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Are psychedelics a missing key to personal transformation in midlife?

This week, I speak with Rob Grover and Gary Logan, the founders of The Journeymen Collective, a luxury guided psilocybin retreat company based in the mountains outside Vancouver, BC. These two have helped entrepreneurs, performers, couples—and yes, many women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and midlife transitions—use guided mushroom journeys to reconnect to themselves and release emotional burdens that therapy, medication, or self-help books haven’t resolved.

We talk grief, depression, anxiety, the inner critic, and how to tap into the body’s sacred intelligence when everything feels disconnected. Rob and Gary explain the difference between “tripping” and undergoing a true guided journey, and why that distinction matters so deeply for healing and growth.

Highlights:

• “Most people who find us have done the therapy, read the books, tried the biohacking—and still feel stuck.”– Rob Grover
• “This isn’t about escaping—it’s about meeting yourself more deeply than ever before.” – Gary Logan
• How grief led both Rob and Gary to their first journeys with magic mushrooms—and why it changed everything.
• Why psilocybin is not a shortcut or magic bullet, but a profound reset for the nervous system.
• The science, spirituality, and deep preparation that goes into their luxury retreats.
• Why talk therapy for 10 years often gets outpaced by 4 days of immersive guided work.
• A frank and beautiful discussion about anger, sadness, menopause symptoms—and how they’re often calls to listen to the body, not suppress it.

Links + resources:

• Learn more: The Journeymen Collective
• Follow Rob and Gary on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Mentioned: Red School: Menstruality Education
• Research: MAPS – Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
• Use code HOTFLASH20 for 20% off at MenoLabs.com

Episode sponsor: Thanks to Menolabs for sponsoring this episode. Use code HOTFLASH20 for 20% off at menolabs.com

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In this honest and energizing conversation, Ann Marie sits down with 64-year-old Australian naturopath, speaker, and wellness rebel Jennifer Jefferies – aka @presentdaywisewoman – to talk about how women can embrace midlife and menopause without fear, extremes, or pharma dependency.

Jen brings over 30 years of clinical experience, a surfboard, and a no-BS attitude to the conversation. Once a burned-out pharmaceutical rep, she made a full 180 after hitting the wall in her 20s and rebuilding her health using naturopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and her beloved “bare-ass minimum” (BAM) approach to wellness.

This is a must-listen episode for any woman feeling confused, overwhelmed, or exhausted by the barrage of menopause messages out there.

Highlights include:

• Why we’re told menopause is a disaster – and why it doesn’t have to be
• How adrenal burnout is at the core of crappy perimenopause (even if your doctor won’t admit it)
• The truth about estrogen “deficiency” and why we’re not meant to keep producing it forever
• What Western medicine gets wrong about hormone therapy
• The rise of adrenal fatigue in the pandemic aftermath
• Jen’s Bare-Ass Minimum Plan to restore vitality, joy, and hormonal balance
• Why she swears by: going to bed before 10 p.m., eating close to nature 80% of the time, and having fun – yes, fun!
• What happens when we stop outsourcing our health and tune into our own wisdom

About Jennifer Jefferies:
Jennifer Jefferies is a veteran naturopath, speaker, author, and wellness educator with over three decades of clinical experience. Based on the Gold Coast of Australia, she’s known for her refreshingly simple, radically realistic, and unapologetically fun approach to health and aging. She surfs at sunrise, gardens in her downtime, and helps women around the world step into their power.

Where to find her:

IG @thepresentdaywisewoman
Learn more: jenniferjefferies.com

Ann Marie’s Takeaway:
If you’ve been overwhelmed by the ever-moving bar of “what you should be doing” in midlife – from maxing out protein to lifting impossible weights – this episode is your permission slip to reset. Jen’s message is simple: go back to basics, listen to yourself, and live from a place of prevention.

Episode sponsor:

Thanks to Menolabs for sponsoring this episode. Use code HOTFLASH20 for 20% off at menolabs.com

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack

See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

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This podcast originally ran on July 11, 2024

In this episode, host and midlife and menopause journalist Ann Marie McQueen speaks with iconic American model Kim Alexis.

They explore Kim's extensive career when she dominated the modeling industry. They talk about what it was like to appear on over 500 magazine – sometimes all of them at once – and cover her journey through competitive sports, her faith, clean living, marriage and menopause.

Kim shares personal stories about her transition into menopause, her choice to use hormone therapy – and the controversial delivery method of pellets – and how she navigates various health claims and misinformation prevalent in the social media age.

They also discuss the impact of environmental disruptors on health and, possibly, menopause, the evolving standards of beauty and self-image in aging, and the importance of self-care, self-inquiry, adaptation and outreach in midlife.

Highlights:

02:32 Kim Alexis on Social Media and Going Viral

03:01 Natural Beauty and Aging Gracefully

06:06 The Modeling Industry Then and Now

10:54 Health, Fitness, and Post-Modeling Career

12:30 Navigating Nutrition and Wellness Trends

21:13 Adapting to Life's Changes

21:19 Skincare from the Inside Out

22:32 Personal Skincare Routines

23:45 Hormonal Shifts and Menopause

28:33 Hormone Therapy Controversy

33:21 Emotional and Soul Searching

36:49 Finding Love Later in Life

39:02 Advice for Reinventing Yourself

42:40 Future Plans and Giving Back

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack

See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information