“We worship the wrong end of life.”

Wow. I’m still buzzing from the energy in San Francisco at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit. 2,000 women, 90 speakers, and two days of the pure magic that happens when we get women together. The way we show up for one another, lift each other, and collaborate rather than compete is my favorite part of these events and this community.

If you weren’t able to make it to San Francisco, Erin and I wanted to share some of our takeaways and thoughts on the experience. And, if you’re hungry for more, we have all our main stage session recordings available as part of our Livelong Women’s Inner Circle™ membership.

There were so many sessions that discussed our bodies as an interconnected system, and this message resonated strongly with me. But, at the end of the day, the importance of estrogen combined with our lifestyle actions was abundantly clear. From the quote that “it’s the interplay of your genes and your environment” that sets the tone for how estrogen impacts your health, to the idea that estrogen is the “soil that helps GLP-1s work”, our estrogen impacts so many parts of our physiology.

We’ve written about this in the past. Want to revisit any of those issues? Here are some to start with:

As Dr. Vonda Wright so eloquently put it, “We worship the wrong end of life.” Her keynote on Friday was powerful, empowering, and just all around incredible. Between her session and Jane Fonda’s, I’m leaving the Summit inspired to age with power. To think about my second and third acts as the highlights they are. And to build the foundation needed to live as healthily as possible while I’m here. So yes, food and fitness, but also jumping and therapy and friends. These are the medicines I’m embracing.

Related reading:

From the speakers to the ambassadors to the attendees themselves, the women I spent the weekend with filled my cup to overflowing. The joy, the excitement, the investment in ourselves (through time, money, connection, and so many other ways). I hope each of you who attended knows you are full of magic, and together we are an unstoppable force. 

To all of you, thank you for letting me be part of your inbox every Wednesday. It’s a privilege I do not take for granted. And thank you for showing up to the Circle community, the virtual events, and the live Summits. We are just getting started, and I can’t wait to see where we go.

When Dr. Sasha Hamdani first revealed that parts of your brain atrophy when you aren’t connecting with others, it felt shocking. Knowing that, social health becomes no less valuable than what you put in your mouth and how you move daily. Later, diving into the value of talking to strangers and overcoming negative self-talk with Dr. Juliana Schroeder, it occurred to me that connection is a habit. Like anything, it is something to nurture. You’ll experience setbacks and breakthroughs – and there will be moments in life when it gets thrown to the back burner – but the journey is about consistency and taking risks to grow stronger and live a better life.

One of my favorite sessions of the conference was about whales. Through studying orca whales, we are learning that menopause happens in nature, and that nature is both a reflection and a proxy for understanding aging. More than that, though, I love that we can explore aging and the human condition without always needing a list of takeaways of foods to eat, exercises to do, or other lifestyle prescriptions. Those are important, yes! But so too is being curious about life and exploring what it means to unleash that insatiable curiosity and ask ‘why’ without needing an answer right away. I’ll be taking away that there’s much more to learn about life and aging through observing the world, things we enjoy doing, and the human condition.

Our free Livelong Women’s community is where women can join real conversations about sleep, stress, midlife changes, heart health, prevention, and what actually works as we age.

If you’re looking for a smart, supportive space to ask questions and learn alongside other women who care about long-term health, you’re welcome here.

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We asked, you answered!

Last week, we asked ‘Did you know about ovarian aging before reading this?’ and most of you answered that you had no idea. Here’s to educating ourselves on what’s happening in our bodies and continuing to grow these conversations so we can live healthier, better lives. 💜