A Calm Strength

What happens to your health habits when life throws everything at you at once? In this solo episode, I talk about why I've been absent for a few weeks - my dad's emergency hospital admission, and navigating it all around the anniversary of my mum's death. I share what slipped, what I protected, and the three (imperfect) non-negotiables that kept me functioning. It's not easy stayin...

Where are you on your own to-do list? If the honest answer is "near the bottom" or not on it at all, this episode is for you. In this solo episode, Caroline talks about a pattern she sees again and again with the women she works with: the same drive, work ethic, and desire to do a good job that makes them brilliant at everything else but it almost never gets pointed inward. This episode...

Emily McGowan is the founder of McGowan Marketing, the largest multi-disciplinary marketing agency in the Scottish Borders, and she is, by any measure, a woman juggling a lot. She's running a growing agency with her daughter Lara, halfway through a PhD in female entrepreneurship and succession planning, and doing all of this while navigating the very recent loss of her mum Christine, who was w...

If you've ever wondered whether the people giving nutrition advice actually follow it themselves, this one's for you. This week, Caroline sits down with Nutritionist, Jade Mcintyre-Loughlin from Dumfries Nutrition for a conversation between two practitioners who do similar work, share similar values, and are refreshingly honest about the reality of walking the talk. They talk diets, body i...

This week I'm joined by my friend Sarah James, Partner and Global Head of Adaptive at international law firm Simmons & Simmons, for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about what it really takes to sustain a big career over the long haul. This conversation goes well beyond the job title. We talk about running on empty and what finally made her stop, her meticulous travel routine and why s...

What happens when a high-flying IT career ends, your heart lands you in hospital with a rate of 220 beats per minute, and you're told, at 55, that if you don't change something, you won't be around to enjoy what's next? For Maggie Toole, the answer was yoga. Maggie is a yoga teacher, a plus-size yogi, and someone living with both cancer and heart failure. In this episode, she talks...

Fiona, owner of The Wee Wellness Room in the Scottish Borders, is a massage therapist whose route into the industry wasn't conventional. From dance college to mental health work, and through years of debilitating chronic migraine, she eventually found her way to the one thing that made her feel better - massage - and decided to make it her life's work. In this conversation, Fiona opens up...

What do you do when you've spent 17 years helping other people get well and then your own body falls apart? That's exactly what happened to Keris Marsden. A nutritionist, author and yoga teacher, Keris hit 40 and found herself in the middle of a seven-year chronic illness journey that no diet, supplement, medication or therapy could touch. The turning point came when she stopped trying to...

Grief is one of those things we don't talk about nearly enough and yet almost every one of us is living alongside it in some form. This week I'm joined by Cate, a non-religious civil celebrant and grief coach behind Circle of Love Celebrant Services in the Scottish Borders. Cate has navigated her own losses, and brings that lived experience alongside her training to help others find their...

In this episode, we're talking about mindful eating. This one's for you if you've ever stood at the kitchen counter eating cold pasta at 6pm. A Calm Strength is the podcast for women who are ready to take care of themselves by introducing simple, realistic and sustainable habits into their busy lives. https://linktr.ee/acalmstrength @acalmstrength

Have your habits chosen you, or have you chosen them? In this episode, Caroline explores how easily habits form without us noticing, and why getting out of them takes something very different. She introduces the idea of a simple habit audit - a moment of honest reflection to work out which daily patterns are genuinely supporting you, and which ones have just quietly taken hold. Short, grounding, a...

Feeling exhausted, foggy and stuck in the all-or-nothing cycle? This episode is for you. In this episode, Caroline introduces the Stronger for Longer 4-week group online coaching program designed specifically for women over 40 who want more energy, strength and consistency now, while also building habits that protect their health long term. Including their brain health. Caroline talks about why sh...

In this episode of A Calm Strength , I’m sharing a very personal experience - my recent visit to Scottish Brain Sciences, where I took part in dementia research and memory testing. After losing my mum to Frontotemporal Dementia in 2025, I’ve carried a curiosity (and concern) about my own brain health. This episode is about what led me to take part in research, what the day was really like, and why...

Fibre is one of those nutrients we know we “should” be eating, but many of us don’t really understand why it matters, or how it connects to how we feel day to day. In this episode of A Calm Strength , Caroline explores why fibre plays a much bigger role than digestion alone. You’ll learn how fibre supports steadier energy, better blood sugar control, hormone balance, and reduced inflammation and w...

In this episode of A Calm Strength , Caroline talks about goals, especially if you’ve ever felt pressured, overwhelmed, or disappointed by them in the past. This is not an episode about pushing harder, fixing yourself, or chasing an unrealistic version of you. Instead, it’s about approaching 2026 with intention, honesty, and a mindset that supports sustainable change rather than sabotages it. Caro...

In this episode of A Calm Strength , Caroline shares all the details about her START 2026 STRONG : 21 Day January Reset . This episode is for women over 40 who feel tired, foggy or out of routine, and want a calm, supported way to start the year feeling stronger, more energised and clearer in their thinking without overwhelm, restriction or extremes. Caroline explains how working on key lifestyle...

In this episode of A Calm Strength , Caroline shares her first Christmas without her Mum, and how she’s choosing to keep her close and honour her memory. We also explore how grief can affect the brain - why everything can feel heavier, more tiring, or more overwhelming at this time of year, and how lowering the pressure and offering ourselves compassion can make Christmas feel a little more manage...

In this episode of A Calm Strength , Caroline introduces the Stronger for Longer coaching approach and walks through how she supports women in midlife to feel more energised, stronger, more confident and more supported. You’ll hear how this holistic approach works with where you are right now, focusing on realistic nutrition, enjoyable movement, better sleep, and stress management, without pressur...

A Calm Strength is your weekly guide to feeling more energised, building your strength, and supporting your brain health through midlife and beyond. Hosted by online coach Caroline Young , a qualified Nutritional Therapist and Personal Trainer, each episode explores the lifestyle habits that influence physical and emotional wellbeing as well as long-term brain health - from nutrition and movement...