Episode 34: On ‘Wintering’ and taking a podcast pause
We didn’t plan for this to happen… but when we sat down to talk, something shifted.
This week's episode is not a conversation about a particular health topic or a deep dive into hormones or cycles…
It’s an honest reflection on where we’re at — and an invitation to pause.
After more than 30 episodes, we’ve arrived at a natural winter — a moment to slow down, reassess, and honour the cycle of this podcast project.
We didn’t plan this in advance.
But when we sat down to record and felt our energy shift, we realised it was time to listen to our bodies and our inner knowing — just as we always invite you to do.
This may not be a forever goodbye… but it is a “pause for now.”
🎙️ In this final episode for now, we reflect on:
🌿 Why it’s okay to rest — and how we can honour the natural seasons and cycles of life
🌿 The truth behind why we started this podcast (and what we never wanted it to become)
🌿 How constantly striving to optimise our health can become another form of self-judgement
🌿 Why letting go, embracing stillness, and trusting our own inner knowing is the most powerful healing we can do
Whether this is a short pause or a more permanent ending, we’re so grateful you’ve been with us.
The full library of episodes will remain available, so you can return to them whenever you need support, insight, or a gentle reminder to come back to yourself.
💬 If this podcast has impacted you, we’d honestly love to hear from you. Send us a message on Instagram @verawellness.com.au or email marketing@verawellness.com.au.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for listening.
And thank you for honouring your own rhythms, too.
With love from all of us at Vera Wellness.
Additional resources to support you:
🧘♀️ Heal Your Pelvic Pain – Our live online program delivered by leading women's health experts to help you alchemise your pain, reconnect with your body, and reclaim your life.
🌕 Unlocking the Power of Your Cycle – a self-paced course to help you understand and work with the phases of your cycle for more vitality and clarity.
📖 Healing Pelvic Pain by Dr Peta Wright – A comprehensive guide on managing pelvic pain.
Episode transcript:
E34: On ‘Wintering’ and taking a podcast pause
Hello and welcome to another episode of Women of the Well. I'm Peta. I'm Thea. And I'm Sam. So we just sat down to record this episode and we were thinking about what we were going to. Speak about today. And Thea and I were not particularly enthusiastic about whatever it is we were supposed to talk about. And Sam wisely said to us, I said, why are you doing this podcast? Is it the time of year where we should perhaps consider having a pause? And everyone just kind of went, ah. Mm, because, we had just spent a bit of time in the kitchen going through all the things that we thought that we might want to share. And actually they're all things that we've already shared, or the doctors have really beautifully shared much of their wisdom about.
And so we could go over and over those things again. But the truth is we don't really want to do that. No. Or we could go further and further into little niche nuanced. Details of medical illnesses and diagnoses and treatment, but we are not really about that because we think so much disease and dysfunction comes out of a misalignment between, us and like our, our soul's de desire and like what's happening in our ecosystem and our environment, that it almost all that stuff for us feels like it's missing the point massively. And we don't wanna create something just for the sake of creating something. And we don't wanna have to talk about stuff just for the sake of talking about it. We don't wanna have to sell stuff, we don't wanna have to advertise things on this podcast, we really created this series. Up until now to give people a different perspective on women's health and maybe just like broaden that perspective to like how our health may be impacted by our environment, by our conditioning, by our culture. And I feel like we've done that. Yes, I think we've done that. And I think really what we were hoping to get out of this was to have a resource, mainly for our patients. Mm-hmm. But also for people anywhere in the world, but mainly for our patients to, I guess, have more of an opportunity to kind of have a deep dive and more of a listen to the ideas that we talk about in our consults. and I think, I feel like we've done that. Mm-hmm. Like we've recorded ideas about a lot of the conditions or all of the conditions that we commonly see. And exactly like you said, that kind of hopefully reframing a lot of those and taking blame off ourselves and off our bodies and thinking more broadly about the culture and the environment that we're swimming in. And I think I, I think it's a beautiful little collection of, um, podcasts and ideas.
I remember having this conversation about starting a podcast. One of the reasons we were having it was because, Peta had written her amazing book and you were both being invited to go to things and do lots of speaking. The point was it wasn't something you really wanted to be doing the truth was, the idea of the podcast was to be able to have the conversations that we have organically under the tree. To share the information that you both believe in so strongly, and to be able to get that out into the world without you having to leave your home or having to leave Vera, which none of us really want to leave this beautiful area. And so that has been done , and it's been done rather organically in a sort of cycle of a year. Everything we've been talking about in the whole, time that we've been doing the podcast has been about cycles. Yes. And been about getting back to the natural, cyclical nature of living and how that can support us as women. Mm-hmm. So when our energy today was just low. It was a really good indicator that we needed to observe or become aware of what was happening. And the truth is, if we look outside today, it is the most glorious Queensland autumn day. Mm-hmm. The sky is blue and you can sparkly. It's sparkly and it's a little bit cooler and we can be outside and the sun is still hot. But we know that we are coming in towards that wintery time and it's always that time of going inward and actually figuring out what are our beliefs now? Totally. And I think if we relate that back to the menstrual cycle as well, like thinking about our inner winter, which we've talked about, which often can be a time of like deep introspection and creativity. And so, you know, thinking then about if we do have a pause over the darker months. What might come out of that. We might find a spark of creativity, but we might not. Yeah. And if we don't as well, like, is that there's that fact that things, there are those endings that death that rebirth into something else. And that's something that in society and in our cycles and in ourselves and in. Our relationships we really push against and we can't accept. Mm-hmm. And so then that might be, you know, a situation where we would keep doing something we don't feel passionate about just to create something.
And so I think if by taking this pause it does mean that this is the final one, then I think like honoring that beautiful ending and, um. And yeah, I think there's something, there's something beautiful in that. There is, and it actually does feel like a big exhale for me. It does. And it's also the whole thing of like, not resisting. Resisting what is, you know? Yes. Being with what is. That's right. And the feeling that we have at the moment is that this is a good time to stop. And if we were to resist that and push against it, perhaps what we would be delivering would be lacking the, like, the energy that we would want it to have. Mm-hmm. It is always about pushing against something when it's saying no. And that consistent pushing against, our boundaries, which as women, I think is one of the main reasons that there are these number of problems that occur in our system is because we've consistently gone against what it is that we really want to do. Mm-hmm. And we talk about all the time how there's this over medicalization and pathologization of women's bodies and our conditions and our cycles and our menopause and all of that. And then we, I don't wanna be adding really like it's, well, it's amazing that we all have information. The best information is actually inside us. Like not outside, not what some doctors saying on Instagram, not what some doctors saying on a podcast, but your own feelings and sensations and experiences of your body. And we don't really wanna add, I I feel very strongly that I don't really wanna add to that. Idea of you can't, like, you're not ever good enough or you have to continue to optimize. Optimize or you've gotta find a fault or a thing that's wrong with you in order to get help. Like I'm, and, and like, I guess if we are adding to that conversation and that noise with stuff that's just all about pathology or what's wrong with your body, I think that kind of amplify. That consciousness. And I think a lot of this has even come out of our last two weeks talking about victim consciousness and how are we adding to that, that we talked about it last week, like that desire to fix, fix people or that desire to get people to realize that there's nothing wrong and to remember the beauty and wisdom in their body, right? And I just want to be here and have, offer that other different perspective and support for people who are at that level where they whatever, when they're ready, when they're ready, and not that that level is a better level than any other levels. It's just that to offer that support when somebody is at that point, rather than having to force stuff down people's throat when. Quite frankly, other ways of being might actually be working for them during, at, at this time of their lives. Yeah, I totally agree. 'cause sometimes I worry that we're giving another to-do list on top of the mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Already huge to-do list that many of us, or many of you are, are subjected to. And that's when it becomes, um, an added pressure that can actually really just make you sicker and the point is, I don't really believe that there's anything that we need to do. It's the opposite. Mm-hmm. And so if we've ever made you feel that way, then we apologize. Um, well, I do. And, um, because the truth is there is nothing to do that the main, idea that we have come back to, or the main theme that we've come back to, every single podcast has been. It's the undoing. Yes. The letting go. Yes. The releasing the pressure. And by us doing this, we allow you to. So what is it in your life that you could decide needs a winter and can you let go of the fear of it?
As Peta so rightly said, it might not come back again. It might be that it dies and never, never sprouts in spring. And that's okay too because sometimes that's what happens. Something new will come that's completely different from the beautiful, , sort of waste that was left behind. Mm-hmm. That's very beautiful, Sam. It was like the thing you put on Instagram about the tomato that was planted. Oh my gosh. Wasn't that just Yes. Well, I, I want to do that. I hope you're gonna do that. Would you? Yes. It was a video of a slice of tomato and it was under the soil and you could see it in time lapse. Yeah. Imaging, and it was rotting, I guess, and then fungus, and then little tiny shoots, and then it, it, it was only 12 weeks or so. It was amazing. Sprouted out and then created a new tomato plant, which is amazing. Yeah, so like I, I think, um, I, yeah, I would just like to encourage anyone, like, we don't have to identify with like illnesses, pathologies, things that are wrong with us, whatever's coming up for you. It's all an invitation. Mm-hmm. And like this idea that we can get somehow to live a pain-free life of no suffering whatsoever is ridiculous and means that we have no meaning and, and it means that we would be at the end of life. That's right. That's right. So that's right. It's like welcoming all of that stuff and using it. Yes. Well, I like Rum Ds. He says it's all grist for the mill. It's my favorite. Yeah. Um, he also says another quote, which I think about all the time, which is. You can do it like it's a load you carry, or you can do it like it's part of the dance. Mm. Or there's no wisdom without suffering either. Mm. We need all of this, and I think this is our point where we're living in a society where it's like, every symptom should be fixed and everybody should be feeling this exact way and nothing should ever change. That's all a complete lie, and the fixation on it will keep you trapped. And keep you stuck and keep you beholden to like, like seeing doctors listening to podcasts like this, listening to, you know, doing all that stuff when really it's just accept every moment, welcome it all. Mm-hmm. And, um. And, you know, you are not just a diagnosis or a pathology or anything, and to be a woman, if you are a woman listening to this, um, it's like extra amplified levels of that, which means extra opportunity to use it, extra grist for the mill. Totally. Right. If we can see it like that. But um, and yeah, I feel really like as we sat down to record this, as we were feeling quite heavy about it .
I actually now feel quite complete like I was thinking that before when you were talking Sam, I was thinking like that's entirely what we hope people listening to this podcast and patients that we see will do. Which is that learn that you have all the answers, and if you can turn inward and turn towards yourself, your body will tell you the answer. And we felt that today, like we felt it in our bodies. We were like thinking, should we try and make a podcast about something that we thought was kind of, um, putting more emphasis on, you know, the, the issues with our body. And then when we decided. We're gonna take a pause. We all felt a sense of relief, release expansion, you know, and we followed that. And also, if you are someone who's on a healing journey. Which I think many people will be. It's that thing of once you are like, if you can let go, go of the healing journey and just be that is so freeing too. Like there's a time where you can just stop. It doesn't have to be about the healing or the getting better or the improving. 'cause life is always like ups and downs and sideways and whatever. It's just all about living and it's about the journey, right? Yeah. All of life is a healing journey. If you look hard enough, you're gonna find a problem. I always think this. Can't find what's wrong with you. Some person, whether it's a doctor or whether it's someone else, will find something to know that there's a problem. The truth is, you know, there will be something under there if you look hard enough, but you don't really need to look that hard if you step back and just can be with what is. There's a bigger picture and in the bigger picture is the capacity for you to. Discover what it is that you need to move forward and the discovery of what you need to move forward doesn't actually require a diagnosis. Mm-hmm. Or another person. No, no. But that's a massive sort of evolutionary step for some of us. Mm-hmm. And it's not something that you need to worry if you're not there, because I think one of the other things that, we have. Covered, um, in every episode is the importance of finding somebody that you can work with if you need to. Mm-hmm. Finding your team and knowing that that team can be made up of doctors, naturopaths, your best friend, , sisters, mothers. Yes, that's right. All the person you met in the past mm-hmm. With your child the other day. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
There are always wise women on every corner to the front and to behind, to the left and to the right. It's just a matter of actually just sitting and. Observing what the universe is placing in front of you so that you can receive the wisdom, and then from there, indeed grow your own. Mm mm and this time of year is a time of reflection. It's a time to go inward. And if we don't make that time for ourselves and give you permission to also stop listening to podcasts. Mm. That's another thing. That's a, that's a whole. You know, we, we need to get off technology at times. Well sometimes I think that, I think, you know, especially when you're driving and things, I think, when do we have silence? When do you actually just sit with your thoughts? ' cause we've talked about that so much. 'cause that's when you actually can sit and notice what's actually going on for you and what feels true in your body rather than, I feel like we've gone from this, um, no one kind of getting any information and pretty much being told that you are. Body was like wrong and you had to ignore what was happening in it to fit into the world, to just like an absolute vomit of information explosion everywhere. Yes. Telling you what's wrong with you, like there's, I mean, explosion in diagnoses and that yes, people will say it's because that things have been under-recognized, but there is definitely, a proportion of, not, not contagion, but what is in the zeitgeist or the public consciousness. And there's like multiple examples of those conditions that then people will, can identify with or pathologize things that can be normal human characteristics, which we often see with, um, like cycle things, things in the cycle. Like the idea of like getting all of our information from Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, et cetera. It's still outsourcing and it's still looking for out things outside of ourselves. Just like a doctor telling you this is what you need to do about your body. That giving you options, it's the same thing. It's really all we wanna say is all of that is inside and can only be felt and learned really from experience. Mm. And from paying attention. Without fear. Yes. And being safe in the knowledge that your body is okay and is working for you. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And you know, that's the really good point because there is, we are in a stage of technology overload and it's um, you know, my yoga, we call it cold depression. It's where, you know, we were told that we would see a time where people are so overwhelmed by information mm-hmm. That that actually causes them, I mean, really what we were saying was it actually causes them to just go into a complete. Vagal collapses. That's collapses, right? You know that. Well, don't I think about that all the time? Like, you know, particularly with, menopause, but BM dds, it's happening with endo. Definitely. Yeah. Like in earlier days you would've heard about these things from the women in your circle, older, you know, grandmothers and mothers and aunties and things. And now the information is just overwhelming. And I think it's making people scared. Well that the, the anecdote is it to, it is silence. To take that quiet time to venture into discovering what the voice of your wise inner self sounds like. Could you sit with yourself and just listen to the whispering voice because it's hard to find her voice or hear her with all the noise, and it's in those pauses that you may actually find that you get the answers that you've been looking for. And they might guide you back to listening to one of the podcasts. Again, they might guide you to see someone else or do something else where you need to find the support, but it will come from you.
Yes, come from within because you generally know what it is that needs to change. All of our pa my patients know what it is that needs to change. It's just having the courage to do that. , I guess another part of our. Mission of our podcast would be to give people permission to, um, know that they're perfect and that their symptoms are telling them something important. It's not a dysfunction generally. Mm. Like there are some cases where maybe that's not true, but for many chronic things that we've talked about, it's often. Information from your body that's overwhelm, that where there's some overwhelm or misalignment, and that is valuable, valuable information. Mm-hmm. So if you can just trust it without that fear, you'll find the answer to your next steps. you don't need other people to tell you how you feeling or. Um, a diagnosis to, to, um, validate you or, that's right. Yeah. It's really that learning to trust your body and learning to trust yourself. That's right.
And if you're listening to this and you feel a bit lost and you think, oh no, don't, don't leave me, , no one's leaving you because Peta and Thea are here and Vera is here. And at any point that you want to come, there's so many things that happen here that afford you an opportunity to come in real life and sit in nature and receive the healing of just being present with other women. So, you know, use the resources that we've created from the podcast and then the resources that you have on your website as well. Mm-hmm. The courses that you've made. Mm-hmm. Peta’s book. Mm-hmm. . The cycle course. Mm-hmm. This is another great course that would really be beneficial. Fabulous. If you're looking at trying to get back in touch with your cycle for any reason, or don't use any of them, they're there if you need them. That this not anything that we feel the need to like have to That's right. They're there and they hopefully can help people when they need them. That's right. And yeah, and Sam is also here as well – a therapist and yoga teacher. I think that's another thing that we have always been really passionate about is in person. Like online things, although it's good for accessibility for some people. Mm. The gold for our nervous system is in sitting with other humans. Mm-hmm. And like, it's like what we talked about, maybe we talked about it last week, or I think maybe we're talking about it in preparation for our podcast, but it's like all of this, ,focus on somatic the, and all these therapies, which of course are great, but their therapies. Labeled as therapies that we have to buy in a society which is chronically dysregulated. Right? But if we just return to the simple practices that our ancestors would've done to help regulate our nervous systems so that we didn't need to then have therapy like. Being, sitting in the sun, being in nature, moving our bodies, sitting with other humans. Yeah. Um, really sharing and being vulnerable. Dancing, singing, eating real food, cooking together, sleeping when it's dark. Mm-hmm. Yes. All of those things are the medicine. That is the medicine. Yes. And none of those things cost anything. And so, you know, we hopefully have opportunities for people to come here and, and, um, experience that, experience that. But you can experience that in your life today. And maybe just thinking about how you can do more of that, because then you don't need to heal from, uh, anything. 'cause you are, you are living in the present doing all of the things that support your body and your nervous system. Mm-hmm. So we give you permission to rest. Mm-hmm. Yes. And we give ourselves permission to rest. Mm, yes. And to enjoy the winter and enjoy. What's the story? Can you tell us the story again of that? Is it Perce or the undergoing under, went into the underworld, seen all the many D version. Yes. Absolutely. So we have to go down into the underworld. Whether it's Persephone, um, that we're using the story of, or Anana where the idea is, and this is connected actually to Venus and I'm pretty sure she is actually on her way down into that journey now. And as she goes down, she has to take off an item of her that she's wearing at every single stage. And the idea is that she won't ever actually be truly allowed to enter into the underworld until she is completely naked. Mm-hmm. That's the idea of, yeah, releasing all these beliefs, releasing everything that we've been taught or we've taken on that isn't ours, and coming to the point where we're completely bare and bare of clothes, bare of beliefs, bare of anything that is material at all. And then we can actually sit in the underworld and it's there that we can find that sense of truth because it's only really in the darkness that we, when we're. A bit scared. Mm. And maybe a bit afraid and lonely and isolated. That it's quiet enough for us to go, ah, this is, this is what I need. And when you then decide to venture out, if you decide, you do, whenever it is, you're ready, you only take with you. What you need and you've come to know your truest self. That's right. And you've left. You've questioned everything. And I think that's a big thing.
Another big thing that we would wanna impart is the more we learn and the more we go on this journey, the more we just question absolutely everything we've ever been taught. From medicine to like society, to work, to life, to parenting, to school, to all of that. And I think just encourage you all to question. All of that and strip away those beliefs that don't feel right or good because, well, it's that, it's the, that's really important. It's, it's the feeling. Yeah. Mm. It it's not what, you know, it's not so you can't get this from here. This is the thing. No, and that's really when everyone talks about somatic stuff, that's all it is. We can't get the answers from here, especially as women, we can't. And that's why we're women. 'cause we're women and so we get it from here. From the feeling. Yeah. From being in. And so yeah. When we're experiencing sensations in our womb or any area like that mm-hmm. In their messages. And so we know, and I was just contemplating you said that the different changes that we have all been through on this year, if you just think about the journey we've all had, the evolution of the process. Which will continue of letting go of beliefs and , making changes in our homes, in our families. Everyone goes through it. It doesn't matter what stage of life. No. And so, yeah, the importance is it doesn't come from here. No. And it can't come from really from listening and trying to figure it out or thinking cause it takes courage. I think it takes a lot of courage to actually. Listen to what your body is telling you, and then act on that. Yeah. You know, but I think it's almost like once you try it out one time and you realize how good it feels and that the world doesn't fall apart, when you trust your own intuition and take a step purely on that path, you realize the world keeps going. No one notices, and it feels so, so right. It's like when we first did one of those fire dancers. Yes. Well, well there's a lovely lady in Brisbane who runs women's fire dancers where there is a , circle of women at the beginning, um, where everybody shares. And then as evening falls, music is played and everyone starts dancing around a fire. with the option to remove items of clothing if it suits a bit like, yes, just like an honor. Like if it suits people and some people take off no clothes. Mm-hmm. Some people lie on the ground and watch everyone dancing around them, and some people take their clothes off and p prance around like a fairy. Or a deer and or a deer, yes. Mm-hmm. And I think, you know, it was confronting at first, but, but what did it feel like in your body? It felt, 'cause it's like against all of the normal things, it was very confronting, but then it felt like a return to an ancient, ancient knowing. And I think like it is like an honor because you come away from it. Having had almost like confronted the thing that really scared you and done it and realized everything's fine. And so many beliefs challenged that you're going, why isn't this like we said to each other? I think I probably said to you as I went going, when I was driving there, I was a bit nervous about, I forced you to come. You wanted to do it for your birthday, and then I said to you halfway in it, oh my God. Like why? Like the fact that this isn't normal is so strange, so wrong. It's just, yeah, because it is just connection to nature. Mm-hmm. To oneself. Mm-hmm. To the earth. Like to other women. This feeling. Yeah. The feeling of like just dancing on the ground. Mm-hmm. Like the, with your bare feet. And so, yeah, like that, that was like that real con that just conjured up that idea of that feeling, you know? Totally such, and that, but that is the medicine, like that is actually the medicine. And we keep, we say it all the time, like if our patients could just come and we all dance together around the fire, sometimes we've run into them accidentally. But like if, as as women, we could all dance around the fire together, like that's, that's where the medicine is. And it's the, in this is that beautiful undoing of a belief. Mm-hmm. Yes. Undoing of something. We've been programmed to think that our naked body is wrong mm-hmm. And that our naked body is actually dangerous in some way for us to show it, or that it would inflict something in another. And I feel like that's something that is really is, is looking to be healed in most women. Yeah. That there is a fear of what will happen if I get naked, what will happen. Mm. The truth is actually exactly that. When I remember when I did that naked yoga at the end of it, I did just didn't wanna put my clothes back on. It felt so free. It was almost annoying to have to actually re-robe. Yes. And I want, I felt like I could just walk through the town naked. Mm-hmm. I didn't. But it's also like a, um, it's like a connection with a group of people that is uplifting and not around complaining about our latest thing. It's like creating an environment of joy. Mm-hmm. And, um, just presence, just pleasure and awe and yeah. And presence and things like that, which is so different in our society, right? You know, and so like, not that we're telling you all to go a naked fire dance at all, but that was just a, that honestly tell people to put naked on the full name. So, yeah.
But it's just that thing of like feeling. What feels right in your body, even if like it's not what you've been told. Mm-hmm. because that's the greatest teacher that you'll ever have. Like, if nothing else, the end of the podcast is just permission to turn back towards yourself because, you know, without the need to label. Diagnose or fix. I'd like to extend a, um, thank you to everybody or anybody who has listened over this year. anybody who decides that this is remotely useful. It's been good and I hope that it has helped in some way or provided you with a, a different perspective. If not, that's also okay. We may see you again or we may not, but we are always here in this current form, but we're always here. Mm. Yes. And so it's, and so thank you. Thank you so much.
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DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
