Pleasure in the Pause: Midlife Conversations About Menopause, Sex & Pleasure
Menopause doesn't mean the end of pleasure — it’s a new beginning! Pleasure in the Pause is the podcast redefining midlife for women ready to reconnect with their bodies, pleasure, and power — at every stage of the menopause journey and beyond. Hosted by Gabriella Espinosa, certified menopause coach and sexual health advocate, each episode features informative and thought-provoking conversations with doctors, thought leaders, and wellness experts on hormones, sexual health, desire, and healthy aging.
Expect actionable strategies and empowering insights to help you feel more confident, energized, and connected to your body — no matter your age. Together, we’ll reframe the conversation around pleasure, sex, and midlife so you can be the best advocate for your body — in and out of the bedroom. Because PLEASURE HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE! Say YES! to Pleasure at www.pleasureinthepause.com
Episodes
117 episodes
116 | How To Take The Vacation Version Of You Home: More Pleasure, Presence & Connection
You know her. She shows up every time you go away.More relaxed. More present. More alive. Laughing more easily, sleeping more deeply, feeling more connected to yourself and to the people you love. And yes, often more open to intimacy too...
115 | Love in Midlife: Navigating Intimacy and Change with Dr. Tina Sogocio
Two women. Both champions in the midlife women's health space. Both celebrating their 25th wedding anniversaries in the same summer. And both deeply committed to changing the conversation around intimacy, pleasure, and connection in midlife.
114 | The Power of Comfort: Rethinking Sexual Wellness in Menopause with Sally Mueller
This one is a little different. For over 100 episodes Gabriella has been the one asking the questions. This time, Sally Mueller, co-founder and CEO of Womaness, turns the tables. And what comes out of that conversation is one of the most practi...
113 | Finding Safety in Your Body: Robyn Parets on Healing through Nervous System Regulation
For more than 20 years, Robyn Parets lived with chronic illness, anxiety, and a body that always seemed to be fighting something. She saw countless practitioners, tried everything she could find, and kept pushing through — the way high-achievin...
112 | Menopause, Work & Your Next Chapter with Dr. Arianna Sholes-Douglas
Have you ever found yourself in a meeting, searching for a word that used to come effortlessly, or suddenly losing your train of thought in front of a room full of people? Have you quietly wondered whether you are losing your edge, your confide...
.jpg)
111 | The Menopause Conversation Every Couple Needs to Have with Sari Cooper
When was the last time you asked yourself what you actually want?For many women, menopause is the first time that question becomes impossible to ignore. The body is changing. Desire is shifting. And relationships that have been running o...
.jpg)
110 | How Co-Regulation Deepens Intimacy (No Sex Required)
You know the feeling. You have been going since morning — emails, deadlines, the relentless doing. Your nervous system has been in full output mode for hours. And then evening comes, your partner moves in close wanting to connect, and your body...
109 | The Perimenopause Revolution: What Your Body Is Actually Telling You with Dr. Mariza Snyder
Most women step into perimenopause the same way Gabriela did — in the dark, without language, without a roadmap, and without anyone telling them what was actually happening in their bodies. The anxiety, the brain fog, the rage, the fatigue, the...
108 | Midlife, Sobriety, And Returning To Yourself With Ashley Kelsch
What if the question is not why can't I quit, but what is this doing for me?In this installment of the Return to Her series, Gabriela sits down with Ashley Kelsch, writer, coach, and somatic practitioner who helps midlife women change th...
107 | From Survival Mode To Self-Connection: A Nervous System Reset For Midlife Women
Have you ever lain awake at 3am, heart racing, mind running through a list of worries you cannot seem to turn off? Or maybe it is the opposite — you move through your days flat, numb, going through the motions of a life that looks perfectly fin...
106 | The Menopause Gut: The Missing Link Between Hormones, Mood, Sleep & Energy with Cynthia Thurlow
What if the brain fog, the broken sleep, the mood swings, the weight that won't budge, and the libido that has gone missing are not a collection of separate problems? What if they are one connected story and the missing piece of that story is y...
.jpg)
105 | Hormone Therapy After Breast Cancer: Breaking Down The Fear, Myths & Research With Dr. Susan Hardwick Smith
Hormone therapy after breast cancer is one of the most nuanced and emotionally charged conversations in women’s health.For decades, many women have been told the answer is simply: no.No discussion.No nuance.No consideratio...
104 | Untamed Pleasure: The Keys To Unlocking Desire In Midlife With Carly Mountain
When you hear the word erotic, what comes up for you?For most of us it immediately conjures images of sex, the taboo, or something forbidden. But eroticism is so much bigger than that. At its core, the erotic is about aliveness. It is ou...
103 | Learning To Trust Your Body Again After Surgical Menopause With Julie Parana
What happens when a healthcare professional goes through surgical menopause at 42 and is handed nothing but a message in her patient portal that says "you are post-menopausal"? No education. No discussion. No next steps. Just a diagnosis and si...
102 | When Mother's Day Hurts, Modern Loss, Grief, and Finding Meaning with Rebecca Soffer
There is a version of Mother's Day we all know. The brunches, the bouquets, the Hallmark cards. And then there is the version so many women carry quietly underneath — the grief of a mother who is gone, of never becoming one, of a child lost, of...
101 | How To Find Your Way Back To Pleasure: Healing Trauma With Brooke Bralove
Have you ever wondered why intimacy feels harder than it should? Why desire feels distant, or why being fully present in your body during sex feels just out of reach — even when everything else in your life seems fine? Most women in midlife ass...
100 | Celebrating 100 Episodes Of Pleasure In The Pause: What These Conversations Have Revealed
This is a milestone episode. Episode 100 of Pleasure in the Pause marks two years of bold, honest conversations about women's bodies, pleasure, and sexual health in midlife — and this one is personal. For the first time, host Gabriela Espinosa ...
99 | Your Body Is Speaking— Here’s How To Listen (A Simple Practice For Midlife Women)
Have you ever struggled to put words to what you're feeling — in your body, in the bedroom, or even in your doctor's office? You're not alone, and it's not your fault. Most of us were never taught the language of our own bodies, and that silenc...
98 | When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Understanding Romantic Obsession And Finding Your Way Back To Authentic Love With Amanda McCracken
Have you ever been so consumed by someone just out of reach that you checked your phone obsessively, fantasized endlessly, and somehow wanted them even more because they weren't fully available? There's actually a name for it — and in this epis...
97 | This Is 60: A New Way to Step Into This Decade
Are you approaching a milestone birthday and feeling a mix of excitement and that quiet inner voice telling you to slow down, fade back, or play small? You are not alone — and in this special solo episode of Pleasure in the Pause, host Gabriell...
.jpg)
96 | Dressing For The Woman You're Becoming: Style, Aging & Self-Discovery with Christine Morrison
Have you ever stood in front of your closet full of clothes and thought, what in the world do I wear? Not excited, not inspired, just stuck. In this conversation on Pleasure in the Pause, host Gabriella Espinosa sits down with Christine Morriso...
.jpg)
95 | How To Build Meaningful Female Friendships In Midlife
Are you feeling lonely even though you are busy? Wondering where your friendships went when life got so full? This solo episode explores why friendship in midlife is not a luxury but essential to your health and longevity, and gives you five pr...
.jpg)
94 | Weight Loss vs. Weight Health: The Hormone Truth About GLP-1, Metabolism, and Your Body with Ashley Koff, RD
Have you been told your weight is your problem and that weight loss is the solution? What if everything you have been taught about the number on the scale, diet, and exercise is not just wrong but actively keeping you from becoming weight healt...
.jpg)
93 | Rewriting the Rules of Sex in Midlife: Dr. Maria Sophocles on the Bedroom Gap
Have you found yourself wondering why your libido has left the bedroom? Or maybe thinking, why does sex feel different now, and why didn't anyone prepare me for this? If you have felt confused, frustrated, disconnected from your body, or quietl...
92 | Your Midlife Vitality Blueprint: How To Thrive In Your 50s, 60s & Beyond with Dr. Noor Al-Humaidhi
If you're a woman in your 50s or 60s who has been doing all the right things, eating well, moving your body, managing stress, and yet you still find yourself wondering if there is more you could be doing to protect your health for the long run,...
.jpg)