Changing Seasons: Ayurveda, Women’s Health, Menopause & Food as Medicine

In today's episode Jody chats with Jennier Gularson, a physician assistant who specialises in hormone health for women in perimenopause and menopause. Jennifer is a functional medicine practitioner who spends her days helping women understand the type of HRT they may need for their symptoms. We discuss the different types of HRT, pellets, transdermal, shots and why. Some women benefit from ta...

Today Jody welcomes Rachel Nokes, yoga teacher and Ayurvedic Lifestyle consultant to the podcast to discuss the healing powers of mantra. Rachel has been a devoted yogi for many years and initially introduction to mantra came on her first yoga training. At first she didn't warm to the practice but after being introduced to it again on another yoga teacher training she was hooked. Rachel recog...

Jody welcomes Ayurvedic practitioner Yogi Cameron to the podcast today to speak about how Ayurveda treats the person, not the symptom.  He speaks about how he works with clients these days to the capacity they are able to hold and that a person with only heal if they believe healing is possible. We discuss the importance of getting to know the patient and asking the right questions, one of his fav...

Jody talks us through what it is like to experience one of her Back to Nature retreats and why she has chosen camping over luxe accommodation.  The benefits of being on the land quickly help guests relax and ground, right from the moment they arrive and start setting up the tent, Jody can see the elements working to connect them into the space and ground their energy. Jody describes how she has de...

Brett Aldrich joins Jody on the podcast today to discuss the benefits of breathwork for the different doshas. Brett is a yogi, breathwork teacher and Ayurvedic practitioner. She talks about how emotions are stored in the body and that breathwork can help people release those emotions. We chat about cyclical breathwork, in through the mouth and out through the mouth can create a deep awareness in t...

Kat Villain joins Jody today to speak about all things yoga and alignment. Kat teaches Katonah Yoga, Breathwork and Spirituality and shares in detail about how we need to start with the breath to get us back into the body. Once we are in our body we can begin to see how our feet create the foundation for the rest of the body and that proper cueing for the feet can change everything. Kat describes...

Today Jody speaks to Dr Yue Wang, a holistic Chinese Medicine Menopause doctor about the benefits of foot soaking. Yue covers why foot soaking can benefit women with menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, tinnitus, brain fog and anxiety. She walks us through the water temperature, ingredients that can be added to the water, how long the feet need to be soaked and why foot soaking is favoured ove...

Today Jody is joined by Dr Michelle Jorgensen to discuss all things dental. Michelle changed the way she practised dentistry after a health crisis that she discovered was from the removal of mercury fillings. We speak about how root canal treatment leads to the infection in the tooth going deeper into the body, causing auto-immune disease and other serious health issues. Removal of the tooth is th...

Dr Shivani Gupta joins Jody on Changing Seasons podcast today to talk about her new book called The Inflammation Code. Shivani describes how she grew up being treated by both western medicine and her Indian grandmother's spices cabinet.  Later in life after dealing with leaky gut issues in her own life she was motivated to research the root causes of what was causing inflammation in our bodie...

Today Tahnee Taylor returns to Changing Seasons podcast to discuss The Red Thread, a concept that Tahnee shared a few months back with Jody about the deep connection to our female ancestors and how it impacts our lives. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation today with Tahnee, she shares about seasons within seasons and how she is noticing a shift since turning forty and feeling she is comi...

Ronda Holman joins Jody today on Changing Seasons podcast to discuss why mouth breathing is impacting your sleep, your mouth health and how it can lead to severe health issues over time. We discuss mouth tape and who should use it and who should steer away from using it. Ronda explains why strengthening the 8 muscles in the tongue is essential for a good night's sleep and speaks about why flo...

Today Jody welcomes Emily Smith to the Changing Seasons podcast. Emily is a documentary film maker who recently moved to Japan and has found herself reconnecting with her mothers heritage through foraging and the 72 mico seasons. Growing up in England Emily had struggled to find her place, yet always felt at home in nature, she would forage cobnuts with her father and enjoyed the freedom she felt...

In today's episode Jody talks about her recent food tour to Japan and how she was reminded that food can create a beautiful connection between us and the seasons. She shares how she noticed that eating the foods in season and embracing local rituals like bath in onsens calmed her nervous system and in turn meant her digestive system was free of gas, bloating or constipation. Jody goes on to d...

Clara Cohen joins Jody today on Changing Seasons podcast to discuss hormones through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Clara talks in detail about the different ages and stages of development in men and women and how mens cycles are ruled by the sun and women's cycles by the moon and how this  impacts our energy and hormones. We discuss what organ systems govern and balance our hormon...

Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya joins us on Changing Seasons podcast to discuss the power of Dinacharya, a daily Ayurvedic practice that she discovered could help treat  inflammation, thyroid conditions, gut issues and auto- immune diseases.  Bhaswati talks about how she works with her patients to establish daily routines that not only increase ojas but also improve self-esteem. We discuss her favourite...

Today we welcome Lorie Dechar acupuncturist, psychotherapist, author, teacher, poet and mentor to Changing Seasons podcast to talk about the spirits in TCM. Lorie shares how she came to understand the spirits and describes how her menopausal experience helped her to connect with them. Lorie spends time describing how the five elements are a wheel and the spirits operate more on a central axis. She...

Today Jody welcomes author, acupuncturist and artist Ashley Abbs to the podcast to speak about the five different personality types in Chinese Medicine. Ashley describes in detail the occupation that each element is drawn to, the way they approach challenges or setbacks and what sends them out of balance. We discuss how each element is impacted by perimenopause and Ashley gives some helpful tips t...

In today's episode of Changing Seasons Jody welcomes Ayurvedic Practitioner, teacher and author Nidhi Pandya to speak about her new book 'Your Body Already Knows'. Nidhi shares how growing up and sharing her home with her grandfather whose life was deeply informed by Ayurvedic wisdom informed how she views health and wellness. She believes that we have become so conditioned to askin...

Today Jody discusses how we can balance our doshas when they go out of balance. We look at what we can do with nature, sight, sound, mantra, exercise and emotionally to help settle us. Ayurveda uses the opposite quality to help treat an imbalance so if your body is dry you will need to use moisture internally and externally to remedy that, if  your body is cold eating warm cooked food will be bene...

Edwina sits down with Ayurvedic health coach and author Jody Vassallo for a candid, nourishing conversation on meeting perimenopause as a rite of passage - not a problem to “fix.” Through the lenses of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jody shares the practices, foods, and mindset shifts that cooled her hot flushes, eased anxiety, and helped her honour this season with grace. Expect pract...

In today's episode Jody welcomes Marissa Clohesy. Marissa gave birth to her first child at 49 years of age through egg donorship from a kind woman who worked at a clinic where she regularly had bloods done. Following the birth of her first child had three more viable embryos that she needed to use, she explains she looks at IVF through a very scientific lens - you need a womb, an egg and sper...

Today Jody ponders how the space element relates to loneliness. In Ayurveda the elements of air and space (ether) combine to create the vata dosha. Although we can clearly see and feel the elements of air, earth, water and fire, space is a little different. Space or too much space between us and others equates to loneliness, fear of too much space leads to overshopping, overeating and clutter in o...

Today Jody welcomes Kimberly Ann Johnson to the Changing Seasons podcast. Kimberly is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and Sexological Bodyworker, author and postpartum advocate. We discuss how Kimberly's own postpartum journey has informed her menopause story and why she has chosen to focus on the positive changes she has seen in her body and life in menopause. She tells how at one point...

Today Jody is joined by Sole Del Riccio-Smith and Dylan Smith to discuss their fertility and postpartum journey.  In this conversation we cover their preconception preparation and how they did 30 days of Panchakarma at home during COVID under the guidance of their Ayurvedic doctor. They both highlight how important it was for them to surrender themselves totally to the process even up to the point...

Today Jody welcomes Kimberley Ashton from Qi Food Therapy to the Changing Seasons podcast. We discuss in detail why certain foods will soothe and nourish the digestive system and other foods will aggravate and inflame it. She highlights the role of the sweet and salty flavours in our body. Kimberly explains why we need to consume good quality sweet flavoured foods to help relax and satiate the bod...