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.

1. 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.

2. 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!)

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. And I read a lot of books around happiness, which has lead to a deep interest in Buddhism and meditation.

7. 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*

6 Essential oils to support your perimenopause

As a yoga teacher and an aromatherapist I’m a big fan of taking a holistic approach to all stages of life. And one way you can do this is with essential oils.

Firstly, lets go over some safety.

1. Don’t take essential oils internally.

2. Don’t use the oil neat on your skin, always dilute with a carrier oil, rapeseed oil from the kitchen will do, I use sweet almond oil.

3. Check oils for contraindications and if you are on any medication please check with your Dr if it’s safe to use essential oils.

The best way to experience the wonderful benefits of essential oils is aromatically, through inhalation (unless your having a massage that is - bliss!)

And the simplest way to do this is by dropping one drop of essential oil onto a cotton pad and taking a few deep breaths. You can also diffuse essential oils and there is a great range of diffusers on the market.

So, what essential oils will support you during your perimenopause? I could list loads, but I’m going to keep it simple with 6.

1. Bergamot. This is a lovely citrus oil, it’s uplifting and energising so great to reach for if you’re feeling low and tired.

2. Rose. This oil is for me the oil of self love. It opens our hearts so that we can put ourselves at the center of all we do and why. It helps us connect to what our heart has to tell us at this time of transformation.

3. Vetiver. This oil is the queen of sleep and for anyone whose struggled with their sleep during perimenopause this could be a great oil for you to try. It’s a very grassy in smell so I often recommend you use one drop of vetiver and pair it with a floral oil like geranium or lavender to sweeten it.

4. Rosemary. Great for concentration and brain fog. When I need to focus this is the oil I reach for.

5. Roman Chamomile. A really soothing and calming essential oil, this has become a regular go to for me. I find it helps release heat and tension from the body and mind. In turn helping me connect to my inner voice and wisdom.

6. Rosewood. This is a more unusual oil and is wonderful for protecting your energy, or aura. This can be great for when you need to preserve your energy for yourself or want to protect your energy from negative outside influences.

Other oils I regularly use and share with my perimenopause yoga students are Clary Sage, Frankincense, Benzoin, Lemon, Tea Tree and Sandalwood. I love combining essential oils with my yoga practice, I find it deepens and enriches my experience of both.

If you’re looking to buy essential oils I’d recommend you head to the ATC Membership List : Aromatherapy Trade Council and check out whose on there. Personally I use Base Formula and Neal’s Yard, I’m not affiliated to either.

I have some lovely free essential oils classes which you can access here: Energising Yoga Class w/ Lemon & Peppermint Essential Oils | 20 min | Beginner suitable | Uplifting - YouTube there not perimenopause specific, but were filmed during my perimenopause journey.

I hope this has been useful and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Lets grow Happier, Older and Wiser together ladies.

Love and hugs as always, Heather*

Perimenopause Power

Wahoooooh! Well, if the title didn’t get your attention then I hope the energy of my whoop did.

It’s taken me years to find the grove of my perimenopause power and I want to share with you today what it is I’ve learnt and you find your perimenopausal power.

You may be questioning my use of the word power, especially if your struggling like I did with numerous perimenopause symptoms and getting through the day feels like a struggle, but bare with me and keep reading, I promise you’ll find some gold.

MY TOP PERI POWER TIPS:

1. The power of NO. Oh my gosh, say no as much as you can (I’m not kidding). This is a time when you need to rest and really focus on what feels good and right for you. Don’t want to go to the ptfa meeting. DON’T. Don’t want to go for drinks on Friday night. DONT. Don’t want to be pulled here there and everywhere by commitments. DONT. Just start saying no, say, thanks so much for the invitation but it’s a no from me this time, or I’m afraid I can’t help out because I’m busy. I know this can feel scary as you might worry that you won’t get invited again (FOMO calling) but you will, trust me and if you don’t then the invitation wasn’t from true friends. Remember, if it’s not a full bodied YES during perimenopause, then it’s a flat out NO!!!!!!!

2. Say YES to what you want to do. As women we’re kick ass at putting others first, so don’t worry about that for a movement. It’s time to put yourself first. Say YES to the things you love, whatever they may be. Do more of them. More girly nights in, more sauna’s and swims, more yoga, more walking, more reading, more naps in the afternoon. More yes yes yes to what you want and love to do. This is so soothing for your souls and will reduce your stress levels (helping ease those peri symptoms) and boost your enjoyment of YOUR life. Trust me, do it now. Cancel something your not looking forward to and book something you are!

3. DO LESS. You are going through a huge transition and having a jam packed life does not leave any space for your body, brain and being to do that. You need time doing nothing. Honestly if I could persuade you to do one thing today it would be to do less. You are not superhuman, so stop trying to be. You’re a beautiful woman who needs rest just as much as everyone else. You’re going through a huge transition and you need downtime for that to happen. The emotions that arise at this time need space to be sat with and listened too and you can only listen to your inner wisdom when you have the time to sit and do nothing.

4. EMPOWER YOURSELF. That’s what my blog is all about really, I want you to learn more about what’s going on during perimenopause and find tools that support you through this incredible, if sometimes challenging, transition. And you can do this by reading books about this subject, check out My top perimenopause books. Learning about the Hormonal changes during Perimenopause and how they affect you at different times during your cycle. What you can do to support yourself and your friends during this transition, like ways to improve your sleep Top 6 tips - Perimenopause and Sleep and how Yoga can help you today 3 reasons why you should practice yoga during Perimenopause.

Start right now.

1. Cancel something

2. Book something lovely in

3. Stare into space for a bit

4. And then order that perimenopause book

Lets grow Happier, Older and Wiser together ladies.

Love and hugs as always, Heather*

Top 6 tips - Perimenopause and Sleep

Waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to get back to sleep is a common experience during the perimenopausal years (unsure when this is, click here.)

Firstly please know that you are not alone. And also know that there are different tools you can use to help you though the emotionally and physically exhausting experience of disrupted sleep.

Here are my top 6 tips on how to cope with and hopefully improve your sleep and find more rest.

1. Acceptance Did you know that waking for a few hours in the middle of the night, known as biphasic sleep, is actually a very natural thing to do. In Medieval times (and before) everyone in the community would be awake for 2 hours in the night (usually between 11 and 1am), doing whatever they wanted, eating, household chores, chatting to family and friends (there was a lot of bed sharing going on!)

   So don’t worry, nighttime waking might not be normal for you, but it is normal, so don’t let it stress you out. If you’re awake, your awake. The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps' - BBC Future

2. No phones in bed Numerous studies have shown that turning off or stopping looking at hand held devices, particular phones 1.5 - 2hrs before you go to bed has a huge impact on how quickly you fall asleep and the quality of your sleep.

   If it’s hard for practical reasons to turn your phone off in the early evening. Try just not looking at it in bed and see how that helps. 6 Ways That Night-time Phone Use Destroys Your Sleep | Psychology Today Canada

3. Stick to a set wake up time Even at the weekends, the more you can stick to waking up at the same time the better your sleep will be as your body and especially your brain loves to follow a pattern.

   Establishing a regular sleep pattern helps improve the bodies circadian rhythm and leaves you feel well rested - good sleep is so important for good energy levels and mood. Even when life is busy don’t let this slip as it really serves you well. Consistent Wake-Up Time: Sleep’s Surprising MVP - Headspace

4. Meditate Whenever you can but especially before you go to bed, or at 2am when you wake up and can’t fall back to sleep, try meditation or Yoga Nidra. There’s loads of free classes online (hmmm breaks the phone rule though, life is nothing if it’s not contradictory!)

   Keeping the body in a calming meditative state, where you can tap into your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest,) helps to slow down your heart rate, breathing and helps you to feel calm and relaxed. Even if your not asleep you can rest deeply in meditation so when you do wake for the day at 6am you don’t feel exhausted.

   Also, if you meditate or practice Yoga Nidra during the day, it can give you a even brief period of deep rest which will boost your energy levels for the rest of the day.

5. Exercise and nutrition Think about eating well and exercising regularly. I highly recommend for nutrition you look to experts in the Menopause field like Lara Briden, Rachel Boon and Karen Newby. Women I’ve found to be great sources of accurate advice on eating well during perimenopause.

   And for exercise, well firstly do exercise, don’t worry if things aren’t quite the same as they used to be, your changing and that aerobics class isn’t going to do what it did for you in your 20’s. Gentle to moderate yoga is a wonderful practice to adopt at this time, when you find the right teacher you’ll find not only do you grow more flexible and stronger, it will also more peace and calm into your life, giving you the tools you need to enjoy your perimenopausal life.

   Think about when is the best time for you to exercise - they’re isn’t a one size fits all answer to this, here’s a link to a great article which will help you The Best Time of Day to Exercise for Sleep | Sleep Foundation although generally speaking don’t do crazy cardio and then expect to just drop off to sleep

6. Magnesium Is known to reduce cortisol, which is a stress hormone, levels and have a calming affect on the brain, which helps to improve our sleep.

   Try to eat magnesium rich foods, such as nuts, leafy greens, legumes, soy products (organic if you can) avocadoes, banana and even good quality dark choclate Foods rich in magnesium: 11 to eat for better sleep | Woman & Home

   Or you could consider taking a supplement (please get advice from a trusted source, ie a nutritionist as to a good supplement.)

There are more things I could add to this list, cut out alcohol (not a perimenopausal woman’s friend trust me) reduce caffeine intake, get out into daylight as soon as you can when you wake up, but these 6 are a great place to start and I’ve seen them support so many of my own yoga students to a place where they feel happier and more in control of their sleep and night-time waking’s.

Until next time, I hope you are enjoying growing Older, stepping into your Wisdom and finding deep Happiness.

With love,

Heather*

My top Perimenopause books

There are loads of great books about perimenopause out there. But these 4 are my favourites that I refer back to and recommend all the time. They’re in no particular order, so take a look at my brief summary and what I love about them and then grab yourself the one which most appeals to you (or 2, or 3, or all 4.) There are no paid links in this blog.

The Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden.

What I like:

• Great information to help you understand exactly what is going on during your perimenopausal years.

• Great information on a variety of symptoms, including causes, and what you can do to help yourself when experiencing them.

• A fantastic mix of science, nutrition, HRT and holistic advice which all comes together to give you back some control during these turbulant times.

Extra: Check our Lara’s website for a massive range of information on periods, perimenopause and menopause here.

Second Spring by Kate Codrington

What I like:

• An incredible holistic overview of the different stages of perimenopause, menopause and our post menopausal years.

• An honest and frank book with practical meditations, mantras and holistic practices you can easily use to support yourself.

• Filled with real life stories to help you deeply realise that you are not alone, far from it.

• This book offers guidance, like a best friend of a book, supporting you through these sometimes turbulent years.

• The hope. This is a time of transformation, not to be feared, but revered - I’m on board with that!

The Menopause Brain by Dr Lisa Mosconi

What I like:

• Key message that your not loosing your mind, quite the contrary, your brain is rewiring itself for a higher purpose - whoop!

• Science backing up a holistic approach to women’s health during the perimenopause and menopause

• Explaining what is going on and the deep connection between our hormones and our brain - fascinating stiuff!

• Deep dive on the benefits of hormonal and non hormonal therapies

• 100 pages on the importance of an all round approach to your health at this time - one size does not fit all and one aproach does not tend to reduce all your symptoms.

• This is a great book for giving you the tools and knowledge you need to make the best choices for you.

Extra: Check out Dr Mosconi’s Ted Talk: Lisa Mosconi: How menopause affects the brain | TED Talk

Wise Power, Red School, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer

What I like:

• A completely holistic approach to the perimenopause experience, but grounded in the reality of the experience too.

• Offering you guidance on how to cope and honour the emotional changes that occur

• Giving you hope and belief in yourself that even in the darkest of times, you will get through this and emerge more wonderful than every before.

• A framework in which to put your experience in (fluid as those frames may be) which allows you to truly experience the incredible change that is occurring in your body.

• This book empowers, honors, cherishes and celebrates the perimenopause years and beyond.

Extra: Check out their podcast for loads of great interviews and conversations around the perimenopause The Menstruality Podcast | Red School

In conclusion… every woman’s experience of the perimenopausal years is different, I could have recommended 20 books, I could have picked just 2. But I wanted to offer a range of books which would appeal to a range of women who all have their own needs, demands, desires and preferences.

I’d recommend if you can to choose one book from the above that immediately calls to you. And one that doesn’t.

Your brain is being rewired (which I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen to me) so open it up to something new, and you just might find something magical which help transforms your perimenopause experience.

Lets love growing Older, Wiser and Happier ladies,

Heather*

email me heather@deavilleyoga.com with your perimenopause book suggestions - I’d love to know them.

3 reasons why you should practice yoga during Perimenopause

Firstly yoga is fantastic for reducing stress, which can be at an all time high during perimenopause.

It’s quite likely that during your perimenopausal years, which could start in your mid 40’s (or sooner) and continue for up to an average of 3-7 years, that you are going to be busy working, raising a family and life is going to jam packed with work/life commitments.

Add into that mix achy joints, night sweats, anxiety, brain fog, disturbed sleep, and any number of perimenopause symptoms (find a list here: What is Perimenopause?) And, well, then you have the perfect storm for stress.

Yoga is a great antidote to stress, many forms of yogic breathing, referred to as pranayama, are specifically designed to help us release stress from the body, bringing us into a calm state of rest and digest. It does this by activating what is known as our parasympathic nervous system. This 20 minute free class is specifically designed to help reduce your stress levels, so give it a go.

Secondly, yoga is also wonderful for reducing feelings of anxiety, which might pop up from out of no where, which feels unnerving to say the least. I remember frequently wondering why on earth I felt anxious when they was seemingly no real reason.

As I learnt more about the hormonal changes during perimenopause, check out my blog on these here. I started to understand that it was these hormonal shifts that were causing my anxiety, which was a relief, but it didn’t mean those feelings just went away.

So I turned to my yoga practice once more. Moving gentle and kindly, and working with mantras like “It’s going to be okay” I found I was able to support myself through those days and weeks each cycle where I just couldn’t shake off my anxiety.

Yoga is designed to help us find a deeper connection to our bodies, minds and souls and when we do this we feel more grounded and centered, which helps those feelings of anxiety slip away. I’ve created a lovely free class for you to enjoy on YouTube here:

And thirdly, yoga is great for getting our joints moving, which helps to ease those common perimenopause aches and pains. I remember waking up some mornings and thinking, “oh my god, I feel like I’ve never even practiced yoga.” I was so stiff and everything ached.

I found that gentle rhythmical movements (like those in the class above) really helped to ease out my early morning aches and pains.

By gently rotating our joins we encourage blood and lymph (a fluid in the body that delivers nutrients and proteins to your muscles) to head to these areas and this really helps us to feel less achy. It’s especially important to do this before you get into a more challenging yoga practice, or before you go running as it helps to cushion and protect the joints.

With limited time I also regularly reached for this morning practice below:

Yoga can support you during the perimenopause transition in so many wonderful ways. In this blog I’ve touched on just 3 of hundreds, and I hope they help you. Heather*

What is Perimenopause?

On a clinical level perimenopause is the years leading up to you having had no period for 12 months. Then for one day you are in menopause, day 366 since your last period started. And then after that you are post menopausal, although you may have another period or bleed.

Perimenopause can be felt in the body and mind, showing up in an array of different symptoms. Some women will experience none of these, for some they’ll have a few and for other they can be debilitating.

It’s difficult to have a blood test to determine weather you are in perimenopause or not, because our hormone levels change from hour to hour. So in my opinion, the best way we can discover if we are in perimenopause by looking at our symptoms.

So what do perimenopause symptoms include?

Lets break them down into the body, physiological and the mind or emotions, psychological.

Possible psychological emotional/mind symptoms of perimenopause

• low mood

• anxiety

• depression

• rage

• anger

• brain fog (this falls into both physical and emotional symptoms)

• low libido (as does this)

  Possible bodily symptoms of perimenopause

• Abdominal pain

• bloating

• constipation

• diarrhea

• altered sense of smell/taste

• heavy or light bleeding

• brown discharge

• spotting

• breast tenderness

• brittle nails

• dizziness

• difficulty breathing

• dry eyes

• dry/ itchy skin

• oral health problems

• hearing issues

• heart palpitations

• heartburn

• hot flushes

• night sweats

• joint pain

• muscle pain

• migraines

• pelvic floor problems

• overactive bladder

• vaginal prolapse

• urinary tract

• Infections

• vaginal dryness

And this is by no means exhaustive.

You can also see how the two could very much interact with one another. If your bleeding heavily and in terrible pain with vaginal dryness, its quite likely that would affect your mood.

And likewise, if your mood is low and you lack the motivation to leave the house, its highly like that you could end up suffering with joint and muscular pains from a lack of gentle movement. Note the word gentle here. Perimenopause is not the time for extreme exercise in my opinion, but gentle to moderate exercise with weight and resistance training could be just what you need, to support you physically and emotionally through this time of transition and change.

So now you know what PERIMENOPAUSE is. How it may look, feel and show up in your body. Next week in my blog we’ll be exploring the why. Why are these symptoms occurring, what is going on?

Thanks for reading, Heather*

Perimenopause and me

To start the story of my perimenopause journey in many ways I need to travel back into my early teens when my periods started and the role of hormones in my day to day life became more obvious.

As a child of the 80’s periods weren’t really talked about that much and the emotional changes that can occur were never mentioned, but I had all the practical info and like most girls cracked on with it.

In some ways I was lucky, I had light, irregular periods (no 28 day cycle for me) and I didn’t feel that they had a huge impact on my day to day life. Although I knew I was never going to wear white and go rollerblading when I had my period, who remembers those adds!

I was lucky, pregnancy came easily in my 30’s and it was only really towards my late 30’s that I started to experience any symptoms in relation to my periods.

It started with heavy bleeding and periods coming quicker and faster. My periods were so heavy I had to spend the day in bed. These hormonal changes, which I know now were the early signs of perimenopause, soon developed into low moods, anxiety, achy joints, crying uncontrollably, headaches, exhaustion and memory problems. I found it terrifying not to be able to explain how I felt, or equally remember the word windowsill (bit of wood under the window anyone?)

It’s hard to think back to how awful I felt some days, I’ve almost forgotten how bad it was now that I’ve educated myself, made pretty small but dramatic life changes (slowly and one at a time.)

I’ve now grasped this life change with both hands. But it was awful, it really was. And if you’re going through something similar my heart reaches out to you. You will be okay. With time and support, you will.

In some ways I’m now thankful for this journey, I’m happier than I’ve ever been, I feel present and alive and I have a much stronger sense of who I am and what it is I care about than every before.

But the roads been a bumpy one and a long one and I’m by no means at its end. But over the next few weeks, months and years I’m going to share my story here on my blog and everything I have learnt with you. In the hope that it will help. I really hope it does.

Please reach out to me if you’re struggling through this time.

Heather*

email heather@deavilleyoga.com