Women of the Well | Holistic Women’s Health and Wellness

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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.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Send us a text here
A quick note: We recorded this at our practitioner event, so we're talking clinician-to-clinician in parts. But if you're navigating pelvic pain yourself, you might find it really validating to hear how we think about symptoms, nervous system states, and what actually drives lasting change.
If you're a practitioner working with pelvic pain, you've probably felt the pressure to fix, the complexity of trauma and chronic symptoms, and the frustration of treatments that don't create lasting change.
In this episode, we share the foundations of the Vera Wellness approach to pelvic pain – an evidence-informed, nervous-system-led framework that shifts care away from symptom whack-a-mole and toward genuine transformation.
Recorded live at our online practitioner event on 30 October, this conversation includes practical tools, a powerful case study, and a clear reframe that changes everything: pain isn't the problem to eliminate – it's information. 
And the nervous system is the foundation of both patient outcomes and practitioner sustainability.
If you're craving a more grounded, embodied approach to pelvic pain care – one that supports your patients without burning you out – this episode is for you.
In this episode, we explore:
Why the nervous system is the foundation of pelvic pain care (and clinician wellbeing)
A real patient case study – and what changed when care shifted from "fixing" to listening
The Vera philosophy: no one is broken, and no one needs to be fixed
Pain as information – and what happens when we replace fear with curiosity
Polyvagal theory: nervous system states and what they look like in the consult room
The "alarm vs fire" reframe: why conventional care often tries to silence symptoms while the deeper drivers remain
Catastrophising, overprotection and central sensitisation – and why these matter clinically
Co-regulation: how your tone, pace and presence shape patient safety and outcomes
Guided regulation practices you can use immediately (including pelvic and self-compassion-based tools)
Why paradigm-shifting care requires paradigm-shifting ways of working
For practitioners:
If today's conversation resonates, you may be feeling the same shift we're seeing across women's health – a desire for care that is more embodied, integrative and nervous-system-led.
In 2026, Dr Peta Wright, Dr Thea Bowler and holistic physiotherapist Paula Hindle are hosting Transformational Medicine: Alchemising Pain into Power with two pathways:
4-day in-person immersive retreat (17–20 April 2026)
12-week online program (starts 4 May 2026)
Explore the program here: https://www.verawellness.com.au/practitioner-program-intensive
______________________
For more information about us, visit VeraWellness.com.au. 
We’d love to continue the conversation with you on Instagram @verawellness.com.au

______________________
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
Today’s conversation is a little different.
Dr Thea and Vera physiotherapist Paula Hindle take you inside the sauna at the end of a long clinic day – a place where their most honest reflections tend to unfold.
This episode opens a deeper look at what it really means to hold space for suffering in women’s health. 
Not with a rush to fix, but from a grounded, embodied place where practitioners learn to regulate their own nervous systems while sitting alongside their patients’ pain.
Paula and Thea explore the subtle but profound shift that happens when clinicians start listening with curiosity.
This is a conversation about attunement, presence and the reality that true transformation rarely begins with a medical intervention – it begins with being witnessed.
If you’re a practitioner who feels called toward a more heart-centred, embodied, nervous-system-led approach to pelvic pain, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we talk about:
The art of sitting with discomfort – what happens in us as clinicians when we witness pain without immediately jumping to solutions.
A powerful patient story and how healing unfolded when the focus shifted from pathology to nervous system understanding.
Attunement in practice – how Paula recognised dysregulation the moment the patient walked in, and why she abandoned the “plan” to create space for grief, safety and connection.
Letting the patient guide the process – the difference between algorithmic care and compassionate, responsive care in pelvic pain.
Why clinicians must be regulated first – the capacity to hold another’s story is directly linked to the state of our own nervous systems.
The truth is, real healing often begins long before hands-on treatment.
It begins in the pause – the moment we sit with discomfort, listen deeply, and allow a patient’s story to unfold without rushing toward certainty or control.
When practitioners regulate themselves, the whole room changes.
Safety expands. Insight emerges.
And the patient’s own wisdom becomes a central part of the therapeutic process.
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For practitioners: Transformational Medicine – Alchemising Pain into Power 
If today’s conversation resonates, you may be feeling the same shift we’re seeing across women’s health – a desire for more embodied, integrative, nervous-system-based care.
In April 2026, Dr Peta Wright, Dr Thea Bowler and Paula Hindle will be hosting a 4-day immersive retreat and practitioner program designed to help clinicians:
Understand their own nervous system
Experience regulation and embodiment tools firsthand
Learn how to attune to complexity, trauma, and pain in the clinical room
Develop a more grounded, compassionate and effective approach to pelvic pain
You can find all the details here: https://www.verawellness.com.au/practitioner-program-intensive. 
Early bird pricing ends on 31 December 2025 and payment plans are available.
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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

______________________
DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.