ONE HUNDRED EPISODES! And for this very special episode, we're continuing our Season 6 journey of getting to know The Local Women Next Door with performer Ange Rogers.

Ange's story had us thinking about the parts of ourselves that don't actually disappear, they just sometimes get quieter while life takes us in other directions.

Performance has always been part of Ange. But through different seasons, including motherhood and running a business, that part of her moved into the background. Until eventually she felt the pull to create something that was just for her.

And out it came... an entire one-woman show, written in a day.

We talk with Ange about what it means to make yourself visible again, finding confidence through actually doing the scary thing rather than waiting to feel ready, and why creating space for what brings us joy isn't selfish, it can be the very thing that brings our energy back.

Ange also takes us behind the scenes of creating her show: the rewriting, vulnerability, doubts, ticket sales and willingness to keep choosing it even when fear came along for the ride.

Perhaps most beautifully, we explore why sharing our own stories can help other people recognise theirs. Ange isn't interested in simply performing at an audience. She wants people to feel like they've stepped into her living room, sharing stories, songs and the real stuff of life.

It's a conversation about creativity, motherhood, courage and saying YES to the parts of yourself that have been waiting patiently for you to come back.

You can get your ticket here...

https://tickets.geelongaustralia.com.au/event/music-mess-me

And Mel and I will see you there.

You can find Nat and Mel here:

https://www.instagram.com/grabyourkeysandgo/

NAT: https://www.instagram.com/shebreathesnow/

NAT: https://shebreathes.as.me/BreathingRoom

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/splashoflifephotography/

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/the_home_yogi/

This week we meet Renee, another of our Local Women Next Door, and explore the experiences that have shaped the woman, mother and writer she is today.

Renee's story takes us into writing, journaling, dance, motherhood and eventually the creation of her memoir, but what we loved was discovering that so many of the things that support her now were actually there all along.

Writing had always been a place for Renee to make sense of her world. Journaling became somewhere safe to put the things she was feeling, and eventually those words grew into something she wanted to share. We talk about what it takes to turn a deeply personal story into one that allows someone else to say, "Oh wow, that's my story too."

Renee also shares her relationship with dance, something she walked away from when it became tangled with not feeling good enough, only to return years later when it could simply be about joy.

And of course, we talk motherhood.

One of the most beautiful parts of Renee's story is recognising how her own growth has changed the way she parents. Not because hard moments no longer happen, but because she can respond differently, holding space for her children's emotions without needing to fix or make them wrong.

It's a conversation about creativity, healing, breaking patterns and trusting the things that have always felt like home.

Perhaps we don't always need to find something new.

Sometimes the path forward is about coming back to ourselves.

You can find Renee here:

Website: www.writtenbyreneelouise.com
Instagram: @writtenby.reneelouise
Purchasing Hope:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CJXHR9PZ/?bestFormat=true&k=hope+a+journey+of+self+love&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-v2_k0_1_9_de&crid=2EI0AYD1T3FOA&sprefix=hope+a+jo&th=1&psc=1

Say YES to YOU,

Nat and Mel

You can find Nat and Mel here:

https://www.instagram.com/grabyourkeysandgo/

NAT: https://www.instagram.com/shebreathesnow/

NAT: https://shebreathes.as.me/BreathingRoom

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/splashoflifephotography/

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/the_home_yogi/

This week, the microphone gets turned around as Mel sits down with our very own Nat for the latest instalment of The Local Women Next Door.

It was an interesting reflection for me to move through the breadcrumbs that led me to where I am today.

My love for community, connection and creating spaces for presence, has been a pretty incredible journey really.

As I trace my path to the work I do today, it became pretty clear that the clues were there long before She Breathes existed.

From teaching and social work to motherhood, music, learning and a lifelong love of bringing people together, I share how seemingly separate parts of my life eventually begin to make sense as one story. At the centre of it all has always been people, understanding them, creating connection, asking good questions and making space for people to show up as they really are.

Breathwork arrived later and became another piece of the puzzle. Not as a way to "fix" women, but as a way to slow things down enough to hear what's really there.

We talk about why so many thoughtful, self-aware women can know themselves incredibly well and still feel like they're somehow not enough. And what might become possible when women have spaces where they don't have to perform, prove, hold everything together or continually make themselves the next project.

There's also a beautiful conversation about growth and how sometimes we don't realise how much we've changed until we turn around and see how far we've come.

Ultimately, this is a conversation about community, curiosity, self-trust and possibility and how my own winding path has led me to create the kind of spaces I've always needed for myself. Places where women can breathe, speak honestly, connect deeply and come home to themselves.

Live your Passion

Nat and Mel

You can find Nat and Mel here:

https://www.instagram.com/grabyourkeysandgo/

NAT: https://www.instagram.com/shebreathesnow/

NAT: https://shebreathes.as.me/BreathingRoom

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/splashoflifephotography/

MEL: https://www.instagram.com/the_home_yogi/