Best of The Body Pod: The Truth About Menopause and Hormones for Women Over 40 with Dr. Louise Newson

If you've ever been told to stretch more, foam roll more, or simply "move better" to fix your pain, this episode may completely change how you think about injury recovery and long-term movement health. We sit down with physical therapist and movement expert Dr. Tom Walters to unpack the science behind mobility, strength training, injury prevention, pain management, tendon health, joint function, and healthy aging. From frozen shoulder and plantar fasciitis to ACL rehabilitation and chronic aches and pains, Dr. Walters explains why many common approaches to recovery fall short and what actually works to build a stronger, more resilient body.

Bryn Panee Burkhart came to Hailey Happens Fitness a little over a year ago, right in the middle of what she calls a full-blown sandwich generation smackdown. After a cross-country move to Hawaii, she was raising two kids, managing her father's cancer care and her aunt's dementia diagnosis, and quietly falling apart from exhaustion no one had a name for. It was not until she read an article on how women have been misled about menopause that she realized what she was actually dealing with was perimenopause, and it sent her down a research rabbit hole that eventually led her to strength training, hormone replacement therapy, and Hailey Happens Fitness.

Why does midlife suddenly bring on insecurity, self-sabotage, and a loss of self-confidence you never struggled with before? In this episode of The Body Pod, Hailey and Laura sit down with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf, bestselling author of 19 books on the mind-brain connection, to unpack exactly what happens in the midlife brain. Dr. Leaf explains why women in midlife shift from processing life in broad concepts to sudden, sharp detail, why this cognitive shift can surface a "midlife crisis," and how decades of unmanaged toxic thoughts quietly shape self-sabotage, anxiety, and stress well into your 40s, 50s, and beyond. If you've ever wondered why midlife hits differently for women's mental health and confidence, this conversation breaks down the neuroscience behind it.

If you've ever leaked during a workout, felt pressure "down there," or been told to just do your Kegels, this episode is for you. We sit down with Kim Vopni, known as The Vagina Coach, a certified personal trainer and pelvic floor expert with over 20 years of experience helping women understand and optimize their pelvic health. Pelvic floor dysfunction affects millions of women and most don't even know they have it! This conversation covers everything you didn't know you needed to hear.

What if your body came with a maintenance manual and you've just been ignoring it? In this episode of The Body Pod, hosts Hailey and Laura sit down with Dr. Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett, the legendary movement and mobility experts behind Built to Move and The Ready State, for a conversation that will completely change how you think about your body in midlife. From hip extension to voodoo flossing, the Starretts break down why most women are unknowingly setting themselves up for injury, chronic pain, and lost function and exactly what to do about it.