A Wake Up Call

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “Why does no one talk honestly about what happens to your body after having a baby?”
💭 “How do I stop feeling like sex is the last thing on my list?”
💭 “What does a healthy sex life even look like when everything in my body has changed?”

- this episode is for you.

In this honest, hilarious and genuinely eye-opening conversation, Tess and Layne welcome Heather Ford, sexologist, women's health clinician and founder of Core Restore Co., for a conversation about the body knowledge most of us were never given, and what changes when you finally have it.

Heather opens up about her own turning point: a trampoline park, a toddler, three months postpartum, and the moment that turned shame into purpose. She went back to university, completed a Master's in Women's Medicine and a Master's in Sexology, and built a practice dedicated to making complex, stigmatised medical topics genuinely approachable.

Together they move through female anatomy in a way that is equal parts educational and liberating. They cover the pelvic floor as a stress response muscle, the real structure and size of the clitoris, how breathing affects arousal, why lube is non-negotiable, and what happens to sexual health through perimenopause and menopause. Layne shares ten years of navigating menopause with honesty and grace. Tess reflects on rebuilding desire after injury.

You will learn about:

The anatomy most of us were never taught, and why that gap costs us in confidence and connection
How the pelvic floor connects to your jaw, your breathing, your mental health and your orgasm
What the research actually says about sexual health, longevity, and why one orgasm a week matters
How to have the conversations about intimacy that most couples avoid

Links text

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:
💭 “Why am I working harder than ever and still feeling behind?”
💭 “How do I stop the spiral in my head from running the show?”
💭 “How do I actually perform at a high level without burning my life to the ground?”
– this episode is for you.

In this energising and practical conversation, Layne and Tess take you to high performance school. They strip back the myth that elite performers are simply more talented, more driven or born different, and reveal the real ingredient: hard work in harmony with your wellbeing, your relationships and yourself.

Layne shares hard earned lessons from 20 years as a seven time world champion and her new life in the business world, including the head knocks, the paralysed face, the broken noses she pushed through, and the cost she still pays today in her body. Tess opens up about her noisy brain, the moment she realised her thoughts were not her, and how shortening the time she spends in the struggle has been her biggest high performance edge. Together they share the science of why your nervous system fires every part of your life, why 90 minute sprints exist for a reason, and why most people schedule every meeting except the one with themselves.

You will walk away with a five step framework you can apply immediately: getting clear on what matters, protecting your energy, training your mind, building disciplined routines and recovering like it matters.

You will hear about:
The difference between high performance and hustle, and how to tell which one you are in right now
Why your state, not your skill, determines your output
The science of matching your energy to the work in front of you
How time boxing, life lists and 90 minute sprints transform overwhelm into action
Why recovery is a performance tool and not a reward, and how to build it into your daily life

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy
Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.
If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “What if everything I thought I knew about my health was wrong?”
💭 “Why do I keep pushing even when I know I’m running on empty?”
💭 “How do I slow down without feeling like I’m falling behind?”

– this episode is for you.

In this candid and courageous conversation, Tess and Layne sit down with Damien Mu, CEO and Managing Director of AIA Australia, for a conversation that is anything but corporate. Damien opens up about wearing a biometric device for 48 hours and discovering his stress recovery sat at 23 out of 100 and his restorative sleep at 6 out of 100 – despite feeling like he had everything under control.

Damien takes us behind the role and into the reality: 152 flights a year, four hours of sleep, a first-generation migrant family’s work ethic running quietly in the background, and a deep-seated belief that slowing down was a sign of weakness. He shares what it took to face the data, find his why, and begin the slow, meaningful process of reprogramming a mindset that had served his ambition but was quietly costing him everything.

Together they unpack the difference between health span and lifespan, explore AIA’s 5590 model of modifiable lifestyle behaviours, and make sense of what Australia’s growing mental health claims really mean for all of us. But more than the data, this conversation is about presence, parenting, and what it feels like when your son finally leaves the card game first because his cup is full.

You will learn:

The truth about “healthy” when the data tells a very different story
Why the carry-on culture hides the true cost of high performance
How a first-generation work ethic can become both a superpower and a quiet trap
What 36 percent of AIA’s disability claims being mental health related really means for Australia
Why genuine leadership begins with taking care of the leader first

Season 3 is brought to you by AIA, a leading life, health and wellbeing insurer supporting healthier, longer, better lives. Protect what matters most, and AIA will help you do it for life. Complete your age calculator here https://www.aia.com.au/en/health-and-wellbeing/aia-vitality/age-calculator

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley

Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer

Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy

Awake’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_

Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Description:

💭 “Am I going crazy, or is this perimenopause?”
💭 “I’m exhausted all the time but I’m not depressed — what is actually going on?”
💭 “Do I have to grieve who I used to be to become who I want to be?”
— this episode is for you.
In this warm, honest and genuinely funny Q&A episode, Tess and Layne open the listener inbox and answer the questions you’re too afraid to Google in daylight. From the full truth about perimenopause (yes, brain fog and anxiety are often the first signs, not the hot flushes) to HRT, burnout, health span, friendship, and what it actually means to let go of an identity that no longer fits.
Layne opens up about going straight to menopause without realising it, visiting a cardiologist for what turned out to be a hormonal heart rate, and her decision to finally give HRT a full year instead of stopping and starting. Tess talks about prepping for perimenopause before it arrives, why the Flow app has become a relationship tool in her household, and the four-step energy audit she uses when someone says “I’m exhausted but I don’t know why.”

You will learn:

The real symptoms of perimenopause that have nothing to do with hot flushes — and why so many women are misdiagnosed
Why the story you tell about your treatment might be more powerful than the treatment itself
How Layne’s relentless pushing through eventually led to chronic fatigue — and what the body whispers before it screams
The difference between health span and lifespan, and why your 40s are your most important decade for building the body you’ll have in your 70s

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869

Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy
Awake’s TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey — not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.
If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:

💭 “Who am I without the role I have held for years?”
💭 “How do I start over when everything I knew has changed?”
💭 “What does real reinvention look like – not in theory, but in real life?”

– this episode is for you.

In this honest and deeply human conversation, Tess and Layne welcome broadcaster, author and mentor Mel Doyle to share the story of her reinvention – and why change, even the kind you did not choose, can become the most defining chapter of your life.

Mel opens up about 2020: the year her 25-year career at Channel 7 came to an end, her son flew to Seattle on a near-empty plane, she turned 50 in the middle of a pandemic, and the whole world fell quiet at once. She talks about the grief of losing an identity she thought she had separated from her work – and the slow, brave process of rediscovering who she was on the other side.

Layne describes making the phone call to Mel in the aftermath of her job loss, and what she said to remind her that the heart behind the career matters more than the career itself. Mel shares how she channelled everything into writing – producing two books during COVID, including 15 Seconds of Brave, drawn from extraordinary stories of human courage. The title comes from a child with a terminal illness who said he could only be brave for 15 seconds at a time. That idea changed how she approached every scary new beginning.

You will hear about:

The grief of losing a career identity and the slow, brave process of rebuilding a sense of self
Why keeping busy can be a lifeline and a barrier – and how to find the balance
How writing, creating and giving yourself a project is a powerful act of self-rescue
The story of the Abdallah family and what radical forgiveness can teach us all about letting go

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales

Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow Awake Academy on Instagram @awake_academy
Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.
If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.
Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.