Libsyn Directory

248. What Your Midlife Symptoms Are Really Telling You / Andrea Nakayama

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Release Date: 11/13/2025

248. What Your Midlife Symptoms Are Really Telling You / Andrea Nakayama

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Midlife symptoms have a way of turning up the volume on everything you’ve been ignoring—fatigue, restlessness, burnout, or that persistent feeling that “this just isn’t working anymore.” In Episode 248: What Your Midlife Symptoms Are Really Telling You, I’m joined by functional nutritionist and educator Andrea Nakayama for a powerful reframe: your symptoms aren’t failures—they’re feedback. Andrea brings a fresh lens to midlife wellness, one that goes far beyond quick fixes and trendy biohacks. She invites us to listen—to treat our midlife symptoms as messengers,...

247. Why Cardio Backfires in Midlife—and What to Do Instead

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

You're eating well, staying active, and doing everything that used to work—so why are you feeling tired, stuck, and frustrated with your results? In episode 247, “Why Cardio Backfires in Midlife—and What to Do Instead,” I break down why your once-trusted workout strategies may be failing you now—and what to do about it. If you’re still relying on cardio as your go-to solution, it’s time to reassess. Midlife changes everything, from hormones to muscle mass to recovery time. That means your fitness approach needs a serious upgrade. I explain why too much steady-state cardio...

246. When Childhood Trauma Reawakens: Stacey Hettes on Healing After Midlife

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Have you ever felt like you were finally okay—only to be blindsided by a wave of emotion you didn’t see coming? In this episode of Pursue Your Spark, “When Childhood Trauma Reawakens: Stacey Hettes on Healing After Midlife,” I sit down with Dr. Stacey Hettes, scientist, college professor, and author of Dispatches from the Couch, to explore how deeply buried childhood trauma can resurface in midlife—and how we begin to heal truly. We dig into the ACEs framework (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and how Dr. Hettes used it to make sense of emotional shutdown, people-pleasing, and...

245. What To Eat After 40 To Boost Energy

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Do you find yourself dragging through the afternoon, reaching for coffee or snacks just to stay awake? You’re not alone. After 40, those 2 p.m. crashes become more common—and it has nothing to do with motivation. It’s your hormones and nutrition working differently now, and midlife nutrition plays a much bigger role than it used to. In Episode 245: What To Eat After 40 To Boost Energy, I explain how hormone shifts, stress, and sleep all affect your energy. As estrogen trends down, your body becomes more sensitive to carbs. Add cortisol spikes from stress and poor sleep, and...

244. Aqua Yoga for Midlife Strength / Christa Fairbrother

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Struggling with stiff joints, low energy, or feeling unsure how to move your body without hurting it? You’re not alone—and in Episode 244: Aqua Yoga for Midlife Strength, we explore how the pool might just be your new best friend. I talk with Christa Fairbrother, a former farrier turned aqua yoga teacher, who shares how a painful autoimmune diagnosis changed her path—and how movement in the water gave her strength, balance, and confidence again. We go deep into why aqua yoga is one of the best low-impact workouts for midlife bodies, especially when arthritis or chronic illness...

243. How to Reset After Summer Without Diets or Guilt In Midlife

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

After a season of rosé, ice cream, and skipped workouts, many women feel the urge to “start over.” But here’s the truth: restriction and guilt aren’t the answer. Instead of punishing yourself for summer indulgences, you can embrace a different approach—one that feels empowering, sustainable, and kind. That’s exactly what I share in my new post, Reset After Summer: A Midlife Healthy Eating Guide. This isn’t about diets, detoxes, or a perfect Monday plan. It’s about creating a realistic reset for midlife women—one rooted in food freedom, energy, and confidence. A healthy...

242. Holistic Psychology for Stress Relief: Bridging Eastern and Western Healing/ Tatiana Miller

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Ever been told “it’s all in your head” when you know your body is asking for help? That disconnect is more than frustrating—it’s often the very thing that deepens our stress, amplifies burnout, and keeps us stuck. In Episode 242: Holistic Psychology for Stress Relief: Bridging Eastern and Western Healing, I sit down with holistic psychologist Tatiana Miller to explore what happens when we stop chasing symptoms and start listening to our whole selves. Tatiana’s story is powerful—from years of being dismissed by Western doctors to discovering healing through yoga,...

241. The Confidence Gap In Midlife No One Talks About

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Ever walk away from a conversation thinking, “Why didn’t I just say what I meant?” That gut punch isn’t just frustration—it’s a sign of something deeper. In episode 241, The Confidence Gap No One Talks About, we unpack why so many midlife women silence themselves—and how to break that cycle. This episode is about power. The quiet kind. The kind you feel when you reclaim your voice in midlife and finally say what you mean. We explore what the confidence gap really looks like. It’s not always obvious. Sometimes it hides behind people-pleasing, over-explaining, or...

240. From Trauma to Times Square: Amy Thurman’s Journey of Healing and Purpose

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

Sometimes the most powerful journeys begin not with a step forward, but with a fall that forces you to rise differently. Amy Thurman’s life changed in an instant after a traumatic brain injury left her unable to walk, talk, or see clearly. In Episode 240: From Trauma to Times Square, Amy shares her raw and remarkable story of healing and personal growth in midlife. But her story isn’t just about recovery—it’s about rediscovering purpose and becoming a guide for others. Now a speaker, author, and founder of the Mirror Collective, Amy created the “Polish the Mirror” framework to...

239. Why Overthinking Keeps You Stuck in Midlife

Pursue Your Spark - Midlife Health & Fitness, Menopause, Empty Nest Confidence, Health & Mindset, Women over 40

You know that moment when you’re standing in the kitchen, staring at two different snacks, and you just can’t decide? It’s not really about the snack. It’s the mental spiral that’s running the show. In midlife, overthinking becomes the default. You’re juggling shifting roles, changing bodies, and trying to keep up with everything that used to feel automatic. But now? Every decision feels heavier. You’re constantly planning, researching, second-guessing… and feeling more stuck than ever. In episode 239, “Why Overthinking Keeps You Stuck in Midlife,” we explore how...

More Episodes

Andrea brings a fresh lens to midlife wellness, one that goes far beyond quick fixes and trendy biohacks. She invites us to listen—to treat our midlife symptoms as messengers, not mistakes. These signals often point to something deeper: a misalignment between how we live and what truly fuels us.

We explore why burnout and fatigue might be guiding you toward your next act, not just another supplement. Andrea shares how functional nutrition, narrative medicine, and deep self-awareness can create real, lasting healing.

She also shares her own midlife story—navigating profound personal loss, raising a child, managing Hashimoto’s, and building a business in her 40s. Her journey reminds us that healing is not about timing—it’s about listening to what life and your body are asking for, one small step at a time.

You’ll learn:

How to recognize your body’s deeper messages (and stop ignoring them)
Why wellness isn’t about fixing, but aligning
What the health world gets wrong about biohacking and quick fixes
How to advocate for real healing—especially when your doctor isn’t seeing the whole picture
Why longevity is more about meaning than control

If you’ve been doing everything “right” but still feel off, this episode is for you. Your symptoms might be the guideposts you've been missing.

Connect with Andrea here

Connect with Heike here

Buy Heike's new book, Pursue Your Spark
Follow her on Instagram
Get on the waitlist for the Pursue Your Spark Blueprint Course
Follow her on YouTube
Subscribe on Substack

TOPICS