KIM Stoffels had always extolled the virtues of women trusting their instincts about their health.
But this mantra has taken new meaning since her own life-threatening medical emergency.
The mother-of-two had spent four days in the snow with a friend and children when she noticed a strange feeling in her left leg.
"We came home from the snow and I went out that night dancing. I [taught] Zumba the next morning and two classes at the gym," Ms Stoffels said.
She attended her uncle's 70th birthday party in the afternoon and kept noticing a "funny pressure" in her calf.
She took her children home and told her partner Michael she was going to drive herself to hospital to get it checked and "would be back in an hour". It was a decision that might have saved her life.
Ms Stoffels suspected she might have deep vein thrombosis and a blood test five hours later showed she did have a blood clot.
She was given an injection of Warfarin, an anticoagulaent, and sent home.
She returned the following morning for a CT scan and ultrasound that revealed a 15-centimetre clot in her left calf.
She stayed in hospital overnight before she was released and told to continue daily injections of a blood-thinning drug and to take Warfarin. Her instincts again kicked in when she had an allergic reaction to the Warfarin and returned to her doctor, who agreed she should stop taking it.
Ms Stoffels said her experience should serve as a reminder to women to listen to their intuition and "trust their gut" when it came to their health.
"If you think something is wrong, question it. And get a second opinion if you are not happy."
She told the 150 women at the Girls' Night Sin event to complete a self-check each morning.
"Before I leave the house each day I think 'Do I feel OK?'," she said.
"Often you think, 'I have got a pain here' or 'I have had a headache for a couple of days'. Ask yourself how you feel. And if a thought keeps coming in your head it needs to be checked."
The qualified trainer and health and wellness coach said cultivating a mind-body connection allowed you to listen to your body and suggests a few minutes of deep breathing and repeating the words "breathe, listen, trust" each day.
"We all have the ability to listen to our body but we do not always give ourselves time to do that," she said. 'I am so grateful this happened to me [as] I believe that it is my chance to slow down."