Part 1:
First, when I was younger, maybe my 20’s even my 30’s I never expected I would be having a public conversation about peri-menopause. I remember watching my mom have many symptoms but I simply thought, “I am never going to have that experience” or “that isn’t going to happen to me” so I never gave it another thought. I felt a little entangled, I had some inner awareness what this stage in her life looked like, painful, in bed, and feeling a bit overwhelmed entangled with my thinking this would never be me. I look back now and that was the right decision, why plan for what “might” happen, it seems like a setup for anxiety and/or disappointment.
Forward ahead… I entered my mid-40’s and life was changing. I began to feel different, my monthly cycle was unpredictable from the symptoms, to the flow, to my emotions and on and on. I started to experience many changes but the one that got my attention were the monthly migraines. This put me on the path to resolve them altogether or at least decrease their intensity. I would be unavailable to life to 48 hours. And, post migraine days were like having a hangover ” I think“.
I’m now in my mid-50’s and the journey I am going to share with you in these posts and in my new upcoming 90-day program “Daring Goddesses Never Age” will hopefully support you on your’s.
Peri-menopause and menopause, as life phases, are not revered in our society. Discussions are rarely had outside of private, hushed conversations. The words peri-menopause and menopause are often laden with fear and certainly with negativity, surrounded by assumptions of something is “wrong” or “needs fixing”. But, here is the thing, it is important to talk about this time in your life, my goddesses, because this transition affects ALL women and it represents a time of considerable growth in our lives. While not all women have profound symptoms, no women is exempt.
So, I am here to expand this conversation and empower women to navigate this time in their lives with confidence, openness, and courage to see this time as an opportunity and actually look forward to midlife. My desire is to be an informer, and empower you to choose a journey that works for you. I dream of providing you information, tools, and support so you may navigate this time more openly without shame or apology.
My/our journey will begin today with the definition of Perimenopause; a transition from the reproductive years to menopause. Perimenopause can begin as early as thirty-five and as late as fifty-nine, and it can last from five to fifteen years. More on exactly what is actually changing in a later post.
Menopause; is the twelve-month anniversary of your final menstrual period.
My first tip of support begins with acceptance. I refused this for a long time, now I am in love with this time in my life. Each day before I even get out of bed I pause and notice how I feel physically throughout my entire body, then I set an intention on BEING really present with myself, my needs and emotions. I will say it again it took me a long time to admit much of what I was feeling, to be real with myself. I soooo wanted to feel like I did in my 20’s and even 30’s. It felt like I was experiencing a part of me dying. But, when I started to be in a place of acceptance and set an intention on being really mindful with ME a really big shift started to happen.
Be curious about your journey. Be excited about stepping into this shift and all that you have and will learned to offer the world and yourself in this next phase of life. And, join my newsletter so you are notified of my tips/ my upcoming intensives / retreats and my fantastic 90 day program Daring Goddesses Never Age which all come from my personal experiences, my extensive study and research, and how I fuse yoga, ayurveda and many other natural remedies into my life.
