Wise Women's Conversations

Angela Counsel
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Wise Women's Conversations, is a podcast for women who want to thrive in the second half of life. Hosted by naturopath and health coach Angela Counsel, each episode explores health, wellbeing, mindset, purpose and the wisdom that comes from lived experience. Through practical insights and inspiring conversations, you'll discover new ways to age well, stay curious, embrace new adventures and create a future that feels fulfilling and meaningful. Because your story is far from over.

  1. 6d ago

    Hope Molecules: The Surprising Way Movement Grows Your Brain

    he next word vanishes mid-sentence. The name you've known for years won't come. Post-it notes cover your desk. Before you decide something is wrong with your brain, hear this: it isn't failing you. It's asking for different inputs. This week, Angela continues the brain series with a look at BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein she describes as fertilizer for your brain. It helps brain cells survive, grow and form the connections that let you learn, remember and bounce back from stress. She also introduces "hope molecules," the messengers your muscles release when you move. Angela explains why BDNF tends to drop after menopause, when estrogen, which supports it, falls away. Long-term stress can lower it too, which is why things you once handled easily can start to feel like too much. The good news is that brain chemistry can change. Drawing on Dr Kelly McGonigal's work on myokines, and on Dr Mindy Pelz's description of BDNF as a "personal trainer for your brain," Angela walks through how a brisk walk, lifting heavy and time in nature all send your brain the same message: grow. Angela also shares a personal story of the time she was overwhelmed and walked away from it all on a multi-day hike. The clarity and solutions she found there are the same mechanism at work, whether you're hiking, gardening or out on the water. Perhaps your brain fog isn't a warning that you're slipping. Perhaps it's an invitation to step away from the desk. Perhaps the clarity you're searching for is waiting on the other side of a walk. In this episode, you'll discover: What BDNF is and why it's often described as fertilizer for your brainHow the drop in estrogen after menopause, and long-term stress, can lower BDNFWhat "hope molecules" (myokines) are, and how muscles send your brain the message to growHow irisin and lactate travel to the hippocampus, your memory centre, to switch BDNF onWhy even a brisk walk, and especially resistance training, can lift BDNF levelsWhy movement in nature and morning sunlight take the benefits furtherFive simple invitations for supporting your brain, with no extreme exercise requiredWhen memory changes are worth raising with your doctor Questions to reflect on: When did you last feel your mind go quiet, and where were you?How often do you move your body in a way that raises your heart rate?Where is your "place," the spot where you can move your body and rest your mind?What would it take to book that time in your diary so no one else can claim it? This week's invitation is simple: Choose one thing, whether a brisk walk in nature, a morning in the sunlight or a few heavy lifts, and notice how your brain feels afterwards. A note from Angela: if you notice sudden or fast-worsening memory changes, or you're worried, especially with a family history of dementia, please speak with your doctor. If you have injuries or are recovering from surgery, check with a physio or personal trainer before starting new exercise. Catch up on the brain series: Why Brain Fog Might Actually be an Identity Crisis: https://wisewomensconversations.substack.com/p/why-brain-fog-might-actually-be-an-001Why Your Sleep Broke after Menopause: https://wisewomensconversations.substack.com/p/why-your-sleep-broke-after-menopause-b62 Books and resources mentioned: The Menopause Brain by Dr Lisa MosconiThe Upgrade by Dr Luann BrizendineAge Like a Girl by Dr Mindy PelzThe Joy of Movement by Dr Kelly McGonigal

  2. Sep 29

    Why Your Sleep Broke After Menopause - And How To Fix It Without Estrogen

    2:14am. Then 2:16am. Then 3:14am. Wide awake, mind spinning, wondering if you'll ever sleep again. If that's a familiar scene, you're not broken — your hormones have just changed jobs. This week, Angela continues the brain series with a deep dive into the hidden relationship between estrogen and melatonin, and why so many women find that even after doing "all the right things," sleep still doesn't come easily in postmenopause. This episode builds on [last week's episode on how the brain changes through menopause]* — so if you haven't caught that one yet, it's worth going back to first. Angela explains the science in plain terms: estrogen and melatonin work as a team, with estrogen acting as coordinator for your brain's internal clock — the pineal gland and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). When estrogen was abundant, it kept this clock running smoothly. Once estrogen drops, that signalling weakens, leading to what researchers call circadian dysregulation — which is exactly why so many postmenopausal women find themselves wide awake at 2am for no obvious reason. She also shares her own experience of hitting a burnout-driven sleep crisis about 12 months ago — sub-5-hour nights, a racing heart, and a mind that wouldn't switch off — and how recognising disrupted sleep as a signal from her body, rather than a personal failing, led her to make real changes. At the heart of it all, Angela reframes the goal: it's not about replacing estrogen, but about teaching your nervous system it's safe enough to produce melatonin on its own — something our ancestors managed without estrogen too, simply by living in sync with light, temperature and rhythm. Perhaps the problem was never that you're broken. Perhaps your nervous system is just waiting for permission to feel safe again. Perhaps sleep isn't something you have to force — it's something you can invite back in. In this episode, you'll discover: Why estrogen and melatonin are tightly linked, and what happens to your sleep when estrogen dropsWhat the pineal gland and SCN actually do, and why they need estrogen to function wellWhat recent research reveals about circadian dysregulation in postmenopausal womenWhy disrupted sleep also disrupts your brain's ability to detoxify and rewire itself overnightThe role cortisol plays in blocking melatonin productionWhy honoring your own personal circadian rhythm matters more than following generic sleep adviceFour practical, hormone-free ways to support your body's natural melatonin productionWhy timing your meals affects your ability to fall — and stay — asleep Questions to reflect on: When you wake in the night, is your body signalling stress rather than a "sleep problem" to fix?Are you currently working against your natural circadian rhythm, or with it?Which of the four melatonin-supporting habits could you realistically start with this week?What would it take for your nervous system to feel genuinely safe enough to switch off at night? This week's invitation is simple: Get outside for 10 minutes of direct morning sunlight within the first hour of waking, without sunglasses — and if you can, catch the sunset too. *Catch up on last week's episode on how the brain changes through menopause here: https://wisewomensconversations.substack.com/p/im-64-and-i-dont-feel-old-so-what-5c7

  3. Sep 22

    Why "Brain Fog" Might Actually Be an Identity Crisis

    Forgetting mid-sentence. Losing your train of thought. Wondering if this is the start of something worse. If your brain feels like it's betraying you right now, you're not broken — you're renovating. This week, Angela kicks off a new series diving into what's actually happening in the brain through perimenopause, menopause and beyond — starting with the big picture: why your brain feels chaotic right now, and why that chaos is temporary. Drawing on two books that changed how she understood her own experience — The Menopause Brain by neuroscientist Dr Lisa Mosconi, and The Upgrade by psychiatrist Dr Luann Brizendine — Angela shares the science behind what so many women describe as "losing their mind," and why it's actually the opposite. She unpacks Dr Mosconi's research on brain "pruning" — a process the brain goes through three times in a woman's life: puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Just like a home renovation, things get pulled out and rewired before they settle into a new normal. Angela shares her own rock-bottom moment during perimenopause — nearly walking away from a business she'd built for years — and how understanding this pruning process, well after the fact, finally made sense of what she'd been living through. She also explores Dr Brizendine's concept of the brain "upgrade": as oestrogen (the "people-pleasing hormone") drops, women often become less focused on managing everyone else's needs and more focused on their own — a shift that can bring a sharper sense of purpose, but can also shake up relationships, careers and identity along the way. Perhaps your brain isn't declining. Perhaps it's rewiring itself for exactly who you need to become next. Perhaps the fog isn't the end of clarity — it's the renovation before it. In this episode, you'll discover: Why brain fog and forgetfulness are so common in perimenopause and beyondThe concept of brain "pruning" and the three life stages it happens inWhat Dr Lisa Mosconi's imaging research revealed about grey and white matter changesWhy these brain changes are temporary, not permanentHow oestrogen's drop reshapes people-pleasing tendencies and personal boundariesWhy Dr Luann Brizendine calls this shift an "upgrade" rather than a declineHow this rewiring can trigger identity shifts, relationship strain, and career reassessmentOne simple, practical starting point for supporting your brain right now: sleep Questions to reflect on: Where in your life have you noticed yourself becoming less inclined to people-please?Has a shift in your priorities or sense of purpose caused tension in any of your relationships?What would it look like to treat your current brain fog as temporary renovation rather than permanent decline?How are your sleep habits currently supporting — or undermining — your brain health? This week's invitation is simple: Get outside for a few minutes of morning sunlight, without your sunglasses on, and let it reset your body's clock for the day. Books referenced in this episode: The Menopause Brain by Dr Lisa MosconiThe Upgrade by Dr Luann Brizendine

  4. Sep 14

    I'm 64 and I Don't Feel Old — So What Is "Old," Really?

    When do you get old? Not on paper. Not the number on a form. When do you start believing it? I'm 64. By most official measures, I'm creeping toward "old" — the top box on the form, the pension I still don't love the word for. And most days, I don't feel old at all. So in this episode, I'm unpacking what actually makes someone old — because the more I've looked at it, the less it seems to have anything to do with age at all. It started at a morning tea for women over 50, where I found myself thinking "everyone here is old" — until I realised several of them were younger than me. It wasn't their age creating that impression. It was something else entirely: an energy, a posture, a quiet belief that they'd said out loud without meaning to — I'm too old for that now. I share the story of a client from years ago who seemed decades older than she was, right up until I checked her date of birth and found she was a month younger than me. I talk about my mother, who's 85 and has chosen to stop moving through the world — and about the women I hiked alongside in Cornwall, some in their seventies, who hadn't made that choice at all. And I get honest about my own version of this: a moment twelve months ago where I decided, quietly, that 72 would be "too old" to still be running my business — and what I've realised that thought was actually asking me. Perhaps old was never a number to begin with. Perhaps it's a belief we picked up somewhere — from a form, an advertisement, a room full of people who decided it before we did — and never thought to question. And perhaps the real question isn't how old you are, but who's actually been deciding that for you. In this episode, you'll discover: Why a room full of women over 50 left me thinking "I don't fit here" — and what I got wrong about whyThe real story behind being labelled a "geriatric" pregnancy at 40What separated the women I hiked with in Cornwall in their 60s and 70s from the women at that morning teaA story about a client who was younger than me but seemed decades older — and what actually gave that awayThe research on "subjective age" — and why how old you feel may matter more than how old you areMy own honest reckoning with a belief I've quietly held about turning 72Why the word "retirement" carries more of a verdict than we realiseThe one shift that changed how I think about ageing altogether Questions to reflect on: Where have you already decided you're "too old" for something — and is that actually true, or borrowed from somewhere else?Who in your life seems "old" to you, and is it really about their age?What would you be doing right now if no one, including you, had put an age limit on it?If ageing is partly a belief, which of your beliefs about getting older are actually serving you? This week's invitation is simple: just notice — once — the moment you catch yourself thinking or saying "I'm too old for that." Don't judge it, don't fix it. Just notice where it came from. Want to keep exploring this one with me? Visit my Wise Women's Conversations Substack to continue the conversation

  5. Sep 9

    From Suffragettes to TEDX: The 37 Year Story behind One Wise Woman's Line in the Sand

    Reclaiming the Crone: Identity Exhaustion & the Wise Woman Within — with Jen JeffriesWise Women's Conversations — with Angela Counsel In this episode, Angela sits down with naturopath, international speaker and TEDx speaker Jen Jeffries for a rich, honest conversation about ageing, identity and the reclamation of the "crone" — a word our culture has taught us to fear, and one Jen believes we desperately need to take back. Jen has been on stages for around 30 years, and last year she stood on the ultimate one — TEDx — delivering her talk Who Killed the Crone. It was the culmination of a story that began 37 years earlier, when a young Jen first learned about the suffragettes while training as a naturopath. That seed grew through decades of work, a Facebook group called Ascendants of the Feminine, a program called Smart Sassy Seniors, and finally, at 64, a global TEDx call-out asking for ideas that could "disrupt." What we coverThe story behind Jen's TEDx talk — how a message she'd carried for 37 years finally found its stage, and why she cried both before and during her talkWhy "crone" became a dirty word — the witch trials, colonisation, and how the five worst countries for honouring older women (UK, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand) all trace back to the same historyWhat matriarchal cultures get right — Angela and Jen compare notes on a reed-village matriarch in Lake Titicaca and the Chinese phoenix, Fenghuang, who rises "with grace and certainty" rather than through destruction and rebirthHow to start reclaiming the crone — Jen's simple, practical starting point: gather mindfully, share stories that matter, and let your voice be heardRites of passage — why Western culture has none for menarche or menopause, and what's lost when we don't mark these transitionsIdentity exhaustion — the term Jen coined for what happens when we keep running on the attitudes and beliefs of our 20s and 30s long after our biology, and our lives, have moved onLearning to be quiet — how stillness, not striving, is what lets the wise woman already inside each of us finally come through Memorable momentJen shares the story of her mother turning 50 — and being devastated when Jen sent her a card calling her a "crone." It's a small moment that captures exactly why this conversation matters: the word was never the problem. What we've been taught to believe about it is. About Jen JeffriesJen Jeffries is a naturopath and speaker with three decades of experience on stages around the world. In 2025 she delivered her TEDx talk, Who Killed the Crone, and now hosts the Present Day Wise Woman podcast, where she explores ageing, identity and what it means to stand fully in the wisdom of this stage of life. Links & resources🎤 Watch Jen's TEDx talk, Who Killed the Crone: jenniferjeffries.com🎧 Listen to the Present Day Wise Woman podcast: jenniferjeffries.com📥 Free download — Jen's Crone Circle cheat sheet, for gathering your own circle of women to share stories that matter: jenniferjeffries.com

  6. Aug 31

    Strong Is the New Beautiful: Peta Gillian on Ageing Without Apology

    She used to stand at the deli counter and let everyone else get served first. Now, she's deadlifting a 40-kilo grandchild. Somewhere between those two moments, something in her shifted. In this episode of Wise Women's Conversations, Angela sits down with Peta Gillian — trainer, mentor, and author of an upcoming book on ageing with strength — to talk about what it really means to stay strong as we get older. Peta pushes back on the "look good, feel good" messaging so many women have absorbed their whole lives, and reframes strength as something far more foundational: the ability to get up off the floor, carry your own groceries, keep up with your grandkids, and stay independent for as long as possible. Peta shares deeply personal stories — including helping her own mother rebuild her strength and mobility after a serious illness, and the small, everyday signs (a smaller bottle of laundry detergent, dishes left in the sink) that quietly reveal a decline in strength long before it becomes a crisis. She and Angela talk candidly about the outdated obsession with the number on the scale, why BMI doesn't tell the full story, and why building muscle later in life is something to celebrate, not fear. Peta also opens up about her own journey — from a quietly rebellious kid teased for having "a boy's name," to a woman who has learned to listen closely to her body and now helps other women do the same. Perhaps strength was never about how we look. Perhaps it's about what we're still able to do — and who we get to be while doing it. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Peta believes women need to become more aware of their own bodies — and why that awareness is often uncomfortableThe real foundations of strength as we age: power, balance, and core stabilityWhy the number on the scale (and BMI) can be misleading measures of healthThe everyday warning signs — like smaller detergent bottles or dishes left in the sink — that reveal declining strengthHow Peta helped her own mother rebuild mobility and independence after a serious hospital stayWhy "being small" is often mistaken for being healthy, when it's actually a sign of frailtyPeta's simple two-step approach: build awareness first, then establish your baselineHow to find small "windows of time" throughout the day to build strength, even without a formal workout Questions to reflect on: Am I listening to what my body is telling me, or am I tuning it out?What's one everyday task I want to still be able to do independently in 20 years?Is my sense of health tied to a number, or to what my body can actually do?Where could I find two minutes today to move with intention? This week's invitation is simple: Take a moment to ask yourself: "What do I want to still be able to do — and what am I doing today to make sure I can?" The answer might surprise you. Connect with Peta Gillian: Ageless Confidence Website - https://agelessconfidence.com.au/ Grab your FREE Guide to Ageing with Intention - https://go.stronghealthywomen.com.au/ageing-w-intention

  7. Aug 24

    Suzi Dafnis's 30 Years in Business Taught Her This About Slowing Down

    She couldn't finish a sentence. She'd walk into a room and forget why she was there. And she didn't connect any of it to menopause — she just thought she was busy. In this episode of Wise Women's Conversations, Angela talks with Suzi Dafnis, CEO of The Growth Network (formerly Her Business), about the collision between menopause and business leadership — and what happens when the identity you've built your whole life around stops fitting the way it used to. Suzi shares her own experience of brain fog, disrupted sleep and situational depression that crept in during perimenopause, and how she initially had no idea it was connected to menopause at all — she assumed it was simply the pressure of running a business. She and Angela talk candidly about the women Suzi hears from constantly through Her Business and The Growth Network: successful, driven women who've built extraordinary businesses and lives, who now find themselves quietly asking, "I don't know who I am without this." Suzi opens up about her own transition over the last 18 months — stepping back from the model of relentless hustle, learning to delegate, training for a marathon, and giving herself permission to rest without guilt — and shares why she now believes the old idea of pushing through everything is exactly what needs to be released. Perhaps the fog isn't a sign that something is broken. Perhaps it's an invitation to write the next chapter. In this episode, you'll discover: Why menopause is as much a brain transition as it is a physical one — and why that's rarely talked aboutSuzi's personal experience with brain fog, memory changes and situational depression during perimenopauseWhy so many successful women quietly think "I don't know who I am without this business"The moment a mentor challenged Suzi's belief that her "best days were behind her"Why "surrender" isn't the same as giving up, and how reframing it can change everythingThe practical shifts Suzi made to her business model, team and mindset in the last 18 monthsWhy pausing and creating space is often the most important first step in any transitionSuzi's advice for any woman quietly wondering if her best days are behind her Questions to reflect on: Have I mistaken the pressure of "pushing through" for who I actually am?Where in my life or business am I clutching the steering wheel instead of trusting the road?What would it look like to give myself permission to slow down without guilt?Am I trying to read the next chapter while still standing in this one? This week's invitation is simple: Take a moment to ask yourself: "What am I ready to let go of, so something new has room to begin?" The answer might surprise you. Connect with Suzi Dafnis: Join the Her Business Growth Network - https://herbusiness.com/ Follow Suzi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzidafnis/

  8. Aug 17

    The Courage to Say "There's Something More" — Bridget Hallam's Story

    She raised two kids on her own. Head down, bum up, just getting through. Then, on a second date, she asked a man to take her for a ride on his motorcycle. She had no idea it would change the entire shape of her life. In this episode of Wise Women's Conversations, Angela sits down with Bridget Hallam — founder of Throw Your Leg Over, motorcycle adventure guide, and professional speaker — to talk about reinvention, courage, and what it really means to say yes to something uncertain. Bridget shares how a single motorcycle ride around Mount Coot-tha 14 years ago sparked a passion that eventually became a business — guiding riders through the European Alps and beyond. But this isn't just a story about motorbikes. Bridget opens up about how hard it still is to ride solo, the fear she sees in others when they're offered the chance to step outside their comfort zone, and why she now speaks professionally on the courage it takes to make uncertain, life-changing decisions — in business, leadership, and life. Angela and Bridget also explore the quiet role nature plays in working through big decisions, and Bridget offers her own wisdom for any woman standing at that "there's something more" moment, wondering what comes next. Perhaps reinvention doesn't require a dramatic leap. Perhaps it starts with one small, courageous yes. In this episode, you'll discover: How a second date on the back of a motorbike sparked a completely new chapter of Bridget's lifeWhy solo riding is still a challenge for Bridget, even after years of experienceWhat it takes to build a business and a life around adventure and courageWhy Bridget believes making a big change is an evolution, not a lossHer two practical tips for women who feel like something more is calling themWhy nature — whether on a hike or the back of a bike — helps ideas and clarity surfaceHow Bridget's speaking career grew out of watching others hold themselves back from bold decisionsWhy courageous decision-making matters just as much in leadership as it does in life Questions to reflect on: Where in your life is fear quietly holding you back from something you actually want?Do you see change as loss — or as evolution?When did you last give yourself quiet space to let an idea bubble up?What would it look like to take one small, courageous step this week? This week's invitation is simple: Take a moment to ask yourself: "What's the small, courageous yes I've been putting off?" The answer might surprise you. Connect with Bridget Hallam: Website: https://www.bridgethallam.comSBS Article: I was a single parent trying to survive. A new hobby changed everything.LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bridget-hallam-speakerCurves Motorcycle Podcast for Women: Listen on Apple Podcasts

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About

Wise Women's Conversations, is a podcast for women who want to thrive in the second half of life. Hosted by naturopath and health coach Angela Counsel, each episode explores health, wellbeing, mindset, purpose and the wisdom that comes from lived experience. Through practical insights and inspiring conversations, you'll discover new ways to age well, stay curious, embrace new adventures and create a future that feels fulfilling and meaningful. Because your story is far from over.

Information

  • Creator
    Angela Counsel
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Angela Counsel
  • Show Website
    Wise Women's Conversations