Against All Odds Podcast, The Less than 1% Chance with Maria Aponte
Maria highlights stories of people that have been the "less than 1% chance" and have come out of their situations thriving and seeing life as happening FOR them and not TO them! Inspiring and empowering stories that will show you that against all odds you can make it through anything!
Against All Odds Podcast, The Less than 1% Chance with Maria Aponte
Embracing Menopause with Grace: Beverly Whitlow's Holistic Approach to Life's Natural Transition
Discover the transformative power of embracing menopause with grace and wisdom as I sit down with the remarkable Beverly Whitlow, a holistic menopause coach who's enlightening us on the journey through this natural life stage. Imagine a world where discussions about menopause are as common as morning coffee chats, where knowledge and community blend to shape a confident passage through this transition. Our conversation dives into the necessity of starting these critical conversations early, the profound impact of lifestyle and diet, and the often unseen power of mutual support.
Together with Beverly, we dissect the crucial intersection of mindset, wellness, and menopause. My own tale weaves through the narrative, from fitness enthusiast to mother, and now a guide for others traversing similar paths. We tackle the myths around health management during these years, weighing the benefits of holistic strategies against the conventional medical treatments. The takeaway? A life lived with the belief that every experience molds us for the better can change our entire approach to menopause, and indeed, all of life's challenges.
Wrapping up, we explore how starting your day with intent and managing stress can have profound effects on your overall well-being. I share my personal morning rituals and stress relief strategies, emphasizing their not just beneficial but necessary role during menopause. Whether it's finding solace in a sunrise, the grounding sensation of earth beneath our feet, or embracing gratitude for the small wonders each day brings, this episode is a heartfelt thank you to the processes that shape us and to you, our listeners, for taking this journey with us.
Beverly Witlow
Website: www.beverlyheelscoaching.com
Instagram: Beverly Heels Health Coaching
Follow Maria on Facebook HERE
Follow Maria on Instagram HERE
Follow Maria on YouTube HERE
Welcome back to the Against All Odds the Less Than 1% Chance podcast with your host, maria Aponte, where we will hear stories of incredible people thriving against all odds, and my hope is that we can all see how life is always happening for us, even when we are the Less Than 1% Chance. Hey, hey, welcome back to Against All Odds the Less Than 1% Chance podcast with your host, maria Aponte. I hope you are doing fantastic. Oh my gosh, I have a treat for you all. Today I have this amazing guest. Her name is Beverly Whitlow. She is the founder and driving force behind Beverly Heals Health and Wellness Coaching, with a passion for empowering women during their menopause journey.
Speaker 1:Me, beverly is a powerful, holistic menopause coach dedicated to helping women embrace a fabulous, confident and sexy version of themselves. I am so excited to speak to her. We chatted a little bit beforehand and it's just so good to have a conversation and have conversations about this because, as I was telling her before, I never had this conversation with my mom and I'm probably a hundred percent sure that she didn't have it with her mom, and this has just been a hush, hush conversation for far too long and I'm so happy that we are now talking more about it. It is more mainstream, it is just coming out some more, and so I'm so excited to have Beverly, because I know that she's going to just bring some wisdom to us and then we can go from there. It's going to be an amazing conversation. So, beverly, welcome.
Speaker 2:Well, maria, I love you so much already. I feel like we've already had a podcast session before we jumped on. This podcast connected immediately with so many things that are a part of the menopause journey. So, yes, I'm Beverly with Beverly Hills Health and Wellness Coaching, and my passion is to support women on the menopause journey, and when I was speaking with you, you were saying that you actually were in the throes of your menopause journey very early in your 30s.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am so grateful to be on this platform and be invited to have this conversation because I want women to know that this journey begins in your 30s and sometimes as early as your late 20s, because life is changing. Our food supply is changing, there's so much happening that our parents and grandparents didn't contend with, and we have to have conversations. We have to have community where we can have discussions that are safe spaces, and not to be feared, not to be thinking. This is something that doesn't apply to me. It'll happen someday in the future when I'm 50, 60 years old. No, you need to be aware today, wherever you are. If you're a young girl that's preteen, you need to know what's happening to mom as she's transitioning, what's happening to your teachers when you're in class. Like this impacts us everywhere. You look at the men, they need to be aware. Those in corporate environment who are working alongside women, they need to.
Speaker 2:This is a global conversation and one of the saddest things to me is we, as women, sometimes don't even understand what's happening in our bodies. It's like symptoms start showing up. You're like, oh my God, what's happening our bodies. Yeah, he's like symptoms start showing up. You're like, oh my God, what's happening? I'm losing it. I need to go to the doctor, there's something wrong. And you end up in the doctor's office and they're just like, oh, you're just depressed, here's a prescription, go on your merry way. So, yeah, this is like the against all odds. We need to be informed and have these conversations far and wide. So thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1:That's a long, oh my gosh. No, it's perfect. I agree, and it shows your passion for it. I agree, 100%. I feel like I wish I would have known more and I always think life is always happening for you and not to you, right? So I feel like I've been through so many things that I could say, all right, well, I've been there and I am so grateful that things are changing so that you don't have to go through the things that I went through, and it's so much of this is information. I've learned so much, even in just the last few months, about menopause and, as we were talking earlier, I did hit menopause at 32. So something that I learned this year was that there's this perimenopause I knew about that and there's menopause, but menopause is only one day.
Speaker 2:This is the first time I've ever been in a conversation that somebody knew that Congratulations. I call it like the menopause birthday.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, one day, my menopause birthday is December 9th. That was a week before I turned 33. So it just it blows my mind. How do we not know this? How did I not know that December 10th 2015, I was already post-menopausal? And it's so crazy because I can tell you, I had a conversation and I love him to death.
Speaker 1:My cousin is like a brother to me and I remember the day that I had the surgery that he called me to check up on me because I was staying in the hospital for a few days. He called me to check up on me and he goes how are you? And I'm like, oh my God, I'm just, I'm like burning up, I'm so hot. He's like what are you talking about? Whatever, you just had that surgery. You're not there yet. And I'm like no, I feel it. I feel it, it's burning, it's coming up from my feet and I feel this horrible wave of hell. Yes, it was just like this wave of heat that comes up from my feet up to my head. And oh my gosh. And he's like whatever, you're just in your head. And I'm like, oh my God, I felt like I was going crazy already.
Speaker 1:And those are the things that women start experiencing in perimenopause that they're. Yes, the hormones are all crazy and not necessarily balanced, and whatever it just it has blown my mind. I, over the last six months, I have been delving in deep into the hormonal parts of all of this and what I'm missing and what more information. I've watched podcasts. I have a book that I've pre-ordered that is coming out soon. I am all into this because I feel like it's not fair that I experienced this at 32, which was almost nine years ago that I had no idea, no idea of any of it, and so I'm so excited for anyone that's going through it now, which is a lot of my friends that are in this phase of the perimenopause, and now they're experiencing what I experienced in my early 30s, so I am so excited to talk to you about this.
Speaker 2:Well, maria, let me just stop right here and acknowledge you Like I'm getting goosebumps. I'm like feeling like your mother here. You Like I'm getting goosebumps. I'm like feeling like your mother here. You have taken a circumstance that you naturally should not be going through for another 10 to 15 years and you've leaned into it. You've owned your power, you've taken control of this. You've done the research. You're trying to empower other women, you're educating them, and you're 30. You're like a baby.
Speaker 1:I'm 41 now. I'm 41 now, so not 30, not in my 30s anymore.
Speaker 2:But how life is just got so much ahead of you. You're going through this. I'm like really getting choked up because there's nothing that you won't be able to tackle in this life. A lot of women, the perimenopause journey just totally takes them out. Some of them do fall into deep depression. Some of them just feel like their life is over because they can't have who they were or the body that they were 10 years ago or so.
Speaker 2:And you just leaned into this. I just appreciate you so much and honor what you're doing and having this conversation to other women and being optimistic, being very like I got this that good because be cool, because we do, we have a choice. And sometimes I have conversations with women and it's so negative and it's like this woe is me, and it's like you have choice. Yeah, you can turn all this around and make it the best part of your life going forward, but it's a decision. Make it the best part of your life going forward, but it's a decision. Your body is screaming for something that is going to need to be addressed.
Speaker 2:When you're at that phase where your hormones are taking a deep dive. This is your estrogen is changing, your progesterone and your testosterone. Your body is saying, well, okay, we don't look like we're going to be needing all of the inner workings of your body for a baby, so let's just rearrange things and we're going to help you make this next stage of your life, but it's going to require some more attention. I need you to eat better foods. I need you to move your body, because if you don't take care of these things, that can be the onset of some health problems.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I tell my ladies is like, if you don't take care of these things, that can be the onset of some health problems. One of the things that I tell my ladies is like, if you have a measuring tape and you go around your waist and you're beyond 34 inches, that's an indication. Hey, let me start taking care of my health, because that's the onset of some health problems. If you're a person that doesn't move, you're running the risk of having high blood pressure. Person that doesn't move, you're running the risk of having high blood pressure, problems with your A1C, your blood sugar, like a lot of things that just keep compounding your health problems. And then the biggest one is like women are hitting the charts at the top for heart disease. Yeah, your body is just screaming like, okay, you've taken care of the kids, you're taking care of other people.
Speaker 1:Your job, Take care of me now.
Speaker 2:Screaming it's my turn, it's my turn, so that's the way I look at menopause this is your turn, absolutely, and you've mentioned before that this is your self-care era.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think that the perimenopause is screaming that like, hello woman, let's go, let's take care of this situation, because menopause and postmenopause, that's when routine it's such a priority. You have to have these routines built, and it's so hard when your energy level is in the tank built, and it's so hard when your energy level is in the tank, like there's no energy, and you are trying to build routines. And at that point, like when you're with the perimenopause and all of that, I'm urging you, learning from my own journey. I'm urging you. I started taking care of myself August of 2015. So I had cervical cancer, had surgery in June of 2015. But I went through like depression because this was the third time in my life that I had cervical cancer and at this before I was like it was prior to being a mom and now I was a single mom. How, like all of the things that go through your head, how, what's going to happen if something happens to me? What is going to happen to my babies? Yeah, it's a different.
Speaker 1:So I went through this depression during that summer, in that middle of that August, like kids went back to school and I was like I'm done, I need to do something. So I, as a single mom at that time, like I was like 24th 2015, by October 15th, so we, a month and a half after that, I had my follow-up appointment and the cancer had come back, and so I had decisions to make either I was going to go back for the same surgery or I was going to do a full hysterectomy. And I could tell you people are like it's such, that's an easy decision and I'm like it was the hardest decision to make because I knew what came with that was menopause. And now that I know it was post menopause and I wasn't prepared for, like my bones being more frail and my like my libido being down, and I wasn't prepared for the mood swings. I had a close to teenage daughter at that time and she had already been diagnosed bipolar. I was like how are we going to live? How is this going to be, when I'm like going batshit crazy and so is she. This is not going to be a very fun household to be in. So it just it was so many things that went through my head.
Speaker 1:Obviously, the decision was I wanted to make sure that I was going to continue to be in my kid's life, so my decision was to do the hysterectomy and I didn't get it until December 9th. So my goal at that, from October 15th to December 9th, was all right, I'm getting under 150 pounds. I'm making these habits. I'm going to work out every day, drink water, which I never did. Now I can't be without my water bottle my friend calls it my emotional support bottle and like eat right and listen to personal development and just get right with myself.
Speaker 1:It was a lifestyle shift for you, yes, but it was like this do or die, and I and it breaks my heart that people need to get to that point to make a difference in their life. And so now that, like a lot of my audience, is perimenopause, I want to like, be like, do it now, because it's gonna be so much harder afterwards. Yes, what are the biggest challenges that you face when it comes to like embracing and loving your body at the age of menopause, as you age into that?
Speaker 2:Okay, I think for me my circumstances is totally different. I'm one of these people. I always see the glass half full, always. It's never an option to see it half empty. So, just like you, I didn't have the conversation with my mother.
Speaker 2:I'm a baby boomer. So when I was growing up, children were seen and not heard. You never had conversations that you didn't necessarily were called into. You were on the periphery, so, like anything you needed to learn, we didn't have the luxury of the internet. I think we had encyclopedias, but the thought of looking up menopause as a teenager just wasn't on my mind. But I have to say my mother was an avid reader and so was I, and I remember some point in high school or junior high or something. She gave me a book by Dr Christine Northrup on menopause and I was like what am I going to do with this? And I just stuck it on the shelf. Needless to say, by the time I hit the period menopause stage, I was like something is happening. I'm doing my research. At that time the internet had pretty good information available resources and her name kept popping up with some of the things that I was going through and I was just like, okay, let me find that book, and, and it's like light bulb.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm going through the period menopause phase, but my symptoms were pretty mild, I think. For myself, my journey was lighter. One was the mindset. I've life that way. But then also I've been a fitness instructor. I've been a fitness enthusiast.
Speaker 2:I had all boys, so we were always active, doing something. I couldn't be the winkest link in the household, so I have to be there playing ball. I have to be doing some of these rough housing sports. I had to be able to be in the gym throwing up weights. So I kept my body, I think, pretty optimal. And it was always important to eat right, because all of my boys were in some type of sport, so you can't eat junk food and perform at the highest level. So we were always having healthier food. So with that, my journey was not challenging.
Speaker 2:However, one of the things that really got me and I think you touched on it a little bit was like the weight Right. My weight was pretty much always the same and then I noticed like I did nothing different, but my weight was creeping up. A couple pounds here, a couple. I'm just like no problem, I'll do a quick little detox or something and get my weight back down, and I might get it down but then it goes right back up. I'm like what is going on? It's like to me that was a non-negotiable. We have to figure this out.
Speaker 2:I'm a girl. My business is called Beverly Heels coaching for a reason. I love nice things. So when I thought about, like, if I don't get this under control, all of my clothes I'll have to replace them, and I'm not doing that.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, I started doing more research and it resulted in me getting my certification as a health and wellness coach and finding out it's all about hormones and the doctor that I worked under for my certification was a hormone specialist. So when he started teaching about that and how women's body changed and how these different organs would show up, how our bodies changed during this phase, it's like light bulb. I got it, I got it and then I was able to get in a place where, okay, I'm stabilizing, but still understanding the fact that you and I talked about it like our bodies is shifting because one, we're not going to need the same type of functionality because we're not going to have a baby, so we can't be mad at our body for doing something to try to support us. Yeah, we also don't have to succumb to well whatever happens, and we'll just go with the flow, because in that instance the decline in the estrogen is causing the weight to come on a lot faster in the waistline.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You have to be cognizant and you have to make some choices. For me, it's like okay, I see my body shifting and changing. We're going to do everything we can to be healthy and active, but I'm not going to be mad at my body because it's trying to do a shift, because I'm no longer childbearing, so I don't have any problem with that. I'm like the kind of person I can look in my body in a mirror, fully in my birthday suit, and say I love you. Yeah, I love you, because some people don't even make it to the stage of menopause or perimenopause and we're here. This is a blessing. Also, why not turn it around and make the best that we can of it? For me, it's like the empty nesting. The kids are gone. You know no more working that. The retirement space is there.
Speaker 2:Shifting into like what gives me joy being a health and wellness coach, supporting other women who may not have the ability to go through this journey as seamlessly as I did, and educating them and letting them know this is what's happening. This is what you can do. You have choices, you can go. My focus is a holistic, natural approach, but also understand if that's not what you want to do. You can actually see a doctor and get prescription pharmaceuticals. But just understand, there are side effects, there are things that you have to contend with and understand if you make that choice. But be informed yes, in the podcast with Maria as she talks about the journey, because you're hearing it for someone who has masterfully embraced it and it's just showing up amazing, absolutely amazing, maria.
Speaker 1:Thank you. It just I just feel like I tell my kids all the time I have my oldest is 20. My son is 18, about to graduate high school, and then my youngest daughter's, 15. And so I tell them all the time stop giving your power away to anybody else or anything else. And if I am telling them to not allow the things outside of themselves to take hold of your power, then I can't do it Right. I have to take charge of that in myself, to take charge of that in myself. And so it's becoming very aware of.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is the situation. I can either figure out how to live with it or be miserable, living with something I don't understand. And I refuse to do that, like I refuse to just go by through life allowing something outside of myself to dictate your life for you. Yes, it just doesn't make any sense to me, and so I feel like that was the case with menopause. Again, I started my menopause journey, my postmenopause journey, at 32. I was about to be 33. And not until about 39 did I start feeling some of those symptoms. I kept my. I think that I kept my symptoms at bay with physical fitness, your life, yeah, my, the foods that I was eating the water, that I was drinking the mindset stuff that I like, I wholeheartedly. I have a mindset coach. He always says it and I know that he got it, I think, from like Tony Robbins or something like that. But life is always happening for you and not to you. So okay, I'm experiencing this. What can I do to make sure that it has purpose and meaning behind it and that's?
Speaker 2:literally why I started this podcast. I was just going to say look what manifested in your life as a result of that.
Speaker 1:Yes, literally. Last year I was grieving my dad and I went to a live conference with my mindset coach and he challenged us. And then, a year before that it was, my dad was still alive and I went to a self retreat. It was with a friend of mine. I had done a Reiki course with her. She's like my healer friend, she's amazing and so she moved from Florida to the Pacific Northwest and I took a trip to where she was staying and we did this, this whole self healing retreat. Just it was her and I and a lot of the subconsciously, the things that I was telling her.
Speaker 1:My higher self was telling me you're going to create a podcast, you need to share your story with more of the world and it's going to be called Against All Odds, because you've literally beat the odds and it's been from conception till now. I've literally beat the odds and it's been from conception till now. I've literally beaten the odds. So fast forward a little bit. Last year, when I went to this mindset conference, my mindset coach tasked us with doing an action towards something that we have been putting off and I'm like the podcast. So I signed up for this like platform or whatever, where I upload my podcast and I was like that was my massive action and my deadline. This was in May. I think it was like the few days before Mother's Day. So this was in May and I said by June 1, I'm launching my podcast. And I launched it like a few days before June 1st.
Speaker 2:Congratulations and look at all the people that you've served.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just powerful, right, you just have to take control, and I think that's the information that you're providing is helping people take control of their life, and I love that.
Speaker 2:Yes, and one of the things that you mentioned is you had to go away and you were still and you were able to hear in the silence what needed to manifest, in the silence what needed to manifest, and I look at this menopause journey as being an opportunity for that. As a menopause coach, I have four pillars of my coaching program and mindset is definitely the first one. You said you have a coach that's just on mindset, and mindset is definitely the first one. You said you have a coach that's just on mindset. Nutrition is the second pillar, which is what you did. You have to eat and nourish your body for what you're going through in this stage. You're not as active, but you need better quality of food. You need the vitamins and nutrients. You have to be physical, you have to move in some type of way, and that doesn't mean every woman has to go and hit the gym and throw up weights, but you have to find a way to move your body and just something as simple as having water bottles when you maybe walk the block or something. But it's like one of my high school teachers was always her mantra use it or lose it. Use it or lose it. And as a kid, I didn't understand. It's just like okay, use it Now, truly use it, or lose it for sure.
Speaker 2:And the fourth part is the spirituality which is what you experience when you went away on this retreat and you got quiet. So much will come to you. And this is something that I feel like most of the women have been too busy doing, that they haven't found the time to be still and be centered and to find, like, what comes in for them, each of us. If we're here, there's something we're meant to do, there's somebody waiting for us to, and this is an opportunity, like a second lease on life, to like, okay, what's on that bucket list that you have? What are the dreams and the desires that you had when you were a young child? Yeah, the time that a lot of those come to be. There's so many women that I'm in coaching programs. I definitely have to have people to support me and keep my mindset right, but I'm around women who are doing such phenomenal things writing their first book, doing their first retreat, doing their first speaking experience. Some women is like deciding I didn't think I want children and now, all of a sudden, in their forties and fifties, they're deciding to have children because they know I have to be able to do this while I have the ability for my body. There are women that I hear that have chosen to freeze their eggs just in case they change their mind later. Like this is the opportunity. Like what is it Lean into it? Take Maria's example. There is something for us all and for me.
Speaker 2:When you talked about the retreat, that is something that I want to incorporate in my coaching business is to have an opportunity to do global retreats. I've done retreats from a young preteen is like our parents was like okay, go away and spend some time at camp or something. You know what I mean. So all throughout my life, different stages, I've done these camps, these retreats, and then, as a woman, I used to go to Paris, I used to go to Costa Rica, these long getaways to be able to find my center, my peace, and I want to be able to bring something like that to women who are going to this stage.
Speaker 2:In addition to the fact, one of my main focus in my programs is when women are coming in and they don't know where to start. We go through a simple detox, and I don't mean a detox where you bring in the peels and the laxatives and the pro. I'm talking about a detox by eliminating sugar, these things that don't serve you on this journey, and bringing in those natural, high density food that nourish you. So this is a part of the self care. So there's just so much that we have ahead of us, but we have to prepare our bodies, our mind and our spirit for this journey, because there is so much more ahead of us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I gosh, you're. I'm like yes to everything you're saying. I completely agree. I think that the and it's I love retreats, they, I love travel. That is my love language. If I could just travel all the time. It's so funny because, other than my home, that I love other than my home, my second happiest place is on an airplane, traveling somewhere, first class, of course, right, yes, oh, duh. So I'm just like so that I love going to retreats and, and in my business I earn retreats with my team and so forth, so it's awesome that we get to do those things. However, I want to.
Speaker 1:I don't want people to think that they can only get silent within themselves at a retreat.
Speaker 1:I literally wake up at four o'clock in the morning every day, but I do it because I know that by six, six, 30, the house is up and I'm on my way. I don't stop until I go to bed at night, I do not stop, and so I put my oxygen mask on first, like they say on the plane, I take care of me first and I wake up and I do my morning routine. I listened to an app called growth day from Brendan Burchard. I listened to him every single morning. He does what he calls a daily fire and and I listened to that first every single morning like I'm literally and it sounds funny, but I'm brushing my teeth listening to Brendan getting dressed. Listening to Brendan, because I need that. We don't automatically wake up and we're like so happy, no day for yourself. That is the start of my day. I want to make sure that I am the very best version of myself, and that starts with what's in between my ears and so that you're talking about yes, that's so.
Speaker 1:That's part of it. So I wake up, I do that. I read some type of personal development book. I just finished a book called Warrior Goddess Training Amazing. It is so good. It's called because it's Warrior Goddess Training become the woman you are meant to be. It is so, so, so good. I just finished that book in the process of starting a new one, and then I put on my headphones again and I do a guided meditation so that I can hear someone, because a lot of people are like well, I can't meditate. Listen to someone and follow directions. That's all you have to do. Right, they tell you to breathe, you breathe, but you get quiet within yourself and are able to make yourself aware of what your body is telling you and, believe me, you will hear it screaming when it needs you.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:To pay attention and, instead of waiting for it to start screaming at you, start paying attention earlier where you can say okay, I got you. I feel that you need this. It's so simple to be able to just be aware of what your body is needing. When you need a moment.
Speaker 1:I go walk in the evenings. Usually I'm walking for 45 minutes, but I get quiet, I listen to the birds, I pay attention to nature, I ground myself and I just think that it's so important for women to know that they can take that moment. They can take that time, even if it's a five minute guided meditation, but get quiet and listen to what your body is telling you because there's something happening. And, yeah, the moment that you connect with your body and I believe in God, so the moment that I connect with God and, let's say, I pray to God, well, the only way that I can listen and hear him is listening through my intuition. And so when I feel that like gut feeling of like all right, something needs to shift, I need to work on this, or listen to their intuition, that's God telling you. Hey, something needs to shift and I think that's so important for women to know that it's not. It doesn't have to be extravagant. You can make those choices within your own four walls.
Speaker 2:Right, there's so much that you said there that I feel like needs to be unpacked, but I'm just gonna touch on just a couple of those. I think that's one of the reasons why we connected. I think we're both on the same frequency because what you described is the same way that my morning starts. I don't have to do the four o'clock in the morning. I've done done that. I used to travel out of the country from work, traveling 22 hours. So those days of 4am being at the airport are over for me. So I'm in this transitional space and I have easy mornings. But my easy mornings you start off with random. I start off with Louise. Hey, you know who she is. Yes, I love her, I listened to her. You can find them on all types of formats 10 minutes, 30 minutes an hour and she covers all types of topics. I think the one that I did this morning was on abundance. So, just dependent on, like, how I'm feeling, I'll listen to one where I want to serve in this space. Gratitude is always a great one to start out, so this kind of sets the tone for my day and then finding that time, I do yoga in the morning and again, because of the pandemic.
Speaker 2:There are so many opportunities to do things from home using YouTube or other Zoom platforms where they're doing virtual classes. I used to go to a personal trainer and then I was going to yoga and then I was going to Pilates, so now I incorporate that into my morning. My yoga mat is like right at the foot of my bed. When I get up I have to stumble over it. I just sit down and find my quiet moments Sometimes it's 10 or 15 minutes of quietness and then doing my stretching, which is so important for us women because we run into problems with osteoporosis. We're losing muscle mass.
Speaker 2:So these are really small, simple things that you can do to move your body. And then from that I have a rebounder. It's sitting right by the window. I'll walk over there and jump on the rebounder for just a couple of minutes. This helps to merge, get some of the toxins out of your body through the lymph nodes. So this like a minute or two, nothing major. And then right next to that, when I'm ready, I have my warm water that I start my morning with, and then I'll go downstairs and maybe get some lemon water and whatever I want to put in some cayenne pepper or something, and then I'll sit on my little chair facing the sunrise and just do a little positive reading, write a couple affirmations down, and it's just like it's not our hour exactly, but it's my version of me starting my morning Very optimistic, very grateful.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Able to do that. So, yeah, that is something that you can do and tap into that quietness and hear the voice. But me, because of the stage that I'm in as a baby boomer, I'm traveling somewhere to get my passport stamped, to get that out of. Yes, you have to earth.
Speaker 1:I believe me, I solicit to that. Anything that I could stamp my passport I am down for. So absolutely. I think that, like retreats and again, I'm a fan, I travel to Utah often, I have, I have a lot of my team in that area, utah, idaho and so forth yes, give me all the travel, all the pretty places, all of the amazing culture, like I love it all, like I love it all and I will travel for a retreat absolutely. I just don't want people to think that it's not right in their grasp if they can't travel because busy lives or whatever and again, like I said, I listened to Louise.
Speaker 2:Hey, this is abundant universe, you just put it out there. Yep, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1:I'm putting out there, yep, absolutely, absolutely. I'm putting out there that I'm going to Costa Rica soon. The universe is always listening. I agree A hundred percent. I love that. So you spoke about the four pillars, which I love, because I think this is again we are very not even how the heck do we, did we, find each other?
Speaker 2:I don't know, but it's energetically connected you will create at a certain level.
Speaker 1:I love that because I completely agree. I completely agree. So I love that you touched on all of those things because I believe in all of those things and I believe that my journey has been the way it is because of all of those things. With that being said, I think that there are certain things that like, for example, when we are in high stress, that exasperate those. Can you give some background information as to what happens with your body, like? I know what it does, but I would love to hear from you so that our listeners could also understand what happens when you're in high stress situations and what happens with your hormones at that point?
Speaker 2:Okay, so when you're in high stress. Like women are known for being in stressful situations and internalizing it. Like men, they will go out and physically do things and get the stress out of our bodies. We internalize this. If you don't know who Louise Hay is, grab her book how to Heal Yourself. It's a little tiny book, maybe a hundred books. It talks about it Like when you start to internalize this stress, it'll show up in different organs in your body and this is a result of the cortisol, first and foremost. But then it sets up. It can be into your kidneys, it can be in your liver, it can be in your pink like. It can move in different places in your body and get lodged. And this is the manifestation of where some of the diseases show up If you don't find a way to move that out of your body.
Speaker 2:For me, the number one thing we touched on it when we were talking about being centered, being quiet, but go out in nature. I don't know where you are. I'm in the DC metro area. Spring has sprung, the cherry blossoms out, the flowers are coming up, the trees are starting to sprout, and just walk. That fresh air has such healing properties to it. I am a naturalist. I love to just go up to trees and just hug a tree. I am that girl. You can walk on the ground with no shoes and go grounding and get these like vibrations from the earth that are healing.
Speaker 2:And some of this may be like way off of your understanding of concept, but as you step into your wisdom we talked women we're able to birth things. So if you feel something within you, that's your intuition, that's something you should tap into. That should be something that you lean into. Being outside will help you tap into your intuition and it's also healing to the body and it helps to bring that cortisol down. It helps to bring that stress down. It's one of those things that costs you nothing and you get amazing benefits.
Speaker 2:Individuals who were going through great like depressed states, the doctors were saying you know what you need to work on your wellbeing get outside, get into the sunlight, which is your vitamin D. These things help to change your mood and you find yourself a lot less stressed, a lot more like fluid and in flow and much more at peace. So I'm a big proponent and an advocate of go outside and get your sunshine every day. And you talked about the birds. I'm like five o'clock in the morning. I'm not up yet, but I can hear them out my window like good morning wake up just chirping away, and I'm so grateful for that. So it's just little things.
Speaker 1:I believe in signs and birds, in specific cardinals are my dad coming to visit me, and yesterday so I have a picture of him on my, on my refrigerator, right above my ice maker, or like where we take what the where the ice comes out. And so every morning I make my what I call my go juice, which is my pre workout. It's all natural, all like all good stuff, right? So I make it every morning and I put ice in it, and every morning that I put ice in my cup, I look up at him and I said Good morning bendy. So bendy, so young, is like I'm asking for blessings from him and so I. It's like my routine, it's what I do with. I have a conversation with my dad every day, yeah, and so when yesterday on my walk, I had three cardinals visit me on different parts of my walk and there was stuff on my heart that I needed to work through and I'm going to get emotional it was like your dad is like speaking to you.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:And it was just it felt so healing. Okay. So I feel like with Louise, I have the heal your body book Amazing, I love that book because every time, like if my throat is hurting, I know that there's something that I need to speak and I'm not speaking. It's your throat chakra, it's not aligned Right. So I know this. And so yesterday there was a conversation that I wanted to have, and sometimes you just need to process the feelings and then you're able to speak up. And I knew that if I didn't speak up, I was like it was not going to, it was going to keep me unaligned. And so my walk yesterday I walked with the intention of I need to work through these emotions so that I can have this conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then three cardinal sightings and I'm like, okay, dad, I see you, I hear you, I feel you Like I, I know, know, and it's just those things like you, when you are in alignment with your intuition, with your higher self, with God, with all of the things, like at that moment, you're able to get the signs that you need to guide you in the way that you need it. And to me, the birds yep, we are one with nature. Yes, and so I just I love that that you said that when wake up in the morning and listen to birds, it is so like we. It's so funny, because before my dad passed away, I could 100 guarantee you that I did not hear birds. They were always there. I didn't see birds. I didn't not in a way that, like, would catch my eye. Right, you saw birds flying, but not in a way that you would, that it would catch my eye.
Speaker 1:And at that point, that's when I was like, wait, every time I think of my dad, a cardinal appears. It was the craziest thing. Yeah, you're tapped in and connected. That's what it is. Yes, yeah, and so nature to me is like it's so. Healing to me is like it's so healing, and and just as a quick tip when you do travel and normally, like people, get jet lagged wherever you're traveling to get on a piece of grass, take off your shoes and ground yourself because your body will sink to the area that you are in so that you're not feeling like this horrible jet lag. I found that out and I was like this is the coolest thing.
Speaker 2:It is a great share, so thank you for that. It's like sometimes we think we need to have something prescribed to us for it to benefit us, but nature has been around long before. A woman who spent time with my grandparents, my great grandparents, my dad and my mom they were. We grew up in an area that was much more natural and holistic. That was just the quality of my life and understanding how nature gives us everything we need. Nature nourishes us. Nature helps us with our well-being. Nature is able to take care of everything.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:It's so beautiful a way that lean into that, yeah, community is there for, like, acute situations, tragic situations like, yeah, they are there and thank god for them when these things happen. But before you need that, lean into what is abundant here for you. Yeah, about like the blades of grass on the ground.
Speaker 1:It's abundance, the leaves on the trees abundance, yeah.
Speaker 2:I agree, serve in the most abundant way. But you have to be quiet, get centered, tap in and trust your intuition. Once you get to this stage of life, it is so prevalent it's just like we've just welched it with all the busyness and the texting and the scrolling and disconnect. Sometime get out. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:I love that. Oh my gosh, beverly, this has been like the best conversation. Yeah, I loved it. It feels like I'm hanging out with my girlfriend. Yes, absolutely, so I. Anything else that you want to like speak up about? Talk about. I know you have a coaching program. Give our listeners some information about that and then I'll put all the information also in the show notes so we'll get that taken care of. But anything else that you feel like you need to talk about?
Speaker 2:Well, again, I want to say thank you. This has been such a delight to be here and be a part of this conversation. So just know that you can find me on practically any social media platform under Beverly Heels Health and Wellness Coaching Heels as in the shoes, because I'm a heel girl. I'm all about the fashion. So Beverly Heels Coaching and my name is actually Beverly Whitlow, and what I want to do is offer any woman out there who is struggling, maybe suffering in silence. There's something happening, but you can't quite put your finger on it and you need some answers. Just reach out to me. Maria has all of my contact information so you can put a link to my website, which has a link to my calendar, and I'm happy to serve you.
Speaker 2:I've been doing this since 2017. I was actually doing summits for a couple of years, like every quarter. So I've spoken to doctors. I've spoken to individuals in the holistic space as, like practitioners, herbalists. I've spoken to chefs. I've spoken to individuals that are affiliated with holistic practices of other indigenous cultures, like I've had so many conversations, like more than the average person would have. So I have a lot of wisdom because of what was given to me by my grandmothers and great grandmothers, but also having conversations in this new day and age, with technology and all of the other things that are helping women to navigate this journey of menopause.
Speaker 2:I want to say don't believe the narrative. If you hear people talking negatively about their experience, you don't know all of the things that led up to how this person's menopause has unfolded. It has a lot to do how you approach it. How do you take care of your body? How do you live your life? If you're a person that sees life as a glass half empty, everything is probably a problem. It's not just menopause, but just know that's that person experience. Don't make it your own. Make your decision to own your power and decide how you want to go, but understand that this is a natural, normal process. You can get through it and be the best version of yourself and if you want support, I'm happy to support you in any way possible. I also have a free ebook to help you on the journey. One of the things that women talk about is like oh, my waistline is getting away from me. I have a free ebook that's entitled one, two, three, four, five, six ways to bust through belly fat and that can help you on the journey. Just that alone can help you, because if you understand some of the tweaks that you can change and shift into, you'll see this pivot and your life will actually unfold into the best version.
Speaker 2:One of the things I wanted to share before I go. We're talking about like who inspires us as we're making this transition into the next phase of our life. I'm looking like what is it going to be like to be 70? Or what is it going to be 80?, and not in a way that's like debilitating, frail or a person that doesn't have any purpose. I am super excited. I was sharing with Maria.
Speaker 2:My inspiration is a woman who's like 85. Now. I'm in the DC metro area. She's like about 45 minutes from me. She hosts regular fitness classes. She wears the little short mini skirts that you see cheerleaders wear. She has these little crop tops. I probably would never put those things on and have a picture on the internet. She has her own internet page. She has her own platforms. I follow her on Instagram.
Speaker 2:Her name is Ernestine Campbell. She has been on the Guinness book of world records for many years and her body is amazing, and I'm going to share a picture that I just pulled. I keep it by me as an inspiration. And this is her body. Look at there. This is an inspiration to me. This is an inspiration to me. So, yes, for my 80s, but this is the person that inspires me. So if I can have a body that's anywhere near the vicinity of hers, then I am so grateful. But you can have the best life, doesn't matter what you've been through. Yeah, vision and connect with people, be in community and claim what you want. The universe is abundant, so yes, I love it.
Speaker 1:Love it so much. Okay, so you guys, this episode was amazing. I'm so pumped. I am so incredibly grateful to you, beverly. I am just so excited for our listeners to hear this. It's such good information. Thank you so much for jumping on and listeners. Thank you so much for listening and thank you for always just supporting and sharing and tag us on stories and look for us on social media if you are listening to this and feel like it's connected to with you, because so many people like need to hear this, not just women. Men do too, because they have to deal with us when we're going through all of these things. So it's so important. I talk to my kids about menopause all the time and I feel like they have such an advantage of knowing and speaking about things that are just the taboo subjects. So I am so incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for listening. Peace out, guys. Love your life. Bye-bye.
Speaker 2:Bye, thank you, incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for listening peace out. Guys love your life. Bye, bye. Bye, thank you.
