Advertise on podcast: The Sacred Womb with Melanie Swan

There's a shift in consciousness that slowly creeps in at midlife. It doesn't announce itself dramatically. It arrives as a background whisper — a gradual sense that the life we've been living, perhaps quite happily, no longer quite fits. Not because anything is wrong with it. But because something within us is fundamentally changing. That feeling — of being slightly unattached, energetically out of sorts, like wearing someone else's itchy jumper — is often the very first psychological sign that perimenopause has begun. In this episode, Melanie shares her own experience of this disorientation, what's actually happening beneath it, what makes it harder, and what genuinely helps. In this episode: — Why the first sign of perimenopause is often psychological, not physical — What's really happening when we feel detached, distant and out of sorts — Why this shift is slow by design, and why that matters — How early attachment trauma mixes with the genuine unknown of perimenopause — and why it matters to unblend them — What acceptance really means in perimenopause (and what it definitely doesn't) — Why trying to fix, skip, or medicate this process makes it much harder — How to stay present with the discomfort without collapsing into it Melanie also reads aloud, for the first time since writing it, a poem from her forthcoming book Poems for Perimenopause — written at the very beginning of her own perimenopause journey, at the edge of the lake, just before acceptance arrived. A note if this is where you are right now If you're reading this with one toe in the old and one in the new — energetically out of step, quietly wondering if something is wrong — you're not broken. You're not in crisis. You're at the beginning of one of the most significant transitions of your life, and your whole system is doing exactly what it should. Stay with the process. Keep breathing. The emergence will come. But first — the detachment, the composting, and the completion. Free Resources & Further Support 🎧 Free 10-minute perimenopause guided practice — create more capacity and internal space during this transition. Navigating Perimenopause as an Initiation — Live Online Workshop Work with Melanie 1:1 If you want the depth of connection of one-to-one support, Melanie works with women individually online worldwide. The entry point is a Soul-Deep Clarity Session — one hour, trauma-specialised, womb-centred. Melanie will see what's happening in your system and make a bespoke recommendation for the work ahead. Book your Soul-Deep Clarity Session →  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Perimenopause can feel like our whole inner world cracks open at once — even when we've done years of therapy and personal development. In this episode, I explain why that intensity is not a malfunction. It is a deliberate hormonal shift that ends suppression, opens the subconscious, and activates dormant potential simultaneously. I cover: Why the hormonal shift in perimenopause is designed — not a decline or an ovarian failureThe oestrogen veil lifting and what it opens in the subconsciousWhy unresolved feelings, abandoned parts of self, and dormant potential all surface togetherCutting out the noise, slowing down, and creating the space this transition demandsThe old self composting — why identity can feel like a costume, and why that's rightThe 3am wake-up loop as a completion signal, and a practical way to work with itIsolation as one of the hardest parts of perimenopause — and why we need our sistersThe broken transmission from wise women and why oral guidance from lived experience mattersCircadian rhythm support and living in tune with nature — what changed my sleep in two daysMy own three years of perimenopause retreat, and what's supported me throughI also share my personal experience — including what it's actually felt like to go through this nose to the fire, and what I'm coming out the other side knowing. I've recorded a free guided practice to help you create more capacity in perimenopause — 10 to 15 minutes > I'm also running regular workshops on navigating perimenopause as an initiation, and I offer 1:1 perimenopause support > Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

The conflicting advice around reproductive health — from conventional medicine and from the wellness world — leaves most women cycling through practitioners with no real answers. I invited Michelle on because she has done what many women are told isn't possible, and she did it by going back to the root cause. Michelle Byrt is a natural fertility educator and founder of Get Fertile. After years of endometriosis, amenorrhea, hypothyroid, chronic fatigue, and over 50 other conditions, she had five natural periods in ten years. One year after finding the right information, she was pregnant naturally. In this episode she shares what made things worse — including two years on a high-protein, high-fat protocol that caused significant weight gain and worsening symptoms — and exactly what turned everything around: the Medical Medium morning cleanse, removing pathogen-feeding foods, and lowering fat intake. She also covers what to expect during the healing process (it is not linear), and the four root causes of infertility she identifies in the women she now works with: pathogens, toxins and heavy metals, low reproductive battery, and a weakened adrenal connection. If your reproductive system has been written off, or you are still moving through the loop of endless testing and no real answers — this one is for you. Find Michelle's fertility healing resources and e-bundle at stan.store/getfertile and on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok at @getfertile. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Ready to feel strong, steady, and unapologetically capable through perimenopause and menopause? We sit down with Charlotte, a Chiang Mai–based fitness and nutrition coach who specialises in midlife women, to unpack what actually changes as hormones shift and how to train smarter without turning your life upside down. No gimmicks, no “train by your phase” templates — just practical strategies that meet you where you are. We dig into why strength training becomes non-negotiable as oestrogen declines, and how load helps protect muscle and bone health when sarcopenia and osteopenia start to creep in. Charlotte breaks down simple ways to pick the right weight using RIR and RPE, how to keep the training stimulus while swapping movements you hate, and why enjoyment is the secret to consistency. You’ll hear real talk on the hip thrust nemesis, unexpected confidence boosts, and the quiet “grit” that keeps you coming back, even when the music is loud and the excuses pile up. Recovery takes centre stage. We reframe days off as recovery days, explore what active rest can look like, and explain why sleep, protein intake, and stress management drive progress more than one brutal workout ever will. Expect clear protein targets for midlife, pragmatic guidance on adapting training around fluctuating cycles without rigid rules, and a blueprint for getting started with a coach, a community, or a well-built program. By the end, you’ll have a grounded plan to build a resilient frame, better moods, and the kind of everyday strength that makes life feel easier. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a confidence nudge, and leave a quick review — your feedback helps more women lift well through midlife. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

You were told a love story. That if you were chosen — really chosen — everything would finally feel okay. The loneliness would ease. The ache would quiet. You'd feel complete. It doesn't work. Because it's a fantasy. And in this episode, I'm naming it directly. I explore: — What the Disney princess fantasy actually is and where it comes from: the real, tender, core fears underneath it — loneliness, abandonment, a fear of not existing, a perpetual lack of self-trust — and how the fantasy promises to resolve all of that through being chosen by a man — Why the programming is so effective: it lands on genuine unmet needs, it's embedded everywhere, and our nervous system gets temporary relief from it — so we cling to it even when it hurts — The father wound underneath: how the fantasy sticks to the gaping ache of never being met, validated, or protected in the way we needed — and how it drives who we choose to be in relationship with — How the fantasy shows up in daily life: waiting to be chosen, putting men on a pedestal, the illusion of the ring, the wedding, the house, the children as safety and worth and identity — How we try to uphold the fantasy through subtle control: managing his responses, overfunctioning, hoping he'll "wake up," trying to make him fit the fantasy rather than seeing who he actually is — What happens when control fails: raging, protesting, trauma dumping, self-suppression, holding our own growth back to keep the relationship intact — Extraction versus love: the difference between trying to get safety and worth from someone outside ourselves, and actually bringing love to a relationship — How to dissolve the spell: acknowledging the function the fantasy served, grieving what we didn't have, reassuring our system that killing the fantasy is not killing love — and orienting to what we are creating rather than waiting for someone to rescue us The shift I'm inviting: from will he choose me? to what am I bringing? Relationships are where we were hurt. They're also where we get to heal. But we have to bring ourselves into them — not a fantasy. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Become the frequency of this work and guide women home to their true, sovereign nature. I’m truly delighted to share this with you. The Womb Medicine Woman Training® is back! This training has run in different forms for seven years. I then chose to pause—to reflect, deepen my skills, get divorced, and move to Thailand… and then peri-menopause kicked in. To say I needed time to rest and recalibrate would be an understatement. Now, with fresh eyes, in a new chapter of life, and with a clinically rooted, trauma-specialised approach, I’m bringing back this much-needed training—clearer, deeper, and more comprehensive than ever. The Womb Medicine Woman Training® is a 12-month Certified Professional Training in womb healing and feminine leadership, alchemising deep personal work with professional development. In this episode—celebrating the relaunch—I walk you through why women need specialised healing and leadership, why trauma-specialised womb work matters, and how the structure of the training—CORE · FLOW · STRUCTURE · LEAD—is designed to take us from stabilising core needs to sovereignty, self-responsibility, and heart-centred leadership. I also share how Medicine Circles, partner practice, and sisterhood support real-world integration—repatterning the nervous system and bringing this work to women in a way that lights you up. Why women need specialised healing & leadershipWhy trauma-specialised womb healing mattersThe structure of the training — CORE, FLOW, STRUCTURE & LEAD, and whyCORE — Restoring Core Needs and Orienting To The Love WithinFLOW — Menstrual Cycle Embodiment, Rites of Passage and Womb HealingSTRUCTURE — Restoring & Unifying The Divine Masculine & Divine FeminineLEAD — Cultivating Aligned Action, Value, Visibility, Internal Authority, Self-Responsibility and SovereigntyMedicine Circles — how we workCommunity — the field you’ll be held inRoots & Origins of this workCourse outcomes — what you’ll be able to offerI’m thrilled to invite you into this expanded and upgraded training—one that will equip you with the experience, healing, transformation, and clinical skills to embody your role as a Womb Medicine Woman®. The training starts every September. FULL DETAILS OF THE WOMB MEDICINE WOMAN TRAINING Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Women and MONEY! Why are so many women struggling to earn, receive and retain money?!! Women are conditioned—subtly and overtly—to emotionally over-give, to feel guilty for charging for their time, to equate compassionate with “low fee,” and not to have “too much.” Add attachment patterns that mean receiving can feel existentially loaded, generational trauma that women simply can’t survive without a man (and his money), plus a split from our true masculine nature and the distortions that comes with, and we’ve got a heady concoction of lack and struggle. So where does it come from? From my experience, the actual root is a perceived lack of ability and a rupture of trust in oneself, leading to a subsequent attempt to fill that void with someone or something outside of us.  When it comes to money and women, we usually fill our perceived lack of ability to earn with a man (who provides money, but also has his own deficit, usually emotional intelligence, and the ability to care for himself, which women then make up for in exchange).  So the problem isn’t “out there.” It's not 'the universe's' fault - it’s the unconscious patterns within—a blend of attachment templates, generational imprints, gendered socialisation and our own outsourcing vs resourcing across our Soul’s Journey—that runs how women charge, receive, retain, manage, and relate with money.  In this episode, I talk through: Not working at the root, nervous-system override at the moment of charging/receiving, and the feast-and-famine cycle.Gendered programming (be small, be nice, be grateful, don't charge for caring) fused with attachment patterns centred around a longing to be truly cared for keeps the loop on rewind and repeat.Outsourcing vs resourcing through the soul’s journey – our rupture with self-trust and source, and unwillingness (for various reasons) to take self-responsibility.What creates real change: a direct, embodied process that restores stability and congruence so your relationship with money feels steady and safe.I’ve created A FREE guided practice and worksheet to locate your personal glitches and core beliefs in the cycle of money. Download it here > AND if you’re ready to stop patching symptoms, blaming ‘the universe’ and want to resolve the root, I have created a container where we can work through all of this together – the Money Patterns Rewired intensive, for women. MONEY REWIRED FULL DETAILS Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Agnieszka Drabek-Prime weaves the cyclical wisdom of goddess archetypes into a rich map for navigating life’s transitions — from menstruation to motherhood, through perimenopause and beyond.  Her new book, Dancing With Goddesses: An Archetypal Journey Through The Menstrual Cycle, offers women a way to embrace their natural rhythms and seasons with reverence. The book arrived in a single, luminous moment of inspiration while Agnieszka was camping — a fully-formed vision blending her work as a doula, womb medicine woman, and celebrant with deep archetypal goddess wisdom. In our conversation, we explore: • How goddess archetypes can act as mirrors for women’s lived experiences • A five-season approach to understanding the menstrual cycle • Why each woman’s cycle has its own unique nature and rhythm • How life transitions can be fertile ground for growth and transformation • The wisdom encoded in women’s bodies and experiences • Agnieszka’s personal perimenopause journey • The healing power of being heard without judgment You can find Agnieszka at primetherapy.co.uk on Instagram and Substack, and her book is available at all good bookshops and Amazon. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

The journey through perimenopause is unique for every woman, yet the unsolicited and contrary advice remains universal.  This was the inspiration for my latest poem, which is part of a book of poetry in which I’m documenting the entire perimenopause journey from beginning to end. What makes perimenopause so challenging isn’t just the physical symptoms – the hormonal fluctuations, the muscle mass changes – but the barrage of contradictory advice from people who often have no personal experience with it.  From well-meaning friends suggesting I drink my own piss, to fitness bros blindly prescribing calorie deficits and skipping meals, the poem highlights the absurdity of simplistic solutions to this multi-faceted physiological transition. The journey through perimenopause, like other significant life transitions, ultimately belongs to the person experiencing it, and external perspectives – however well-intentioned – need to be filtered through our intuition. Ugh, where do I start….? The flurry of advice From uninformed folk Who all have their price Estrogen is dropping Your bones will crumble! Drink loads of milk Or take a tumble Ingest creatine now Or lose all your muscle You should intermittent fast! There’s no end to this hustle Eat chunks of protein At every single meal Eventually, it’ll kill you All that dairy, tofu and veal “Hey” someone whispers “You should drink your own piss“ So I squat over a glass *Gulp* Alright then, come give us a kiss! But my all-time favourite Is from the 30-something bro You wanna lose weight? His face starts to glow Ah, he squints, Like he’s about to shit gold You just need to be in a calorie deficit! Seriously, this never gets old? Oh! I exclaim Why didn’t I think of that?! Thank you so much bruh You dumb little t**t He no longer exists That poor, sweet boy Who made the mistake Of thinking I was old & coy But seriously though This is not about bro’s It’s the not-so-miracle advice That you can stick it up your……nose To give you a vague idea Of what it’s like to be in peri Put a blindfold on And navigate the contrary The vitamins, the supplements The creams and the sprays Can all just f**k off I don’t care what anyone says My body is my body My age is my age My intuition rules And THAT’S my primary gauge BY MELANIE SWAN Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Today is my 49th birthday, and peri-menopause is in full swing. My last period lasted 26 hours. As my blood started to flow, I felt love and bliss emanating from my womb. I lay on my bed for 4 hours, riding the waves of energy that flowed through the fibres of my body. The last time I wrote a poem about my stage of womanhood was January 2021, at that point I was standing at the edge of the lake > This poem captures the nothingness and everythingness of my current state of being. The boat has set sail I’m on the lake Most of the tether has frayed I hear… Leave that world behind It’s done The fog starts to settle Let them enjoy it It’s no longer for you You’re no longer for it I know there’s land the other side I don’t know what’s there I know what’s there It feels more like home A familiar welcome signals me It feels like a return I have questions that don’t need an answer Questions that aren’t really questions I don’t have questions There are no answers There’s only a strand of rope left Leave her behind Make peace with her  It’s noise fades, I can hear the water Nothing matters Everything matters Nothing exists Everything exists I am the boat I am the lake and the land I am here I am everything The final strand tenses It stretches I pause Watching the strand Wondering if my heart will break. By Melanie Swan Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

Have you noticed the huge rise in the diagnosis of ADHD? It’s everywhere — in adults, in children, on social media, in therapy rooms. And while it’s often discussed through the lens of ‘neurodiversity’ or executive dysfunction, there’s something deeper going on that rarely gets named. The Root Cause of ADHD ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but in many cases, what’s really going on is the result of unresolved, early attachment trauma, and for the majority of people, it’s more accurate to describe it as: ATTACHMENT DEFICIT In a very small nutshell: The psyche developed without a secure attachment figure — someone who could consistently regulate, attune, and protect.There were multiple sustained periods of intolerable pain or stress, so the system fragmented in order to survive.These fragmented parts became hyper-vigilant, and being still or at rest felt unsafe.By adulthood, this becomes a way of life — fast-paced, scattered, always ‘on’.As a culture, we like to give palatable names to things we don’t want to face — and mental health diagnoses have become a socially acceptable way of masking deeper truths. Even ‘neurodiversity,’ while helpful in some contexts, can sometimes act as a palatable blanket for what is, at its core, profound and unresolved attachment trauma. Real Healing Is Possible Therapies that address the root — not just the symptoms — can support us to come back into the body, out of self-preservation, and into the present moment. Modalities like: IFS (Internal Family Systems)CRM (Comprehensive Resource Model)DBR (Deep Brain Reorienting)SE (Somatic Experiencing)It does take time. But the nervous system is designed to heal. A great resource is Gabor Mate’s Book: – Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder You’re Not Broken — You Adapted I invite you to pause, take a deep breath, and notice what part of you is speaking if you say, ‘It’s my ADHD,’ as if that defines the whole of who you are. Part of what’s affecting attention, focus, and emotional regulation is physiological, and often tied to industrial and pharmaceutical toxicity.  Read healing ADHD with nutrition. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

In our conversation, Anthony shares the essence of Singing in the Wild, his five-day retreat that I've been on twice (17 years ago and more recently just a few weeks ago). I had such a transformative time that I invited Anthony onto the podcast to share the genuine magic of this work! Many of us were told, somewhere along the way, that we couldn’t sing. Maybe we were asked to stay quiet, to lip-sync or not to make too much noise; these moments can go deep and restrict us - that is, until we decide we want to go beyond those limits. This retreat gently meets that wounding, offering a space where each person's natural, unique voice is welcomed, just as it is. It’s not about performance or hitting the right notes. It’s about remembering what it means to express rather than perform, and reconnecting with the sacredness that lives in sound, loving presence, and connection. What emerges is nothing short of magical.  When we step beyond judgment and self-consciousness into pure expression, something shifts fundamentally in our nervous system.  'The voice is not just a musical instrument,' Anthony explains, 'it actually IS the person.' Through practices he calls 'radical relating', participants learn to be fully present with each other without fixing, advising, or turning away - creating moments of profound connection where the boundaries between self and other begin to dissolve. This conversation vibrates with the truth that transformation happens not through technical improvement, but through authentic connection.  Whether you've been silenced or simply yearn for deeper relationships with yourself and others, this work offers a pathway home to our most natural and authentic expression. CONNECT WITH ANTHONY Find out more about Singing in the Wild Retreat or learn more about Anthony's overall work, Real Voice > Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

have you ever tried to ‘let go’ of behaviors that no longer serve you, only to find yourself repeating the same patterns?  You're not alone.  The popular advice to ‘release what no longer serves us’ or burning our troubles away on the full moon simply doesn't work—and there's a profound psychological reason why. What we're actually doing when we try to ‘let go’ is pushing away parts of ourselves that have been working diligently to protect us. These patterns began as vital coping strategies during times when our emotions felt overwhelming. By trying to reject these aspects of ourselves, we create further internal fragmentation and erode trust within our own psyche. The healing begins with a simple but powerful shift: instead of pushing away, try welcoming these parts with curiosity and gratitude.  By locating where we feel these patterns in your body and extending compassion to these aspects of yourself, you create an internal atmosphere of acceptance. When we ask these parts how they've been trying to help us and what fears they hold, something remarkable happens—they begin to feel recognized, valued, and integrated rather than isolated and rejected. This internal shift doesn't just heal fragmentation; it creates a ripple effect that extends to your external relationships. As you generate more self-acceptance, you naturally begin to vibrate at a frequency that attracts more authentic connections. When we stop seeking validation externally and instead create that environment within, others feel drawn to our genuine presence. It's the ultimate paradox—by fully welcoming ourselves, we create the connection we've been seeking all along. Ready to experience this transformation? I've created a guided practice available in the Sacred Womb shop for just £3 to help you to dissolve old patterns with love  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

This 10-minute guided practice serves as both a foundational womb healing technique to energise your whole womb center and a diagnostic tool to understand your current relationship to your womb. You’ll learn to direct energy to each part of your womb system – the ovaries, tubes, the womb itself, cervix, and yoni (sacred space).  As you breathe into each area, you’ll discover not just where energy may be blocked or flowing freely, but you’ll actively begin the process of re-energisation. You can practice it indoors while sitting in a chair, though sitting directly on the earth can deepen your experience significantly.  Whether you’re exploring womb healing for the first time or are a seasoned practitioner, this foundational practice serves as the cornerstone for reconnection with your seat of power. This practice: Works to energise the entire womb system, including the ovaries, tubes, womb, cervix and yoni Incorporates somatic resourcing through connecting to the earth and your energetic tap rootCan be done anywhere, though sitting on earth, the beach, a tree stump or a stone enhances the energetic Will energise your menstrual cycleActs as a diagnostic tool to discover areas of resistance, old protection, stored emotions or disconnection.If you enjoyed this practice and want to go deeper, you can book a 1:1 Womb Healing Session online. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

The phrase 'holding space' is immensely popular with those in therapeutic, healing, coaching, wellness, and women's circles, but what's really happening? I've investigated this over the last few years with those I've worked with and colleagues, and it turns out to be mainly trauma-driven. Holding is the opposite of what we're trying to be as we heal and become more present. The opposite of holding in this relaxed, engaged and present.  We don't want to be holding anything! It creates tension, deflects from our presence, and has our energy too focused on the other person, which either consciously or unconsciously creates a reaction in them, of either infantilisation or resistance. Neither is going to help the process of becoming more present. So it's really useful to question what's driving it, as ALL healing arts professionals have a trauma history, which is why our personal work is essential to facilitating the process of coming home to our true selves and meeting the world from a base of increasing love. A big caveat to this is that there is no 'healed' point. All of the markers I talk about are on a sliding scale from a more fear-based, adapted way of being to embodying more and more love, and connecting with others from a sense of security and safety within ourselves. In this episode, I talk through the following: WHAT TRAUMA-DRIVE SPACE HOLDING LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE a sense of 'holding' in our bodyperpetually pushing our own needs to one side to take care of others, have a sense of self-sacrifice and hoping to be seen a certain way in return for our 'holding'viewing others as less than or feeling sorry for themtrying to hold the whole group field or person with our energyfeeling perpetually exhausted after 'holding space'attached to the outcome of other people's state of beingfinding it difficult to be vulnerable with people, either 1:1 or in groups in daily lifecan't feel our own body or emotions whilst 'holding space'feel unappreciated for all our effortsWHAT'S DRIVING TRAUMA-BASED 'HOLDING SPACE'? WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE ON THE RECEIVING END OF TRAUMA-DRIVEN SPACE HOLDERS WHAT WE CAN DO IF SPACE HOLDING IS TRAUMA-DRIVEN A Guided Practice To Reclaim Your Energy & Come Home To Your Body > Send us Fan Mail Support the show Melanie Swan is a Perimenopause & Menopause Guide, Soul & Shadow Worker and host of The Sacred Womb Podcast.  With over 24 years of clinical and metaphysical experience, she supports women to resolve repeating patterns at the root, heal the womb, and navigate perimenopause as a profound initiation into their true nature.  She leads the Womb Medicine Woman Training® and is currently writing her first book, Sacred Womb, Sovereign Woman. The Sacred Womb Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.