Changing Seasons: Ayurveda, Women’s Health, Menopause & Food as Medicine
A podcast exploring women’s health through the wisdom of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, with empowering conversations on menopause, natural healing, and food as medicine to support every stage of life.
Hosted by Jody Vassallo, Ayurvedic guide, intuitive cook, and founder of ‘Gather’.
Each episode is an invitation to slow down, listen in, and reconnect with the wisdom of your body and the cycles of nature.
Through the lens of traditional medicine and lived experience, we dive into the big topics: perimenopause, menopause, fertility, gut health, grief and loss, surrogacy, Ayurveda, and food as medicine.
This is a space for real conversations, tender truths, and practical ways to nourish yourself no matter what season you're in.
Changing Seasons: Ayurveda, Women’s Health, Menopause & Food as Medicine
62 - Edwina Peden: The Perimenopause Summit - Navigating Perimenopause and Self-Care.
Edwina sits down with Ayurvedic health coach and author Jody Vassallo for a candid, nourishing conversation on meeting perimenopause as a rite of passage - not a problem to “fix.” Through the lenses of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jody shares the practices, foods, and mindset shifts that cooled her hot flushes, eased anxiety, and helped her honour this season with grace. Expect practical guidance (hello, coriander–cumin–fennel tea), nervous-system care (yin yoga, Yoga Nidra, breath), and a powerful reminder to slow down, listen, and trust your body.
Key takeaways:
- Perimenopause is a passage, not a pathology. Treat symptoms as information—signals inviting change, not enemies to mute.
- Regulate first, then decide. Calm the nervous system (yin yoga, Yoga Nidra, Nadi Shodhana, 10 slow breaths) before changing food or training.
- “Medicine of subtraction.” Reduce what overheats or overstimulates (alcohol, excess caffeine/cacao, overwork, relentless intensity).
- Food as seasonal medicine. Use foods and spices to balance doshas: cool excess heat (pitta), oil and warm dryness/anxiety (vata), lighten heaviness (kapha).
- Rituals that repair. Daily abhyanga (self-oil massage), nasya (nasal oil), warm spiced milk at night, regular meals, and cooked, seasonal food.
- Weight gain can be protective. A temporary, intelligent “kapha cushion” can steady the body while you transition—trust the arc.
- Community matters. Seek women who’ve walked before you; shared stories reduce fear and normalize change.
Gentle guide: Doshas & simple supports:
- If you feel hot, irritable, intense (pitta):
Choose cooling foods (fresh herbs, leafy greens, cucumber, barley), reduce chili/tomato/ferments/excess salt; schedule heavier meals 10am–2pm; favour calming practices. - If you feel anxious, wired, dry (vata):
Favour warm, cooked, moist meals (root veg, grains), healthy fats/ghee, soups/stews; avoid icy smoothies/sparkling water; embrace routine, yin yoga, Yoga Nidra, spiced milk before bed. - If you feel sluggish, heavy, stuck (kapha):
Lighten meals (bitter greens, legumes), add gentle heat/spices, move body—especially 6–10am; create novelty and accountability.
Practises, recipes & tips mentioned:
- CCF digestive tea: 1 tsp each coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seed in hot water; steep and sip ~20 min before meals.
- Nighttime spiced milk: Warm milk (dairy or alt) with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon + a little ghee to soothe vata and sleep.
- Breath & rest: Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), Yoga Nidra, yin yoga.
- Body oiling: Abhyanga with sesame oil (blend with coconut if you ru
Connect:
Website • https://www.jodyvassallo.com/
Gather • https://www.jodyvassallo.com/gather
Instagram • https://instagram.com/jodyvassallobeautifulfood
Newsletter • https://jodyvassallo.substack.com/
Contact • https://www.jodyvassallo.com/contact
Support the Show:
Leave a review on Apple • https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/changing-seasons-podcast/id1757970211
Credits:
Host: Jody Vassallo
Production: Sovereign Creator • https://sovereigncreator.io
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