Mindfullness in Iceland

Mindfullness in Iceland

In this episode of GynoCurious, host Amy welcomes Inga Guðjónsdóttir, an Icelandic tour guide with decades of experience leading groups through her homeland. Born and raised in a fishing village in the Westfjords, Inga shares her path from working in a fish factory as a child to studying fashion design to stumbling into a career as a guide. Now based between Reykjavik and her countryside home in northwest Iceland, she has partnered with Tara Short of Green Edventures to create mindfulness-centered wellness retreats for women. Amy and Inga talk through a women's trip to Iceland planned for 2027, which Amy will co-lead with a focus on perimenopause and menopause education. They explore how the trip pairs Iceland's hot springs, cold sea plunges, and mountain landscapes with grounding practices, sound bathing, sauna sessions, and one-on-one wellness conversations. Inga also describes the sense of community that forms when women travel together, even as strangers, and how past participants have built lasting friendships. Both encourage listeners at any stage to consider gifting themselves the experience, with no need to bring a companion to feel welcomed. Listeners interested in the 2027 Iceland journey can find more at https://greenedventures.com [https://greenedventures.com] and dramynovatt.com. Questions of comments? Call 845-307-7446 or email comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org Produced by Jennifer Hammoud and Matty Rosenberg @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff

Get Rooted with Robyn Moreno

n this episode of GynoCurious, Dr. Amy Novatt welcomes Robyn Moreno — Emmy-nominated TV host, storyteller, and author of "Get Rooted" — for a rich conversation about healing as a lifelong journey rather than a destination. Robyn shares the pivotal moment that set her on a 260-day healing path: a crescendo of life pressures that left her literally and metaphorically on the floor, prompting her to stop running from herself and start examining the wounds she had long been tripping over. Drawing on her Mexican American heritage and the ancient practice of curanderismo, Robyn introduces listeners to the Aztec concept of susto — a soul loss caused by trauma — and how recognizing it in herself became the first step toward reclaiming her wholeness. Central to Robyn's journey is the discovery of her ser — a deep inner knowing that lives beneath the noise of fear, trauma, and outside demands. She explores how the women in her lineage, including a great-grandmother who was a curandera, offered a map back to herself that was older and truer than the external markers of success she had been chasing. The conversation weaves together themes of ancestral wisdom, the end of old maps, the impact of patriarchy and colonization on women's sense of self, and the radical act of trusting one's own lived experience — especially in midlife, when hormones, mortality, and accumulated wisdom conspire to demand a reckoning. Questions of comments? Call 845-307-7446 or email comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org Produced by Jennifer Hammoud and Matty Rosenberg @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff

Trauma and Cultural Context

In this episode of GynoCurious, host Dr. Amy Novatt welcomes Dr. Manisha Dayal, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Chicago with nearly three decades of experience specializing in trauma-informed care. Dr. Dayal shares her personal journey into psychology — rooted in a deep connection with her aunt in India who had Down Syndrome — and how that early experience shaped her commitment to understanding the inner worlds of others. Together, Amy and Manisha explore how Western psychology has historically failed to account for the diverse cultural backgrounds of patients, and why a decolonized, culturally humble approach to care is not just preferable but essential. The conversation dives into the nuances of cultural humility — acknowledging one's own biases and meeting clients within their own lived frameworks. Through vivid patient stories involving genital mutilation, Indigenous women fleeing domestic violence, and immigrant communities navigating systemic racism, the two discuss the complexity of separating harmful cultural practices from meaningful cultural identity. They also explore how trauma is increasingly part of the public lexicon, debating both the value of that visibility and the risk of the word being overused and diluted. Dr. Dayal also introduces listeners to somatic therapy and the mind-body connection, explaining how the body stores trauma and how body-centered techniques — from grounding exercises to breath awareness — help regulate the nervous system and facilitate healing. The episode closes with a deeply personal note: Manisha's own dramatic birth story in India informs her passion for supporting pregnant women, particularly women of color, in advocating for themselves within a medical system that has long silenced them. It's a rich, wide-ranging conversation about healing, identity, courage, and the radical act of showing up with curiosity and care. Questions of comments? Call 845-307-7446 or email comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org Produced by Jennifer Hammoud and Matty Rosenberg @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff

Ancient Medicine, Modern Healing with Debbie Kadagian

In this episode of GynoCurious, Amy speaks with Debbie Kadagian, a licensed integrative psychotherapist who brings together an extraordinary range of healing modalities. Debbie's journey spans from Ashtanga yoga teacher to certified Ayurvedic practitioner, and eventually to becoming a psychedelic psychotherapist and social worker. She shares how each transition in her career was organically inspired by her curiosity and life experiences, including a transformative Panchakarma cleansing ritual that opened her emotionally and set her on the path to studying Ayurveda. Her work now focuses on helping clients integrate psychedelic experiences, running therapeutic groups, and bridging Western psychiatry with alternative healing approaches. A central theme of the conversation is Debbie's pioneering work with psychedelic medicines, particularly ibogaine and ayahuasca. She explains her role in pre- and post-integration therapy, helping clients prepare for and process their psychedelic journeys at vetted retreat centers like Root and Wisdom in Costa Rica. Debbie describes the remarkable outcomes she's witnessed — from addiction recovery to the resolution of PTSD in veterans—and discusses how these medicines create neurochemical resets that diminish cravings and compulsive behaviors. She also shares her passion for the SOLAS Foundation, which she created to make expensive ibogaine treatment accessible to those who cannot afford it, believing that transformative healing should not be a privilege reserved only for the wealthy. Questions of comments? Call 845-307-7446 or email comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org Produced by Jennifer Hammoud and Matty Rosenberg @ Radio Free Rhiniecliff

Menopause- A Natural Phenomenon or A Pathology?

In this episode of GynoCurious, Dr. Amy Novatt welcomes Dr. Tracey Flum, a board-certified OB-GYN with over three decades of experience, to discuss the complexities of menopause in today's healthcare landscape. Both physicians examine whether the boom in menopause-focused telehealth companies represents genuine progress in women's healthcare or a new revenue stream capitalizing on women's vulnerabilities. Dr. Flum shares how her ADHD drew her to the intense environment of labor and delivery, and discusses her transition from obstetrics to medical gynecology as her body demanded a different pace. The conversation critically examines what Dr. Flum calls the "menopause industrial complex," challenging the narrative that menopause is a pathological condition requiring aggressive intervention. While both physicians strongly support hormone therapy for appropriate candidates and acknowledge its benefits for hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and vaginal health, they caution against social media misinformation promising hormones as a panacea. Dr. Flum emphasizes that symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and mood shifts are often natural responses to the perfect storm of midlife responsibilities: aging parents, young adult children, career transitions, and confronting one's own mortality. Both physicians advocate for a holistic approach that recognizes menopause as a natural transition rather than a disease. They encourage women to examine patterns of people-pleasing and perfectionism, ask unapologetically for what they need, and find what truly nourishes them. Dr. Flum draws on her global health work to reflect on how resource-poor communities maintain communal support for life transitions that wealthy societies have abandoned for quick pharmaceutical fixes. The episode closes with a call to resist the pathologization of aging and seek out older women who model authentic, purposeful living.