Coming Home to Your Body: Pain-Free Sex, Real Pleasure & Self-Acceptance

Coming Home to Your Body: Pain-Free Sex, Real Pleasure & Self-Acceptance

We're rarely taught how our own arousal actually works, or that painful sex, low libido, and feeling disconnected in the bedroom are common but not normal. In this episode, Dr. Miranda Naylor sits down with Brittney Ellers, a pelvic PT and pelvic health embodiment guide, for an honest conversation about pelvic wellbeing, pleasure, and intimacy. They go beyond the physical and talk about what makes us feel safe, how trust shapes our sex lives, and how reclaiming your sexuality can change so many other parts of your life too. We'll cover: ✔️ Why "strong" isn't really the goal for your pelvic floor ✔️ How chronic tightness develops and why it can cause pain or leaking ✔️ The connection between breath, fascia, and pelvic floor function ✔️ What painful sex can actually look like and what's behind it ✔️ Understanding your arousal anatomy and why it takes time ✔️ Giving yourself permission to explore desire and build your own "sex lab" ✔️ Brittney's personal story of rebuilding intimacy after a hard season ✔️ Why connection, not just sex, is what most partners are really after ✔️ Boundaries, self trust, and working through past experiences ✔️ Body image, the good girl narrative, and reclaiming your sexuality ✔️ Signs you might be more disconnected from your sexuality than you realize ✔️ What a pelvic floor therapy session actually looks like ✔️ How receptivity and pleasure tie into fertility ✔️ Why it's okay for sex, and healing, to be easy and fun If you've ever wondered whether your libido will come back, or felt too embarrassed to ask these questions out loud, this one is for you. Timestamps 0:07 Why this episode is for every woman 2:23 Welcoming Brittney Ellers back to the podcast 3:03 Busting the "strong pelvic floor" myth 4:57 Why tightness can become a problem 8:20 How breath, fascia, and the pelvic floor are connected 10:44 What causes pelvic floor tightness 11:07 What painful sex can actually look like 13:02 Understanding your arousal network 15:23 Why arousal takes 25 to 40 minutes (and why that's a good thing) 17:51 Lubrication and not overriding your body's signals 19:33 Permission to explore desire and build your own "sex lab" 21:07 Brittney's story of rebuilding intimacy after a hard season 25:32 Why connection matters more to men than we realize 27:49 Boundaries, safety, and working through past experiences 31:24 Body image and the good girl narrative 33:39 Brittney's personal story of sexual shame and reclamation 36:03 Signs you might be disconnected from your sexuality 39:55 The Sex and the City archetypes and the "well fucked woman" 42:08 Identity work: trying on a new persona 48:17 What a pelvic floor therapy session actually looks like 52:30 Sex, receptivity, and unexplained infertility 56:08 What if it could just be easy? 59:00 Where to start: Brittney's free Arousal Anatomy Adventure Dr. Brittney Ellers’ Links: Website: https://www.brittneyellers.com  Free: The Arousal Anatomy Adventure https://www.brittneyellers.com/arousal-anatomy-adventure  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.ellers Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrBrittneyEllers  Listen to Brittney's first episode on the podcast: https://modernwomenswellness.buzzsprout.com/2464247/episodes/17108796-episode-9-let-s-talk-pelvic-health-pain-free-periods-better-sex-reclaiming-your-body-with-brittney-ellers 🎧 Hit Subscribe or Follow so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a positive review to help us reach other women on a journey to wellness! ______ Links 💫 What’s your hormone type? Take the quiz [https://drmirandanaylor.com/hormone-quiz-start/] 🩺  Ready to feel like yourself again with personalized support? Book your free clarity call with Dr. Naylor [http://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now] 📲 Follow Dr. Naylor on Instagram [http://instagram.com/drmirandanaylor] 🌐 Visit my website [http://drmirandanaylor.com/]

Slowing Ovarian Aging: Buying Yourself More Time

Most women have been told their fertility timeline is fixed. It's not, at least not entirely. If you're in your 30s and feeling the pressure of that ticking clock, this episode will change the way you think about your ovarian health. Because it's not just about how many eggs you have left. It's about how fast your ovaries are aging and what you can actually do about it. In this episode, Dr. Miranda Naylor breaks down ovarian aging, what's driving it, and the lifestyle levers you can pull right now to slow it down, protect your fertility, and support a healthier pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause journey. We'll explore:  ✔️ The difference between chronologic age, biologic age, and ovarian age  ✔️ The new Menotime test and what it can tell you about your ovarian aging timeline ✔️ Why genetics is only 50% of the story and what you actually control  ✔️ How blood sugar instability silently damages ovarian health  ✔️ The role of stress and the nervous system in shutting down ovulation  ✔️ How chronic inflammation and gut health accelerate ovarian aging  ✔️ Why mitochondrial health is central to this conversation  ✔️ Endocrine disrupting chemicals to avoid and easy swaps to make  ✔️ Key supplements like CoQ10 that support ovarian health and fertility  ✔️ Why community, joy, and rest are part of the protocol too If you've ever felt like your fertility window is closing and there's nothing you can do, this one's for you. Topics Covered: * The ticking clock and a new way to think about it  * What is ovarian age?  * Why ovarian health matters beyond fertility  * The Menotime test and what's new in ovarian aging science  * Genetics is only half the story  * Menopause isn't the enemy, rapid aging is  * How much time can we actually buy?  * Blood sugar and metabolic health as drivers of ovarian aging  * What to eat to support stable blood sugar and healthy ovulation  * Stress, the nervous system, and the survival reproduction connection  * Practical ways to support your parasympathetic nervous system  * Inflammation and how it damages ovarian tissue  * Anti-inflammatory diet: what to eat and what to limit  * Gut health and leaky gut as a source of systemic inflammation * Mitochondrial health and why it matters  * Endocrine disrupting chemicals and how to reduce your exposure  * Supplementation: CoQ10, ALA, PQQ, and urolithin A  * Getting personalized information about your ovarian age  * Making it sustainable, building a lifestyle not a checklist  * Wrap up and action steps 🎧 Hit Subscribe or Follow so you never miss an episode. And if this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to leave a review. It helps us reach more women on a journey to better health! Links 💫 What’s your hormone type? Take the quiz [https://drmirandanaylor.com/hormone-quiz-start/] 🩺  Ready to feel like yourself again with personalized support? Book your free clarity call with Dr. Naylor [http://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now] 📲 Follow Dr. Naylor on Instagram [http://instagram.com/drmirandanaylor] 🌐 Visit my website [http://drmirandanaylor.com/]

Painful Periods Aren't Normal (And What You Can Do to Stop the Pain) with Dr. Cecilia Cruz

Most women have been told that painful periods are just part of life. They're not. Bloating, spotting, pain with intercourse, exhaustion. These are signals from your body that something is wrong. Yet so many women walk out of their doctor's office with a birth control prescription and no real answers. In this episode, Dr. Miranda Naylor sits down with Dr. Cecilia Cruz, functional medicine physician, preventive medicine specialist, and associate physician at Modern Women's Wellness. Dr. Cruz personally healed her own endometriosis through functional medicine and now helps other women do the same. They get into what's actually driving period pain, what's truly normal during your cycle, and what you can do about it. We'll explore:  ✔️ Why period pain has been over-normalized and what's actually considered normal ✔️ Red flags during your cycle that are often overlooked or dismissed  ✔️ The root causes of period pain from inflammation and gut health to endometriosis and fibroids  ✔️ How an anti-inflammatory and Mediterranean style diet can make a real difference ✔️ The best food sources and supplements for omega-3s  ✔️ Why self-treating with supplements without testing can backfire  ✔️ How functional medicine testing leads to personalized, targeted treatment  ✔️ How to work with Dr. Cruz at Modern Women's Wellness If you've ever been told painful periods are just something you have to live with, this one's for you. Topics Covered: * Why period pain is over-normalized  * Dr. Cruz's background in functional and preventive medicine  * Dr. Cruz's personal journey with endometriosis  * What is actually normal during a menstrual cycle  * Red flags to watch out for  * How stress and lifestyle impact period pain  * Root causes of period pain  * Can period pain actually be eliminated?  * Anti-inflammatory diet and omega-3s  * When to work with a functional medicine provider  * Why testing matters more than symptom-chasing  * The dangers of unsupervised supplementation  * How to work with Dr. Cruz Dr. Cruz’s link: Free Clarity Call for Dr. Cruz — https://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now/schedule-dr-cecila-cruz/ Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/dr.cececruz/ 🎧 Hit Subscribe or Follow so you never miss an episode. And if this episode resonated with you, please take a moment to leave a review. It helps us reach more women on a journey to better health! ______ Links 💫 What’s your hormone type? Take the quiz [https://drmirandanaylor.com/hormone-quiz-start/] 🩺  Ready to feel like yourself again with personalized support? Book your free clarity call with Dr. Naylor [http://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now] 📲 Follow Dr. Naylor on Instagram [http://instagram.com/drmirandanaylor] 🌐 Visit my website [http://drmirandanaylor.com/]

Bone Health: Why You Should Care Before Menopause

Most women don't think about their bone health until something breaks, but by then, the foundation has often been quietly eroding for decades. From restrictive eating in our youth to digestive issues, chronic stress, thyroid imbalances, and the dramatic drop in estrogen during menopause, the factors influencing our bone density are wide-reaching and often overlooked in conventional care. In this episode, Dr. Miranda Naylor sits down with Cindy Dupuis, a functional medicine nutritionist with over 20 years of experience specializing in women through perimenopause and menopause. After going into menopause herself at 43, Cindy has made it her mission to help women become their own advocates and understand the full picture of what's happening in their bodies during this transition. Together, they explore why bone health is one of the most under-discussed pieces of women's longevity, how to advocate for an early DEXA scan, the blood markers most doctors aren't checking, and what you can do at every stage to protect your bones for life. We'll explore: ✔️ Why bone health matters for long-term independence, mobility, and quality of life  ✔️ The surprising risk factors that put women at greater risk of osteoporosis  ✔️ Why getting a DEXA scan in perimenopause (not at 65) could change everything  ✔️ The blood markers (CTX and P1NP) that reveal what's really happening in your bones  ✔️ How estrogen, digestion, thyroid, and nutrition all play a role in bone density  ✔️ Practical lifestyle, nutrition, and movement strategies to support strong bones at any age If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough to protect your bones, or if you've been told "everything looks fine" while feeling unsure, this episode will empower you with the questions to ask, the labs to request, and the lifestyle shifts that can make a real difference for your future self. * Why bone health matters more than most women realize  * Cindy's journey into specializing in menopause  * Why doctors aren't trained in perimenopause and menopause  * The problem with waiting until 65 for a DEXA scan  * Risk factors that put women at higher risk of osteoporosis 1 * Why a broken hip is more serious than most people realize  * When bone density peaks and when it starts to decline  * What impacts bone density beyond estrogen  * Blood markers to monitor: CTX and P1NP  * How thyroid issues affect bone breakdown  * The role of digestion, stomach acid, and bile in bone health  * What to do if your DEXA shows significant bone loss  * Cindy's personal experience with a doctor's misguided recommendation  * The truth about weighted vests and bone health  * Where to find Cindy Dupuis 🎧 Hit Subscribe or Follow so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a positive review to help us reach other women on a journey to wellness! ______ Links 💫 What’s your hormone type? Take the quiz [https://drmirandanaylor.com/hormone-quiz-start/] 🩺  Ready to feel like yourself again with personalized support? Book your free clarity call with Dr. Naylor [http://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now] 📲 Follow Dr. Naylor on Instagram [http://instagram.com/drmirandanaylor] 🌐 Visit my website [http://drmirandanaylor.com/]

The Truth About Seed Oils with Cherie Calbom

Most people have heard that seed oils are bad, but very few understand what they actually are, how they ended up in nearly every packaged food and restaurant meal, or the many ways they silently damage health from the inside out. In this episode, Dr. Miranda Naylor sits down with Cherie Calbom — known worldwide as the Juice Lady, MS in nutrition, and author of 36 books including her latest, The Truth About Seed Oils — to break down the real story behind these industrial oils. Cherie draws on decades of experience and extensive research to explain how seed oils came to dominate the food supply, what they're doing to our cells, hormones, brains, and bodies, and what practical steps we can take right now to make better choices. We'll explore:  ✔️ The surprising origin story of seed oils and how they were marketed as "heart-healthy"  ✔️ The "hateful eight" seed oils and how to identify them on food labels  ✔️ How seed oils drive inflammation, oxidative stress, hormonal disruption, and cellular damage  ✔️ The connection between seed oils and anxiety, depression, brain fog, and neurodegenerative disease  ✔️ How long it takes to notice real changes when you remove seed oils from your diet ✔️ Practical tips for navigating restaurants, reading labels, and making the switch to better fats Whether you're just starting to learn about seed oils or ready to make a full dietary shift, this episode gives you both the science and the practical roadmap to protect your health — and your family's. Topics Covered: * Introduction to seed oils  * Cherie's background and personal health journey  * How seed oils entered the food supply  * The rise of heart disease and the lipid hypothesis  * The hateful eight — what seed oils actually are  * Reading labels and voting with your dollar  * How seed oils impact the body — inflammation, disease, and more  * Seed oils, anxiety, Alzheimer's, and sleep  * Hormonal disruption and menstrual health * Why seed oils cause inflammation (the science)  * Seed oils and cell membrane health  * How long to notice results when switching oils  * Tips for eating out and avoiding seed oils  * Where to find Cherie and her book Cherie Calbom Links: Grab your copy of The Truth About Seed Oils on Amazon or at juiceladyinfo.com Website: https://juiceladyinfo.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juiceladycherie 🎧 Hit Subscribe or Follow so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a positive review to help us reach other women on a journey to wellness! ______ Links 💫 What’s your hormone type? Take the quiz [https://drmirandanaylor.com/hormone-quiz-start/] 🩺  Ready to feel like yourself again with personalized support? Book your free clarity call with Dr. Naylor [http://drmirandanaylor.com/schedule-now] 📲 Follow Dr. Naylor on Instagram [http://instagram.com/drmirandanaylor] 🌐 Visit my website [http://drmirandanaylor.com/]