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Menopause Pruning: Clearing Space for Authenticity, with Inés Zabalaga & Kate Hazlitt, ND
Manage episode 516673747 series 3655780
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard
This conversation moves from the medicalization of menopause to reclaiming it as a natural process; an important, transformative life stage marked by growth, development, and renewal, not an illness or pathology. Kate and Inés advocate for shifting from symptom management to trusting the body's innate capacity and involving the entire community in understanding this transition.
Inés and Kate highlight:: - Brain Pruning which "chops away" old ways of thinking and being, making way for authenticity, new identity, and a renegotiation of roles - How psychedelic therapies can support post-pruning regeneration by fostering neuroplasticity - The invitation to "redo" by challenging universal beliefs, interrupting obsolete patterns, releasing societal expectations, and embracing one's authentic, "limited," and "inconvenient" self. - The natural grief associated with the loss of the predictable menstrual cycle - How hormonal shifts influence mood and energy, which often require rest and repair.
Kate and Inés both emphasize the importance of women educating themselves about their bodies' cycles, informing their communities, and approaching menopause with wisdom, self-attunement, honesty, kindness, and patience.
About Dr. Kate Hazlitt, ND A naturopathic doctor, speaker, and Compassionate Inquiry® Practitioner specializing in women's health and midlife transitions, Kate helps women move through burnout, hormonal shifts, and stress with clarity, compassion, and nervous system awareness—guiding them back to safety in their bodies and authenticity in their lives.
Her clinical practice integrates Eastern and Western philosophies of the nature and cause of disease and focuses on the interweavings of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. Kate's primary therapeutic tools are Asian medicine and acupuncture, clinical nutrition with diet and supplementation, botanical, homeopathic and auricular medicine, counseling, detoxification and drainage.
About Inés Zabalaga, MEd, MA in Systemic Therapy, Clinical Psychologist, Psychedelic Assisted Therapies Facilitator.
With over 25 years of clinical experience in family, individual, couples and group therapy, Inés is a Compassionate Inquiry® Practitioner, a Family Constellations Facilitator, Director of Spontaneous Theatre, Bach and Uruguayan Flowers Practitioner, trained in psychodrama. She also leads Horse-Assisted Constellation workshops to create collective fields of human and equine energies that support her clients' wholeness.
After completing a psychedelic integration training with Iceers, Inés is training in the 3-year Grof Legacy Program for therapists oriented towards psychedelic work. Along with her partner, Inés co-leads psychedelic assisted sessions and co-facilitates retreats.
Promotional Message: If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the transformative power of Compassionate Inquiry®, join us for a 6-hour online experiential introduction to the Compassionate Inquiry approach and community. This link takes you to a web page where you can get information and, if you choose, register for the next CI Experience event coming up on on November 8.
Resources:
Websites:
Inés' Compassionate inquiry Profile
Related Links
Claiming Your Power in Perimenopause Podcast
Pruning, Myelination, and the Remodeling Adolescent Brain - Dr Dan Siegal
Dying To Live Workshop on Friday 31st October 2025
Books:
Roar Like a Woman – Emma Thompson
Wise Power: Discover the Liberating Power of Menopause to Awaken Authority, Purpose and Belonging
Quotes: "I went through my own process, I'm in my mid-40s, so I can often literally feel my brain pruning, as it's chopping away old, like, long outdated ways of thinking and being in my life." - Kate Hazlitt, ND
"...can we just be this very limited, very ordinary, delicious creature that has stopped trying to be more than enough?" - Inés Zabalaga
"...there is this cultural obsession with the evidence based menopause, and we're leaving out lived experience of women who are elders who have wisdom to share with us. If we leave them out of the conversation, we're missing a real opportunity of learning and growth and self understanding." - Kate Hazlitt, ND
"We lose so much time because of the archetype of that ideal lady that is non existent. We are not ideal mothers. We are not ideal partners. We might even be...not so convenient. The archetypal information is playing a big role in preventing us from connecting with love in life." - Inés Zabalaga
Social Media:
IG: @drkatehazlittnd. (IG)
IG: CasaMagica Ineszabalaga
FB: CasaMagica Ineszabalaga
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