up happening that when we’ll talk about this today we have some collaborations with Handful as the pandemic rolled out over the past several months and saw this opportunity to really come together with other women supporting women businesses that support women. And as I talked with Jennifer and knowing Jill, I was like this, we got to get these women together. So we’re going to do that today. So welcome Jennifer to our Gennev wellness pod, podcast and webinars that we have weekly, sometimes more than once a week. And can you just introduce yourself to our audience, give us a background on you and who you are. So we know more about you and Handful.

Jennifer Ferguson, CEO and founder, Handful

My name is Jennifer Ferguson and I’m the founder and CEO of Handful, which is active wear that supports you to grab life by the handful. And I have a background, I’ve just grown up active my whole life and then have been a group fitness instructor for over 20 years. And I was frustrated with the amount of changes I needed to have in my gym bag to try and keep up with my active, versatile, on-the-go lifestyle. And so after searching in vain for a base layer that could carry me from weekend to work to work out, launched Handful over a dozen years ago. I mean, we’re coming up almost on 15 years and come to find out other women were looking for these versatile items. And then we’ve grown from our bras, which were the hero to bottoms and tops as well. So thanks for having us.

Stasi

Excellent. Great. Well, I look forward to hearing more about Handful throughout the webinar. Jill, can you, for those of our audience that don’t know about your story and starting Gennev and, and your background, can you share?

Jill Angelo, CEO and co-founder, Gennev

Yeah, for sure. First of all, Jen, welcome. It’s fun to have other women entrepreneurs who are doing things for women. It’s just always fun to come together. So it’s, it’s really awesome to have you with us today. I’m Jill Angelo. I’m the co founder of Gennev. We started back in 2016 so about four years ago. And Gennev is, you know a virtual clinic and community for women in menopause. My story is, you know, I’ve spent my entire career in the tech space. I’ve had 20 years’ experience working in technology. First for a small software company that got acquired by Microsoft and I was at Microsoft for about 15 years. And you know, coming out of that experience, my personal passion has always been on women and girls confidence specifically and their development. And I was on a sabbatical from Microsoft, met my co founder who is credited with building Neutrogena.

And she really had, I think, a clear vision around menopause and how little women were served and how much they suffer in silence. And from that, you know, we, one thing led to another and you know, we decided to start Gennev because my experience working with women and senior women at Microsoft. I was as the chief of staff to the CMO, I did a lot to nurture our senior women’s networking group. And as we, as I heard their conversations transition over time from, you know, having babies, worklife balance, you know, postpartum to, well, my body’s changing, you know, I’m really tired all the time. Or has anyone had a hot flash? Like some of these things started to come out. It was something in the workplace we had never ever addressed. And so as I met my cofounder and we started to talk about menopause we saw a real opportunity to address something for women that just isn’t being met today. And so we found it. I founded Gennev we, and it’s gone from there into into what we offer today is as full range telehealth services for women, products and community and education all around menopause.

Stasi

Excellent. Yeah, that’s a great, just gives a good background and still in the story again around women and how much we do need to support and we need companies that support women as well. Jennifer, could you share your story on how you started Handful and where, what the aspect of focusing and supporting women, where that comes from for your company?

Jennifer

I as I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t feeling like I was being properly supported by my equipment, my, my active wear. And I was tired of sacrificing fashion for function, for feel. If something was fashionable, it certainly wasn’t functional and it certainly didn’t feel good. And if something did feel good, it, it didn’t look good. And as women, you know, we deserve to have our cake and eat it too. And so Handful really is stemmed from what we call the Handful High Five, and it’s the F words. We swear by fashion, function, feel, fun, and fight against breast cancer. And so our products are versatile to be worn, as I said from weekend to work to work out and it supports us literally and figuratively.

We have an optional modesty padding, a hidden pocket that is also for the one and eight women still getting diagnosed with breast cancer. And so you can wear the pads, not wear the pads, you can stack them up, you can also stash essentials. I’ve got my handy dandy lip gloss in there. Because women want to be hands free. So we want things that are functional, that are also fashionable and also feel good and also support a bigger cause. And so I started just after searching in vain for a product that I was missing and then I grew the team. And less than a handful of years ago, we decided to go full time. And I have brought on CFO, COO from Intel. Interesting. When you’re telling a story how a lot of the big corporation you’d get your experience and then you find your passion and you get to use it there. So I get to work with Jody our, our right hand woman, Tina manages the behind the scenes shoot, the silent but deadly accounts receivable, payable, et cetera.

And then we brought on Cary Goldberg, who’s our Director of Survivor Relations and she was a late stage three over a dozen year survivor and she is double mastectomy, no reconstruction, and she wears three pads on each side and is physically measuring half an inch taller. And it’s really such a metaphor for all of us of having proper equipment that feels good. It has us open our heart literally and figuratively to the world and stand taller. And that is just so important. That Handful is 100 of that a hundred percent about support. And then we’ve grown our team from there since then and we worked with a lot of amazing independent contractors. Our internal sales woman, she is a fitness instructor. Her motto is when in doubt dance it out. And we have, we take ourselves our products seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously. So we have fun color names. So we’re all about the fun and the feel and the function and also the fight against breast cancer.

Stasi

That’s awesome. And such, I like the, you know, both of your stories interesting. They have technology backgrounds there, but that there’s also this idea that women don’t, we don’t need, shouldn’t be suffering, we shouldn’t be suffering. We should be supported. And when there’s something that you, both of you saw an area, a gap that had potential to be filled with a service and then you built a company that aligns with that, with that support as the focus. The whole company is built around that. So that’s fabulous to, to see. For both of you thinking your, your career, was it there always, was there ever an idea of when you started out as a working woman that you would be the leader of companies like the ones that you are right now?

Jill

For me? No. I’ll start there. I, you know, I grew up in a pretty entrepreneurial family. I grew up on a cattle ranch in North Dakota and it was like, you know, all hands on deck all the time and we had people that worked with us as well and I thought, I never want to be responsible for someone’s paycheck. Like, that’s too much responsibility, I could never do that. I want to work for a place where I can get out in the world and I don’t have to, you know, be so concerned about everything all the time. That was kind of my feeling, just having grown up through that. And it’s interesting how you come full circle because you know, I spent 20 years in kind of corporate, a corporate space and it was awesome. I loved it, but I was ready.

I was ready to do something with a big impact. And that’s what drove me to this, not because I desired to really start my own company or to, you know, think about, you know, the, the, the PNL or, you know, hire a team and so forth. I love all those things now. But it was the mission or the this needs to change sort of thing that really moved me to start this. And and I guess, and now more than ever, I kind of draw on my roots. So I don’t know, Jennifer, how it was for you, but I certainly, this was not in my plan. But now I’m, I’m really, really glad that I’m here.

Jennifer

Well, it’s interesting. I was born and raised in Montana and we also had a ranch, I did not grow up on the cattle ranch, but there were three times more sheep than people. And so if something needed to get done and you had a pulse, you know, I actually had someone in the South, you know, they talk about opening the doors for women. And I said, Oh, well, I, I, my family, we opened doors if someone’s hands are full. And this person said to me, Oh, that’s right, and you’re from the do it yourself state. I mean, if I sat there and waited for someone to open the door for me with three times more sheep than people that I might be standing there a while, and I didn’t realize it, but I, yes, it’s always been do it yourself and figure it out.

But at the same time, I’ve always been very passionate getting to work with a team. I’ve always been a team sport person, but I was fortunate, I didn’t really grow up with the labels because there were so few of us. I played on the boys soccer team. I got to play on, on basketball, gymnastics, anything that required. So it didn’t matter what your height was, what your, your age, nationality. I mean if you could participate, jump in and play. And so I feel really fortunate. I did grow up, I was one of the first people in my crew to get a computer. I mean, it was like the size of my body, of course, my first computer. And so I think I thought, Oh, I want to be the first female president of IBM. I mean, I just thought, you know, technology was so exciting and, and I just, I grew up with raised with a can do attitude.

I wasn’t, you know, told Oh women do this and not. So I always was very driven about getting to work with a team and work hard. And so I, that was always what I thought. Of course from here to there is never a straight line. So a couple children later, I’ve always taught fitness classes and then missing products that were versatile had led me to be launching this particular company. And then getting to work with an amazing team. It definitely goes with that. If you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life. So I definitely feel very fortunate to have amazing team I get to work with and the amazing customers as well.

Stasi

That’s awesome. Yeah. No, I think I like what you said too about having that can do attitude of this is what we can do this. And I think that that’s something that talking with a lot of women, especially during menopause, when things are changing, things are different. And when that question comes up of I’m in either I’m in a different body or I’m in the same body feeling different. Can I do the things that I used to be able to do? And I would say that’s what we, a lot of conversations on. Yes, you can and it may look differently, but how is that going to, what is it going to look like now? Because you still can do those things. So I appreciate you emphasizing that can do piece. I think more women need to hear that because we can do things.

And we need that support to do that. Exactly. Excellent. Well, with my next question for both of you, it kind of along those same lines, is why is it important to support other women? And maybe generally. And then more specifically during this time around COVID 19. It was interesting when I reached out, I think I got in contact with Syd Sydney on your team, Jennifer. And she said, you know, it’s interesting. I reached out saying, how can we support you? What can we do? And she came back and said, we’re doing the same thing. We actually have some other things in the works around this with some other women run companies. So obviously that, that train of thought came up. Why, why do you think this is important right now?

Jennifer

Oh, I mean, one of my favorite messages now more than ever important is asking for help doesn’t mean you’re giving up. It means you’re not willing to give up. And I think that’s so powerful. And I think, you know, you look at people, you don’t always know what’s going on with them. And so I really encourage us to be really clear with what we need help with, how we can help, women love to help. And I mean that’s what has us get up and do what we do every day at Handful is supporting women. And the stories we get from people, I mean just Jill talking off camera beforehand, your running group wore Handful. And if a friend was getting married and, and that’s what we do. We come together, we celebrate. And I just, there’s an analogy when you run, if you run a mountain, you’re, you’re not supposed to look at the top because you just want to lay down and take a nap and it just doesn’t seem possible.

So you give yourself a little mile markers, you go, Oh, there’s, there’s that tree and Oh, there’s that sign. I’m going to just, that’s, you know, it’s the journey and one step at a time. And definitely having that support is priceless. There’s statistics that having just one friend, how important friendships and support is better for your health than quitting smoking. Of course, that is also, but like exponentially, it makes a world of difference. And so that is really what, what we’re all about is, is providing support for women. We receive it. Cary, our Director of Survivor Relationships has this amazing motto of you make it through the fire and you reach back through to pull someone else through. And so sometimes when I go outside of the fire, you know, looking for a hand and other times we’re back pulling through. So you know, that’s, that’s just why we get up and do what we do every day.

Jill

Yeah. I love the Director of Survivor Relations. I just think that’s really it says, it says it all in her title. You know, just to add on to your points around women supporting women, especially right now in these moments. You know, we often say women are on the front lines in many ways, so they’re essential workers. That term has become a new, you know, kind of a new term right now with women in healthcare with, with workers on the front lines, anywhere, men or women. And, but in particular what we’re watching right now is obviously women going through the menopausal transition. They, you know, hormonal changes creates mood changes and anxiety and stress in and of itself. It creates challenges sleeping in and of itself. It creates changes in metabolism and eating habits in and of itself.

You pile on COVID 19, and the stress and all the things, the uncertainty that’s related to right now, it just compounds all those things. So oftentimes when you look at, you know, the resilience of a woman that is headed into menopause and hand or has, you know, just started to experience some of those symptoms and is really figuring out how to manage them so that she can kind of take control of them and preserve her quality of life. The preparation women have done for menopause in many ways kind of almost has prepared them for quarantine or for this moment I think of extreme uncertainty because those things are just amplified. So I think in any case women who are managing their menopausal symptoms the more that we can support them and also help them through this moment because we’ve got a lot of those tools. Those programs though, you know, women who work with Stasi as our Director of Health Coaching with our HealthFix membership. We’re working with women on these sorts of things every single day.

And the more that we can, you know, double down and do that with more women during this time who might be suffering from those aspects of what, you know, uncertainty and this pandemic has brought the better. You know, one additional thing that we’ve done to support women during this pandemic was to expand our services. So our physicians are all OB GYN and they have obviously incredible experience in menopause and gynecology. But many of them have primary care experience as well. So we’ve expanded our telehealth services to also address primary care concerns.

Cause we’ve had women who come to us wondering if I’m having a hot flash or is it a fever and should I be concerned. And so there’s again, a heightened sense of, you know, concern and questions and anxiety right now. And the more that we can be here to support women through that transition and to partner with companies like Handful to have collective good in our work together. That’s all goodness. And that’s, that’s what we love to do. It’s what makes what we do even more meaningful.

Stasi

Yeah. Excellent. Yeah. No, I think both, you know, both of you mentioned just really the importance of coming together and recognizing that asking for help is a strength. To your point, Jennifer of there could, there’s messaging in cultures you know, our culture sometimes that that becomes, that’s a weakness. When in fact it really is a strength to capitalize on, on leaning in on each other.

And like you said Jennifer, the reaching through the flame when you’ve gone through the flame reaching through to help someone else come through. And that’s similar in menopause, you know, whether it’s someone that’s trend is gone through the process of menopause and has insight to provide and can support other women or as we are learning from on the coaching side and our telemedicine side. Let us give you the resources to help you be successful. And there’s no shame in asking for that help. We’re here to support you and all coming together to do that. I always think I have this vision of that. Like if we all hold hands in this world, it’s just going to be a much better place. And so especially on, you know, when there are things that women have in common, having that, that support is really important.

So that’s excellent. Well, with you know, some of the things that we have done too now working together we’ve been able to you know, with Handful we have a giveaway coming up that brings on other companies. Handful has generously offered that if you use the code GENNEV, you can get 20% off of their products. What about these companies coming together and women women run, women supporting companies coming together. How do you see that supporting the industry as a whole and making a statement? You know, we usually, we see so much competition and territorial and people are in silos and we’re breaking down those silos. So I’d love to get your vision on those, on that concept.

Jennifer

Yeah. Okay if I jump in here? I actually just got off a call right before this with this amazing group. They call them Movers and Makers through Title Nine, which I don’t know if you’re familiar with that amazing company, but Title IX was a legal bill that was my parents were fighting for me. I remember the picketing to give with a girls equal gym space. And so when I grew up being from such a small town, our basketball season was a totally different season because the men’s were a certain season and we didn’t have enough gym space. So we, we played in a different season. So my best friend was this amazing basketball player and scouts could not scout her because she played during a totally different season. And so Title IX of course has changed that. And if there is a voice team, you have to have a girls team at the same time and equal space.

So this amazing company Title Nine led by this awesome CEO, founder Missy, she 30 years ago, one of the original gangsters, I say just, you know, women supporting women and being active and they have our group, they have a group of us together right now. And oftentimes our brands would compete as you’ve mentioned. And yet we’re coming together. How can we, I mean I definitely together we’re stronger, you know, the acronym TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More. I definitely agree with that. And I think there’s a different place for all of us. And I oftentimes I’m on network panels and they say what’s it like to be a woman in business. I, I pretty much everyone I work with are women. You know, our customers are women. We’re women you know, it’s obviously about supporting women. So there’s other genders and pronouns that support women as well, but predominantly, and I do really we work with women around support and so that’s what we work with.

And so even around the whole COVID as we were mentioning, and you were all were talking about working with physicians. I mean we have physicians that wear our product, I mean life’s a sport that profession, certainly a sport about being scrubbed up and one of the nurse, you know, bra strap would fall down and the, the surgeon’s like, why aren’t you wearing Handful? And so, so it’s great to give a code for people to be introduced to, to our product. And then also for the first responders this month because that was a huge thing. You know, the first week this happened, I felt like I got whiplash. I think it was a metaphor for all of us. You know, we’re just driving down the road, we slam on the breaks, we get completely rear-ended. And so we’re all kind of not sure what to do.

And then all of a sudden I was just overwhelmed with, you know, heaven forbid a company goes under, I mean, we’ve got to go under clawing for support. We’ve got to be supporting people to the very end. And so how can we help these first responders? And so we looked at what some of the other amazing women companies were doing. This other awesome women company email. They were giving a code for their bras and then they shared how the program they use. And then we piggyback. So now we’re giving  40% off for first responders so you can get on our website and we’re and then like breast cancer survivors, we give 30% off year round. I mean, we’re just all about people that are you know, dealing with extra challenges. We just know that that high five helps people keep going when they need it the most. And so a hundred percent banding together. And the big topic on our last call that I just haven’t stopped thinking I’m going to keep thinking is, you know, what do we all stand for and how can we come together to support that in a bigger way? And how can we be more inclusive and hold hands with more people of different ages, shapes, sizes, nationalities. So that’s definitely a goal of ours and we appreciate you bringing us all together to just keep that conversation going.

Stasi

Yeah, yeah. A great thing to do. In terms of just being able to, like you said, different companies coming together, we all have a role and we can highlight each other’s strengths and pick each other up. Sorry, Jill, what were you gonna say?

Jill

Yeah, no, I, you know, and I think one thing I love about even the, the fun, the great kind of partnership and promotion we’re doing together, Jennifer this week or in this period of time around, you know, just offering discounts and support to women across our different solutions and products. We typically tend to think about partnering, you know, like for us with brands focused on the menopause space or whatever. And I think stepping back to say, what do women in general need right now? And how can we support them better?

I think from a partnership perspective, you always are able to serve more. Like, why not do the work for the consumer to see other supportive products and/ or services that she’s going to need versus her having to go out and quote unquote shop for it or do her own research. When we come together because we have like-minded missions and we have different aspects of what we do, whether it overlaps or even if it doesn’t in our products and our services, I think it’s just so, so women are have enough to do already. So the more that we can again come together to give her a curated set of mission driven women. So, you know, you feel good about doing business with them in the first place as a consumer. But second of all, she didn’t have to go out and research all that or she’s also feeling supported in whatever benefits or discounts you’re providing her.

I just, I that’s just the right way to do things. I think as well, you know, coming from the corporate space where in an era where women really, we all had to, there weren’t as many of us or you know, it wasn’t the kind of climate where women lifted each other up because the way performance reviews were done or whatever. That’s an era that’s starting to evolve and change. I think, especially as entrepreneurs, you know what it’s like to be alone and to build your business alone and you don’t wish that on anybody. And so you start to really bind together because I kind of get what some of the struggles or some of the things you had to go through Jennifer, to start your business and to get it to where it is backed by a mission that you have. And it’s just such a community is so important no matter what change you’re going through. And as we even build businesses, as business owners, I think the coming together, while it’s good for the consumer it’s really good for us too because it gives us just a sounding board and like-minded group of people that get us that we can share the challenges with as with as well as the successes. And if we all win together, that’s a really amazing feeling too.

Jennifer

Yes. I, I heard a thing once that something which all practice my whole life is to be the most enlightened you wish upon others what you wish upon yourself. And it’s so amazing to get to celebrate the wins and sometimes it’s not you getting the win, but how great to to reach out and celebrate each other. And I think if we can take each other’s wins upon us as our own win and you know, there is really devastating compare-and-despair that’s out there, especially, you know, on the, in the social media world. And you know, just wish it was more of a high five celebrating each other rather than like, Oh man, I know she did that and how come not me? It’s like, well, high five she did that even though I haven’t done that, I might not ever do that. So I really try to come from that. I feel like I can come from that place of celebrating others as if it were my own win, I’m just better for all of us. So it’s, it’s great to get partners with likeminded support.

Stasi

Yeah. And I think that’s something too that can be hard for women in menopause when I’m working with them is that they are compare, they’re either comparing to their self from before or other women and that that experience is unique. So how can we help focus on, you know, changing that conversation to celebrating the wins of other people and celebrating our wins. We have wins too. Even if they’re not, they don’t look exactly like someone else. How can we celebrate our own wins? And then together collectively, that positive energy, that forward mode, that forward movement. Is is good for everyone as a whole.

Jill

Yeah. It’s just like what you see on the news right now when they wheel a COVID patient who was really ill out of the intensive care unit and everyone comes around and celebrates them, they’re all feeling obviously great for that patient. But they’re also celebrating the work they had to do together to, to keep them healthy and get them back to health. I just think that that is just, you know, it’s, it’s unfortunate that it takes moments of challenge and sadness and difficulty to bring out the best of human beings in our collective nature to want to be together, celebrate each other, you know, but you see so many examples of it right now, which is super motivating. So if there’s a silver lining that’s, that’s one, that’s a big one right now.

Jennifer

Yeah. Well, and you mentioned earlier though, it’s kind of like your friend getting married. I mean, you were celebrating, you know, so I do think it is an important reminder, especially as entrepreneurs like any, anyone, you know, we always feel like the inbox is exploding. And there’s so much to do, but it’s so important to stop and celebrate what you have accomplished. And, and yeah, I think bringing people together to do that is exponentially powerful. And I just love that we’re, we’re talking about menopause. I love that we live in a day and age where we can, we talk about things. I’m the youngest of four, so I’m always saying like, now when did you guys go through it and when did Mom go through it? And just trying to give myself an idea. And I just, I feel so grateful that we live in an era where we can talk about those things because I do think to all your point, the support and the resource, I need to just have to figure all this out in private is, yeah, no, we, we’ve all got too many other bigger, better things to deal with that if people like your company and our company can hand them resources so that they

Working out has gotten trickier lately, and not just because we’re all trying to exercise at home with less space and equipment than we’re used to.

As our bodies change over time, it is normal for our exercise routine to need adjustment as well. In this podcast, Gennev Director of Health Coaching Stasi Kasianchuk talks with Robin Jones, owner of the barre3 studio in Corvallis, Oregon, about how to move safely and effectively for all-round better health.

Watch the video of this conversation on YouTube.

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TRANSCRIPT

Stasi Kasianchuk

I’m really excited today to have Robin Jones here from barre3 Corvallis. I am Stasi Kasianchuk, I’m a registered dietitian nutritionist, exercise physiologist, and the Director of Gennev’s Health Coaching. And this topic today, the Workout for Michelle Obama’s Generation is so timely with the launching of her movie, Becoming. Robin, you’re going to hear her story about how this all connects and it really does come back to how women of Michelle’s Obama’s generation of this perimenopause, post-menopause phase can find movement to support their body. So Robin, great to have you here. Robin is a friend of mine and the owner of the barre3 studio that I am a part of, so really excited and really appreciate your time. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about yourself, tell us about you for our audience?

Robin Jones

Yes. Hi, Stasi and thank you so much for inviting me to chat with you today. It’s really quite an honor to get to share what we do at barre3 and kind of how I got there. My name is Robin and I am the studio owner of barre3 Corvallis here in Oregon. And I came to be here serendipitously, frankly because I was looking to scratch my own itch. I was born in San Diego and my husband was born and raised in Corvallis and at the time that I found barre as a practice, we were growing two small businesses. And I was really looking for a way to break up my day and move my body in a way that felt good. And I discovered barre because all these studios opened in San Diego, kind of one after the other and I fell in love with a space that had an amazing community.

And that is something that really resonated with me. And one of the things that no one tells you really about business ownership is that it can get really lonely. And so you’re, you’re working here on your laptop all day long and, and you’re trying to plan all these things and sometimes you just need a break and meet people and talk to people. And for me, scheduling my barre class mid day was exactly that. So I would go take a class and I would get to meet like minded people and move with them. And so quickly my practice became something so much more than exercise. And when we ended up moving to Corvallis in 2012 I really felt the need to bring this practice to this community because if I needed something like that I felt like somebody else out there probably needed it too. So after a long while trying to figure out how to make it happen, in addition to having two other small growing businesses we worked it out and opened in 2014. So I’m really excited to be here and really the community piece of barre3 has a lot to do with why I love it so much. So.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah, no, I appreciate that Robin and giving that background and I will attest to the fact that you have an amazing community there. Definitely part of the reason that I am part of your barre3 studio. The workouts are obviously great and we’ll talk a little bit more about that. But having that community and that support and if anything now more than ever, that community is so important. So so thank you for six years ago creating something that’s so supportive today during a pandemic still. So I appreciate that. So we’ll I definitely want to hear more about your story and what you’ve learned in the six years of being part of barre3. But I wanted to go into the title of our talk today because when I first reached out to you and told you about Gennev and and asked you to be a part of one of our webinars, you shared this amazing story of getting to actually see Michelle Obama as a part of Oprah’s tour. And I’d love for you to talk about this connection and why we’re talking about barre3 as a workout that Michelle Obama’s generation could do.

Robin Jones

Yes. Oh my gosh. So I had the privilege of going to see Michelle Obama when she was doing her Becoming tour here in Portland. And then again had the privilege to see her in early this year, February or so in Brooklyn when she was touring with Oprah’s 2020 Vision tour. And she’s just inspiring to me on a lot of different capacities. But particularly what stood out for me when I saw her this year was when Oprah asked her about what she appreciated most about her body. And obviously with like the work we do at barre3, you know, her answers was like what really resonated with me and what she focused on was just about loving her body because it was hers and hers alone. And that she really tries hard not to judge it and she really tries to honor it and to realize that it’s changing.

Right. And I love, she had said that our bodies are living things and so we’re, we’re not machines and that we need to fuel it and we need to feed it and we need to take care of it and it needs sunshine and all these wonderful things because if we don’t take care of it, then our body starts to fail us as we age. And it seems so simple, but when she puts it in those terms, it’s like, it’s like, yeah, that’s exactly right. Like our bodies are changing as we age, as we grow older, as we develop. And, and my body today at 40 is not the same as the body that I had at 20 and I think that so often a lot of women try to create this sort of future unattainable goal of like, I want my body to be like it was when it was 20.

And I love what Michelle Obama had said at the time because she likened it to, to being 20 years old and trying to fit into your overalls when you were 10. Right? Like, it’s, it’s, it seems like, obviously like, no, that’s like unrealistic. Like why would you ever want to do that? And, and she said so often women have that mindset. Like, I want my body to be what it was like pre-baby. I want my body to be what it was like, you know, when I was in my early twenties. And what I love about what she said is that what really she focuses on as far as wellness is just appreciating and loving her body as it is in this present moment. And she talked about specifically like her body at 56 is so different than her body at 36. And so why should I try to move it in the way that I moved it when I was in my thirties because now I’m in my fifties and what it needs today is just so different and, and I felt like that was such a healthy mindset. And I feel like that’s certainly, I, myself included, have battled those thoughts of like, Oh gosh, you look at your pictures from before and you’re like, why? Oh man, I wish I could look like that again. And then you realize, well, like why, I mean my body has changed so much. It’s experienced so much. So like why not just honor your body as it is today? So I really loved that piece of it.

Stasi Kasianchuk

No, that’s so important. I think, you know, working with women in peri and post-menopause, it’s a hard time. Not only is your body changing, but because of the hormonal changes that can also change how you’re feeling day to day, moment to moment. And that, those are some of the conversations I have with my clients is really about, okay, what, what having them understand what is happening. And it really does tie into that dynamic that dynamic process we go through as humans and especially as women. And especially if, if you have had children, like you’ve experienced some of these, these dramatic changes of your body and menopause is another one of those and you bring up such a great point and that you movement is still important. Movement can still have so many benefits from health related benefits to mental health, to just being able to provide that balance and support, but it may not look the same and that’s okay. And I think giving people permission to explore something new and different can be scary because it’s new and different, but it can also be exciting. And when they find what works can really be helpful.

Robin Jones

Oh, completely. And I think that’s the other piece of what Michelle had said is she’s like, I have to find my own balance and I have to walk my own path. Right? And I have to, to know what that looks like for me in my present moment. Right? So I may have ran marathons when I was younger, but that’s just not what my body needs right now. And that’s just not what I need to do with it right now. And I think that’s like the struggle, right? Because we can also overdo it. We can also like diet and exercise really hard and look a certain way or, or, or weigh a certain amount and then, but at the end of the day, our bodies are like broken inside because it’s not what we need. Right. And I think that’s so much of what I love about barre3 is that it really is adaptable to different bodies, changing bodies.

And that every day the practice is different. It feels different and it, and it gives us space to be present in our bodies and to realize this is what I need today and, or this is not what I need today. And then to modify and adapt to what, what we, what we need today.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah, it has really a great balance of a lot of different things. For our audience members that may not know about barre3, can you give us a breakdown of what does it entail and what is the approach so that it really is for every body that wants to try it?

Robin Jones

Yeah, no, definitely. So barre3 is a full body balanced workout combining strength conditioning, cardio, and mindfulness. And again, like what I really love about barre3, it’s low impact movement. And so it allows us to age gracefully without pain, which is really important as our bodies change our movement really, it embraces listening to your body, right?

So we offer lots of ways to adapt, to modify. You can take it up a notch, you can take it back a notch. It depending on what you need and, and again, like every day is different. But also it’s like a movement that focuses really on like the feeling and movement, creating joy and like what that feels like in your bones and your muscles. And it isn’t about you need to do it this specific way and it’s regimented. And if you don’t do it right, then you feel like you’ve failed in some capacity. It really isn’t about that. And so, so I love that because it releases us from this pressure of like that future unattainable goal, right? Like, so if I can hold a plank for five minutes, then, Oh yeah. I finally like have achieved this like this, like some pinnacle of success.

Like barre3 isn’t about that. It really is about tuning inward and listening to what your body needs. And Hey, like if you’re going to hold that plank for a minute, then awesome, good job. Feel that success and feel what that feels like to feel strong in your body, but if not, and you need to modify, you need to come down to your forearms or something, other position that feels kinder where you can also feel that same level of success good for you. Right. So I love that those are the different elements of barre3 that I’m really proud of. And then the last bit of it it was really that mindfulness practice, right? So instead of just doing as the instructor does, it really is like listening to what you need and, and being really truly present and like the muscles you’re working and, and what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. So really being able to educate our clients on how this benefits their body for functional movement every day I think is a big part of what we do.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah, such a holistic approach and I’ll, and I love the mindfulness piece when that was added a few years ago I’ll be the first to admit that I am not going to do mindfulness practice even though I know the benefits of it unless someone’s telling me I have to do it. So incorporating it into a class is genius and I look forward to that five minutes at the end where I have permission to focus on my breath to slow down and to breathe.

Robin Jones

A hundred percent. And what I feel like the value is there as a, we still have an opportunity to educate right on that piece of like why mindfulness is important and how it can serve our body physically. Like it isn’t just this like if they’re y’all woo, like take a moment to clear your mind. Like it isn’t really that that there are actual physical benefits to focusing on breath and that’s an educational moment right in our class to, to give clients that space to do it too. But also to explain like the benefits of lowering anxiety and stress and lowering your blood pressure and allowing your like diaphragm to expand and contract and create like elasticity there. Right. Versus like, so much of us are used to kind of sucking it in, you know, like holding our, our belly in and not allowing it to like be mobile because like, Oh, we got to like fit in these jeans and we’ve got to, you know, look a certain way and, and we’ve lost that ability to like mobilize our diaphragm. So those like very physical reasons to practice mindfulness, I think is definitely an educational bit for us to continue to, to share.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah. No, it’s such a great way to incorporate it in a way that’s tangible too. Sometimes mindfulness, automatically people jump to, Oh, I have to do an hour of meditation. I’m going to get bored. My mind’s going to wander. I can’t do it, then I feel defeated. So it’s no, it’s five minutes of what you can do. And even those five minutes, you know, and can provide benefits, especially when you start to do them over time. And especially for women with menopause, I mean that the mindfulness practice can help with hot flashes. The exercise can help with hot flashes, it can help to support sleep, everything’s all connected and it can be a great simple way. It’s economical. You don’t have to pay anything for it. And you’re just focusing on your breath. So I think that that is a really great great piece to add to that.

Robin Jones

It’s so simple, right? But it’s like, it’s so simple, but we, we often don’t do it. And I love it, the thing about breath work, it’s like, it’s like the one function in our body that happens both consciously and unconsciously. Right? Like we breathe when we’re alive. We don’t have to, we do it even if we’re not thinking about it. Right. Also have the power to control it, to like harness that and like manipulate it in a way to better serve us. It’s like amazing.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah, no, it’s definitely and it’s something, it’s very easy to take for granted that, you know, we’re just going to breathe on our own, but by providing that additional support we can make, are we going to enhance our body’s efficiency of every breath by retraining it a little bit. Can you also share a, one of the other things that I think barre3 is really helpful for, especially for women that are either starting an exercise program or restarting and with menopause there can be more joint pain. The decreasing estrogen levels can result in more inflammation. Sometimes that appears in joints for some women and that can make them fearful of starting exercise. Can you also talk about the structure of how barre3 has been put together with professionals? It’s not just, you know, Oh, here’s the workout for today. This, this sounds good, that there’s methods, there’s training. And there’s a, there’s a method to the madness in terms of how the workouts are built.

Robin Jones

For sure a hundred percent. And that’s one of the things I’m most proud of, to be part of a franchise who has so much of a commitment and investment in research and development on the body, right? So barre3 is has always been low impact to be accessible. And we focus a lot on isometric holds, which is where the body, the muscles are taxed at its maximum and you’re, all you’re doing is simply holding, right? So you’re sitting in a chair or you’re in power leg or you’re in a horse pose, a wide turnout position, and you’re just, it’s like a moment of stillness, right? Your body is working really, really hard. And then we layer in this small range of movement. So it’s like a one inch range of movement, which when people hear barre, they’re like, Oh, it’s those tiny little things.

You know that, that, that you feel so much of a burn but you don’t even, it doesn’t look like you’re doing very much. And that is like an isometric hold with a little bit of release really is what it is. So your muscles are working really hard, but you’re giving it a little bit of a break every time you move. And then on top of that, we layer in dynamic movement, right? So that ability to flush out the oxygen and blood back to the muscles that need it. So we layer in that kind of strategically, that three layer process all throughout class and we work the entire body. So it’s really efficient. So we heat the cardiovascular system, we open up our hips, we open up all the joints and then we move into these elements where we like work the leg muscles and then we work the back body muscles. And then we work the core, which is abdominals and glutes. And then go back to like breath work and then move our body in ways that you don’t normally move your body. Right? So like laterally. So important to move your body 360 so that when you do functional things at home like garden and you’re like turning and twisting and all these things that your muscles are there to support you in the ways where it can prevent injury.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Excellent. So many benefits there and, and that translation to, to everyday activity. You know, and barre3 if you’re someone that wants to train for a five K or some type of athletic event, barre3 can serve that. But its foundation is in those everyday movements so that you can enjoy life, that you can feel good doing life’s lifestyle activities and enjoy the workout too. Cause there’s certainly, again, coming back to that community and that connection that you have in that 60 minutes.

Robin Jones

Exactly, exactly. I mean one of my proudest things is that our oldest client today is eight, has been 81 was 81. Youngest is 14. Right. So to like have an offering of a practice where you can give someone who is [missing] a place where they can feel successful and moving their body equivalent to a 14 year old or we’ve even had Olympic athletes in our studio, it’s like to be able to offer something of that wide of a spectrum. I think it’s such a gift to be able to share because you know, everyone can feel successful in the practice, can feel challenged in their practice, but they’re doing it in ways that are very different looking. Right. It isn’t just like this one how to do it this way. So yeah. I love that so much about it.

Stasi Kasianchuk

That’s awesome. Yeah, no, I think it serves a wide range of people. Well, Robin with your six years of working here or start or opening the studio and getting it established. And you talked about your story in terms of why you started barre3, now as you look back and with what you have learned, did you imagine six years ago that this would be the journey that’s unfolded?

Robin Jones

Certainly not. No. Sure. It’s, it’s, it’s been such a wild ride in the best way possible. And what I’ve learned in the last six years has like absolutely nothing to do with like business or ability. I mean, and, and this is like one of those things, right? Where we, I do it and I’ll speak for my team: We all do it. We do because we love it. And so there’s a reason why we’re all motivated in that capacity. And I think for me, I’ve learned so much about the power of the collective spirit and in particularly right now in this moment where we’re engaging with our clients on a virtual level, right? We don’t get to interact with them like we normally do. There’s so much power in like the ability to help each other mentally and emotionally when we are doing things together, right and, and even scientifically, the power and the joy of movement and how moving together even virtually can stimulate joy.

Right? And so that has been such a big learning for me. I mean, obviously like I opened the studio because I wanted a place to work out. And then I got all these ancillary beautiful benefits out of being able to be the owner, right? I have this wonderful community and all these amazing friends. And but then going back to owning the studio for six years, I think I also learned that investing in people goes a much longer way than investing in things and widgets and whatnot. And that’s always been kind of my primary driver is my team. And when I say invest in people, I don’t mean money. I mean, I mean time, right? And really getting to know the people who you surround yourself with I think goes a long way as far as like even personal emotional benefit. And so that’s been really beautiful.

I’ve learned also that like everyone has like an inherent native genius and sometimes you just need somebody else to remind you or to tell you or to open your eyes to what that is. And so I’ve had the benefit of being able to do that for other people. And I’ve also had the benefit of being able to receive that and realizing for myself like some of what are those things are. And so that’s been really beautiful. So yeah, lots of things I learned from barre3 that I, I didn’t think that’s what I was going to get out of it. And I think too, just learning to accept, like, and be happy for my body for how it is instead of criticizing it for what it’s not. That was a big learning for me. As far as like fitness, right? Like I, I, I think early on when I first opened the studio a lot of self doubt, a lot of, well I’ve never done this before.

I’ve never taught fitness. I don’t know how to teach exercise and a lot of self doubt of I don’t, I don’t look like the typical fitness guru. Like I don’t have those abs. I don’t look that way. You know, there was a lot of self doubt there and I think there was a lot of self criticism of like, I don’t look the part so I certainly can’t be successful in the part. And that was a big learning for me over the last six years of like, you don’t need to look a part, like you have the ability to make an impact without looking a certain way. And, and, and then even though it’s still in everyday practice, that like self-criticism has gotten quieter. And so I think that’s that’s a been a beautiful gift for sure.

Stasi Kasianchuk

Yeah, that’s a, that’s great to hear that you’ve been challenged in that way and then have really overcome that. And it reminds me of, I still remember the moment of when I had gone to the the barre3 in the vineyard event in June, I think it was June of 2018, 2018 and you were leading an exercise class for like over a hundred people out in this vineyard which was an amazing setting. Hopefully we’ll get to do that again someday. But I remember specifically you meant, you telling us that we’re doing an exercise and again, these exercises that are small movements. No one be fooled “” if you have not tried them and you’re like, ah, no, I don’t do small movements, it’s too easy. Try to hold these small movements for extended period of time. They get really hard. But you brought up the fact that we can, we have the power to change the conversations we have with ourselves in our head.

And that just always stuck out with me. It was at a time where I was having particular challenges and it really hit me to say, no, I can, I can change this conversation. I have complete control over this. I may not know exactly what the outcome’s going to be, but the conversation here and now, I can work on changing that. And that’s always stuck with me and someone who does also appreciate challenging my body through movement. I like how that can translate into other areas of my life. And now working with women in menopause that it is a challenge. It’s really hard. When you really feel that you wake up the next day and your, your body is different and those feelings are real and having to challenge those conversations can be really difficult. Can you share some of what, how you challenge your conversations as over the last six years when those doubtful voices were louder than they are now?

Robin Jones

Hmm. It’s, it’s a practice. It is, it is hard and, and I every day I think I’m reminded that we still have a lot of work to do, right? Like I still feel like so many people, or I guess self-awareness is like one piece of it for me. It’s like when in those moments when I have those tendencies to be like, ah, that that was not the best of what I have to offer and I start to spiral into like self criticism. It just, I just create this like moment of self awareness of like, okay, I’m feeling that. Right? And I’m having that thought and then I have to like separate, right? Like my thought from like, okay, what’s reality? Right? So like, yeah, maybe that class wasn’t how I wanted it to be and I whatever, like it wasn’t perfect. And that’s okay.

And I think I just like, I allow myself to just become aware that I’m having these thoughts and it’s not that I like, it’s not an exercise really of like, okay Robin, stop thinking about that. Right? Like it really is just like, okay, how’s the thought? Like that’s fine and, but just know like that thought doesn’t define you. It doesn’t, it doesn’t define who you are. It was a passing thing. Like you, you didn’t do what you expected to do in that moment, but that moment is past, right? Like it’s over. That was a temporary thing, so like move on. I think to me that, but it’s taken a lot of work, like self discovery work for me to get to that point where I’m just like, okay, you can still have that thought. And then oftentimes I just reach out to girlfriends and be like, eh, like, like yesterday I had reached out to Brodick and Rachel, I’m just like, no, there’s just some days you’re just sick of the sound of your own voice.

Like I like taught last night and I’m just like, I am just sick of the sound of my own voice. And I, I had planned to say certain things and like for me, often if it doesn’t resonate, I won’t say it. But there’s just those moments, right? And so for me, I reached out to my friends and I’m like, Hey, this is how I was feeling. It was kind of feeling funky and you know, they, they’re just like a sounding board and they helped me realize again, like, okay, that’s fine that you feel that way, but the reality is probably it doesn’t translate that way. Or people do want to hear what you have to say and things like that. But so, so creating awareness I think was like the first part of like, I’m having these thoughts and not letting it control like my behavior.

And then also having good sounding boards, right? Like that community piece, those friends again who you can be really vulnerable and honest with and say when you have those moments and those thoughts how I’m kind of feeling kind of funky, is that real? Is that not real? Okay. And if they tell me it’s not real, I’m like, okay, I’m just going to like acknowledge that wasn’t real and then I’m going to move on. You know? So I think it’s okay to have those feelings of self doubt every so often. It just happens, I mean it’s natural, but then if you have a healthy community, healthy people around you who can be your sounding board and if you can just not beat yourself up so much about it. Right. I think that’s like, that’s the biggest, that’s the biggest thing. And then again, like what we practice, we get really good at.

So if I keep practicing that, Hey, I’m, I’m, I’m doing enough. Yeah, I’m doing fine, I’m okay. Right. Even the simplest things, like if I can keep just practicing that, then I think it like ends up being better. But it’s, it’s like we still have a lot of work to do, right? To help other people have those realizations and to help other people feel really comfortable that there isn’t this future unattainable goal and that where you are right now is okay and if you’re feeling a certain way today, it’s okay and it’s a temporary passing moment.

Stasi Kasianchuk

I love that. Those are all such great reminders. And I think, you know, the, one of the things we’re doing here at Gennev is we want to change the conversation around menopause. That it shouldn’t be this dreaded, shameful time of a woman’s life. We’re all going to go through it. Every woman does, every woman has. And that piece I think you talked about about building the community is also really supportive for women too. Even though every woman’s menopausal experience can be unique, knowing that other women are going through this or will, and having the courage perhaps to be a little vulnerable. And like you shared yesterday with, you know, your community of sharing, this is how I’m feeling right now. And then have that conversation of, well, is this, is this real and in menopause you really are probably feeling that right now. But it can pass and menopause itself is not forever. So there is that time through it, but, the power of talking about it, I think that’s what I seen so much with women is let’s just talk about what’s going on. It may not go away, but just talking about it turns down the volume. It gets it out of the head.

Robin Jones

A hundred percent and I think that that shared experience, right? It requires us to be vulnerable to have these shared experiences. But to your point, like it helps to, helps you realize that Hey, this is normal in some capacity or other people feel that so it’s okay. And that’s the biggest thing, right? We fight like this idea that we’re the only ones feeling this way. It’s like this and this notion of like lonely, like I am the only one going through this particular thing. And with menopause I can imagine, right? It’s like I’m the only one feeling these things in my body. I’m the only one experiencing these changes in my body when the reality is, it’s like, no, like a lot of a lot of women who are going through menopause probably have felt the same way, but like to your point, we don’t talk about it enough, right? Like we don’t share that enough. And so people feel like they’re alone in that experience.

Stasi Kasianchuk

And the, the loneliness ends up being more detrimental than sometimes the symptoms depending on that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and an

Midlife and (peri)menopause can shake our confidence: belly fat in our body, the fear of bursting into tears or rage, unpredictable cycles, and the list goes on.

It really doesn’t have to be that way.

Amy Schmidt of Fearlessly Facing Fifty says we all have a kernel of confidence within us, and if we can tap into it and match it with our new creativity, power, independence, and hard-earned experience, we are genuinely a force to be reckoned with.

Listen to her conversation with Gennev CEO Jill Angelo for information and inspiration.

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Have you experienced a resurgence of confidence and creativity, or are you still waiting for that fire to ignite? We’d love to hear how you’re taking advantage of this very productive time of life or what you need to get going. Join the conversation on Gennev’s community forums.

TRANSCRIPT:

Jill Angelo

We are live welcome to the generic weekly webinars series. I love this time because it’s when we get to get out of our own homes, if you will, and businesses to talk about what other people are doing in, you know, women’s health and in menopause and in the second half of life for women. And today I’m, I’m just really honored to have Amy Schmidt of Fearlessly Facing Fifty with us. So welcome Amy.

Amy Schmidt

Oh, thanks so much Jill. I know it’s a mouthful, isn’t it? I had to run through that several times when I, when I started, when it got the name Fearlessly Facing Fifty. That’s a lot of F’s.

Jill Angelo

My first question and even before you introduce yourself, Where did Fearlessly Facing Fifty come from?

Amy Schmidt

Well, you know what? It came because all of this really happened about six or seven months before I turned 50. So the fearless part was a word that I love because I look as fear at fearless, as being brave and so fearlessly facing being brave, facing 50. Because you know, it’s, it’s a big number. It’s, you know, it’s, it’s out there. I mean, I’m 50 and I can remember my mom turning 50 and sitting there and thinking, looking at her when I was about 12 and thinking that’s an old mom, you know, she’s getting ready for a birthday party and here I am 50. So I think the Fearlessly Facing Fifty part for me is really my story. I just decided that I had been, as you’ll probably hear along this interview on a journey like most women and just have decided I’m going all in. It’s, you know, if not now, when, why not be fearless?

Jill Angelo

That’s great. Well, let’s back up then as we, you marched up to 50, like tell us introduce yourself first of all and just explain what you do.

Amy Schmidt

Yeah. Okay, great question. You know what? I think I’m like many women. We kind of mastered the art of reinvention. I think that’s really what we do. So over the course of the last 27 years, I’ve been married and married my college sweetheart. I have raised three children. My, our youngest is 16, so we still have one in the house, but two are basically grown and flown. One is a young adult working in New York city. The other one is a sophomore in college. You know, when I look back and I think 27 years ago where I was, I was in news broadcasting and journalism. That was my passion, writing, storytelling, broadcasting, and then has the trajectory of my husband’s career started to take off. And I think this is synonymous with a lot of women that were born in the late sixties, early seventies.

A lot of us kind of said, okay, we made the choice too, I stayed home and started following this trajectory of, of Tim’s career. So in 1997, I stepped away from after broadcasting going into corporate America and had my daughter. And from there, you know, art of reinvention, you just pick up, we moved a lot of times because Tim’s trajectory was about every two to three years we were moving. So 11 moves, one abroad for six years, three kids later involved in everything under the sun. Like a lot of women, you know, they immersed themselves in their community. I continued to write I sat on boards, I did all of the stuff that I was doing and enjoying it, but then all of a sudden we moved back to the United States. I had lost my parents gone through some health issues myself and said, you know what, I gotta start doing some stuff for me. And so it was a little bit of a pivot and I just decided it’s my time and I have a voice and I’m very passionate about, as you’ll hear about women and empowering and encouraging women just to put the fear aside and just to forge ahead. So that’s kind of, you know, from broadcasting to writing to community involvement to mom, daughter, wife, all of those things, you know, that’s pretty much my story.

Jill Angelo

It’s a lot of, a lot of roles to fill and and a lot of women are doing the same thing, you know, they’re, they’re doing it all. One thing I wanted to ask you when you, when you knew it was time to start doing something for you, was it a moment? Did it, was it over time and you were just like in this uncomfortable place and all of a sudden you’re like, I got to do something for me or talk us through what that felt like and how did you know?

Amy Schmidt

Ah, that’s a great question. You know, I think it’s through this, this part of life for women. You know, you look at this journey and all of a sudden you get to this point and you’re a wife and a mother and a daughter and a sister. But where did Amy go? And I think it really hit me one time when my husband was getting ready for work and the kids, I’m getting ready to get him off to school and he yells to me and he says, Hey Amy, Hey mom, would you grab the dry cleaning? You know, on the way home, no problem. Of course I’ll drive. Yeah, we’ll get the dry cleaning, but I’m not your mom. I’m Amy. And you have those moments. And you kind of just continue to forge ahead and think. But it was a little bit of a stop me in my tracks moment because I thought, where did Amy go?

You know, you lose your identity. So for me I had lost my parents when we lived in Germany, which was a big part of it is a big part of my story and it’s in my book lost both of them and I wasn’t able to make it back in time to see either of them, which is, is really at this age when we’re dealing with aging parents and caregiving and things like that. And I was a country away. I was in Germany. That was a challenge for me when we got back to the U S I had some issues with just anxiety, which was a lot menopause based, perimenopause based, all of those things kind of culminating. But yet I was having all of these conversations with my friends and we’re all talking about the same things, hot flashes sleepless nights, anxiety, all these things. And I’m thinking, you know what, there needs to be a voice out there advocating and opening the dialogue for women. That was my moment when I said I’m going to do this. I’m passionate about it. My network is broad. I have the wonderful friends and community all over the country and world. So why not start sharing this and inspire each other to start talking about things that otherwise we kind of just push to the side.

Jill Angelo

You know, I think that’s so inspiring because to think that, okay, what I’m experiencing might be something that other women are experiencing. It’s our native. We naturally think we’re the only one or we’re going crazy or what’s wrong with me. And instead you took that and flipped it and you said, I hate, I bet there’s other women that are going through this. Talk us through a little bit how I think that’s brave and bold and thank you. You know, cause you’re, you’re touching women. You like, you’re reaching them. Talk a little bit about. The notion of fear because it’s in, it’s in your, your title of Fearlessly Facing Fifty. Talk A little bit about that because I think fear is something we don’t, we don’t want to talk about it. It makes us appear vulnerable.

Amy Schmidt

Exactly. And I think we do all have fears. I mean, we do, we all have them. And at this age we start fearing things about our health. We start fearing things about our parents falling or not taking medicine or fearing about relationships that are changing and should we have done something different. So fear is a part of everything. And I think that what we need to do as women and what I really love is that we’ve all got this confidence that’s just kind of hidden under these layers because we’ve been doing so many things and so many experiences and we just keep it all going. That’s just what women do. We mastered the art of reinvention and multitasking. And so, you know, you just have to overcome your fear by honoring your confidence and finding that again, finding that voice and realizing that this beautiful piece of art that you’ve created, this masterpiece of all of these things along your journey all fit together and you have an incredible story to share.

And I think that’s where women get stopped because they think, Oh, I wish I looked like I did 20 years ago. Wow, I wish I still had that. You know, that heart of flutter with my husband that I don’t have as much anymore because everything’s changed. Or I wish I could still ski the black diamonds without wearing that. I’m gonna need a knee replacement or something because you know, that’s where we are. We have those fears, but we can’t allow them to stop us. We just have to continue to make a plan to forge ahead. And I think women just need to switch that lens a little bit instead of looking back with that Norman Rockwell-ish, you know, memories of things in the past and the kids with the sweaters that matched and everything else is to shift that to living in looking forward and all that you can accomplish and do, whether it’s enrolling back in school, if you haven’t finished.

I’ve met some incredible women that have just taken on these journeys, these new leaps of faith and said, you know what, just going to do it. Volunteer for an organization, write a book, you know, start a podcast. All of those things you can do. So that’s kind of where, where it all comes from. So it’s everybody’s fearful of things and we are, we have a tendency to do that to ourselves. You know, we, we get so fearful of not having it perfect or waiting for everything to be perfect, that know we just can’t do that. We just can’t wait. We just got to jump in. And like my book is called Cannonball  and I’m a big believer in just cannon balling off and making this huge splash. That’s what we have to do.

Jill Angelo

Well let’s, let’s talk about that because you started when you, when you decided, Hey, I’m going to bring my story to life. I’m going to start reaching other women and building this community of, of women like me. You started with a podcast and, and your, your community and your following has grown. And so there’s a hunger for the message that you’re bringing and it’s, it’s culminated very soon in, in your first book that you’re publishing. And so I want to talk about Cannonball. I love the title, but you know, it’s my favorite swimming move. But you know what, talk about where you started and why podcasting. Cause you obviously leaned into your publishing or your media background or your news caster background.

Amy Schmidt

It did. And I do look at that as all little pieces of the puzzle. For me, it’s all allowed me to have more confidence in doing this. So, you know, six months before I turned 50, I said, you know what, I’m having these conversations. Like I said with women, we’re all sharing this common thread. Just now need to start talking about this stuff. We need to start talking about menopause. I never talked about it with my mom. You know, we never had those conversations. And so I put in a local Facebook community group. I said, you know what? Anybody know how to start a podcast because I really had no idea. Was it a button on your computer? You know, who knows? I wasn’t even really an avid podcast listener at that point. And this wasn’t that long ago. And podcasts have been around forever.

And so a really nice young guy, I could be, his mom came over and sat down with me in my office and said, okay, Mrs. Schmidt, tell me what you want to do. And I said, well, first of all, you can call me Amy and next, you know what? I want you to show me what I need to get, but I want to do it. I want to be this, this, embrace, this lifetime learning, which I think we need to do as women. I want to do it soup to nuts, show me what to do. So we added things to my Amazon cart. I became an Amazon affiliate. He set me up to do that too. I had no idea. And you know, many trips to Google, to the genius, I mean to the genius bar at Apple and you know, they’d be like, Hey Amy, what are you working on now putting together this podcast?

And so for me, the interview part of the podcast is very easy because that’s just part of kind of my wiring. I think I’m a conversationalist by nature, so that’s very easy. But you know, the technical part of it, editing and producing and all of that, it’s all self taught. I mean, I learned it. This young guy came in and kind of helped me set some things up, but I do it all soup to nuts. So it just shows that you don’t have to be technologically crazy savvy to start something like this. And so I pride myself in that part of my story because it wasn’t perfect. It still isn’t perfect. And I can still remember that day when I pushed the record button and just went for it. Took a deep breath and just said, I’m just going for it. And with that, it’s just been incredible. And I think I’m a true Testament to the message that needs to get out there to women. Women thrive on community, they thrive on connection and conversation. And in this podcast is just, I love to share these stories. So these incredible women doing amazing things like yourself, just incredible. You know, it makes you path your, your cross paths just cross with such inspiring women. You just want to keep going. You just crave it.

Jill Angelo

It feeds you. It’s feeds you.  to pause for one second for if anyone’s just tuning in. We’re live on Facebook and we’re also, I’m obviously recording the webinar through zoom. This is the Gennev weekly webinars series. But this is a special edition one. We had an opportunity to bring Amy Schmidt of fearlessly facing 50 on with us today. She’s got a new book coming out that we’re going to talk about next. But I just wanted to preface Gennv weekly podcast. I’m Jill Angelo, I’m the CEO and founder of Gennev. And again, I’m thrilled to have Amy here.

Talking a little bit about your podcast and bringing stories to light and it fulfilling you. How do you pick the women that you talk to on your podcast? And what do you hope their stories bring to your listeners?

Amy Schmidt

Mm, I love that. You know, and at first it was really just utilizing my network and I think that’s something that women sometimes stand back and say, I mean, I talk to women all the time and they say, Oh, Hey, I don’t, I don’t have a network. I’m not a business person. I don’t have a network. You do have a network. And I think my first guests were people that have been a part of my life inspired me in different ways along my journey. And so I said, Hey, would you be a guest from there is kind of culminated into culminated into women reaching out to me and saying, Hey, I have an incredible story. I would love to share it. You know, in my podcast is kind of a three pronged approach. So I share these inspiring stories of women doing crazy cool things.

And then I have experts that come on and talk about top of mind topics like menopause, women’s health, anything, aging parents. And then I have celebrities as well that come on and share their journey, which is just incredible. But you know, the women, my whole objective with my podcast and when I sign off every time I just take a deep breath and say, I hope that inspired somebody to take action because that’s what it’s about. If something in there resonated and I just, I get so much, it just feeds me in such a way. And I learned so much from each podcast, had a wonderful guest on one of my first podcasts. A young woman who is now probably 51, and her son at 17 had a massive stroke and ended up being in a state of Lockton syndrome, which means he can only move his eyes.

He cannot walk, he cannot talk. He was in division one, signed a university of Fort Mercer college to play division one lacrosse. And here’s a woman who I know through another friend. So utilizing my network and I reached out to her and you can just hear in the podcast, sharing her story. One was so brave, but it also touched the heart of so many people listening. She got reach-outs from women all around the world that said, wow, I’m a caregiver for my child, or I’m 50 and going through this. And that’s, that’s the power of the podcast for me, you know, and that’s really how I find my stories. I do a lot of research of course, but there’s just so many women that have incredible journeys to share. Hmm.

Jill Angelo

That’s it’s amazing, you know. And even that she would come and share that.

I’m sure in a way for her, it’s part of the healing process too, right? We’ve got a talk. Yeah. What, you know, as you, as you you’ve been doing Fearlessly Facing Fifty podcast series for how long now?

Amy Schmidt

I started in October was my first podcast. I really launched Fearlessly Facing Fifty in my company back in, I guess it was about June, June or July. But the podcast button actually was like mid to late October, so yeah. Pretty cool.

Jill Angelo

That’s amazing. And through that, you have been on this journey of creating a book, Cannonball. Tell us a little bit about the book, first of all it’s coming out very soon. Talk a little bit about the book and then let’s, then I want to know what was your journey? When did you say I need to start writing this down or capturing it and, and we need to publish this.

Amy Schmidt

Yeah. Okay. Well, Cannonball is, is, I love the title too. And, and my publisher in New York City, we’ve had to do everything by zoom now, which has been for our first book has been challenging but so much fun. I was a competitive swimmer all my life. I was, that was my identity swimming up and down and following a black line from, you know, early six year old. I think I won the cutest swimsuit in the sixth and under all the way through college. That was me searching for validation and a lot of ways which I’ve uncovered through writing this book, but to Cannonball for me is a visual. And when I talk to women, I have them just take a deep breath and close their eyes and I say, okay, I want you to picture two diving boards, one low board and one high board.

And standing on the low diving board is a woman in her early thirties. Pretty well put together, has a tattoo on her wrist that she doesn’t remember where she got it cause it was a fun girl’s weekend and she’s got little kids and she’s in a bikini and she’s to go to the end of the diving board. But she just can’t quite get there. She just, she’s worried that like keep saying, come on, come on, just go. And she just can’t go. She’s nervous. And then you kind of look at this high dive, which, you know, back in the day there used to be high dives. Now I don’t think they have many more because of insurance, but the high dive, I pictured myself climbing all the way up to the top, not stopping, not skipping a rung, just going all the way to the top and just running and Cannon balling off.

And it’s not going to be pretty, you know, I say in the book, it’s probably going to, you’re going to start ugly. It’s going to be uncomfortable. You might need a you know, some type of chiropractor appointment afterwards, but you’re going to cannonball off and make this huge splash and everybody’s going to be looking at you and it doesn’t matter because you have that confidence. So Cannonball for me is my story compiled combined with women stories, inspiring stories that I have run across in my journey and share them as well. And then at the end of each chapter are strategies and reflections that you can apply to your life so that you can find that confidence to just cannonball off and just, you know, go forward.

Jill Angelo

I love that. And before we start taking some questions, when is the book expected to come out?

Amy Schmidt

May 19th is what we’re shooting for. Yeah, the interior design is going right now and it’ll be available on Amazon. It’ll be available in bookstores too, but Amazon will be the way to get it now. So and I think we’re going to give away a copy on a this, which would be great.

Jill Angelo

And we’ll, and we grabbed, I think, one of the exercises that you’ve got in the book. So we’re going to talk about that a little bit later, but just did it from your Instagram feed. So well, good. Well first of all, I want to invite people to ask questions. We will make this a fluid conversation. I know I’ve kind of been drilling Amy with my questions, but from time to time we’ll certainly take your questions. So please via the chat or via hand raise, you can submit questions either way.

We do have a question that I’d like to take now from Debbie and Amy, This is for you Conducting a job search over 50 can be so competence defeating as age discrimination is a real thing. What are some competence builders you would recommend for the well-seasoned job seeker?

Amy Schmidt

That’s a great question and I would love for this person to reach out to the podcast and go ahead and search Fearlessly Facing Fifty podcasts because two weeks ago I had on Lori Knutson, who talked about this very thing and it’s a two part series. The first part dropped. And it’s all about finding that confidence and selling yourself in your resume and building your resume. And I think one of the pearls that that I’ve learned from this and you know, reapplying in the job force and things is that women, we second guess ourselves right off the bat, you know, we look at the job qualifications and we say, Ooh, I can do that. Not that, Oh shoot. Nope. And then they just say, I’m not going to submit my resume. I’m just not even going to do it.

So I always say in my book, I said something about your finger hovers over the send button cause you just, just don’t think you’ve reached all those qualifications. Whereas men will look at it and even if they don’t have the qualifications, they submit it, you know? So it’s, it’s that difference. So I just encourage you to put together your story of all that you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done and, and you know, and then talk to somebody like Lori who’s a career specialist that can kind of put that in a way in your resume because resumes are different now as we get older. There’s certain things that you do put on there and there’s certain things you don’t and then just go for it. You know, what’s the worst case scenario is kind of how I go through life. What’s the worst case scenario you learn from the experience. Even if you don’t get the interview or the job, you’ve still, you’ve still accomplished so much just in pushing send.

Jill Angelo

Yeah. You know, and I think even to add on to that is stay authentic to who you are. If you’re worried about appearing old, you know, lean into that wisdom. You have experience that a younger 30 something or 20 something won’t have. I was on a just a happy hour webinar with another community the other day and, and they, one individual in particular was talking, he was he was in his, in his late fifties. He had worked at Airbnb and he said, all my colleagues, in fact, my boss was not even 30. And he said, you know, I said to my boss one day, or my manager, like, I’m, I, I’m not contributing in the same way. And the younger individual, which I thought was kind of insightful for a 20, something kind of said, you know, I hired you for your wisdom, not, you know, your tech or digital savvy or your startup savvy. I hired you for your wisdom.

And I think too often we undermine the wisdom that we carry. And I think to even see it, like you said, you know, even consulting with Laurie or even with a man that you might trust, if you articulated your accomplishments, you know, to a guy, I bet they could pitch it in such a way that you’d be like, Whoa, I’m all that, you know. So like, right. Just to add to your comments I think there’s, we undersell wisdom and use somebody else to, to help kind of pitch that back to you.

Amy Schmidt

Yes. Use your resources. I agree a hundred percent.

Jill Angelo

Do you, Amy in, you know, the conversations that you go through, like, do you see trends. Like is it a lot of looking for jobs? Is it restarting careers? Is it dealing with anxiety? Is it dealing with divorce? Like are there certain amongst your community that you see time and again, or is it, is it a huge diverse kind of set of challenges and opportunities?

Amy Schmidt

Great question. You know, it’s a lot of what you said. It’s a lot of reentering the workforce, but it’s also, I recently had a round table with a group of women that have been with the same company for 25 and 30 years and you know, they’re worried that all of a sudden they’re going to go in and they’re being downsized or you get those words, I’m sorry you’re not, you know, you’re not, you’re not going to be in this position anymore. We can offer you this, but you know, it’s, it’s, it’s that whole shift. So I see a lot around career, a lot around fear of getting back out in the career and feeling outdated around technology. I see that a lot. There’s a trend around women thinking, Oh, I don’t know about social media. It makes me too nervous, but yet then we become antisocial and we actually need that connection.

So some things around technology, a lot around relationships whether it be with your spouse or partner, whether it be with your adult children, your parents. I see a lot around relationship changes and just embracing those changes and realizing that it’s all very normal. And silver divorces, that’s something we have coming up on our show notes. It’s very common. We have a lot of health issues. We have a lot of menopausal issues, a lot of questions about hormones and you know, all those types of things that we deal with as women. So it’s very multifaceted and I think that’s why the conversations around midlife and beyond are so important because they are so multifaceted. They really are. It’s driven by so many different things.

Jill Angelo

Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think this next question, we just got another one in. Kind of takes us back to the title of this webinar around creativity and confidence and menopause and during this kind of menopause time of life and this individual, Jennifer says, Amy, how do you think we could use this COVID situation to help grow our confidence and creativity?

Amy Schmidt

Hmm. Wow, Jennifer, that is a great question. I think it’s searching within yourself and I think, you know, women tend to kind of put themselves on the back burner and now with this COVID situation you might be navigating completely differently with a house full of adult kids again like I have. And then there’s that whole new level of stress and sometimes you tend to put yourself on the back burner.

So I think making yourself a priority again is really what we can do at this time. Use this time to, you know, use the time because I am looking at this as a bit of a gift of time that we never have. And when we fast forward six months, we’re going to crave this time when we’re back to our originally scheduled programming. So use this time to kind of turn that lens inward and say, what is it Jennifer, that I really want to do? Where can I really add value? And then take those steps on that journey. You know, it’s something, it’s a, it can be a real time for self discovery.

Jill Angelo

That’s great. I even saw a post yesterday around what things, we don’t want to go back to normal. And I, I thought that was kind of an interesting way to think about how can you use what’s happening that you actually like right now to become your new normal, you know, coming through this scenario.

Amy Schmidt

Yeah, that’s, that’s a really interesting thing because, you know, when do you ever have dinners with your kids and your family all sitting around the table? I mean, those are things that we will crave at times. So just take each day and look at it as a new opportunity.

Jill Angelo

Do you think that as you crossed that 50 year old threshold, your obviously your confidence, you’ve talked about the bravery and the confidence that you’ve had to just like hit that button for the first podcast or what just do it. But creativity, have you felt that it’s gone up or changed as the older you get?

Amy Schmidt

Yeah, I think so. You take more risks around it, you know, because you know there’s always going to be judgers. So it doesn’t matter. Even with writing my book, I mean I have started this book, Jill, I can’t tell you how many times. I mean I really have, I’ve started and stopped it because of fear getting in the way of me not being confident with thinking people were going to read it or thinking it was going to add value. So my creativity is, has really, really grown and I’m wanting to learn different things. Like I really am embracing this lifetime learning. Maybe because I have a little bit more time. My kids are older, I have a little bit more time. I have a great relationship with my spouse who’s able to say, you know, what? Pursue that honey, pursue that passion. So I feel very lucky that way, but I do feel like, yeah, it just, it is a time to be creative and really reflect inward and find out where your gifts are because everybody has them.

Jill Angelo

How how about for the woman who feels like she doesn’t have as much time? Are there suggestions you have for allowing your inner creative to come out or to explore or seek that out?

Amy Schmidt

Yeah, I think it’s just really taking that time again to really self reflect and find where your passions are, whether it’s enrolling in a class, you know, maybe you’ve always wanted to take that art class. I mean, I talked to so many women and that is a common thread. I’ve always wanted to take a watercolor class or I’ve always wanted to learn how to take, you know, wonderful photographs, all of those things. So you have to just, even if you’re busy, take that time, make it a priority and put it on your list of things you want to accomplish. You don’t have to have a massive, huge list, have one thing and set three little goals to get there every day and then you’ll accomplish it. You know, I think there’s a lot of ways we can do that.

Jill Angelo

Yeah. Yeah. One thing that we saw you posted I think in, it’s, it’s called “œReflections on acceptin