158: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 158158: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 158
UK Health Radio Podcast
Jenni Russell reflects on grief, menopause and intimate health, linking emotional experiences with pelvic and body changes. The conversation encourages women to embrace self-love, speak openly about symptoms and view their bodies with gratitude rather than criticism.
48:44•21 Sept 2026
Menopause, Body Image and Intimate Health with Jenni Russell
Episode Overview
- Grief and trauma can be stored in the pelvis and affect posture, breathing, intimacy and overall wellbeing.
- Menopausal symptoms are linked with more negative body image, making self-love and body appreciation crucial.
- Low sexual desire may stem from stress, nutrition, pain, medication, confidence and past experiences, not just testosterone levels.
- Open, honest conversations about vaginal changes, pain and urinary problems are vital for effective support and treatment.
- Gratitude for what the body has carried and achieved can be a starting point for rebuilding body confidence in midlife.
“What chance does a woman have of loving the body she's living in if she's been taught from childhood that it is permanently under review?”
Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of how midlife, grief and hormones collide in a woman's body. Her Health and Happiness, hosted by pelvic health specialist Jenni Russell, speaks directly to women facing menopause, intimate health issues and long-hidden body shame.
Jenni opens by honouring the mothers and families affected by the Countess of Chester Hospital tragedies, stressing that "the consequences of losing a child do not end when an inquiry ends." She links grief to the pelvis and psoas, explaining how emotional trauma can show up as guarding, tension, altered breathing and pain, reminding you that mental and emotional health are never separate from the physical body.
From there, the focus shifts to menopause, testosterone prescriptions for women, and how female intimate health has become big business. Jenni is candid about her own journey, from teaching packed fitness classes to writing a book on pelvic health long before menopause was widely talked about.
Her style is warm, funny and unfiltered, dropping gems like, "What chance does a woman have of loving the body she's living in if she's been taught from childhood that it is permanently under review?" She breaks down genitourinary syndrome of menopause, body image research, and why symptoms such as dryness, pain, urinary issues and loss of desire deserve proper attention rather than quiet suffering.
You'll hear practical reflections on libido, relationship stress, and why a woman's history and self-worth matter just as much as hormones or prescriptions. Faith, fascia therapy and her 60-day "start with self and come back to self" journey all show up as ways Jenni works with women to reconnect to their bodies. She keeps circling back to self-love and gratitude, inviting women to see their changing bodies as "fearfully and wonderfully made" rather than flawed.
If you're wondering how to make peace with your body through menopause and beyond, could this be the conversation you've been needing?
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