by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
Wellness Mama Blog | Simple Answers for Healthier Families
–
Soup season is in full swing, but honestly, in this household any season really is soup season. These homemade sourdough croutons are the perfect crunchy topper for a nice bowl of warm soup in the winter. Or try them on top of a fresh salad with lots of veggies and some homemade salad dressing. If […]
Continue reading Garlic Parmesan Sourdough Croutons…
Read the full article here:
https://wellnessmama.com/health/sourdough-croutons/
by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
WellBeing Magazine
–
Ageing well isn’t just genetic—daily diet and lifestyle choices can support your body’s natural longevity mechanisms.
The way we age is influenced by far more than just our genes
Everyday choices we make, especially what we eat, play a vital role in how we feel, move and function as the years go by. Emerging science continues to highlight how certain foods and lifestyle habits can slow down biological ageing, reduce inflammation and support brain and heart health, to help us stay strong, vibrant and energised well into our later decades.
In this article, we explore the importance of choosing organic produce for healthy ageing and how antioxidant-rich foods, such as purple berries, pomegranates, wild salmon, walnuts, turmeric and green tea, along with key nutrients and phytochemicals, such as vitamin C, omega-3s, alpha-lipoic acid, resveratrol and urolithin A promote a longer, healthier life.
We’ll take a closer look at how these foods and protective compounds support mitochondrial health, reduce senescent cells, lower inflammation and oxidative stress, and stimulate autophagy, the body’s internal clean-up system linked to longevity and better health. You’ll also discover the importance of a healthy gut microbiome in ageing well, plus enjoy three delicious recipes designed to help you age more powerfully, one nourishing bite at a time.
Understanding the key factors behind ageing
Ageing is shaped by a complex interplay of factors, including our genes, diet, lifestyle habits and environmental exposures. While we cannot change our genetic makeup, we have significant influence over how our genes are expressed through the daily choices we make. This is known as epigenetics, the way our environment and behaviours can switch genes on or off.
Several key drivers have been identified that can accelerate ageing and increase the risk of age-related diseases. These include chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, nutrient deficiencies, poor sleep and unrelenting stress. However, one often overlooked factor in ageing well is the importance of fostering strong social connections. Engaging with a supportive community can reduce stress, improve mood and provide a sense of purpose, all of which are essential in maintaining physical and mental health as we age.
Inflammageing
Inflammageing is a term used to describe the chronic, low-grade inflammation that naturally develops as we age. Unlike acute inflammation, which is a short-term protective response, inflammageing is persistent and gradually damages tissues and organs. This ongoing inflammation is believed to contribute to many age-related diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoarthritis and certain cancers.
Scientists have found a strong correlation between inflammation levels and a person’s lifespan. A study published in The Lancet found that low levels of inflammation are a powerful predictor of longevity in people who live beyond 100 years of age.
Several factors drive inflammageing, including:
- Accumulation of senescent (aged, non-functioning) cells
- Long-term exposure to environmental stressors (e.g. pollution, poor diet)
- Changes in gut microbiota
- Declining immune regulation
- Oxidative stress
A lifestyle rich in antioxidants, regular movement, good sleep, stress management and gut health can reduce inflammageing and support healthier ageing.
How antioxidants support healthy ageing
Antioxidants slow the ageing process by shielding our cells from oxidative stress—a key factor in premature ageing and inflammation. They support skin, brain and heart health, and protect our mitochondria.
Key foods high in antioxidants include:
- Dark berries, pomegranates, kiwi, citrus
- Cruciferous vegetables (e.g. broccoli, kale, red cabbage)
- Turmeric, green tea, ginger, raw cacao
- Oily fish (e.g. salmon, sardines)
- Cold-pressed oils (e.g. olive, flaxseed, avocado)
Benefits of plant polyphenols
Plant polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, tea and spices. They help:
- Regulate blood sugar and pressure
- Reduce oxidative stress and inflammation
- Protect against neurodegeneration, arthritis, cancer and more
Common polyphenols include anthocyanins, resveratrol, quercetin, curcumin, EGCG and flavonoids.
The green Mediterranean diet and longevity
This diet emphasises plant-based foods like berries, vegetables, nuts, olive oil, legumes, green tea and oily fish. It limits meat and dairy. It is linked to reduced brain shrinkage, better cognition and lower inflammation.
Telomeres, senescent cells and the ageing process
Telomeres shorten with age, leading to cellular senescence—where cells stop dividing but still produce inflammation. Too many senescent cells contribute to age-related disease.
Diets rich in plant nutrients (especially from the green Mediterranean diet), polyphenols, fasting, sleep and exercise help preserve telomeres and reduce senescent cell accumulation.
Eating organic for healthy ageing
Organic produce is grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or GMOs. Organic farming supports nutrient-rich soil, yielding produce with more vitamins and antioxidants.
Organic foods help reduce chemical exposure, protect gut health and reduce inflammation that accelerates ageing.
Nurturing a healthy gut microbiome
A thriving gut supports immune function, brain health and inflammation control. Ageing often brings gut imbalances (dysbiosis), which increase disease risk.
To support the gut:
- Eat fibre-rich foods (fruits, veg, legumes, whole grains)
- Include prebiotics (onions, leeks, garlic, oats)
- Include probiotics (yoghurt, kimchi, miso, kefir)
Key longevity nutrients
Some of the most important nutrients and compounds for healthy ageing include:
Vitamin C
- Boosts immunity, collagen, energy and skin health
- Found in citrus, berries, kiwi, capsicum, tomatoes
- Supplement: 2g/day
Vitamin E
- Protects skin, reduces inflammation
- Found in nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil
- Use in diet or supplement as d-alpha-tocopherol
Omega-3 fatty acids
- Support joints, mood, memory, heart and skin
- Found in oily fish, flaxseeds, walnuts
- Supplement: 2–5g/day
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
- Powerful antioxidant that supports mitochondria
- Found in spinach, broccoli, liver
- Supplement: 300–400mg/day
Resveratrol
- Supports heart, brain, cellular repair
- Found in red grapes, berries, dark chocolate
- Supplement: 250–500mg/day
Quercetin
- Anti-inflammatory flavonoid
- Found in apples, onions, berries
- Supplement: 500–1000mg/day
Urolithin A
- Promotes mitophagy and cellular vitality
- Found in pomegranates, walnuts, berries
- Supplement: 500–1000mg/day
Astaxanthin
- Protects brain, eyes and skin from oxidative stress
- Found in salmon, krill, microalgae
- Supplement: 4–12mg/day
Final thoughts
By nourishing our bodies with the right foods, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, staying active, managing stress and fostering strong social connections, we can reduce age-related disease risk and improve our chances of living longer, healthier lives.
References available upon request.
Article Featured on Wellbeing 218
The post Ageing Peacefully appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
Read the full article here:
Ageing Peacefully
by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
WellBeing Magazine
–
Sumatra Wildlife Centre rescues animals from poaching and trade—hopeful stories of survival, compassion, and wild return.
Head wildlife career Herman parks the ute and we grab backpacks and start walking, following a mossy trail past coffee bean trees and banana palms into the jungle. Clambering over the buttressed roots of decades-old strangler figs, the haunting song of siamang gibbons echoing through the mist, we finally reach a small clearing deep in the forest known as Raja Besar, the “Great King”.
Here, using timber and aluminium beams carried along the same forest foot trail, a handful of workers are building a modest hut — two small sleeping rooms, a bathroom and spaces for cooking and eating. Everyone is pitching in with the communal work and, even with the hubbub of grinding and hammering, this jungle scene is spectacularly beautiful.
This is a clearing full of hope. Within days, a large animal enclosure will be added and Tjing’s Jungle School will welcome a tiny sun bear cub named Mano. Her mother murdered by poachers, Mano was sold to wildlife traffickers whose planned shipment to the United Arab Emirates was intercepted by Indonesian police and a rescue team from Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN).
At four months old, weighing less than a domestic cat, Mano arrived at JAAN’s Sumatra Wildlife Centre (SWC) in need of the sort of intensive, around-the-clock care that a mother usually provides. The level of commitment it takes to save a baby sun bear is utterly astounding: one full-time carer providing through-the-night bottle feeding, a constant supply of fresh, ripe fruit, twice-daily walks, ever larger enclosures, veterinary checkups and now more than two years of jungle training by carers living with Mano in the forest.
Then, at the end of this very long road, the Sumatra Wildlife Centre team must secure government permits to release Mano into the wild, in a national park large enough to protect one of the world’s rarest, most endangered, tortured and trafficked “pets” from humans.
This is what JAAN does best
A not-for-profit, non-governmental wildlife network with privately funded rescue centres in Sumatra, Java and Bali, JAAN works with Indonesian police, government forestry officials and its own highly trained team of sniffer dogs to track, rescue, rehabilitate and release an astonishing range of wild animal species.
On Kotok Island off the Javanese coast, the organisation cares for and releases sea eagles and other raptors. In west Bali, its veterinary team nurses injured sea turtles saved from the meat trade, while still more JAAN professionals and volunteers work to rescue long-tailed macaques — the so-called “dancing monkeys” — from a tortured life on Indonesian streets, performing for cash at the hands of brutal captors.
All this work is done on donations. Founded in Indonesia in 2008, JAAN’s wildlife and marine programs are the life’s work of co-founder Femke den Haas, whose infectious enthusiasm, patience and ambition have gathered a bevy of animal activists to her side. Some call her a force of nature, and we are drawn to that energy, too. Two years after sailing into a west Bali anchorage beside her sea turtle and dolphin rehabilitation centre, we are lured back to photograph the work at Sumatra Wildlife Centre.
Wild encounters
Femke den Haas dangles the ultimate carrot. “You’ll be staying in the hut next to Mano,” and that’s how we meet our first ever sun bear, walking up the stairs to our temporary Sumatran home.
Built on gifted land on the outskirts of a small Indonesian village, on a known smuggling route for the world’s illegal wildlife trade, the Sumatra Wildlife Centre accepts every poached, injured and too-often tortured and rescued creature that reaches its gates.
Some have been rescued by JAAN’s own K9 team of specially trained wildlife sniffer dogs that intercept wildlife trades and deliver to the SWC an ever-changing assortment of native and exotic wildlife species: crocodiles, sun bears, raptors and meerkats, endangered agile gibbons, macaques, civets and leopard cats.
The aim is always to rehabilitate and release back into the wild, but for infants targeted by poachers, those rescued from torturous lives in captivity and for exotic species trafficked from other countries through Indonesia, the journey back can take years.
From small beginnings, the centre has grown to include a veterinary clinic, a kitchen for preparing the animals’ meals, kennels for the sniffer dog team and basic sleeping quarters for the centre’s resident staff. There are animal enclosures and compounds for every species: crocodile ponds and a meerkat playground, multi-storey enclosures for arboreal dwelling siamangs and lightning-fast agile gibbons, great netted pens for injured raptors and sheltered nocturnal enclosures for a lonely slow loris, a singular civet and a Sunda leopard cat.
Anything and everything find their way to the SWC, keeping carers and vets on their toes. Every day begins the same, preparing huge amounts of fresh food. Much of it is harvested from the centre’s adjacent pesticide-free plantations, and all of it must be carefully washed, chopped and weighed to create personalised food bowls for each animal.
There are salads of fruit and vegetables for the omnivorous primates, corn cobs and seeds for parrots, live mice and meat for the wild cats, and fish for the crocodiles. There’s even the occasional treat of drinking coconuts for playful sun bears to tap into. While the animals feed, every enclosure is thoroughly cleaned and fresh vegetation is added to provide cover, shade and for play.
The staff work at a cracking pace. In the space of our week-long stay, we watch new enclosures taking shape, including a huge compound for Mano and a soon-to-arrive sun bear cub named Henri that the staff hope to unite. Wildlife don’t always instantly make friends, but family groups and partnerships are essential for survival after release back into the wild.
Precious primates
Common in Indonesia, macaques have few rights and their endearing humanlike qualities, as infants at least, make them highly desirable, albeit extremely unsuitable pets. They are sociable creatures that live in large troupes in the wild and suffer considerable torment when separated from their mothers to be chained and solitarily confined to a cage.
It’s not illegal to own a long-tailed or pig-tailed macaque in Indonesia, and when a pet becomes a problem or the police intercept an illegal trade, the SWC takes the call. We stand beside a huge enclosure of 25 long-tailed macaques — four from Bali and the rest confiscated at just three or four weeks old. You might think that a macaque could be quickly released back into the wild, but there’s a process I didn’t expect.
The babies need milk feeds every two hours and three or four full years of growing up until an alpha male and alpha female emerge from the troupe to lead and safeguard the entire group’s survival in the wild. Along the way, these macaques must be sterilised and finally released into a wild habitat in Sumatra, whose territories contain suitable food and few other macaques.
The process is that much tougher for the centre’s endangered gibbons: solitary siamangs and agiles who require extremely large home ranges. Two locations offer hope — Sumatra’s Way Kambas and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks — but both are hotspots for conflict, poaching and land clearing.
“They can never be safe from human impact in the forests,” SWC’s head veterinarian, Janipa Saptayanti, says.
Saptayanti takes us to the centre’s far fringe where separate lofty enclosures house siamangs, leaf monkeys and lightning-fast agile gibbons whose quick hands startle anyone who wanders within easy reach. The siamang gibbons, known as owa, sing hauntingly to each other, their bewitching calls reaching us as we awaken each morning in our nearby hut. The largest of all gibbons, dark-haired siamangs mate for life and live in small family groups in rapidly disappearing forests, wiped out by clearing for palm oil plantations.
Infant siamangs are prized and targeted by wildlife traders who kill their defensive mothers before removing the infant and smuggling it out of Sumatra. Rehabilitating a rescued infant siamang takes up to five years and begins with milk feeding and full-time care before the growing infant can be paired with a compatible mate and released back into the wild.
Fussy about their prospective mates, agile gibbons are diffi cult to pair up and matchmaking requires patience. It takes years for young gibbons to reach maturity and accept a mate and, once partnered, females are given temporary contraception until they are released into the wild to roam and breed at will.
Despite this, the centre has carefully created two happy couples — Risa and Ibe, Piky and Julie — who have tackled another hurdle in their journey back to the wilderness. Release is a long time coming but, when it does, it’s often a bittersweet conclusion for the carers that devote their lives to wildlife. “I’m crying all the time,” admits Saptayanti. “Although so happy for them because it shows that our system is working.”
Finding sanctuary
But not every rescue ends in release. Sometimes animals arrive so badly handicapped, traumatised or reliant on their often-heartless human captors that they can’t be released at all. Trinity is a gibbon whose arm was cut off with a machete as she clung to her brutally murdered mother. Koja is a pig-tailed macaque whose spine grew bent thanks to spending more than 20 years in a tiny cat cage, and Brad is a crocodile that smashed all his teeth trying to bite his way out of a steel cage.
The SWC team realised early on that not every animal they cared for could be returned to the wild. So, when Australian musician Warren Ellis gifted 5000 square metres of land in 2021, Ellis Park sanctuary started providing a safe, forever home for the animals that could never leave. A public education centre was added, and the two centres, Ellis Park and Sumatra Wildlife Centre, are now run side-by-side to share the growing challenge of tackling wildlife mistreatment in Indonesia.
As I lie awake at night listening to our sun bear neighbour Mano cracking branches and trying to build a sleeping nest, and when I watch her on daily walks cracking coconuts and climbing fences in a single bound, I’m convinced that she will find her way back to the wilderness.
Small and distinctive, thanks to the golden crest branded on their chest, wild sun bears are also very poorly studied. No one has a clue just how many remain in the wild, but scientists estimate that population numbers plummet by at least 10 per cent with each passing year.
They are vulnerable and precious, each one worth saving. And with a team dedicated to her success, regardless of however long that might take, Mano has the best chance in the world of getting back to where she belongs.
Make it happen
JAAN (Jakarta Animal Aid Network) runs rescue centres and wildlife aid programs across Indonesia, including a rescue and rehabilitation centre for raptors on Java’s Kotok Island and the West Bali Sea Turtle Clinic. The not-for-profit organisation has instigated the rescue and rehabilitation of more than 300 ex-dancing monkeys, forcing a country-wide ban in 2019, has freed and rehabilitated the last circus-performing dolphins in Bali and continues to rally for a dog-meat-free Indonesia.
While the Sumatra Wildlife Centre is not open to the public, JAAN welcomes skilled volunteers across all its programs and centres, and encourages involvement, donations and website shop purchases to support its work.
Find out more and get involved at jaanindonesia.org and ellispark.org.
Article Featured in Wellbeing 218
The post The Last Sumatrans appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
Read the full article here:
The Last Sumatrans
by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
WellBeing Magazine
–
Near-death experiences challenge our view of consciousness, revealing vivid perceptions and lasting change across cultures.
A seven-year-old girl — we will call her Alina — was gravely ill in a children’s hospice. She had been blind since birth and was battling a rare form of leukemia. Following a severe fever that led to a brief cardiac arrest, she was successfully resuscitated.
A few days later, Alina began to calmly and matter-of-factly describe what she had seen. She spoke with startling precision about the room she had been in: the curtains, the machines, the colours of her nurse’s clothing. She said she had seen herself lying there and that, “for the first time, I could look at everything with my own eyes”.
She also spoke of a light that “didn’t blind me — it touched me”. She described a warmth, a voice without words, telling her she could choose to stay. In the final weeks of her life, despite all physical suffering, she radiated calm and trust.
Experiences like hers are difficult to explain within conventional neurological or psychological frameworks. They challenge our assumptions about perception, identity and consciousness.
Death is omnipresent yet almost invisible
It unfolds behind closed doors, in sterile rooms, surrounded by machines and medical professionals.
As modern medicine fights to preserve life at any cost, there is little room left to ask what it truly means: to live and to leave.
And yet those who have come closest to dying often return with stories that challenge our conventional understanding of consciousness. Near-death experiences, reported from emergency rooms, intensive-care units and hospices, tend to follow a strikingly consistent pattern: a profound sense of peace, encounters with light, reunions with the deceased, an out-of-body perspective and an inexplicable certainty that consciousness continues beyond the physical body.
The phenomenology of near-death experiences
Despite individual differences, near-death experiences (NDEs) tend to follow a remarkably consistent structure. Across age, gender and cultural background, people describe similar elements: a deep sense of peace and detachment, an out-of-body perspective, the passage through a tunnel or threshold, encounters with beings of light or loving presences, panoramic life reviews of stunning clarity and often, reunions with deceased loved ones.
Many describe these experiences as “more real than reality”. Some speak of boundless knowledge or profound insight into the deeper structure of existence. Strikingly, these reports emerge not only in Western societies but also in accounts from Asia, Latin America and the Arab world, with local variations yet with a shared underlying architecture.
Cardiologist Pim van Lommel, psychiatrist Bruce Greyson and others have studied these accounts in detail. Based on the Declaration for Integrative, Evidence-Based, End-of-Life Care that Incorporates Nonlocal Consciousness from 2015, van Lommel notes:
“The existence of a nonlocal aspect of consciousness that is not wholly dependent on the brain is not limited to specific points in space and time and does not cease to exist with physical death.”
Greyson adds:
“Retrospective assessments by near-death experiencers themselves and by their significant others describe NDEs as life-transforming, leading to profound changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.”
This remarkable cross-cultural consistency suggests that near-death experiences may not be mere subjective fantasies but rather glimpses into universal processes of consciousness that science has yet to fully understand.
Neuroscientific perspectives
Neuroscience has made remarkable progress in recent decades. Technologies such as electroencephalogram (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) now provide detailed insights into the brain’s activity patterns. Many researchers maintain that consciousness arises entirely from neural processes — a product of chemical signalling, electrical impulses and evolutionary refinement.
Accordingly, near-death experiences are often framed as the byproduct of extreme physiological conditions such as oxygen deprivation in the brain, surges of endorphins or DMT or unusual electrical activity in the temporoparietal junction. These explanations can appear convincing, especially when viewed through the lens of a model in which consciousness is thought to reside solely within the brain.
Significant questions remain. Why do some people report NDEs while others under virtually identical medical conditions do not? How is it that individuals recall verifiable events that occurred while they were clinically unconscious, according to hospital records? And why do these experiences so often lead to lasting transformations?
These dimensions are difficult to explain through neurobiology alone. They suggest that NDEs may be more than just a byproduct of a dying brain — perhaps glimpses into a realm of consciousness that is not entirely reducible to neural activity.
As Dr Sam Parnia, a leading researcher in resuscitation medicine, states:
“While unrecognized, people undergoing CA [cardiac arrest] may have consciousness, awareness and cognitive experiences despite absent visible signs of consciousness.”
His findings open new questions about how and where consciousness originates and whether it might survive the boundaries of clinical death.
Quantum and philosophical approaches
Could it be that consciousness is not merely an epiphenomenon of brain activity but a primary feature of the universe just as fundamental as space, time or energy? This question does not lead us into mysticism, but into a domain of open inquiry where physics and philosophy begin to converge.
That at the most fundamental level not everything consists of fixed objects but of probabilities, relationships and information flows has been shown by quantum physics. The state of a particle remains undefined until it is measured — until an act of observation collapses the wave function into something tangible. Some interpretations, like those proposed by physicist John Archibald Wheeler, speak of a “participatory universe”, in which the observer is not outside the system but an integral part of its unfolding.
Then there is the impressive phenomenon of non-locality, the realisation that entangled particles can influence each other over any distance, which contradicts the classical notions of cause and effect. Such ideas suggest that reality may not be entirely governed by linear causality and that consciousness could be not a mere reflection of the world but a fundamental aspect of it.
Philosophy has long offered parallel visions. Thinkers such as William James (neutral monism) and Bernardo Kastrup (analytical idealism) who can be seen as proponents of panpsychism — the view that consciousness exists in some form in all matter — have explored these questions deeply. Physicist David Bohm proposed the idea of an “implicate order”: a hidden, holistic dimension from which all visible reality unfolds, in which matter, mind and meaning are inseparably entwined.
They invite us to reconsider the essence of being alive, of being conscious and of being in connection with others, with ourselves and perhaps with something beyond us. Near-death experiences call us to pause not as a retreat from life but as an invitation to embrace it more deeply. They remind us of what truly matters: not material possessions or accomplishments but presence, authenticity and love.
These stories may not provide definitive answers. Yet they open a space where deeper questions and, with them, deeper understanding can begin to take root.
What we can learn
Near-death experiences are not proof, nor do they aim to be. They are stories from people who briefly stepped beyond the familiar frame and touched something that defies language. Speaking with those who have had a near-death experience, one thing becomes clear: these events are not something you can simply “explain away”. They leave a deep imprint, often lasting for years.
Many report that their attitudes toward life, death and relationships shift in profound ways. Fear — especially the fear of dying — tends to recede. In its place, values such as compassion, mindfulness, spiritual curiosity and a renewed sense of inner purpose come to the forefront. People leave behind careers, become socially engaged or discover forms of creative expression that previously lay dormant.
Their self-image often changes as well. Those who experienced consciousness during a moment of clinical “nothingness” begin to see themselves not only as bodies or biographies. Many people describe feeling more awake, more aware and, at the same time, more humble in the face of what cannot be fully explained.
Yet despite their depth and consistency, these experiences are often shared only in private. Out of fear of being dismissed, misunderstood or labelled irrational, many individuals remain silent. But those who do speak often do so with a sense of clarity.
Their stories may not offer final answers, but they open spaces for reflection, curiosity and deepened inquiry. Spaces where we might begin to rethink what it means to be human.
References upon request.
Article Featured in Wellbeing 218
The post Where Consciousness Lingers appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
Read the full article here:
Where Consciousness Lingers
by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
WellBeing Magazine
–
Fascia is now seen as a sensory, emotional organ that holds not just our bodies, but the unspoken stories we carry.
Beneath your skin, woven between your muscles, bones and organs, lies a shimmering network — a living matrix that shapes, supports and senses. This is your fascia, a part of your body’s connective tissue system. For decades, it was considered little more than anatomical packing material. Now new discoveries and insights are changing that view entirely.
Fascia is now understood as a highly intelligent system — responsive, fluid and richly innervated. It is the body’s largest sensory organ, involved in everything from movement and posture to pain, interoception and emotional processing. And yet the most fascinating revelations have only just begun to surface.
Emerging research, combined with therapeutic insight, suggests fascia may do more than carry the weight of your body — it may carry the weight of your lived experience.
In recent years, the notion that trauma is stored in the body has gained traction across fields from somatic therapy to neuroscience. Works such as The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk have popularised the idea that emotional pain, especially when unprocessed, embeds itself in the body’s tissues. Fascia, it seems, may be one of the key places where this residue is held.
Whether viewed through the lens of science, energy or embodied experience, fascia is being redefined not just as physical scaffolding but as a storyteller — holding the tension, patterns and imprints of what we haven’t yet fully processed or released. With this understanding comes a powerful question: if the body remembers what the mind forgets, how might we begin to heal through listening?
What is fascia? Understanding the body’s hidden web
To understand fascia’s potential role in emotional and physical healing, we first need to appreciate what it actually is — and how it works. Fascia is a continuous web of connective tissue that wraps through and around every muscle, bone, organ and nerve, offering structure and support while also playing a pivotal role in how we move and function.
Yet fascia’s influence extends beyond the physical. It has recently emerged as a key sensory system, rich in nerve endings that allow it to detect tension, pressure and pain and to transmit this information throughout the body. This discovery is shifting our understanding of fascia from passive scaffolding to active participant in bodily awareness and regulation.
“Fascia is your body’s living internet,” says fascia researcher Garry Lineham, co-founder of Human Garage. “It’s a fluid, intelligent web communicating faster than your brain. It senses, moves, adapts, protects and records everything you experience.”
This idea — that fascia is far more than physical scaffolding — is echoed by Dr Sarah Jane Perri, founder of Spinal Energetics. She describes it as “a responsive, elastic and deeply sensitive system … not just like a static skeleton but more like a dynamic web that holds us together and moves with us.”
Scientific research supports this redefinition. Studies have shown that fascia contains a dense network of mechanoreceptors, proprioceptors and nociceptors — the sensors that allow us to perceive pressure, changes in body position and warning signals that the body interprets as pain. It’s also intricately linked with interoception, the body’s ability to sense internal cues such as hunger, temperature or emotional arousal.
A landmark paper published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies by Dr Robert Schleip helped illuminate fascia’s role in sensory processing and has been instrumental in reclassifying fascia as a sensory organ, sparking wider recognition of its deep biological importance.
Rather than serving as a background player, fascia may be central to our felt experience of being human. It connects not just our anatomy, but the layers of sensation, emotion and perception that shape how we inhabit our bodies. And, for some, it may also be key to healing patterns of pain and emotion stored beneath the surface of conscious awareness.
The trauma imprint: when emotion becomes physical
If fascia is a living record of experience, what happens when that experience overwhelms us? Trauma, especially when unresolved, has a way of lodging itself in the body. Not in the form of visible scars, but as tension, restriction or pain that seems to defy explanation.
Increasingly, both science and somatic therapy point toward fascia as one of the key places where this residue collects — not through conscious memory but through patterns of contraction, dehydration and dysfunction that subtly alter how we move and feel.
“Fascia stores everything the body doesn’t have time to process … emotions, trauma, tension, ancestral patterns,” explains Lineham. “From a scientific view, fascia has over 1000 times more sensory nerves than the brain. Energetically, it’s the interface between the soul and the body. Spiritually, it’s where you hold what wasn’t expressed, until it’s safe to feel.”
While poetic, this perspective is supported by a growing body of research. Stress and trauma activate the sympathetic nervous system, placing the body in a heightened state of alert. If that stress is prolonged or unresolved, the body doesn’t return to baseline. Instead, muscles contract, breath becomes shallow and fascia can begin to harden or bind. Over time, this can lock the nervous system into patterns of defence.
According to Perri, “Fascia can become dehydrated, thickened or restricted due to stress, emotions, trauma or repetitive strain. These restrictions create internal pulling, compression or distortion that leads to chronic pain, even when no injury is visible on scans. Because fascia communicates with the nervous system, these patterns often perpetuate a heightened pain response.”
This may help explain why so many people live with unexplained discomfort or persistent tension that conventional treatments can’t resolve. From a somatic perspective, it’s not just the body acting out of sync — it’s the body holding onto what hasn’t yet had the chance to move through.
“When fascia is locked, breath is restricted, the vagus nerve is compromised and the nervous system stays stuck in fight or flight,” Lineham notes. “That leads to anxiety, depression, sleep issues and emotional volatility. When the fascia flows, the nervous system can finally regulate and the heart can feel safe again.”
Therapists trained in fascia-informed modalities often observe what appears to be emotion unspooling from the tissue itself. Clients may begin to tremble, cry or feel unexpected waves of memory or sensation — not always with clear explanation but with unmistakable release.
As Perri reflects, “Fascia holds the residue of our lived experiences. When tension is released, people may cry, laugh, tremor or feel waves of relief through them. This isn’t just symbolic. It’s actually the nervous system recalibrating and the body finally feeling safe enough to let go.”
Far from being metaphorical, the body’s way of storing and expressing trauma is increasingly understood as biological truth. And fascia may be one of the most eloquent storytellers of all — not in words, but in sensation.
Unlocking what’s held: healing modalities and somatic therapies
All forms of bodywork — from deep tissue release and Rolfing to acupuncture and chiropractic — ultimately engage with fascia and can be powerful modalities for working with the body. While some methods use firm pressure to create change, others adopt a “less-is-more” perspective.
Fascia-informed approaches work with the body in subtle and integrative ways, listening to its cues and allowing stored tension to unravel through movement, awareness and breath. Rather than trying to override dysfunction, fascia-based therapies aim to restore the body’s natural flow.
“We don’t force change,” says Lineham of Human Garage. “We create space for the body to adapt. Through slow, rotational, breath-led movements, we work with fascia’s natural double-helix structure to unlock pressure and restore flow.”
This principle is central to Human Garage’s Fascial Maneuvers, a series of gentle movements designed to activate the body’s self-healing mechanisms. Perri takes a similar approach through her practice of Spinal Energetics, which combines fascia-informed touch with energetic awareness.
“These therapies work by listening to the body’s innate intelligence,” she explains. “Often through subtle pressure or even off-body contact, we help the nervous system and fascia unwind — not through imposition, but through invitation.”
Clients receiving fascia-based or somatic therapies often describe profound shifts that feel less like treatment and more like the body remembering how to let go. These approaches differ from conventional methods because they allow stored tension to surface without intellectual analysis. The body leads and healing follows.
Signs your body may be speaking through fascia
If you’ve ever felt chronically tense, emotionally “stuck”, or disconnected from your body without clear reason, fascia may be involved. Signs that fascial therapy may help include:
- Persistent tightness or unexplained pain
- Shallow breathing or a sense of internal pressure
- Recurring symptoms that move or shift location
- Jaw clenching, teeth grinding or frozen shoulder
- Feeling trapped in your body or unable to relax
- Emotional numbness or unresolved grief
- A sense of carrying tension even when mentally calm
- The feeling that talk therapy isn’t reaching the root
Daily practices to support fascia and emotional resilience
While fascia-informed therapies can offer profound release and transformation, healing doesn’t only happen in a practitioner’s space. There is also power in the small, consistent rituals we practise at home. Through movement, breath and embodied awareness, you can begin to support your fascia and emotional wellbeing every day.
- Move intuitively. Fascia responds best to slow, spiralling and varied movement. Practices such as yin yoga, fascia flossing or gentle shaking help hydrate the tissue and release restriction. Let your body guide you. As Perri puts it, movement becomes medicine when it’s led from within.
- Self-myofascial release. At home, using therapy balls or foam rollers allows you to keep releasing and hydrating your fascia. It’s a simple and quick way to stay in tune with your body and take an active role in your own care. Remember that less is more when working on yourself.
- Breathe with awareness. Breath can soften and calm the nervous system. Inhale through your nose, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Lineham describes breath as “the reset” — a way to drop into presence and shift the body’s internal state without pushing.
- Hydrate. Fascia needs fluid to remain elastic and responsive. Sip water throughout the day and consider adding magnesium or electrolytes to support tissue hydration and relaxation. However, it’s important to know that you can drink all the water you like, but fascia still requires mechanical stimulus (movement or bodywork) to draw that hydration into the tissue like a sponge.
- Feel what’s there. Fascia is closely linked with interoception — your ability to sense what’s happening inside. Body scans, somatic journalling or quiet daily check-ins can help you tune in and let go before stress settles in the tissue.
These simple practices are about listening, not fixing.
Lineham reminds us, “The body already knows how to heal. We just have to stop interrupting it.”
When you soften into presence and surrender, you allow that wisdom to rise.
When you listen to the story, you rewrite your healing
As we’ve come to see, fascia doesn’t just hold the body together: it holds what we’ve carried silently for years. The unexpressed emotions. The unfinished responses. The weight of experiences that never found a way out. The residue takes physical form in this sensory web that weaves through our bodies.
As wise as the body is to store it this way, that same wisdom also becomes the mechanism through which healing can unfold.
“Healing doesn’t come from outside the body,” says Dr Perri. “It comes from within.”
To listen to fascia is to listen to what lies beneath the surface — the quiet cues, the tension that speaks in whispers, the sensation that lingers long after the story is forgotten.
The shifts may be subtle at first: a softening in the chest, an exhale that arrives without effort, a wave of emotion that catches you off guard. This is how the body speaks. When we truly listen, the story unspools. It is no longer a weight or a constriction, but a thread that creates space for transformation.
Article Featured in Wellbeing 218
The post Fascia – The Body’s Hidden Storyteller appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
Read the full article here:
Fascia – The Body’s Hidden Storyteller
by | | Curated Content
September 30th 2025
–
WellBeing Magazine
–
Perimenopause impacts mind, body, and skin—awareness and self-care can make this transition easier and more empowering.
Perimenopause marks the transitional phase leading up to a woman’s final menstrual period, often beginning as early as the late 30s and extending into the mid 50s. During this time, levels of oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate significantly, affecting nearly every system in the body. Despite being a natural part of the ageing process, perimenopause remains under‑recognised and often misunderstood. The lack of conversation and awareness around this transition leaves many women feeling unprepared, isolated and unsure of how to navigate the physical and emotional shifts it brings. With up to 60 per cent of women experiencing mild to moderate symptoms and 20 per cent facing symptoms severe enough to impact their daily lives, it’s concerning that the discourse around this inevitable phase of a woman’s life isn’t more widespread.
Fortunately, while the symptoms of perimenopause can be broad and deeply impactful, this phase does not have to be marked by confusion or suffering. With the right education, support and open conversation, women can feel informed, supported and empowered throughout their journey.
Symptoms
Perimenopause typically spans four to six years but can last anywhere from one to 10. During this time, fluctuations in key hormones including oestrogen, progesterone, follicle‑stimulating hormone (FSH) and androgens such as testosterone are common. The ovaries’ responsiveness to hormonal signals from the brain naturally declines, which impacts both egg quality and ovulation frequency. These hormonal fluctuations can trigger a cascade of symptoms, with more than 70 identified. Some of the most common include:
- Irregular or heavy periods
- Hot flushes and night sweats
- Fatigue, sleep disturbances
- Anxiety, mood swings, depression
- Brain fog and forgetfulness
- Vaginal dryness, decreased libido
- Weight changes, muscle loss, reduced bone density
- Skin changes
Menstrual cycle changes
One common early sign of perimenopause is a shift in a woman’s menstrual cycle. Fluctuating levels of key hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and testosterone can lead to longer or shorter cycles, or even skipped periods. As ovulation becomes more irregular, fertility naturally begins to decline. For many women, especially those who have had “clockwork” cycles throughout their lives, this change can feel confusing and even distressing.
The uterus also undergoes changes during this time. Alterations in the endometrial lining may lead to heavier or more irregular bleeding patterns, while declining oestrogen impacts the health of vaginal and vulval tissues. The vaginal walls may become thinner, drier and less elastic, and the vaginal pH tends to shift toward a more alkaline state. These changes can cause vaginal dryness, irritation, burning or discomfort during sex, and can increase susceptibility to infections such as UTIs, thrush and bacterial vaginosis.
While these reproductive changes may initially sound a little disheartening, the good news is that many of these symptoms can be supported effectively with natural approaches. A simple hormonal blood test can offer valuable insight into your current hormonal picture. Once you have a clear understanding of which hormones are shifting, you and your health care professional can develop a targeted plan that combines nutritional support and key lifestyle changes to mitigate or ease any challenges.
Herbal medicine may also offer gentle, effective support. Herbs commonly used to support oestrogen, FSH and testosterone balance are chaste tree, shatavari, wild yam and tribulus. Nervine and adaptogenic herbs such as lemon balm, withania (ashwagandha) and rhodiola may help nourish the nervous system and support overall resilience. Always consult a naturopath to tailor a regimen for your unique needs.
Metabolic changes
Many women are surprised when their usual routines for maintaining weight and energy levels stop working. Lara Briden, a naturopathic doctor and bestselling author with more than 30 years of experience in women’s health, refers to this as a “major metabolic upheaval”, a time when the body’s relationship with energy, hunger and fat storage changes dramatically. “First, progesterone drops and then oestrogen. This hormonal decline contributes to increased insulin resistance, reduced cellular energy and a shift in fat storage toward the abdomen,” Briden explains. “Oestrogen is a metabolic superstar. It supports insulin sensitivity, increases energy expenditure and helps build muscle. It even reduces hunger.”
Meanwhile, progesterone has a more nuanced role. While it can increase appetite and decrease insulin sensitivity, it also calms the nervous system, lowers inflammation and can help moderate excess testosterone, another contributor to abdominal weight gain in women. Importantly, Briden notes that synthetic progestins (as found in birth‑control pills) do not confer these benefits.
Oestrogen and progesterone also interact with other key metabolic regulators: thyroid hormones, cortisol and gut-derived hormones like GLP‑1. Notably, perimenopause is a time when conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis commonly emerge, particularly for those who previously experienced postpartum thyroid issues. Briden highlights the influence of the nervous system and how it responds to stress, too. “A healthy oscillation between sympathetic and parasympathetic states supports insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility.” If you’re living in a chronic “fight‑or‑flight” state, it will directly impact how your body metabolises food and stores fat.
In her book The Metabolism Reset, Briden outlines a holistic plan to support women through these changes. She shares some key foundational strategies:
- Prioritise nourishment: Focus on whole foods, home-cooked meals, quality animal proteins and micronutrients. Briden especially recommends magnesium and inositol.
- Regular movement: Build muscle and regulate the nervous system with strength training and outdoor activity that supports circadian rhythm.
- Address gut health: Gut inflammation can drive insulin resistance and weight gain.
- Limit ultra-processed foods (namely sugar and refined carbohydrates) and alcohol: These can exacerbate metabolic dysfunction and worsen symptoms like night sweats.
- Boost connection: Social interaction can elevate oxytocin, an important metabolic and mood-regulating hormone.
Beyond merely surviving
Thriving in perimenopause, according to Briden, is about working with the body, not against it. When you recognise metabolic changes early and adapt accordingly, there is so much that can be done to manage these symptoms. “Women who thrive are usually the ones who enter this phase with good gut health, are not on weight‑promoting medications like hormonal birth control, eat a mostly whole-food diet and have a regular movement practice they enjoy,” Briden says. “Those who struggle often carry unresolved health issues or rely on traditional weight-loss advice like calorie counting.”
Michelle Bridges, renowned Australian personal trainer and creator of The Perimenopause Method, knows the challenges of perimenopause firsthand. During the COVID‑19 lockdown, while researching her program The Menopause Method, she began experiencing puzzling symptoms: poor sleep, a painful hip, tinnitus, anxiety and a persistent emotional flatness. “I tried to explain it away,” she recalls. “I thought it was the pandemic or being a single parent, but something just didn’t feel right.”
Her GP offered antidepressants, but Bridges chose not to fill the prescription. Instead, she continued researching and soon recognised that she was in perimenopause. The experience was eye‑opening. “This whole space was like an iceberg, there is so much more below the surface. Women need this education because we’ve been left out of the conversation. Understanding what’s happening in your body means you can make informed choices.”
Drawing on her expertise in fitness, Bridges leaned into movement as a tool for balance. And she’s quick to emphasise that exercise is not just a “nice to have”, it’s essential for this phase of life. “Strength training is the best bang for your buck,” she says. “Heavy weights build muscle and protect bone density. Jump training, like hopping, skipping or sprinting helps bone strength, especially in the hips. And cardio bursts, even five minutes of sprints after your session, can help shift stubborn weight and lift your mood.”
Education and boundaries
Bridges is also passionate about highlighting how brain health is affected during this transition. The brain is rich in oestrogen receptors, and when levels drop, women can experience cognitive changes, emotional sensitivity and disrupted sleep. “You suddenly feel like your resilience has evaporated,” she says. “And because no one talks about perimenopause starting in your 30s or early 40s, most women don’t even realise what’s happening. Without the right help, it can be a lonely and scary experience.”
It’s important to also acknowledge that hormonal fluctuations, particularly the drop in oestrogen and changes in cortisol regulation, can significantly impact energy levels and motivation. These shifts can make it harder to find the drive to make changes to exercise, nutrition or self‑care, even when you know it would help. Understanding that this lack of drive is physiological, not just psychological, is the first step in finding more compassionate, sustainable ways to support yourself through it.
Bridges insists that education and boundaries are everything. “Perimenopause is not a jail sentence. You won’t become invisible. This is actually a time of empowerment, when you get to choose the direction of the next phase of your life. But you have to put yourself first.”
Bridges shares several key takeaways that have been shown to ease perimenopausal symptoms and enhance quality of life. Many of these align with Briden’s evidence-based recommendations:
- Learn to say no.
- Clean up your sleep hygiene (this might be the number‑one priority!).
- Get clear on who and what truly matters to you.
- Prioritise your own needs without guilt.
- Practise meditation or mindfulness.
- Stay connected with friends and family.
- Make regular movement a non‑negotiable, especially strength training, even if it’s just a weighted walk.
- Focus on nourishing, whole-food nutrition.
- Minimise or eliminate alcohol.
- Explore hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if it feels like the right fit for you.
- Don’t underestimate the power of therapy. It can be a true game-changer.
Intimacy and desire
Fluctuating sex hormones can also influence sexual desire. While some women experience a dip in libido, others notice changes in arousal or orgasm, which is influenced by both hormonal shifts and the emotional landscape of this season of life.
For vaginal dryness, topical coconut oil can be a gentle and effective natural lubricant and its antibacterial properties also help support a healthy vaginal microbiome.
Intercourse should not be painful, and open communication with your partner about the changes your body is experiencing is essential. Bridges says, “When these conversations come from a place of love, they can often bring you closer. Sex — good sex — doesn’t just happen on its own. Like with exercise, it takes work. Be consistent, or at least make an effort to move in the right direction. You might find that what you enjoy now is different from what you enjoyed 15 years ago, and that’s okay! Explore new things and bring curiosity into the bedroom.”
Skin changes
Another visible sign of hormonal changes during perimenopause often shows up on the skin. As oestrogen levels decline, the skin can become drier, thinner, more sensitive and prone to breakouts, pigmentation and flare-ups of pre-existing conditions. Skincare pioneer and MUKTI Organics founder, Mukti, who has spent decades at the forefront of the natural beauty industry, explains that women can lose up to 30 per cent of their skin’s collagen in the first five years after menopause. This contributes to reduced elasticity, increased dryness and more pronounced fine lines and wrinkles, largely due to slower cell turnover and diminished collagen production.
“As women enter perimenopause, it’s crucial to reassess and adapt skincare routines,” says Mukti. “This stage of life often calls for a complete overhaul to meet the skin’s evolving needs.” She emphasises the importance of early intervention with targeted skincare to help mitigate the effects of hormonal ageing, including premature signs of ageing.
Some of the key strategies Mukti has seen work effectively over the years include incorporating more hydrating and nourishing products, daily sun protection and the introduction of active ingredients that support skin health. “Vitamin C is brilliant for collagen production and brightness, niacinamide helps even out skin tone, and retinal increases cell turnover,” she notes.
When it comes to caring for your skin during this season of life, Mukti recommends focusing on gentle, nourishing steps that support hydration and barrier repair. Use a gentle cleanser to remove makeup and impurities without stripping away natural oils. A hydrating mist can help to refresh the skin and keep it hydrated throughout the day. A targeted serum with adaptogenic botanicals and restorative ingredients may help strengthen the skin’s defences and restore resilience. Lock in moisture and enhance smoothness with a hydrating oil. A protective daily moisturiser shields the skin from environmental stressors. At night, indulge in a rich, replenishing cream designed to restore the skin’s lipid barrier and support overnight repair.
She also reminds women not to overlook the rest of the body. “There’s a misconception that body skin doesn’t need the same level of care as facial skin, but it’s often the first to show signs of ageing,” she explains. Look for products that are specifically formulated to reduce redness, soothe irritation and smooth uneven skin tone. It’s important they are designed to calm reactive skin and strengthen the barrier while offering a carefully balanced blend of healing antioxidants, lipids and skin-repairing actives. Mukti notes that many women benefit from formulations like these that not only treat visible signs of ageing but also support deeper skin health over time.
Mukti takes a holistic view of skin health, believing that what appears on the surface often reflects internal shifts. Echoing the advice shared by Briden and Bridges, she says: “Skin is our largest organ, and it’s often a mirror of our emotional and hormonal state. Supporting it requires more than just good products, it’s also about what you’re eating, how well you’re sleeping and the stress you’re carrying.” A diet rich in antioxidants and omega‑3 fatty acids, good sleep hygiene and emotional balance are, she adds, essential parts of the skincare conversation.
Nurturing yourself
Caring for your whole self becomes more important than ever during perimenopause. Nourishing yourself with nutrient‑dense food, consistent movement, quality rest and open, supportive conversations can go a long way in promoting hormonal balance, physical vitality and emotional resilience. Regularly tuning in to your body and recognising when something feels off is key, and seeking help early can make all the difference.
When approached with curiosity, kindness and inspired action, perimenopause becomes a powerful invitation to step into the next, evolved version of yourself and a new chapter of life, where who knows what magic awaits.
Article Featured in Wellbeing 218
The post Thriving In Perimenopause appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
Read the full article here:
Thriving In Perimenopause
