140: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 140140: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 140
UK Health Radio Podcast
Jenni Russell and pelvic floor therapist Sima Yaka Takachute talk candidly about leaks, menopause, nervous system stress and midlife weight gain. Their conversation highlights holistic ways women may support pelvic health, energy and confidence from menstruation through to later life.
49:25•20 Apr 2026
Pelvic Floor, Menopause and Midlife Reset with Jenni Russell and Sima
Episode Overview
- Leaks, prolapse and pelvic discomfort are common but not inevitable, and can often be improved with targeted pelvic floor exercise and lifestyle changes.
- Midlife weight gain is driven by hormones, history, emotions, sleep and nervous system stress, so harder dieting and more cardio usually backfire.
- An overloaded nervous system holds fat, tension and emotion, leaving many women stuck in fight, flight or freeze until they consciously reset and regulate.
- Starting pelvic floor awareness from menstruation and preparing before pregnancy or menopause can prevent many later problems.
- Holistic care that includes breath, movement, nutrition, supplements and self‑understanding supports both pelvic health and confidence in midlife.
“Women are beginning to realise that transformation doesn’t start with restriction. It always starts with regulation.”
What drives someone to seek a life without limitation from leaks, pain, or midlife weight gain? This lively UK Health Radio episode with host Jenni Russell and guest pelvic floor exercise therapist Sima Yaka Takachute gives a refreshingly frank look at female intimate health, with plenty of laughs mixed in. Aimed at women from their 30s through to post-menopause, the show focuses on pelvic floor health, menopause, nervous system regulation and midlife body changes.
Jenni blends hard-won experience and humour, sharing her own history of burnout, early menopause and hot flushes, while Sima explains how she reversed her urinary leaks through targeted pelvic floor exercise and now helps other women do the same. As Sima puts it, many women “put everything under the carpet and [live] with that shame”, thinking leaks and prolapse are just part of ageing.
You’ll hear practical talk on why midlife weight gain is often neurological and emotional as well as hormonal, why endless dieting and cardio leave women “more tired, more fatigued, more frustrated”, and how an overloaded nervous system holds fat, tension and emotion. Jenni also describes a somatic breathwork retreat that made her realise how years of proving her worth had kept her in constant fight‑or‑flight.
The conversation keeps circling back to prevention and preparation: teaching girls about pelvic health from menstruation onwards, supporting mums before and after birth, and getting ready for menopause rather than fearing it. Both women stress a holistic approach – movement, breath, nutrition, supplements and self‑connection – summed up by Jenni’s reminder that “pelvic floor is the foundation”.
If you’ve ever laughed off a leak, worried about finding a loo, or felt your body is betraying you in midlife, this warm, honest chat might have you asking: what is your body trying to say, and are you ready to listen?
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