Midlife & Beyond with Jo Blackwell

Jo Blackwell
  • 4.5 (4)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

For women 50+ navigating change with courage and curiosity, wanting to feel confident, grounded, and inspired. Join Jo each week for a solo reflection or a conversation with a guest on confidence, menopause, reinvention, wellbeing, and ageing with purpose. Real stories. Practical wisdom. A calm companion for your midlife and beyond journey. joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

  1. At Peace with Growing Older

    FEB 3

    At Peace with Growing Older

    Do you fear growing older, or the losses we’re told come with it? In At Peace with Growing Older, Jo Blackwell reflects on ageing, illness, acceptance, and the quiet emotional shifts that can happen in later life. Drawing on personal experience and a reflective piece attributed to Dame Patricia Routledge, this episode explores how peace, gratitude, and self-acceptance can slowly replace fear as we age. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    13 min
  2. Level up Together

    JAN 27

    Level up Together

    Vicky Payne, Jo’s guest on this podcast, created an online book-club for women of all ages to read and discuss self-help and motivational books that we normally tend to read, then leave to gather dust on the shelf without taking action! Why self-help books chosen with women in mind? Vicky says the self-help world is very “bro-centric”, which doesn’t always fit with women’s view of the world, or their energy cycles. Though marketed as a book club for entrepreneurial women, women of all ages are welcome, whether working or not. The Level-up Book Club: https://levelupbookclub.co.uk/join This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    17 min
  3. Is This Dementia…

    JAN 19

    Is This Dementia…

    Have you ever lost your glasses while you’re wearing them, or walked into a room and completely forgotten why you went there? Most of us put moments like these down to “getting older”, but are they really something to worry about? In this episode, I revisit some of the most reassuring insights from my conversation with Dr Mitch Clionsky, who explains why everyday forgetfulness is usually benign, often linked to tiredness, stress, hormones, or simply having too much on our minds. We explore why dementia is not inevitable, why only a very small percentage is genetically caused, and how things like sleep, blood pressure, hearing, and lifestyle play a far bigger role than we’re often led to believe. This is a calm, practical, and hopeful look at memory in midlife, and a reminder that there are many things we can do to protect our brains and live well as we grow older. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    16 min
  4. The Breath You Forgot You Had

    JAN 13

    The Breath You Forgot You Had

    Your breath is like a remote control for your nervous system, and you have far more control over it than you think. In this episode, Sam Adams explains why breathwork isn’t about doing something fancy or ‘woo’, but about learning how to signal safety to your body, especially in midlife, when stress, sleep disruption, pain and anxiety can quietly take hold. From grief and trauma to menopause, chronic pain and brain health, we explore how conscious breathing can help us regulate our nervous systems, think more clearly, sleep more deeply, and feel more at ease in ourselves. A calm, compassionate conversation about remembering something ancient - and learning to breathe again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    30 min
  5. Podcast: Exhausted? When Caring Becomes Too Much

    JAN 13

    Podcast: Exhausted? When Caring Becomes Too Much

    One of the most dangerous ideas is that exhaustion means you’re weak. In reality, burnout often happens to the most capable, conscientious people, the ones who’ve been holding everything together for years. In this conversation, GP and burnout coach Caroline Steel explains why burnout isn’t a breakdown, but a warning. We talk about how overwhelm shows up in the body, why midlife can be the tipping point, and how many women are taught, from a young age, to put everyone else first and ignore their own needs. From feeling paralysed by simple decisions, to losing touch with who you are outside of work, motherhood, or caregiving, this episode gently names what so many women experience but rarely say out loud. Most importantly, it offers hope. Burnout is something you can recover from, and recovery doesn’t start with fixing everything. It starts with listening to yourself again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    43 min
  6. Women on a Diet: The One Thing You MUST Do

    JAN 6

    Women on a Diet: The One Thing You MUST Do

    If you’re on a diet this year, there’s one thing I really want you to hear - and I’m going to say it straight away in this solo episode, not save it for the end. If you’re dieting, you must start weight training. So many of us have been dieting for decades. We’ve slowed our metabolism, lost muscle along the way, and denied our bodies the nutrients they actually need, all in the pursuit of being slimmer. But as we get older, hormones change the rules, and quick-fix diets stop working the way they once did. Strength training isn’t about bulking up. It’s about protecting your bones, your muscles, your independence - and your future self. Focus on strength this year, whether you're dieting or not. Your older body will thank you for it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    8 min

  7. 12/31/2025

    Podcast: Say Yes to More

    Have you lost your sense of adventure? In this inspiring conversation, I talk with Louisa Swaden - The Existential Biker - about rediscovering courage, embracing fear, finding meaning through movement, and saying “yes” to possibility in midlife. From getting back on a motorbike at nearly 50 to racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Louisa shows that this stage of life can be bold, expansive and deeply alive, and that adventure doesn’t have to be huge to be life-changing. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    36 min

  8. 12/23/2025

    Tuesday Podcast: Dance Yourself Well

    Many of us, particularly sensitive, creative, or neurodivergent women, have spent decades pushing through overwhelm without understanding what our bodies were trying to tell us. In this conversation, Peggy Cheyo explains how somatic practices, like gentle movement, dance, and embodied awareness can help regulate the nervous system without forcing insight or reliving trauma. Instead of analysing, we allow the body to lead, and often, something shifts. As I share in the episode, my own resistance to somatic movement gave way to an unexpected emotional release, a reminder that when we stop living only in our heads and begin listening to our bodies, healing can happen in quiet, surprising ways. This episode is an invitation to soften, to listen, and to explore what might help you feel safer, calmer, and more at home in yourself, especially in midlife and beyond. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

    15 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

For women 50+ navigating change with courage and curiosity, wanting to feel confident, grounded, and inspired. Join Jo each week for a solo reflection or a conversation with a guest on confidence, menopause, reinvention, wellbeing, and ageing with purpose. Real stories. Practical wisdom. A calm companion for your midlife and beyond journey. joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com

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