Mindfully Transition Through Menopause

The transition through menopause may be likened to the flow of a river, constantly moving and shifting, with no one part the same. This fluidity and changing landscape of your daily experience can challenge your sense of attachment, the need to hold on to what you know and understand before your body decides it's time for the next part of your journey.

Facing the unknown can feel anxiety and stress provoking, however, connecting to the emotional, physical and spiritual changes during this natural and healthy step in your evolutionary journey, offers the opportunity to be transformational.

The early stages of menopause are complex and changeable, and you may encounter a maelstrom of emotions as you find your footing towards postmenopause and the potential for healing, growth and empowerment. 

Consider using this challenging time to step into what can feel like a fiery transition and liberate yourself from what no longer works, old behaviours and unhelpful habits that have accumulated in your lifetime, and let go of old hurts and resentments that simply leave a bitter taste. 

You may meet this timeline with trepidation and resistance, but building awareness of your own experience with self-compassion and curiosity can develop a deep sense of love and connection as you attend to your needs and cultivate boundaries that support you.

Consider how you have navigated through your timelines until this moment. Blinkered? Plodding? Perhaps habitually, uninspired and resistant to change. Or have there been times you have moved through consciously and attentively? Inspired? Inquisitive and keen to learn? These factors affect how you perceive yourself and how you show up to yourself and others. This is not a stick to beat yourself with. Let go of expectations of how you should be showing up and of other’s expectations of you. There are no hard or fast rules, you are at the helm of your onward journey, and you get to decide. 

When you flow with change and traverse difficult paths you grow and transform. Instead of, ’I can’t cope’, consider, ‘what coping mechanisms can I learn to support my journey’.

~ Befriend your breath, listen to your body and open your heart to your innate wisdom ~

Become nervous system centred and this will lay the foundation for deeper work. Learn to keep nurturing a calm baseline state through your breath. Cultivate curiosity towards your body and any symptoms you may have or are experiencing; this awareness builds interoceptive skills, providing a more felt sense experience vs a cognitive one. Attending to the messages within will guide you to a greater understanding of what your body needs which supports healthy boundaries and connections. 

 ~ Breath, body, heart ~

By learning how to regulate your nervous system, you will be better placed to manage the experience of being with what is difficult. Practicing mindfulness directs your attention to the barebones experience of arising sensation. This can be uncomfortable but with self-regulation tools, you can expand your window of tolerance and become aware of the mind-body cues that inform you when discomfort might lead to anxiety, physical tension or overwhelm. These tools enable you to observe from a place of feeling grounded and at ease allowing for a more tolerable experience.

‘I choose to transition with ease and grace. I recognise I am doing the best I can with the tools I have.’

Be kind to yourself.

It is never too late to learn how to support your emotional and physical vulnerabilities. Recognise you’re doing the best you can, at the level of your current self, and that is the self to be honoured and nurtured. Look back with kindness and respect for the young woman who walked this path until now. She may not have always understood her actions through the various timelines but honour the wisdom that grew with each joyful and tough experience as you step into the role of the wise, authoritative, smart and brilliant woman you have been nurturing, perhaps unknowingly, since menarche. 

~ Consciously step into your wild power with grace ~