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Behind the Bio
Real stories. Honest conversations. A deeper kind of self-care.
Every headline hides a human story.
Through these Womanship conversations, our founder Nicolette Lazarus meets the women and allies shaping the future of health, healing, and honesty.
They’re doctors, psychologists, creatives, and changemakers — but beyond the bios are stories of loss, resilience, curiosity, and courage.
Born from the Connected Health Weekend: Exploring Mind, Body & Hormones, this series continues year-round, giving space to the women who inspire, challenge, and remind us that growth is rarely linear.
Each conversation reveals the moments that made them who they are — the choices, challenges, and sparks that keep their fire alive.
🎥 Watch (or listen like a podcast) and meet the women and allies who help us thrive.
Behind the Bio: Dr. Rianne Toenhake
What happens when a medical doctor stops trying to fit into the system — and starts listening to the quiet intelligence of her own body?
In this Behind the Bio conversation, Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus sits down with Dr. Rianne Toenhake, a women’s health doctor who blends Western medicine with nervous system wisdom, cyclical living, and the rhythm of nature.
Rianne’s story begins in a small village in the east of the Netherlands, unfolds through years of internal pressure, masked achievement, and hidden eating disorders, and leads to a profound realisation:
women aren’t failing — we’re living in a world that ignores our natural rhythm.
Together, they explore:
🌱 The girl who was never bored – a childhood of curiosity, wild play, and independence
👧🏽 Growing up without emotional language – and how that shaped her body, identity and coping patterns
🩸 Years of anorexia and bulimia – and the moment she finally recognised herself in the mirror
🏥 Finding belonging in holistic medicine – and realising she wasn’t “wrong” for wanting to treat the whole person
🌀 Cyclical living & the nervous system – understanding the signals women override the most
🗺️ Why every woman needs her own guideline – “What is my guideline actually?”
It’s a conversation about the body we forget to listen to, the signals we push past, and the deep transformation that happens when we stop trying to be constant in a world built on linear expectations.
👉 Watch or listen to the full replay below (just like a podcast 🎧)
👉 Look out for the rerun of her Connected Health Weekend session Rooted in Rhythm: How Your Nervous System Dances with Cycles and Seasons on 27 January
✨ The Story Behind the Healer – Agata Malczewska
When her body whispered “enough,” Agata Malczewska did what many women do... she kept pushing.
Until she couldn’t.
After years in corporate life, she reached a breaking point that no doctor could explain. The only advice she received was to “smile more.” Instead, she chose to listen to herself.
That choice led her from burnout to balance - from boardrooms to sound baths - and from silence to healing through vibration, voice, and touch.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship Founder Nicolette Lazarus, Agata shares the story behind her transformation and the wisdom that shapes her work today:
✨ “It felt like the end of life… but now I know it was just the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.”
✨ The moment a stranger introduced her to Ayurveda and she heard, for the first time, “Mind and body are connected.”
✨ How sound became medicine — “Our body is made out of water in like 70, 80%… and that’s where the magic happens.”
✨ Why healing, for her, “isn’t about fixing — it’s about remembering.”
This is a story about slowing down, tuning in, and trusting what your body already knows — that rest, rhythm, and resonance are where real healing begins.
🎧 Listen now (audio-only replay — the video may have glitched a little too much to share, but this conversation was far too good to miss).
✨ The science, and the soul, behind the story.
When life pushed her body to breaking point, Diana Siepmann did what many women do — she asked for help.
But when the only answer was painkillers, she trusted her gut and went looking for something deeper.
That search led her from marketing and motherhood to the world of Functional Medicine, where she discovered that healing isn’t just about treating disease - it’s about understanding the whole system.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Diana shares the journey that brought her here, and what she’s learned along the way:
✨ The moment she realised — “I left empty handed. I didn’t take the prescription. I said, there must be a better way.”
✨ How grief, exhaustion, and intuition led her to a science-based approach that listens to the body.
✨ Why “My doctor doesn’t own my health. The state doesn’t own my health. I own my health.”
✨ What “Everything is actionable” really means when the science supports the soul.
“It wasn’t about perfection, but about connection and contribution.”
This isn’t just a story about medicine, it’s about how evidence and empathy can coexist, and how one woman’s search for answers became a pathway for others to find balance too.
🩺 Diana returns on Wednesday 5 November at 19:30 CET
for the rerun of her Connected Health Weekend session for Health & Wellness professionals:
“Navigating Menopause with Insight & Integrity.”
💻 Register below for an unmissable online session for professionals who want to move beyond “HRT tunnel vision” and approach women’s care with depth, compassion, and science.
✨ Behind the Bio: Dr Louise Newson ✨
The amazing woman behind the work.
The morning after the Connected Health Weekend, Dr Louise Newson sat down with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus — not to talk about hormones or headlines, but about the human story behind her mission.
In this intimate Behind the Bio conversation, Louise opens up about:
✨Losing her father at nine — and how grief shaped her purpose
✨ What it feels like to keep helping when the world still resists change
✨ The moments she nearly gave up — and what kept her going
✨Why women’s health is still treated as a side issue, not a system issue
“I sometimes feel like I live in a parallel world...
There are lots of times where I just think I can’t, I’m done.
I’m not as strong as people think I am.”
This isn’t a story about menopause — it’s about humanity, resilience, and the fire that keeps burning.
From Surviving to Thriving with Melissa Schuman
Melissa Schuman’s journey is one of survival and transformation. At 16, she became her father’s caretaker — changing sheets, cooking meals, and carrying the emotional weight of his illnesses and addictions.
💬 “I wasn’t just a student. I was a therapist, a daughter, a caretaker. And I lost myself completely.”
Living with IBS and PCOS from a young age, Melissa pushed through pain and silence — until a devastating car crash forced her body to shut down.
💬 “I collapsed. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. That’s when I understood how deeply our mind and body are connected.”
Through years of study, self-healing, and practice, Melissa found her way to biohacking as a tool for women to reclaim their health. But more than that, she found her voice.
💬 “I won’t pretend to be perfect. I share my story because women need to know they’re not alone — the things we hide are often the things we all share.”
Because when women share more, we all worry less. 🌊
✨ Womanship Live: Behind the Mic with Amélie Consigny (Vi Health) ✨
As both a sponsor and speaker, Amélie Consigny — CEO & founder of VI Health — is helping to reshape how we think about menopause and hormone care at home and in the workplace.
In this conversation with @Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Amélie shares:
🌿 Why menopause is still missing from most corporate wellbeing plans
🌿 How unspoken hormonal health issues fuel burnout + absenteeism
🌿 Why men must be included as allies
🌿 How Vi Health is cutting the search for care with digital tools
Amélie and VI Health were live on stage at the Connected Health Weekend: Exploring Mind, Body & Hormones (27–28 September, Amsterdam). and hosted a special HR manager session with Dr. Louise Newson to explore menopause in the workplace.
💫 Real talk. Real tools. Real support.
✨From Scientist to Cycle Strategist – The Story Behind The Cyclical CEO™ with Dr. Julia Große
What happens when a biologist turns her attention from cells to cycles and discovers that women’s hormonal rhythms might just be the untapped key to sustainable success?
In this Behind the Bio conversation, Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus sits down with Dr. Julia Große, cycle strategy coach, scientist, and founder of The Cyclical CEO™.
Julia’s journey begins in East Germany, travels through years of marine research and global expeditions, and leads to a powerful realisation: women aren’t inconsistent — our biological rhythm is. And when we learn to work with it instead of against it, everything changes.
Together, they explore:
🌿 The story behind the scientist – childhood, curiosity, loss, resilience
🧬 Her years as a biologist – from studying algae to leading research expeditions
🩸 Why she left academia – and how it led her to cycle syncing
🧠 The science of hormonal rhythm – and what it means for women’s clarity, confidence and leadership
💼 How to create a business cadence that prevents burnout
🔥 Why rest is part of your strategy — not a reward
It’s a conversation about rhythm, resilience, and redefining success in a world that wasn’t designed for women’s bodies.
👉 Watch or listen the full replay below (just like a podcast 🎧
👉 Join the Womanship community to meet more professionals like Julia
✨ The Story Behind the Healer – Agata Malczewska
When her body whispered “enough,” Agata Malczewska did what many women do... she kept pushing.
Until she couldn’t.
After years in corporate life, she reached a breaking point that no doctor could explain. The only advice she received was to “smile more.” Instead, she chose to listen to herself.
That choice led her from burnout to balance - from boardrooms to sound baths - and from silence to healing through vibration, voice, and touch.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship Founder Nicolette Lazarus, Agata shares the story behind her transformation and the wisdom that shapes her work today:
✨ “It felt like the end of life… but now I know it was just the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.”
✨ The moment a stranger introduced her to Ayurveda and she heard, for the first time, “Mind and body are connected.”
✨ How sound became medicine — “Our body is made out of water in like 70, 80%… and that’s where the magic happens.”
✨ Why healing, for her, “isn’t about fixing — it’s about remembering.”
This is a story about slowing down, tuning in, and trusting what your body already knows — that rest, rhythm, and resonance are where real healing begins.
🎧 Listen now (audio-only replay — the video may have glitched a little too much to share, but this conversation was far too good to miss).
✨ The science, and the soul, behind the story.
When life pushed her body to breaking point, Diana Siepmann did what many women do — she asked for help.
But when the only answer was painkillers, she trusted her gut and went looking for something deeper.
That search led her from marketing and motherhood to the world of Functional Medicine, where she discovered that healing isn’t just about treating disease - it’s about understanding the whole system.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Diana shares the journey that brought her here, and what she’s learned along the way:
✨ The moment she realised — “I left empty handed. I didn’t take the prescription. I said, there must be a better way.”
✨ How grief, exhaustion, and intuition led her to a science-based approach that listens to the body.
✨ Why “My doctor doesn’t own my health. The state doesn’t own my health. I own my health.”
✨ What “Everything is actionable” really means when the science supports the soul.
“It wasn’t about perfection, but about connection and contribution.”
This isn’t just a story about medicine, it’s about how evidence and empathy can coexist, and how one woman’s search for answers became a pathway for others to find balance too.
🩺 Diana returns on Wednesday 5 November at 19:30 CET
for the rerun of her Connected Health Weekend session for Health & Wellness professionals:
“Navigating Menopause with Insight & Integrity.”
💻 Register below for an unmissable online session for professionals who want to move beyond “HRT tunnel vision” and approach women’s care with depth, compassion, and science.
✨ Behind the Bio: Dr Louise Newson ✨
The amazing woman behind the work.
The morning after the Connected Health Weekend, Dr Louise Newson sat down with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus — not to talk about hormones or headlines, but about the human story behind her mission.
In this intimate Behind the Bio conversation, Louise opens up about:
✨Losing her father at nine — and how grief shaped her purpose
✨ What it feels like to keep helping when the world still resists change
✨ The moments she nearly gave up — and what kept her going
✨Why women’s health is still treated as a side issue, not a system issue
“I sometimes feel like I live in a parallel world...
There are lots of times where I just think I can’t, I’m done.
I’m not as strong as people think I am.”
This isn’t a story about menopause — it’s about humanity, resilience, and the fire that keeps burning.
From Surviving to Thriving with Melissa Schuman
Melissa Schuman’s journey is one of survival and transformation. At 16, she became her father’s caretaker — changing sheets, cooking meals, and carrying the emotional weight of his illnesses and addictions.
💬 “I wasn’t just a student. I was a therapist, a daughter, a caretaker. And I lost myself completely.”
Living with IBS and PCOS from a young age, Melissa pushed through pain and silence — until a devastating car crash forced her body to shut down.
💬 “I collapsed. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. That’s when I understood how deeply our mind and body are connected.”
Through years of study, self-healing, and practice, Melissa found her way to biohacking as a tool for women to reclaim their health. But more than that, she found her voice.
💬 “I won’t pretend to be perfect. I share my story because women need to know they’re not alone — the things we hide are often the things we all share.”
Because when women share more, we all worry less. 🌊
✨ Womanship Live: Behind the Mic with Amélie Consigny (Vi Health) ✨
As both a sponsor and speaker, Amélie Consigny — CEO & founder of VI Health — is helping to reshape how we think about menopause and hormone care at home and in the workplace.
In this conversation with @Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Amélie shares:
🌿 Why menopause is still missing from most corporate wellbeing plans
🌿 How unspoken hormonal health issues fuel burnout + absenteeism
🌿 Why men must be included as allies
🌿 How Vi Health is cutting the search for care with digital tools
Amélie and VI Health were live on stage at the Connected Health Weekend: Exploring Mind, Body & Hormones (27–28 September, Amsterdam). and hosted a special HR manager session with Dr. Louise Newson to explore menopause in the workplace.
💫 Real talk. Real tools. Real support.
✨From Scientist to Cycle Strategist – The Story Behind The Cyclical CEO™ with Dr. Julia Große
What happens when a biologist turns her attention from cells to cycles and discovers that women’s hormonal rhythms might just be the untapped key to sustainable success?
In this Behind the Bio conversation, Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus sits down with Dr. Julia Große, cycle strategy coach, scientist, and founder of The Cyclical CEO™.
Julia’s journey begins in East Germany, travels through years of marine research and global expeditions, and leads to a powerful realisation: women aren’t inconsistent — our biological rhythm is. And when we learn to work with it instead of against it, everything changes.
Together, they explore:
🌿 The story behind the scientist – childhood, curiosity, loss, resilience
🧬 Her years as a biologist – from studying algae to leading research expeditions
🩸 Why she left academia – and how it led her to cycle syncing
🧠 The science of hormonal rhythm – and what it means for women’s clarity, confidence and leadership
💼 How to create a business cadence that prevents burnout
🔥 Why rest is part of your strategy — not a reward
It’s a conversation about rhythm, resilience, and redefining success in a world that wasn’t designed for women’s bodies.
👉 Watch or listen the full replay below (just like a podcast 🎧
👉 Join the Womanship community to meet more professionals like Julia
✨ The Story Behind the Healer – Agata Malczewska
When her body whispered “enough,” Agata Malczewska did what many women do... she kept pushing.
Until she couldn’t.
After years in corporate life, she reached a breaking point that no doctor could explain. The only advice she received was to “smile more.” Instead, she chose to listen to herself.
That choice led her from burnout to balance - from boardrooms to sound baths - and from silence to healing through vibration, voice, and touch.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship Founder Nicolette Lazarus, Agata shares the story behind her transformation and the wisdom that shapes her work today:
✨ “It felt like the end of life… but now I know it was just the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.”
✨ The moment a stranger introduced her to Ayurveda and she heard, for the first time, “Mind and body are connected.”
✨ How sound became medicine — “Our body is made out of water in like 70, 80%… and that’s where the magic happens.”
✨ Why healing, for her, “isn’t about fixing — it’s about remembering.”
This is a story about slowing down, tuning in, and trusting what your body already knows — that rest, rhythm, and resonance are where real healing begins.
🎧 Listen now (audio-only replay — the video may have glitched a little too much to share, but this conversation was far too good to miss).
✨ The science, and the soul, behind the story.
When life pushed her body to breaking point, Diana Siepmann did what many women do — she asked for help.
But when the only answer was painkillers, she trusted her gut and went looking for something deeper.
That search led her from marketing and motherhood to the world of Functional Medicine, where she discovered that healing isn’t just about treating disease - it’s about understanding the whole system.
In this Behind the Bio conversation with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Diana shares the journey that brought her here, and what she’s learned along the way:
✨ The moment she realised — “I left empty handed. I didn’t take the prescription. I said, there must be a better way.”
✨ How grief, exhaustion, and intuition led her to a science-based approach that listens to the body.
✨ Why “My doctor doesn’t own my health. The state doesn’t own my health. I own my health.”
✨ What “Everything is actionable” really means when the science supports the soul.
“It wasn’t about perfection, but about connection and contribution.”
This isn’t just a story about medicine, it’s about how evidence and empathy can coexist, and how one woman’s search for answers became a pathway for others to find balance too.
🩺 Diana returns on Wednesday 5 November at 19:30 CET
for the rerun of her Connected Health Weekend session for Health & Wellness professionals:
“Navigating Menopause with Insight & Integrity.”
💻 Register below for an unmissable online session for professionals who want to move beyond “HRT tunnel vision” and approach women’s care with depth, compassion, and science.
✨ Behind the Bio: Dr Louise Newson ✨
The amazing woman behind the work.
The morning after the Connected Health Weekend, Dr Louise Newson sat down with Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus — not to talk about hormones or headlines, but about the human story behind her mission.
In this intimate Behind the Bio conversation, Louise opens up about:
✨Losing her father at nine — and how grief shaped her purpose
✨ What it feels like to keep helping when the world still resists change
✨ The moments she nearly gave up — and what kept her going
✨Why women’s health is still treated as a side issue, not a system issue
“I sometimes feel like I live in a parallel world...
There are lots of times where I just think I can’t, I’m done.
I’m not as strong as people think I am.”
This isn’t a story about menopause — it’s about humanity, resilience, and the fire that keeps burning.
From Surviving to Thriving with Melissa Schuman
Melissa Schuman’s journey is one of survival and transformation. At 16, she became her father’s caretaker — changing sheets, cooking meals, and carrying the emotional weight of his illnesses and addictions.
💬 “I wasn’t just a student. I was a therapist, a daughter, a caretaker. And I lost myself completely.”
Living with IBS and PCOS from a young age, Melissa pushed through pain and silence — until a devastating car crash forced her body to shut down.
💬 “I collapsed. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. That’s when I understood how deeply our mind and body are connected.”
Through years of study, self-healing, and practice, Melissa found her way to biohacking as a tool for women to reclaim their health. But more than that, she found her voice.
💬 “I won’t pretend to be perfect. I share my story because women need to know they’re not alone — the things we hide are often the things we all share.”
Because when women share more, we all worry less. 🌊
✨ Womanship Live: Behind the Mic with Amélie Consigny (Vi Health) ✨
As both a sponsor and speaker, Amélie Consigny — CEO & founder of VI Health — is helping to reshape how we think about menopause and hormone care at home and in the workplace.
In this conversation with @Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus, Amélie shares:
🌿 Why menopause is still missing from most corporate wellbeing plans
🌿 How unspoken hormonal health issues fuel burnout + absenteeism
🌿 Why men must be included as allies
🌿 How Vi Health is cutting the search for care with digital tools
Amélie and VI Health were live on stage at the Connected Health Weekend: Exploring Mind, Body & Hormones (27–28 September, Amsterdam). and hosted a special HR manager session with Dr. Louise Newson to explore menopause in the workplace.
💫 Real talk. Real tools. Real support.
This Womanship Live is the origin story of the Connected Health Weekend: Exploring Mind, Body and Hormones.
Womanship founder Nicolette Lazarus is joined by Penny Pine Inberg and Suzanne Rethans to share:
🌿 How Penny had the spark — and Suzanne and Nicolette lit the fuse for a 2-day, 50+ session weekend
🌿 Why women’s real worries must be spoken out loud
🌿 How Penny and Suzanne brought their own journeys and communities to the table
Watch the full replay and get your one day or weekend tickets for 27–28 September 2025 at www.womanship.co
💫 Real talk. Real tools. Real support.
Guest: Amanda MacRae — Somatic Coach & Founder of Be Your Total Self
🟡 Speaker at Connected Health Weekend 2025
What if your nervous system was never meant to keep up… but to guide you home?
The truth is your body knows when enough is enough. You just have to listen. In this Womanship Live replay, our founder Nicolette Lazarus sits down with somatic coach Amanda MacRae for a powerful conversation about pace, pressure, and the quiet wisdom of the body.
Recorded on a day when everything was running behind (sound familiar?), this conversation landed like medicine — reminding us why we need to stop pushing through, and start tuning in.
Together they explore:
💛 Why your body is not a machine — and never was
💛 How we learn to override our needs (especially as women)
💛 The nervous system’s role in burnout, anxiety, and healing
💛 Why slowing down can feel scary — but is so deeply necessary
✨ “What if slowing down wasn’t laziness… but your body’s wisdom trying to speak?” — Amanda MacRae
The Courage to Ask in a Culture of Self-Reliance
Guest: Ashley Usiskin — Founder of The Gift of Help
🟡 Speaker at Connected Health Weekend 2025
What if asking for help was seen as powerful — not weak?
In this first Womanship Live session, our founder Nicolette Lazarus talks with Ashley Usiskin, creator of The Gift of Help, about the barriers we face when reaching out — and why shifting our perspective could change everything.
They cover:
- The social shame around asking for support
- Why self-reliance is sometimes just self-protection
- How help can build bridges — in life and at work
- The truth behind “doing it all” (and why we shouldn’t)
"If we all believed asking for help was a gift — not a burden — we’d change the world overnight."
— Ashley Usiskin
What If Healthcare Actually Saw You?
🎙️ Womanship Live with Dr. William Declerck, co-founder of Uma Health
When we talk about change in women’s health, we often talk about frustration. But real change starts with listening. In this honest, inspiring Womanship Live, our founder Nicolette Lazarus sits down with Dr. William Declerck, a physician and digital health innovator who co-founded Uma Health after seeing the deep blind spots in (peri)menopause care.
Together they explore:
- Why healthcare often fails to see the whole woman — not just her symptoms
- William’s journey from surgery to AI to women’s health
- What makes Uma different — and what women actually need in midlife
- Why allyship matters — and why Dr. William chose to sponsor our event
“We can do robotic surgery, but menopause is still misunderstood. That tells you everything.”
(Dr. William Declerck)
Images Copyright Marieke Zwartscholten fotografie, https://chasseportraits.nl/, Nathan Azopardi, Copyright © 2025 Womanship™ - All Rights Reserved.
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