In this episode of the Happy Whole You Podcast, Jen Aks shares her powerful journey from feeling "not smart enough" in a test-score-driven world to reclaiming her innate wisdom and creating a body-based practice that helps others do the same. She and the host explore multiple forms of intelligence—kinesthetic, emotional, and somatic—while challenging the old stories that keep us small. Jen also guides a simple, hands-on somatic exercise live on the show to demonstrate how we can listen to and love our bodies, calm our nervous systems, and reconnect with our authentic selves.

Key Points

• How a childhood story of "not being smart" shaped Jen's life—and how she rewrote it
• Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and why test scores are not the ultimate measure of intelligence
• The power of kinesthetic, emotional, and somatic intelligence in real-life success and fulfillment
• Why so many people (especially teens and young adults) feel like they don't belong in today's comparison-driven culture
• The concept of "body set": using hands on heart and belly to pause, notice, and reconnect
• Introduction to Jen's somatic practice and the Power of Gesture—using hand movements to embody and release emotions
• A live guided exercise to ease lower-back tension using touch, breath, and loving attention
• Why simply paying attention and pausing (without attaching meaning) is the first step to reconnecting with your body's wisdom
• How emotional and body-based practices can support leaders, executives, students, and kids alike
• Where to find Jen's work, including her book Your Body Is Speaking and her "Body Set to Reset" 5‑day email series
  
  

About Jen Aks:

Her journey into leadership and embodiment began as a self-conscious student who felt unseen by traditional education. Through decades as a dance educator, she rediscovered the body's wisdom and the power of kinesthetic and emotional intelligence.

Today, she helps others reconnect with their inner intelligence, worthiness, and courage—guiding them toward embodied leadership and aligned, purposeful living.

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

What if optimizing your health is less about guessing and more about testing? You explore the science behind diet and intermittent fasting while learning why food quality, timing, and even your wine choices matter more than most people think. The focus shifts toward intentional living—where data, not trends, guides your next move.

You'll also look into practical biohacking tools you can actually use, from blue light blockers and red light therapy to continuous glucose monitors and cold exposure. The big idea is simple: when you measure what's happening inside your body, you make smarter decisions outside of it.

Along the way, you're encouraged to take a more holistic path—one that blends modern tech, ancient longevity principles, and open-minded medical care. Because real performance and long-term health come from understanding your body, not just managing symptoms.

About Melanie Avalon:

Melanie Avalon, a top health influencer, captivates thousandsof listeners with millionsof downloads through her podcasts, The Melanie Avalon Biohacking Podcast and TheIntermittent

Fasting Podcast. Her journey into health and wellness began as shesought resources toaddress her personal health issues. Melanie becamefascinated with optimizing her body for vitality and longevity, ultimately discovering the world of "biohacking."

With a background as a SAG-AFTRA actress, Melanie became enamored with this new realm and yearned toshare her passion. Today, a fiercelyengaged audienceand community join her weekly as sheinterviews someof the most respected names in health and wellness.

Melanie authored What When Wine:Lose Weightand Feel Great with Paleo-Style Meals, Intermittent Fasting,and Wine(W. W. Norton Countryman Press,2018), created thetop Appleapp Food Sense Guide, and launched thesuccessful supplement line, AvalonX.

She has been featured in numerous publications, including USA Today, Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC MakeIt!,LA Weekly,and Fox News.

Connect with Melanie:

Instagram: @melanieavalon

Website: melanieavalon.com
Linktree: linktree

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this final episode of The Becoming Years series, the conversation reframes midlife as an identity shift and powerful invitation rather than a breakdown. Dr. Anna Marie explores loneliness among high-achieving women, the impact of nervous system burnout, and how changing bodies and roles call for new ways of living. Listeners are encouraged to prioritize self-care, deepen relationships through honest conversations, and courageously pursue what they truly desire in the second half of life. Practical reflection tools—like the "seven whys" exercise—are shared to help uncover deeper needs and design a more aligned, energizing future.

Key Points

• Midlife is an identity shift, not a breakdown
• You are not behind; you are becoming
• Loneliness is common for high-achieving women after 40
• Career, parenting, and success can quietly erode connections
• Exhaustion often comes from nervous system burnout, not weakness
• Invisible labor and hormonal shifts add to midlife fatigue
• Regulating the nervous system is vital for healthy relationships
• Partners benefit from syncing and co-regulating together
• Honest conversations about needs reduce the urge to "fix" each other
• Self-care: eat well, move your body, protect your energy
• Remove activities and relationships that drain you
• Focus on what fills you up and brings genuine joy
• Forgive yourself for relationships that have run their course
• Midlife is a chance to reinvent friendships and lifestyle
• Try small changes: new routes, classes, trips, experiences
• Be bold and stop living by others' expectations
• You can choose a different path for the second half of life
• Feeling empty or ungrateful after success is common, not wrong
• Deeper conversations about "taboo" feelings are essential
• Use the "seven whys" exercise to find root causes of feelings
• Share this series with someone who might need this message
• Listeners are invited to leave a review and reflect on what they truly want

Connect with Dr. Anna Marie:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this episode, Dr. Anna Marie speaks directly to women over 40 navigating perimenopause and midlife changes. She connects common physical symptoms—like irregular periods, sleep issues, low libido, and weight changes—to deeper emotional and identity shifts. The focus is on building simple but powerful foundations of health: nourishing food, strength training, quality sleep, stress regulation, and asking for help. Rather than seeing the body as "betraying" us, she reframes this season as a transition that can be supported with intentional self-care and support systems.

• Women over 40 are searching for answers on hormones, sleep, libido, and weight
• Perimenopause symptoms affect mood, identity, confidence, and relationships
• Self-care is essential, not optional, during midlife transitions
• Eat to nourish your brain and emotions, not just your waistline
• Prioritize strength training over endless cardio for longevity
• Good sleep hygiene supports blood sugar, metabolism, and mood
• Nutrition choices can regulate stress and low mood
• Hire help (cleaner, organizer, chef) to reduce mental and physical load
• Build health foundations: water, protein, fruits, vegetables, rest, meditation
• Your body isn't betraying you; it's transitioning and needs support
• Health is the bedrock of identity, connection, and success in midlife

Connect with Dr. Anna Marie:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this episode, the conversation explores what women commonly experience after 40—hormonal shifts, identity changes, and new health concerns—and how these changes impact relationships. Rather than blaming anyone, the focus is on insight, understanding, and practical ways couples can support each other, regulate their nervous systems together, and build deeper, safer connection in this season of life.

Key Points:

• Women 40+ face hormone changes and lower libido
• Nervous system becomes more sensitive and reactive
• Identity shifts as kids need mom less
• Need more rest, quiet, and alone time
• This is recalibration, not rejection of partners
• Women need safety, support, and listening, not fixing
• Women are allowed to change and ask for what they need
• Shared nervous system regulation (walks, breathwork, rituals)
• Prioritize sleep and a calm, tech-free bedroom
• Being rested reduces conflict and reactivity
• Take ownership of health: food, movement, sleep
• Nurture nourishing relationships; drop draining ones
• Reduce phone use and comparison to others
• Google searches show concern about perimenopause and hormones
• Women worry about heart, bone, sleep, and chronic health
• Relationships in your 40s will (and should) look different
• With communication, this season can deepen connection
• Quality of relationships shapes quality of life

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this episode, the focus is on the "quiet crisis" many accomplished women experience in midlife: having everything they worked for yet feeling empty or misaligned. The conversation explores how success driven by external validation and constant achievement can leave a gap where meaning, alignment, and inner peace should be. Listeners are invited to slow down, regulate their nervous system, get quiet enough to hear their intuition, and begin honoring the desires that have been quietly calling to them.

Key Points

• Quiet crisis: success achieved, but inner emptiness remains
• Many goals were built on others' expectations, not true desires
• Midlife shifts focus from "What can I do?" to "Who am I?"
• External success vs. internal alignment and meaning
• Dopamine-driven achievement can't fill a deeper soul need
• Regulating the nervous system allows more calm and clarity
• Silence and stillness make room for intuition to be heard
• Notice what now feels heavy that once felt exciting
• Notice what feels alive and keeps "tapping on your shoulder"
• Example: prioritizing short, frequent trips to see a loved one
• Midlife as recalibration, not crisis

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this episode, Dr. Anna Marie explores the idea that women are not "too much" — they are often just carrying too much for too long. She shares a vulnerable story about burnout while planning a conference, how being labeled "too much" is often about dysregulated nervous systems (ours and others'), and why midlife can feel like a breaking point. She reframes exhaustion, grief, and the loss of hustle as biology and awakening rather than failure, and offers practical ways to regulate the nervous system, release people-pleasing, and honor rest as a form of leadership.

Key Points:

• Being "too much" is often just carrying too much.
• Dysregulated nervous systems shape how we see ourselves and others.
• Midlife burnout can feel like grief for a former self.
• The body says "no" when the mind won't listen.
• Women hold an invisible emotional and mental load.
• Most women want presence and acknowledgment, not fixes.
• Regulating cortisol: light exposure, protein, consistent sleep.
• Reduce triggers: inflammatory foods, media, draining conversations.
• Use simple breathing rituals morning and night.
• Rest is not laziness; it is leadership.
• Outgrowing survival mode can make life feel heavier at first.
• Let go of people-pleasing and energy-draining commitments.
• Choose what gives energy; if it drains you, it's a "no."
  
  

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou

In this episode, Dr. Anna Marie explores why making friends after 40 can feel so hard—especially for women—and reframes it as a sign of growth, not failure. She explains how changing priorities, nervous system shifts, and evolving values make us crave deeper, safer connections instead of draining, surface-level relationships. The episode offers both emotional validation and practical strategies for regulating your body, rethinking friendship, and intentionally building a new social life focused on quality over quantity.

Key Points

• Friendships feel harder after 40 because we're more awake, not broken
• Early-life friendships often formed through proximity (school, kids, work)
• After 40, shared routines change and built-in social circles shrink
• Women want depth, safety, and energy-giving relationships, not small talk
• Old friendships can feel "off" even if no one did anything wrong
• Nervous system changes reduce tolerance for gossip, comparison, drama
• High-achieving women often feel lonely after stepping back from draining ties
• True belonging doesn't require changing who you are (inspired by Brené Brown)
• Connection needs energy; energy depends on nervous system regulation
• Poor sleep, blood sugar issues, and inflammation reduce social capacity
• Supportive habits: magnesium, protein before socializing, less coffee
• Prefer walks or tea to overstimulating coffee meetups
• Focus on quality over quantity in midlife friendships
• Build friendships slowly and intentionally; no forcing or rushing
• Join communities that combine movement and conversation (e.g., pickleball)
• Consistency in showing up is key to forming deeper bonds
• Be willing to change routines to meet new people
• It's never too late to build a meaningful social life
• Choose alignment and energy over chaos and people-pleasing

Connect with Anna:

Email: annamarie@happywholeyou.com / info@HappyWholeYou.com

Website: www.happywholeyou.com / https://linktr.ee/happywholeyou

Personal Website: www.DrAnnaMarie.com

Instagram: @happywholeyou

Personal Instagram: @Dr.Anna.Marie

Facebook: Happy Whole You

LinkedIn: Anna Marie Frank

Venmo: @happywholeyou