In this episode of the Chi Flow with Jo Energy Update, we explore intermittent fasting for women over 45 through the gentle and nourishing wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is not the kind of fasting that leaves you shaky or deprived. It is a way of resting your body so that hormones settle, digestion strengthens, and energy can flow again.Jo answers the five most common questions she hears from women navigating perimenopause and menopause. You will discover why skipping breakfast can drain Kidney energy, how warm morning meals protect your precious Jing, and why a simple 12 hour fasting window can ease inflammation and soften midsection weight. We look at the idea of dampness, why sugar cravings become a cycle, and how Qi Gong clears stagnation so the body feels light, steady, and grounded.You will also learn one simple acupressure point, GV 26, that helps you return to your centre whenever cravings, fatigue, or overwhelm appear.This episode is an invitation to treat your body with kindness. When you follow the Chinese Meridian Clock and honour natural timing, fasting becomes a return to balance rather than a test of willpower.Join us for the January Chi Flow Intermittent Fasting Programme if you would like guidance, rhythm, and community for your yearly reset.Line to FREE online qigong class: https://joannefaulkner.ie/
In this episode of the Chi Flow with Jo Energy Update, we explore intermittent fasting for women over 45 through the gentle and nourishing wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is not the kind of fasting that leaves you shaky or deprived. It is a way of resting your body so that hormones settle, digestion strengthens, and energy can flow again.Jo answers the five most common questions she hears from women navigating perimenopause and menopause. You will discover why skipping breakfast can drain Kidney energy, how warm morning meals protect your precious Jing, and why a simple 12 hour fasting window can ease inflammation and soften midsection weight. We look at the idea of dampness, why sugar cravings become a cycle, and how Qi Gong clears stagnation so the body feels light, steady, and grounded.You will also learn one simple acupressure point, GV 26, that helps you return to your centre whenever cravings, fatigue, or overwhelm appear.This episode is an invitation to treat your body with kindness. When you follow the Chinese Meridian Clock and honour natural timing, fasting becomes a return to balance rather than a test of willpower.Join us for the January Chi Flow Intermittent Fasting Programme if you would like guidance, rhythm, and community for your yearly reset.Line to FREE online qigong class: https://joannefaulkner.ie/
As winter draws us into stillness, this episode dives into the energy of Bone Health through the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the gentle practice of Feldenkrais.Join Joanne Faulkner and Therese Cosgrove (homeopath, nutritional therapist, and Feldenkrais practitioner) as they explore how awareness, movement, and nourishment build strong bones and calm balance—especially through menopause, post-menopause, and chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s.Therese shares how tiny, mindful movements awaken the nervous system, reduce pain, and improve alignment.Joanne weaves in the Kidney energy of winter, teaching how foods like black beans, mineral broths, and a little seaweed can strengthen bones and support inner stillness.Together they remind us that Yin season is the time to slow down, breathe deeply, and listen to the wisdom of our bones.✨ Watch or Liston now and reconnect with your foundation of strength and calm.👉 Sign up for your free online Qi Gong class here: https://joannefaulkner.ie/free-qigong-class
As winter draws us into stillness, this episode dives into the energy of Bone Health through the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the gentle practice of Feldenkrais.Join Joanne Faulkner and Therese Cosgrove (homeopath, nutritional therapist, and Feldenkrais practitioner) as they explore how awareness, movement, and nourishment build strong bones and calm balance—especially through menopause, post-menopause, and chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s.Therese shares how tiny, mindful movements awaken the nervous system, reduce pain, and improve alignment.Joanne weaves in the Kidney energy of winter, teaching how foods like black beans, mineral broths, and a little seaweed can strengthen bones and support inner stillness.Together they remind us that Yin season is the time to slow down, breathe deeply, and listen to the wisdom of our bones.✨ Listen now and reconnect with your foundation of strength and calm.👉 Sign up for your free online Qi Gong class here: https://joannefaulkner.ie/free-qigong-class
How Sound Healing Supports Hormonal Balance & Slows Ageing After Menopause
In this soothing episode of Chi Flow with Jo, Joanne sits down with sound healer Caroline Flavin from Alchemy of Sound to explore how vibration and frequency can support women through menopause and beyond.
Together they discuss the power of crystal bowls, tuning forks, and even simple humming to calm the nervous system, balance hormones, and slow the ageing process naturally.
As Caroline explains, sound baths guide the brain into deep relaxation — the alpha and theta wave states — where the body lowers stress hormones, restores balance, and activates its own healing potential.
For post-menopausal women, this gentle yet profound practice helps ease anxiety, regulate sleep, and restore vitality.
Tune in to learn how sound healing harmonises body and mind, why relaxation is key to hormonal health, and how reconnecting to rhythm can help you age with grace, strength, and serenity.
✨ Perfect for women over 45 who want to feel calm, balanced, and energised as they age.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), immunity is not just about fighting off colds and flu, it’s about maintaining balance, resilience, and a strong energetic boundary that protects body and mind. This protective energy is called Wei Qi, and it surrounds us like a shield, just like the glowing Ready Brek adverts from the 70s.
Wei Qi is built from the food we eat and the air we breathe, combined with our inherited energy. If digestion is sluggish or breathing is shallow, our immunity weakens. When both are strong, our body creates a radiant protective force field.
In this episode, I’ll share three simple ways to strengthen immunity every day, through food medicine, acupressure, and Qigong, so you can support your health naturally.
Building an Emotionally Healthy Heart: Tools for Connection and Resilience
In our fast-paced, often disconnected world, creating a healthy heart goes beyond physical well-being, it involves nurturing our emotional and spiritual energy. Cultivating emotional resilience, understanding our triggers, and fostering healthy relationships with others are all key components of heart health. In the Chi Flow with Jo Podcast, we dive deep into these concepts, discussing practical tools and transformative practices to build an emotionally healthy heart.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS : https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/
Let’s talk about something that every single one of us will go through, aging.And let’s talk about it without shame.This month in Chi Flow with Jo, we’re embracing our core, our curves, our changing hormones, and even that taboo topic… Incontinence. Because the truth is: we’re not broken, we are not failing. We’re evolving.And we don’t have to do it alone.That’s why I invited the incredible Dr. Karen Ward, psychotherapist, Irish Celtic shaman, energy therapist, Holder of Moon Mná, sea swimmer, and author of many books including, Secrets of Ageless Aging, to join us for a heart-opening chat about vitality, menopause, sensuality, and core strength.GET A FREE QI GONG CLASS HERE: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/
The Capacitar Method is a gentle, holistic approach to healing and empowerment that uses simple body-based practices to release stress, trauma, and emotional pain. Drawing from a blend of Eastern and Western traditions—including Tai Chi, acupressure, breathwork, tapping (EFT), and visualization—Capacitar helps individuals reconnect with their inner strength and resilience. It’s designed to be accessible to everyone, empowering people and communities to heal themselves and support one another, especially in the aftermath of violence, natural disasters, or personal crisis.
Join Joanne Faulkner with Trina Hanlon to explain how this method works to calm the mind, body and spirit.
Want more flexibility, balance, and mobility—especially if you’re living with Parkinson’s or just feeling a little stiff and creaky? This one’s for you. Join me, Joanne Faulkner, along with Julie Williams as we share real, honest and practical ways to release trauma stored in the body, to move, flow, and feel better—no matter where you’re starting from.Join us for a FREE online Qi Gong class : https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/
Join Joanne and special guests Davy Millard (Joanne's husband who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease nine years ago) and Irene Treacy, a Parkinson's coach, for an enlightening conversation about Parkinson's disease and how Qi Gong, acupressure and food can benefit you.
Chi Flow with Jo will be focusing on Stiffness & Mobility in May.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-e...
Come and join us as we prepare to SPRING INTO ACTIONNature awakens, emerges, uncurls, unfurls, moving upwards and outwards, reaching for the light, freedom, room to express the essence within. Stretching, exploring, wide-eyed, curious and playful. The powerful, creative force of the WOOD energy finds direction, vision, negotiates obstacles, moving forward. When Wood energy is blocked we can experience frustration, impatience, irritability and anger. Through awareness, exercises, stretches, qigong, acupoints and diet we can cultivate flexibility of body and mind, encouraging us to meet life with humour and kindness. Chi Flow with Jo offers natural, empowering solutions.Reconnect with your body, release pain, and embrace vitality. Join us today!Chi Flow can help to:☯ Increase blood circulation☯ Oxygenate the muscles☯ Exercise the cardiovascular system☯ Relieve stress and tension☯ INCREASE ENERGYJOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/
Ease Back Pain Naturally with Chi Flow with JoDiscover how Qi Gong, acupressure, and food medicine can transform your back pain during our special Back Pain Month! Rooted in Chinese Medicine, this holistic journey focuses on balancing Qi, relieving tension, and rebuilding strength. Explore powerful Qi Gong practices, Acupressure points, energy-flow exercises, and kidney-nourishing recipes like black bean soup.
Whether you’re easing stiffness, enhancing flexibility, or soothing inflammation, Chi Flow with Jo offers natural, empowering solutions.
Reconnect with your body, release pain, and embrace vitality.
Join us for a FREE online qi gong class: https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/
SACRED SELF - A WOMEN’S WELLNESS RETREAT At the *Sacred Self Retreat*, we will dive deep into the concepts of connection, to self and to others, and use practices like Qi Gong, meditation, and mindful presence to expand our sense of self and attune to the energy around us. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we understand energy—*Qi*—as flowing through all things. Through Qi Gong, we can tap into this flow, connecting with the world around us and cultivating a peaceful awareness that goes beyond words. This practice of expanding awareness is not just an abstract concept; it can be profoundly transformative. As a Shiatsu practitioner, I have experienced the power of energy connection firsthand. Whether I’m working with clients in person or online, I can often feel their energy, sensing their emotions, their state of being, and even areas of tension. This sensitivity is something that I’ve developed over time, but I believe that it is a skill that each of us has within us to some degree. The more we practice, the deeper our sensitivity to energy becomes. But with this heightened sensitivity comes great responsibility. When we recognize that our thoughts, emotions, and actions ripple outward into the world, we realize that we have the power to choose how we show up. In moments of frustration, we can choose patience. In moments of anger, we can choose compassion. While it’s not always easy—especially in today’s world—*the Sacred Self Retreat* provides a space to strengthen our connection to loving-kindness, to cultivate peace in every interaction. Imagine being able to sense the energy of everyone you meet—not just on a physical level, but truly holding them in your heart. Picture the impact of radiating kindness and calm in every interaction, even without saying a word. Science now shows that the energy field of the heart extends several feet beyond the body. What if we could harness this heart energy to uplift others, heal, and support them? As you cultivate this awareness, you’ll begin to notice how connected and peaceful life can feel. The illusion that we are separate falls away, and we begin to understand that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. So, I leave you with a question to ponder as we approach the Sacred Self Retreat: What if we are all connected on a much deeper level than we imagine? What if your intentions, your thoughts, and your kindness could create a ripple effect of positive change in the world? Exploring this connection to energy is at the core of my practice, and I invite you to explore it for yourself. Take a moment each day to sit quietly, to feel the energy around you—whether it’s the presence of a loved one, the trees in a nearby park, or the larger energies of your community and the world. Notice how this practice shifts your experience of life and how it deepens your sense of responsibility for how you show up in the world. WANT TO LEARN MORE? https://joannefaulkner.ie/sacred-self... If this resonates with you, if you’re curious to explore this profound connection with yourself and the world, I invite you to join me and a wonderful community of kindred spirits at the *Sacred Self Retreat*. Together, we’ll expand our awareness, explore energy connection, and experience what it means to live with an open heart.
As we enter our 40s and beyond, the way we approach health practices, including fasting, needs to adapt to our body’s changing needs.
For those experiencing menopause, intermittent fasting (IF) can offer powerful benefits when done with care and alignment to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM emphasizes the importance of nurturing kidney energy—the body’s reserve of vitality—to help regulate hormones, metabolism, and sleep, all of which are sensitive during menopause. SIGN UP TODAY FOR A FREE CLASS OR JOIN US WITH A SPECIAL RATE FOR THE FULL INTERMITTENT FASTING PROGRAMME:
STRONG BONES - QI GONG, ACUPRESSURE AND FOOD MEDICINE TO HELP YOU STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES THIS WINTER.
In Chinese medicine just as in Western Medicine, the bones and bone marrow are seen as deep, energetic storage areas, creating new stem cells which in turn create red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells for a strong immune system. For the month of December we will be focused on Qi Gong exercises that nourish bone marrow and strengthening the bones that enclose it, creating healthy, strong energy for the New Year and beyond. The Qi Gong, Food Medicine and Acupressure for December in Chi Flow with Jo will focus on Bone Breathing, reducing stress and strengthening bones with breathwork and daily Qi Gong exercises. JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS HERE
Are you feeling like your heart is racing, unable to sleep, or experiencing sudden waves of dread?
This November in Chi Flow with Jo, we’re focusing on reducing anxiety using Qi Gong, Self-Shiatsu, and Food Medicine inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Menopause affects every woman differently—there's no one-size-fits-all approach. That's why I'll share key tools such as acupoints, Qi Gong exercises, and healing foods, offering broad guidance that you can tailor to your unique experience.
Let’s work together to bring balance and calm back into your life.
Are you struggling as your hormones change? Overwhelmed? Chest Tight? Palms and back sweating? Insomnia? Brain Fog? Stiff joints? Brittle Bones?
These can all be symptoms of menopause. But passing through hormonal changes in your life doesn't mean your life has to stop.
For the month of October our Chi Flow practice focuses on Peri, Mid and Post Menopause, using gentle yet powerful Qi Gong, acupressure points and diet to balance hormones naturally, improve your sleep, strengthen your body and mind. (with or without HRT). Join me to regain your passionate, joy filled life.
In Chinese medicine the sweet flavour corresponds to the organs of the Spleen/Stomach. Therefore craving for the sweet stuff, as opposed to salt or sour, would tell us that the Spleen/Stomach is out of balance. The colour is orange and late summer is the season representing the abundant , sweet harvest of Mother Earth. The emotions are cravings, addictions in the negative and satisfied comfort in the positive. From the Chinese perspective there is nothing wrong with sweet food, however if we over indulge, as with any area of life it will cause problems, physically and emotionally. For the month of September in Chi Flow with Jo we will cover all areas of WHY we crave the sweet stuff according to Traditional Chinese Medicine and how we can take steps to stop an addictive cycle. JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/ READ THE BLOG: https://joannefaulkner.ie/2024/08/14/stop-sweet-cravings-2/ BUY THE NEW E-BOOK - A Guide to Stop Sweet Cravings: https://shop.joannefaulkner.ie/product/stop-sweet-cravings-e-book/
Welcome to the latest Energy Update episode from Chi Flow. August in Chi Flow is about nourishing your Healthy Heart. Chi Flow with Jo's daily Qi Gong practice is a transformative experience that nurtures a healthy heart through gentle, flowing movements and mindful breathing. This practice promotes cardiovascular health by enhancing circulation, reducing stress, and balancing the body's energy. By integrating Acupressure and Food Medicine, participants receive a holistic approach to heart health, fostering emotional well-being and physical vitality. The loving connection within the community amplifies these benefits, creating a supportive environment that encourages consistency and growth. Join us to fill your life with love, passion, health, and joy, and let your heart thrive with every breath. WANT A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS? https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/ #onlineqigong #qigongonline #healthyheart #fitover50andbeyond #movementmeditation #freeqigongclass