Episode 247: Dr. Jessica Shepherd

Generation M brings education and clear inspiration for perimenopause into menopause and beyond.   0:00 — Introduction and Guest Introduction 1:55 — Overview of "Generation M" and Its Purpose 4:33 — Koenenki and the Importance of Being Present 8:13 — Hormone Checks and Their Importance 10:52 — Preparing for Menopause: Practical Tips 16:11 — Meditation and Mindfulness 19:22 — Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) 24:37 — Self-Experimentation and Self-Awareness 27:12 — Metabolism and Nutrition 33:40 — Sexual Health and Exercise 36:56 — Protein Sources and Nutritional Needs Dr. Jessica Shepherd is a menopause expert and board-certified OBGYN specializing in menopause and longevity care. She is the Chief Medical Officer for Hers and founder of Sanctum Med + Wellness, her Dallas-based holistic practice focused on optimizing women's health and aging. Her book Generation M has helped shape the modern menopause conversation, and she is a trusted media expert featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, and more. Through her clinical work and education, Dr. Shepherd empowers women to take a prevention-forward, science-backed approach to physical, sexual, and emotional wellness. Generation M https://www.jessicashepherdmd.com/generation-m-womens-health-book Modern Meno community https://modmeno.circle.so/join?invitation_token=1bdfdcea015373b875eec4288728a8c1c9bb88a5-4202f1d9-6273-474d-8c99-1ad27caf425d

On the path to power through peace, our surprising energetic fingerprint, and practicing self-compassion.  0:00 — Introduction and Guest Welcome 1:39 — Discussion on "Permission to Glow" 3:50 — Exploring the Four Permissions 6:17 — The Difference Between Shining and Glowing 10:32 — The Pause Button and Personal Practices 13:23 — Meditation and Personal Transformation 19:28 — Self-Compassion and Personal Growth 19:40 — Conclusion and Final Thoughts Kristoffer Carter ('KC') is the author of Permission to Glow: A Spiritual Guide to Epic Leadership, which guides his team's coaching of Fortune 500 executive leaders. He is the CEO and founder of Epic Leadership, which has created a meditation practice for thousands. Kris's teachings have been featured in Men's Health, Fast Company, Thrive Global, and Good Life Project podcast. Kris sits on the Board of Directors of Yoga Alliance, and serves the global work of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi. He teaches at Kripalu, and on Substack, via his column Permission to Chill. Kristoffer lives in Northeast Ohio with his three children.

On bridging psychological insight into the yoga space, infusing everything with choice and invitation. 0:00 — Introduction and Background of Dr. Lauren Tober 2:36 — Dr. Tober's Journey and Integration of Disciplines 4:29 — Evolution of Trauma-Informed Yoga 7:24 — Rescuer Mentality and Mindful Communication 11:30 — Adapting Yoga Practices for Trauma Sensitivity 16:06 — Training and Supporting Yoga Teachers 19:56 — Personal and Professional Evolution 24:20 — Mentorship and Private Work 27:53 — New Book and Its Impact 31:11 — Podcast and Final Thoughts Dr. Lauren Tober (she/her) is a Clinical Psychologist, Yoga Teacher, author of Mental Health Aware Yoga: A Guide for Yoga Teachers, host of the A Grateful Life Podcast, mother-of-two, spiritual seeker, beach-lover, book-reader, world-traveller and an eternal student of life. She has been a practicing psychologist and yoga teacher for over 20 years and is the founder of the Yoga Psychology Institute where she teaches yoga teachers about mental health, mental health professionals about yoga, and offers programs for anyone interested in the intersection of yoga, psychology and living a good life. With a passion for health, healing, happiness and awakening, Dr Lauren integrates the best of western psychology with yogic wisdom, both on and off the mat. Her work is soulful without being new-agey. It's evidence based without being clinical. It's authentic, heartfelt and life changing. Find out more at www.yogapsychologyinstitute.com. Lauren's new book - Mental Health Aware Yoga: A Guide for Yoga Teachers - www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/book Lauren's masterclass - How to Teach Yoga for Nervous System Regulation - www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/how-to-teach-yoga-for-nervous-system-regulation/

On navigating chronic illness with grace, the courage it takes to name what's invisible, and the quiet revolution of believing yourself. 0:00 - Introduction and Guest Introduction 2:40 - Chronic Resilience and Medical Trauma Brain (MTB) The Importance of Recovery and Processing 9:05 - Practical Tools for Nervous System Regulation 18:11 - The Role of Convalescence and Healing Space 26:34 - Final Thoughts and Encouragement Amy Kurtz is a trailblazing author, certified health coach, patient advocate and speaker dedicated to empowering patients to reclaim agency over their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. A distinct voice in the health space, Amy's work has been heralded by Dr Mark Hyman, Kris Carr, and many more. Lena Dunham named Kicking Sick one of her "Top 10 desert island books of all time" in New York Magazine. Amy has been featured on Oprah Daily, Good Morning America, The Boston Globe, NYMAG, Fox, and more. In her debut book, "Kicking Sick: Your GO-TO GUIDE for thriving with chronic health conditions," Amy shares her journey of living with chronic health conditions and provides a roadmap and actionable guidance to help readers manage debilitating conditions and live fully. Amy's second book, But You Look Fine, Trapped in the Hell between Sick and Well and How to Break Free, breaks the silence about the crucial, painful, pervasive, and yet all too common phase of healing from chronic illness that has long gone overlooked… until now. https://amykurtz.com/

On the nuances of grief and loss, personal rituals, and our willingness to be transformed.  0:00 — Introduction and Guest Introduction 3:04 — Marissa's Personal Story and Grief Journey 7:38 — Building a Grief Plan 13:24 — Understanding Trauma and Its Impact 17:27 — Boundaries and Self-Care 22:52 — The Role of Prayer and Rituals 28:22 — Memorializing Losses and Rituals 32:18 — Connecting with Nature and Finding Support 37:46 — Conclusion and Final Thoughts Merissa Nathan Gerson is the author of Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman's Guide to Grieving, and her writing appears in Modern Love for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Playboy, Tablet, CNN.com and beyond. Merissa trained in Shambhala Shamatha meditation, graduated with an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University, is a certified Sivananda yoga teacher, and holds an MA in Jewish Studies with a focus on inherited trauma as well as sex and gender from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She was the Inherited Trauma consultant to Amazon's Transparent and is the daughter and granddaughter of war refugees. She is currently training to be a rabbi. Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman's Guide to Grieving came out in 2021 from Mandala Press for Simon & Schuster. This book is a companion for these times. As McArthur Genius Kiese Laymon describes: "Merissa Gerson has created a neon treatise on the art and necessity of grieving."

On tending to our interdependence, living life fully, and dying with attention and equanimity. 0:00 — Introduction  1:34 — Overview of Ann's Book "Traveling in Bardo" 3:55 — Personal Reflections on Grandmother's Funeral 7:20 — The Role of Practice in Embracing Impermanence 16:15 — Living with Attention and Interdependence 34:57 — Authenticity and True Nature 42:09 — Conclusion and Final Thoughts Ann Tashi Slater writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Paris Review, and Granta, among others, and is a contributing editor at Tricycle. She presents and teaches workshops at Princeton, Columbia, Oxford, Asia Society, and The American University of Paris, and was a regular speaker at NYC's Rubin Museum of Art during the museum's 20-year run. Ann's new book, Traveling in Bardo: The Art of Living in an Impermanent World was released by Balance/Hachette in September, 2025. TRAVELING IN BARDO explores how we can find meaning and happiness in a world where change is the only certainty. Interweaving explorations of "bardo" between-states in relation to marriage and friendship, parents and children, and work and creativity with stories of her Tibetan ancestors and Buddhist teachings on the fleeting nature of existence, Slater illuminates what the teachings have to tell us in our contemporary lives. She relays vital wisdom from Tibetan culture, giving us a bold, new framework to navigate moments of change and live life fully. With a foreword by Dani Shapiro, the book has been praised by Elizabeth Gilbert, Melissa Febos, Sharon Salzberg, and Julia Alvarez, among others, and has been selected as a "Must-Read" by the Next Big Idea Club, co-curated by Malcolm Gladwell. In the midst of this shifting landscape, Slater invites us to embrace impermanence in a powerful way, rooted in ancient wisdom. During over forty years of writing and speaking about her Tibetan-American heritage and the relevance of Buddhism in Western society, Slater has come to see how Tibetan bardo views on impermanence can transform the way we live. A luminous guide to navigating transition and impermanence, it offers us the opportunity to find happiness in an impermanent world.

On the identities we no longer need, the alchemy of recovery, and mourning the person we used to be.  (0:00) – Introduction and Background of Allison Derani (2:13) – Allison's Journey and Grief in Recovery (5:21) – Parenting and Self-Abandonment (7:04) – The Ambiguous Grief of Self-Abandonment (7:50) – The Liminal Space of Sobriety (18:39) – The Importance of Listening to Questions (22:57) – The Practice of Slowing Down (25:21) – Closing Thoughts and Future Plans Allison Deraney is a woman in recovery from alcohol who credits sobriety for waking her back up to her first passion—writing. Currently a licensed real estate attorney, running her own business, she's writing more creativity into her days via her Substack, Dare To Be, and working on her first book, a memoir about the healing and revealing as we recover from the ambiguous loss of self-abandonment. Dedicated to speaking up and speaking out about living a conscious sober life, Allison lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and two rescue dogs, spending her free time wandering and wondering in nature, and cheering her kids on from the sidelines of the basketball court. Allison's book-to-be is about grief; not the traditional kind, though there is some of that in there. The biggest lesson she's learned in recovery is this: Rejecting grief, in all its iterations, is a form of self-abandonment. Grief requires that we surrender to it. So does addiction, compulsion of perfection and aging. It's a book that explores how my midlife journey is intersecting with the deeper parts of recovery in the most terrifying and beautiful way. It's a unique book in that it is written during the transformation. Because I am still in it. Sobriety has been my portal to Divinity and I'm here, feet planted on the threshold, weaving words to capture the experience as best I can. https://allisonderaney.substack.com Here are Allison's three favorite posts from her Substack, DARE TO BE, out of an immense pull to write through her sobriety. https://open.substack.com/pub/allisonderaney/p/setting-off-our-own-fireworks-a95?r=rkt4u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false https://open.substack.com/pub/allisonderaney/p/its-been-a-whole-hand?r=rkt4u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false https://open.substack.com/pub/allisonderaney/p/my-permission-sticks-they-still-keep?r=rkt4u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

On the root causes of emotional eating, tools with which to begin your healing process, and gifting yourself grace as you go. And you're not broken. (0:00) – Introduction (3:10) – Self-Sabotaging Behaviors and Societal Conditioning (9:09) – Emotional Eating and Coping Mechanisms (13:24) – Building Awareness and Coping Strategies (20:01) – Healing the Relationship with Food (28:16) – Practical Recommendations for Blood Sugar Management (33:05) – Conclusion and Encouragement Amber Romaniuk is an Emotional Eating, Digestive and Hormone Expert, with 12 years experience helping high achieving women create a level of body confidence, intuition and optimal health through powerful mindset healing, self-care and overcoming self-sabotage with food. She does this through addressing the key negative thoughts, patterns and limiting beliefs that keep women stuck in the same behaviors for years and decades, that they haven't been able to break. Resources: Emotional Eating Quiz Free 30 minute Body Freedom Consultation Amber's podcast Amber's YouTube Amber's Instagram

On the undeniable gift of becoming our own ally, when personal healing becomes shared, universal healing. (0:00) – Annetta Knopf's Journey and Book Introduction (5:12) – Challenges and Insights in Writing the Book (9:50) – Personal Trauma and Healing (19:57) – The Concept of Femininity and Masculinity (29:27) – Practical Practices for Healing and Transformation (31:26) – Final Reflections and Gratitude Annette Knopp is a meditation teacher, somatic counselor, and nature mystic who favors an integrative approach to living in wakeful and embodied connection. For twenty years she has mentored clients on their unique journeys of healing and awakening. She spent nine years living in India, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands before moving to the US on a religious worker visa. In 2009 Annette and her husband Stephan opened the Blue Spirit Retreat Center in Nosara, Costa Rica. Today she divides her time between Costa Rica and Woodstock, New York. In the US, she is often teaching at the Upaya Zen Center and Omega Institute in Rhinebeck.. Mystic Nomad: A Woman's Wild Journey to True Connection https://www.annetteknopp.com/book.

On practice as a continuous evolution of form, care and depth, and sustaining the light of our teachers as an act of love.  Kino MacGregor is a Miami native, happiest on the beach with a fresh coconut. She's a poet at heart, always stopping to smell the flowers. She also the founder of Omstars, the world's first yoga TV network, and her message of spiritual strength reaches practitioners the world over. With 1m+ followers on Instagram and over 500k subscribers on YouTube and Facebook, she's sought after as an expert in yoga and international yoga teacher, inspirational speaker, author of four books, producer of six Ashtanga Yoga DVDs, a writer, vlogger, world traveler, and co-founder of Miami Life Center. (0:00) – Introduction (3:03) – The Spiritual Journey of Yoga (8:46) – The Role of Yoga in End-of-Life Preparation (14:20) – The Importance of Patience and Forbearance in Yoga (24:18) – Balancing Personal Challenges and Joyful Moments (26:12) – The Evolution of Kino's Teaching and Practice (31:30) – Conclusion and Gratitude https://kinoyoga.com