Step into you Peri Power
Question.
What if all the symptoms you’re experiencing during your perimenopausal years are a sign, a signal, an offering from the universe to take a look at your life and make a change?
You might be thinking, crippling anxiety, painful breasts, heart palpitations and rage don’t feel like a calling Heather.
Stay with me.
This could be your bodies way of saying it’s time to look after yourself more. And that rage? Maybe it’s your power. Maybe the anxiety is telling you that there are elements of your life that must change, again, your power. Now is the time to listen to your body, listen to your heart and make those changes, step into your power.
But what exactly does that look like? We’ll it’s different for all of us. So I’ll share what it looked like for me.
Firstly it meant learning about perimenopause. I trained with Sally Parkes and Rachel Boon in Menoyoga®. This was ground breaking for me. I learnt so much about what was going on in my body and what I could do physically and in terms of the food I consumed to help myself.
Secondly it meant reading, almost everything I could find on this subject. From personal stories, to books about HRT, the brain and those which took a much more spiritual approach to this life transition. I read it all. Some books made me cry, some made me so angry and others I just put about 1000 sticky notes in. My top perimenopause books and why — Deaville Yoga
Thirdly I taught, I shared and I connected with a wonderful group of women to support them through their perimenopause journey’s . And trust me when I say, their support taught me so much too.
Then came action, me stepping into my power.
I started saying no to things. If it wasn’t a full bodies yes, it was a no. I needed to rest, do what I loved and keep my energy for myself and my family.
I started tracking my period and my moods and symptoms (there’s loads of aps out there you can do this with) and this was great because I saw patterns and could plan my work/life around that (mostly, you know the perimenopause eh!)
I stopped drinking, first alcohol, then caffeine. If this is something you’re toying with check out this podcast: What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health - Huberman Lab
I tried HRT. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. My body reacted badly and I had to stop, but I’m glad I tried it as I’ve seen it help so many women Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - NHS
I started to grow my rest practice, using 20 minute yoga nidra’s daily to get some real deep rest: Yoga Nidra 22min | Guided Relaxation Meditation - YouTube
And I read a lot of books around happiness, which has lead to a deep interest in Buddhism and meditation.
And I always came back to my yoga practice, trying each time to make it what I needed. Sometimes gentle, sometime transformative, sometimes silly and sometimes all about stepping into my power as a perimenopausal queen. Yoga for Perimenopause Power | 15 min Class - YouTube
You’re journey will be different from mine, but I hope that in sharing mine yours will be easier.
Lets grow Happier, Older and Wiser together ladies.
Love and hugs as always, Heather*