Where Will You Take Up Space in Midlife? Our 50th Episode

When I started this podcast, I hoped it would go well. I didn’t imagine I would show up every single week for basically a year, but I did, and this week Sexy in Your 60s with Dvora Citron reaches its 50th episode and closes its third season, Taking Up Space.

It also airs on Election Day. In Episode 46, I wrote about what on your ballot touches your body. If you haven’t voted yet, the vote belongs to you, so go cast it like it counts.

All season I’ve asked you three questions. I want to leave you with them here, with a little more room than the episode allows, and with my own answers alongside so you can see what working with them looks like. You don’t need a plan for any of this. You need a notebook or a walk, and some honesty.

Where am I already taking up space?

Most women I work with want to skip this one and go straight to what they’re doing wrong. Start here anyway, because you can’t build on ground you won’t acknowledge.

Taking up space doesn’t have to be loud. It can be a commitment you’ve kept, a room you walked into when you wanted to stay home, or a conversation where you said what you actually think.

For me this season, it meant stepping into discomfort, and I’ve come to see that discomfort and my dreams are often the same thing. I kept offering programs, often while I was still creating them. I facilitated live and walked into rooms full of people. And I started an alumni circle for the women who have finished my Sexy in Your 60s Coaching Experience. We meet once a month, and I leave every one of those conversations grateful.

Try this:

• Where did I show up this year when it would have been easier not to?
• What have I kept doing even though no one required it of me?

Where am I still making myself smaller?

This is the question that stings, so be gentle with yourself. The point is to notice, not to pass a verdict.

I still have birds on my shoulder. They whisper, “Who do you think you are? Why do you think you’re important enough to put your opinion out in public and position yourself as an expert?” I hear them most weeks, and I’m doing it anyway. I’ve come to understand that this was never really about being the expert. It is about creating space for women 50 and beyond to explore, experiment, and discover, and doing my own internal work right alongside you.

If your version sounds like “I should have this figured out by now,” you are in good company. In Self-Doubt Is Not Imposter Syndrome, I wrote about taking the seat before you have the words.

Try this:

• Where do I hold back an opinion, a request, or an idea because I’m not sure I’ve earned it?
• Whose voice do the birds on my shoulder sound like?

What feels newly available to me now?

This question asks you to look at what this season of life makes possible, not only at what it has taken.

I turned 65 on October 6th. I don’t have a boss, and I don’t have anyone else’s expectations to meet. I can decide which direction I want to go.

That freedom comes with a responsibility to take care of myself, and that is hardest for me when I’m with the people I love most. I’ll put my own needs aside to do more for my adult children and grandchildren every time if I’m not careful.

Last weekend, Eric and I were in Los Angeles for our granddaughter’s fourth birthday, and this time I made a few choices that changed the whole trip. We stayed at a hotel where I’m comfortable, so I had my own space to rest and reset. I used the gym and took long walks along The Strand. I met my girlfriends for dinner and went to a comedy show to see my cousin perform. The next day at the beach with the four-year-old and the two-year-old was my favorite part, and I came to it with more to give because I wasn’t running on empty.

What’s newly available doesn’t have to be grand. Sometimes it is permission to book your own room.

Try this:

• What can I do now that I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, ten years ago?
• What is one boundary that would let me show up more fully for the people I love?

One honest next move

One of the women I’m coaching listened to my conversation with Rossie Ballard about why muscle is the organ of longevity, and it got her back to strength training. That is what these questions are for. You don’t need perfect answers to all three. Choose one honest next move.

A path through Season 3

If you want to go deeper, the season is a good place to start. The body thread runs from Dr. Jordan Emont on menopause care, through The Table, to Dr. Baxter Bell on yoga and Rossie Ballard on strength. The voice thread runs through self-doubt, Valerie Mummert on retreats for women, and Laura Bergman on becoming a writer in midlife. Every episode is on the podcast page.

What comes next

Season 4 is called Making Room for What’s Next. First we claim our space, and then we decide what we want to make room for. Thank you for fifty episodes. They would not have happened without you.

One more time because it matters. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Any decision about your own health belongs with your own healthcare provider, who knows your history and your whole picture.

Listen to the Full Episode

Episode 50: Where Will You Take Up Space in Midlife? Our 50th Episode

🎧 Podcast Page
🍎 Apple Podcasts
🟢 Spotify
🎵 Amazon Music
▶️ Watch on YouTube

About Dvora Citron

Dvora Citron, RN MS, NBC-HWC, is a Registered Nurse, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and the founder of slant2plants®. She hosts Sexy in Your 60s to bring women the real ingredients of vibrant aging through science, story, strategies, and soul.

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Talk With Me About What Comes Up

If one of the three questions stirred something, I would love to hear about it. Book a free discovery call and we will talk it through together.

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Nothing in this post is medical advice. It is education and lived experience. Anything you are weighing for your own health is a decision to make with your own healthcare provider, who knows your history and your whole picture.