162: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 162

162: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 162

What can we learn from women reshaping midlife on their own terms? This Her Health and Happiness episode with Jenni Russell centres on menopause, movement and whole-person wellbeing, with a strong thread of Black medical history woven through. Jenni sets the tone with her mantra that women are "blessed and divinely favoured" before reframing menopause as "me on pause" rather than an ending.

She asks a striking question: "Have you unconsciously allowed the end of your periods to become the beginning of lowered expectations for yourself?" That line pretty much sums up her mission here – lifting the bar on what women expect from their post‑menopausal lives. You’ll hear her celebrate Dr Helen Octavia Dickens, who championed cervical cancer screening and sexual health education for black women, and Dr Cecil Belfield Clark, whose work on paediatric dosing still shapes care today.

Their stories sit alongside Jenni’s practical guidance, reminding you that access to good health information has been hard-won. The heart of the episode is five areas women can use to "press play": nutrition, movement, nervous system support, brain coordination and recovery. Jenni talks about nourishing tissue rather than chasing a smaller waistline, prioritising protein, calcium, vitamin D and healthy fats – with particular love for avocado.

She champions everyday strength work like squats, lunges and balance exercises, and explains why flexibility and stability should come before intensity. Breath and pelvic floor relaxation are treated as essential foundations, not afterthoughts, especially for intimate health and anxiety. She also makes a case for challenging the brain with coordination drills, eye exercises and puzzles, and for guarding sleep as non‑negotiable recovery time.

The style is warm, energetic and occasionally funny, with plenty of straight-talking questions that may nudge you to rethink how you’re treating your midlife body. If menopause feels like a full-stop to you right now, could it actually be the start of a new chapter instead?