Stepping Off The Path - Stories of courage and truth from women who finally chose themselves

In this episode of Stepping Off The Path, I speak with Phyllis Leon about what happens when the way we’ve been taught to approach health stops working and what becomes possible when we begin to listen more deeply.

Phyllis Leon is a Woman-Centered Transformational Coach who helps high-functioning women align their health with the level of success they already embody in other areas of their lives. After a 36-year career as a senior technology executive, she experienced firsthand the quiet frustration many capable women carry - knowing what supports their wellbeing, yet struggling to live it consistently. That realisation became her turning point.

Today, Phyllis helps women navigate what she calls the knowing–doing gap. The invisible middle where informed, accomplished women often feel stuck. Through coach-supported partnerships, she supports clients to move beyond self-blame, understand the hidden barriers shaping their choices and reconnect with their bodies, self-trust, and agency.

In this conversation, Phyllis introduces the concept of Pill-itics - not as a judgement of personal medical choices, but as a way of naming the wider cultural and systemic narratives that can keep women focused on symptom management rather than deeper understanding.

Together, we explore how self-trust gets eroded, why real change isn’t about willpower, and how Phyllis’s Plate–Power–Potential framework helps women move from insight into sustainable action.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re coping, pushing through, and quietly overriding yourself, this conversation will meet you with compassion, clarity and hope.

🎧 Chapters
00:00 — Introduction
Stepping Off The Path theme and episode framing
01:50 — When the old way stops working
Phyllis’s story and recognising survival mode
10:15 — The knowing–doing gap and the invisible middle
Why insight doesn’t always lead to change
13:24 — Naming pill-itics
Understanding the system shaping women’s health experiences
22:04 — Plate, Power, Potential
Phyllis’s framework for closing the gap
28:07 — What becomes possible beyond survival mode
Energy, clarity, purpose, and possibility
34:31 — A message of hope for women feeling stuck
What Phyllis wants listeners to hear
39:18 — Closing reflections
Wholeness and outro

Find Phyllis:
Phyllis Leon - Website
Phyllis Leon - LinkedIn
Are You Caught in the pill-itics Trap?

Suzanne Spencer spent over a decade as a broadcast journalist - the person on the other end of the phone, telling other people’s stories and reporting on moments that changed lives.
Then, in 2021, she received a phone call that changed the trajectory of her own life: a brain tumour diagnosis.

In this episode of Stepping Off The Path, Suzanne shares what it’s like to go from reporting the news to becoming the story and how that moment reshaped her identity, her pace, and what mattered most. We talk about the power of mindset, the role of support and community and the quiet bravery of advocating for yourself when you know something isn’t right.

Suzanne also shares the second wave of her journey -navigating debilitating migraines during pregnancy, giving birth to her daughter Jane and undergoing a second brain surgery just two weeks later and how that experience ultimately led her to step away from TV news and launch Suzanne Speaks, a writing and speaking business rooted in impact.

This is a conversation about uncertainty, mortality and meaning and the question we all reach eventually: when you look ahead now… what feels possible?

Content note: This episode includes conversation about serious illness, brain surgery, pregnancy, and the emotional reality of navigating uncertainty. We don’t go into graphic medical detail, but some listeners may find parts of this episode tender.
Chapters
01:20 — Content note
01:53 — Becoming the story
03:10 — Life before the diagnosis
07:44 — The phone call that changed everything
11:19 — Choosing mindset over fear
18:59 — Perspective, gratitude, and uncertainty
21:39 — Community and connection
24:50 — Listening to intuition and self-advocacy
30:11 — Pregnancy, relapse, and a second surgery
33:33 — Returning to work — and realizing it no longer fits
37:38 — Leaving TV and starting again
42:00 — Finding purpose through impact
44:28 — Advice for anyone in an intolerable season
46:12 — What feels possible now
50:01 — Closing reflection

Find Suzanne:
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn
www.suzannespeaks.com

n this deeply personal episode of Stepping Off The Path, the roles are reversed as host Kelly Quiney is interviewed by her close friend and fellow coach, Nicky Gibbs.
Kelly shares her own story - from a well-paid, well-respected career that looked impressive from the outside, to quietly falling apart on the inside. She speaks honestly about fear, burnout, losing her sense of belonging after returning to work following her second child and the moment her body finally said no.

This episode is about the freeze that keeps so many women stuck, the cost of staying silent and the power of small, honest steps when you don’t yet know what comes next.

If you’ve ever thought “I can’t keep doing it like this… but I don’t know how to change” - this conversation is for you.

Find Kelly:
Website: kellyquineycoaching.com
LinkedIn: Kelly Quiney Coaching
IG: Kelly Quiney Coaching IG
FB: Kelly Quiney Coaching FB

Chapters
00:01 – Introduction: When the roles are reversed
01:42 – Why this podcast exists
03:02 – Who this podcast is really for
04:04 – The career that looked perfect on paper
05:31 – Fear, “shoulds,” and staying too long
07:39 – Returning to work after children & losing your place
08:41 – When the body finally says no
10:29 – Fear, uncertainty, and the sofa season
12:26 – Learning how to ask for help
13:21 – The caretaker pattern
14:33 – Burnout, imposter beliefs & freeze
16:32 – Shame, silence & speaking the truth
18:40 – Freeze, small steps & breaking the silence
21:06 – What matters now
23:30 – A message for the woman who’s scared to change
26:17 – Closing reflection
Note:
This podcast is for educational and inspirational purposes only and does not replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice.

Closing:
If this episode resonated, please subscribe, follow, or share it with a woman who might need to hear it.

You’re not behind. You’re not broken. And you’re allowed to change.

In this episode, I’m joined by Julie Ciardi - founder of Ignite Her, author of 50 Not Finished, Human Design for Business expert and a woman who wakes up at 4 a.m. on purpose!

We talk about the moment she realised she couldn’t keep living a life that looked perfect on the outside but felt wrong on the inside and how she moved from guilt and external validation to true freedom and self-responsibility.

This episode is for the woman who is tired, overwhelmed or quietly falling apart… and needs hope, compassion and a path forward.

We explore:
Why women outsource their happiness (and how to stop)
How Julie navigated guilt, financial strain and staying true to her vision
What self-responsibility actually means and how to avoid turning it into self-blame
Discovering Human Design and moving from “this is nonsense” to “this is my work”
How courage feels before it looks
What “raising your frequency” means in real life, not woo woo
Redefining success in the Era of the Individual
And the one thing future-you will thank you for starting today

🎧 Chapters
00:00 — Intro Chapters
01:08 — Success on paper, restless inside
05:42 — The nursery moment & what had been building
10:55 — Staying with the dream when life gets messy
15:10 — Outsourcing happiness vs owning it
20:48 — Self-responsibility without self-blame
25:51 — Discovering Human Design (and thinking it was nonsense)
32:30 — From personal tool to global mission
36:12 — What “raising your frequency” actually means
41:09 — Courage in real life, not theory
46:53 — The Era of the Individual
52:05 — Hope for the woman in non-possibility
56:12 — What future Julie will thank her for
58:03 — Closing

Find Julie:
🟣 Website: julieciardi.com
🟣 Instagram: @julieciardi
🟣 Book: 50 Not Finished

Find Kelly:
🟣 Website: kellyquineycoaching.com
🟣 Instagram: @kellyquiney
🟣 LinkedIn: Kelly Quiney Coaching

This isn’t a story about leaving - it’s a story about rising.
A woman who went from surviving trauma to helping others reclaim their power.

In this powerful episode, mindset and movement coach Lisa Tregenza shares her journey from an unhealthy and unsafe relationship marked by coercive control, financial abuse, and years navigating the family court system - to rebuilding a life rooted in deep healing, embodiment and service.

This is not the simplified story of “she should just leave.”
It’s the truth - the cost, the grief, the time lost and the nervous system toll.

And it’s also the story of the moment everything began to shift: a yoga mat, her breath and a single question -“How am I going to do this?”

We explore:
How yoga, somatic movement and affirmations became Lisa’s lifeline
The real emotional, financial and relational cost of leaving
Why “just leave” is a harmful and uninformed narrative
The difference between red flags and the “orange flags” that quietly shrink you
How Lisa now supports women through trauma-informed somatic work
The tiny daily decisions that kept her going - breath, gratitude, journaling
What it means to take your power back after everything has been taken from you
The one truth every woman needs to remember: you are enough

If you’re in that in-between place, wondering how to take the next step, Lisa’s story is a reminder that you’re not broken and you’re not alone.

Chapters
00:00 – Welcome & podcast intro
00:41 – Content note: domestic violence & trauma disclaimer
01:31 – Introducing Lisa & the shape of today’s conversation
02:47 – Motherhood, identity & the work Lisa does now
06:40 – Yoga, trauma & finding safety on the mat
15:13 – The real cost of leaving: money, courts, friendships & nervous system
20:27 – “Why doesn’t she just leave?” Being believed & orange flags
30:23 – Beginning her own healing: coaching, energetic cords & trauma training
37:07 – Tiny practices that kept her going: breath, gratitude & journaling
47:48 – Holding space differently & one truth every woman needs to remember

👩‍💼 Lisa Tregenza – Contact Details
Website: lisatregenza.com
Instagram: @lisatregenza.coach
Facebook: Lisa Tregenza – Movement & Mindset Coach
Offerings: Intune Yoga Daily, The Intune Circle, 1:1 coaching and women’s retreats
Support Agency Numbers (New Zealand)
In an emergency: Call 111
24/7 Domestic/Family Violence support:
Are You OK (Family Violence Info Line): 0800 456 450 - 24/7
Women’s Refuge Crisis Line: 0800 733 843
Shine Helpline: 0508 744 633 (24/7)
0800 LIFELINE: 0800 54 33 54