Free guide
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The Midlife Essentials and the talk
A 75-page PDF guide plus the 1 hour 43 minute talk, The Entire Midlife Journey.
Send me the guideMasterclass · 1 hr 43 min
The Entire Midlife Journey with Daniela Hess
With Daniela Hess, MSEdGreat EnergyOctober 2026
Get the full talk free by email1 hr 43 min, sent with The Midlife Essentials, a 75-page guide
Midlife as 5 layers that move together, the Physical, the Mental, the Emotional, the Relational, and the Spiritual, with the labs to ask for and how to ask for them.
The 17 short videos from this talk are free to watch on the Watch page.
What Daniela covers in this talk
Why do my labs say normal when I feel terrible in perimenopause?
In Perimenopause, conventional 'normal' ranges describe an average population, so a result can read normal while you still feel unwell. Functional medicine practitioners use optimal ranges, which ask where your numbers need to land for you to feel well. In the talk, I use ferritin as the example: the conventional range runs from 15 to 200, and functional practitioners often look for 70 to 100. I also cover vitamin D and B12.
What blood tests should I ask my doctor for when I have fatigue, hair loss and brain fog in midlife?
Ask for a full thyroid panel by name, because TSH alone can stay in range for years while thyroid antibodies are already elevated. The 6 markers are TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, TPO antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies. I also walk through a full iron panel, vitamin D, B12, folate, RBC magnesium, hs-CRP, blood sugar markers, cortisol and sex hormones, including when to draw them.
How long does perimenopause last, and what does midlife affect besides hot flashes?
Perimenopause can begin as early as 35 and menopause averages around age 52, so hormones can shift for up to 17 years. I explain that Midlife touches 5 layers at once: physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual. I start with the physical layer, because ferritin, thyroid, sex hormones, cortisol and gut inflammation can shape what you feel in the other 4.
Why do yoga and meditation not fix my anxiety and fatigue in perimenopause?
Several physical shifts can look like anxiety, depression or burnout, so they are worth ruling out with your practitioner. I go through the mimics: low progesterone can feel like anxiety, low ferritin like depression, low estrogen like brain fog, and flat cortisol or Hashimoto's like burnout. I love yoga, sound baths and breathwork, and I explain why they can act as treading water until your body has what it needs.
Topics covered: Perimenopause symptoms, labs normal and still feel terrible, full thyroid panel, ferritin optimal range, Midlife Women's health, functional medicine ranges.
Read the full articles
Each article has the details, the research, and answers to 5 common questions.
Start here
Who this is for
Daniela Hess explains who The Midlife Bible is for, why no one sat you down about Midlife, and how the 5 layers fit together. A free guide comes first.
Read this article →Your inner life and your careTalking to your doctor about labs
Why 'normal' lab ranges miss Midlife Women, how to ask for the tests you need, scripts for pushback, and what to do if your doctor says no. By Daniela Hess.
Read this article →Your hormones and your thyroidYour hormones, stage by stage
The 3 stages of the Midlife transition, how long Perimenopause can last, whether you can test for it, and how 5 hormones work together. By Daniela Hess.
Read this article →More talks and interviews
24 minHealing Our Earth
Women: Self Care and Self Love
Global gathering
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1 hr 4 minbeYogi
The Women's Midlife Journey: What Yoga Teachers Need To Know
Webinar
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40 minGreat Energy
Midlife Women's Health: What Every Yoga Teacher Should Know
Conversation with Kim Beekman
Watch, 40 min →Educational content, not medical advice. Please work with your own practitioner before you change a medication or a supplement.
