Women of the Well | Women's health, done differently

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In our last episode, Peta and Thea talked about Vera's practitioner training, and why no one should have to do this work alone. This week, we're introducing you to one of the women who reminds us of that every day.
Lauren Williams has been a midwife for most of her life. She'll tell you it's part of the thread of who she is. She's worked in birth suite, led research that changed how a large hospital cares for women in early labour, and built a new model of care from the ground up. By most measures, she'd made it.
And then her body started telling her something she couldn't ignore any longer.
In this episode, Lauren sits down with Dr Peta (one of her closest friends) and Sam to talk about the moment she chose her body wisdom over the executive ladder. 
She shares what it took to walk away, what she learnt about herself as a mother, and why she now feels like she's meeting herself for the first time.
In this episode, we explore:
Lauren's path from nursing to birth suite, research and leadership, and why she kept coming back to being "with woman"
The moment her body said no, and what it cost to listen
Mothering the mother – why a supported mother matters for the whole family
What Lauren wishes every new mother understood about her nervous system and co-regulation
Matrescence, the word we need for the transformation of becoming a mother
Rites of passage across a woman's life, from adolescence to matrescence to perimenopause
Burnout in midwifery, and finding a way to do this work that doesn't cost you yourself
This episode is for you if:
You're standing at a crossroads in your work or your life, and you already know the answer but you're scared to act on it. Or you're a mother who's felt stretched too thin to be present. Or you're a practitioner wondering whether there's another way to do the work you love.
About Lauren
Lauren is our midwife at Vera Wellness and a private endorsed midwife. She offers pregnancy and postnatal care, including home visits, and runs her own practice, Tapestry of Life, where you'll also find her retreats for midwives and her Matrescence Matters T-shirts. 
You can visit her website here: www.tapestryoflife.com.au

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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.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Send us a text here
A quick note: this is a conversation about our practitioner training, so we're talking clinician to clinician at times. But if you're living with pelvic pain, we hope it's a comfort to hear that there are practitioners out there learning to slow down, listen and work this way.
If you've ever sat across from a woman in pain, done everything you were trained to do, and still gone home feeling it wasn't enough, we know that feeling well. 
It's why we created our Transformational Medicine program – to help practitioners meet women in pain in a whole new way, starting with themselves.
In this episode, Sam Lindsay-German sits down with Dr Peta Wright and Dr Thea Bowler as our very first Transformational Medicine cohort comes to a close.
We talk about why we built this training with women's health physiotherapist Paula Hindle, and what it felt like to finally teach the way we practise.
We also talk about why so much of the program begins with you as the clinician – your own nervous system, your body and your cycles – before it ever turns to the person in front of you.
We can't offer someone a sense of safety we haven't found in ourselves first. That's where this work starts.
In this episode, we explore:
What we mean by transformational medicine, and the shift from fixing a symptom to listening to what it's telling you
Why the practitioner is the medicine first – co-regulation and the therapeutic use of self
Zooming out from the pelvis to the nervous system, a person's life and their sense of meaning
How our first cohort's program worked – 12 weeks online, with two retreats held at Vera
Coming back to reverence for the womb space and our cyclical nature, starting with ourselves
The community our first cohort has built, and why you don't have to do this work alone
This episode is for you if:
You work with women with pelvic pain – as a gynaecologist, GP, physio, psychologist, naturopath, health coach or anything in between – and you sense there's more to it than what you were trained to look for.
Or you're tired of carrying the pressure to fix, and you're ready to show up differently: present, regulated and a little lighter.
For practitioners: join our next cohort
Our next Transformational Medicine cohort begins in early 2027. If this conversation stirred something in you, register your interest and we'll let you know as soon as dates are confirmed.
Graduates get a certificate of completion and can join our new membership for ongoing check-ins, case discussions and community. 
Our program is currently CPD approved with RACGP and RANZCOG: 24.5 hours with RACGP for the online program, 14.5 hours for the retreat, and 24 hours with RANZCOG.

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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.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Send us a text here
Winsome was 13 when she was first put on the pill for debilitating period pain. By 16, she'd been diagnosed with endometriosis, had her first laparoscopy, and began what felt like an inevitable cycle: surgery, temporary relief, pain returns, repeat.
The diagnosis brought validation – finally, a reason for her suffering that people understood. 
But years later, facing her third surgery with the same gynecologist telling her this would be her reality forever, something shifted.
"I thought, well, no. That can't be my life. That's not living."
In this deeply honest conversation with Dr Peta Wright and physiotherapist Paula Hindle, Winsome shares her journey from feeling dismissed and powerless to discovering a completely different approach to pelvic pain. 
One that honoured her whole body, her nervous system, her story, and her power to heal.
This episode isn't about rejecting medicine or claiming there's only one right way to heal. It's about what becomes possible when we listen to the body, tend to the nervous system, and ask what pain might be communicating beneath the surface.
In this episode, we explore:
Why Winsome felt relief when she was diagnosed with endometriosis – and what that reveals about how we validate women's pain
What happened in her first appointment at Vera – and why the experience felt completely different from any healthcare she'd received before
The first time Winsome actually felt her pelvic floor – and why it was both painful and empowering
How Winsome learned to listen to pain as communication rather than seeing it as "my pain" that would never leave
The heroine's journey: why you have to be ready for this work, and what keeps her committed even when it's hard
What practitioners need to know about creating truly trauma-informed, holistic care from start to finish
For women navigating pelvic pain:
If Winsome's story resonates, you might be ready to explore a different approach to healing – one that treats the whole woman, not just the symptoms.
Our Heal Your Pelvic Pain program is a comprehensive 10-week online course led by Dr Peta Wright, Dr Thea Bowler, and Paula Hindle. It's an experiential, embodied approach that helps you understand your nervous system, reconnect with your body, and reclaim your power.
Learn more about Heal Your Pelvic Pain here.
For practitioners:
If you're craving a more grounded, nervous-system-led approach to pelvic pain care – one that supports your patients without burning you out – join us for Transformational Medicine: Alchemising Pain into Power.
This isn't just about learning new techniques. It's about your own embodiment, regulation, and transformation – because you can't hold space for healing if you're disconnected from your own body.
Two pathways available in 2026:
4-day in-person immersive retreat (17–20 April 2026)
12-week online program (starts 4 May 2026)
Explore the Practitioner Program here. 
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For more information about us, visit VeraWellness.com.au. 
We’d love to continue the conversation with you on Instagram @verawellness.com.au.

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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.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Send us a text here
Please note: Due to technical recording issues, the audio quality varies in parts of this episode but we felt Cara's story was too important not to share. 
In this deeply moving episode, Cara shares her powerful story of living with chronic pelvic pain – and the transformation that came when someone finally listened.
For years, Cara cycled through emergency departments, scans, procedures and specialists, only to be told "there's nothing wrong" despite debilitating pain. 
The medical system left her feeling gaslit, hopeless, and deeply disconnected from her own body. She hated her body. She couldn't look in the mirror. And she believed no one would ever be able to help her.
Then everything changed.
In this honest conversation with Dr Peta Wright and Paula Hindle, Cara reflects on the turning point in her healing – and the practices that helped her reclaim safety, agency, and even love for her body.
In this episode:
How years of medical dismissal and "normal" test results deepened Cara's pain and eroded her trust in her own body
The moment someone finally asked about her life story – and why that question changed everything
The embodied practices that supported Cara's nervous system regulation, from vulva gazing to yoga and meditation
How Cara learned to choose her own tools in moments of pain rather than returning to emergency
The beauty Cara now sees in her body, her cycle, and her life – and her message of hope for others still in the darkness
This episode is for you if:
You're living with pelvic pain and feeling alone, unheard, or stuck in cycles of medical appointments that aren't helping. 
Or if you're a practitioner who wants to understand what truly supports women on their healing journey – beyond protocols and prescriptions.
Cara's story is a testament to the power of being believed and listened to, the importance of addressing the whole person, and the courage it takes to do the deeper work of healing.
Trigger note: This episode includes discussion of medical trauma, pelvic pain, mental health challenges, and past trauma. Please listen with care.
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Find out more about our Heal Your Pelvic Pain online program here: https://courses.verawellness.com.au/heal-your-pelvic-pain.
If you're a practitioner, you can find out more and register for our upcoming Transformational Medicine Program and Retreat here:  https://www.verawellness.com.au/practitioner-program-intensive.

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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.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Send us a text here
What if the disconnection you feel from your body isn't because something's wrong with you – but because you've forgotten you're divine?
In this episode, we explore the power of recognising the goddess within – not as a spiritual concept you have to strive for, but as the truth of what you already are.
We talk about why goddess energy has been suppressed, shamed, and severed from our collective consciousness – and what happens when we reclaim it. This isn't about rejecting the masculine or declaring one better than the other. It's about remembering that the feminine divine deserves reverence, and that every woman is a living expression of the goddess in all her forms.
If you've ever felt shame about your body, your cycle, your darkness, or your changing form – this conversation is an invitation to see yourself differently.
In this episode, we explore:
The Triple Goddess: maiden, mother, and crone – and why we fear the wild woman energy of the luteal phase and menopause
Why we're culturally trained to say "God" but feel awkward saying "Goddess" – and what that reveals about patriarchy and disconnection
Why society celebrates only the masculine aspects of women (productivity, sameness, control) and pathologises the feminine (cyclical nature, rest, darkness, rage)
Goddess archetypes like Kali, Saraswati, and Aphrodite – and how they teach us to embrace every facet of ourselves
The menstrual cycle as a sacred mirror of the moon's phases – and why we shame the fullness but revere it in nature
How women have been severed from their own sexuality – and whether we even know what true feminine sexuality is beyond the male gaze
The power of adorning yourself, dressing as a goddess, and worshipping your own temple
Your goddess practice:
Dress as a goddess every day for 40 days. Not for anyone else – for you. Adorn yourself. Notice what shifts.
Tag us on Instagram @verawellness.com.au in your goddess pictures – we'd love to see you reclaim your divinity.
Resources mentioned:
📚 The Other Goddess by Joanna Kujawa – exploring feminine divinity and sexuality 
📚 Mary Magdalene books by Meggan Watterson – feminist theology and the sacred feminine 
📚 Sharon Blackie's books – fables, archetypes, and goddess stories 
🃏 Goddess oracle cards by various authors
Upcoming event:
Join us for a special goddess gathering with Dr Joanna Kujawa on Friday, 13 March 2026 at Vera Wellness.
🎟️ Get your tickets here and dress like a goddess. 🌿

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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.