Awakened Conscious Conversations
Healing the world one episode at a time by offering realistic solutions to the journey of life. Both self hosted ( By The Gentle Yoga Warrior) and guest episodes.
Many of our guests have overcome significant obstacles and transformed their lives.
Rich with deep talks and solo endeavours, often offering tips on living a more conscious life.
Many episodes include a bonus optional meditation!
Awakened Conscious Conversations
Embracing Menopause: Wisdom, Empowerment, and Nature's Healing
Ever considered how powerful menopause can be in shaping a new chapter of life? Join me as I share my personal journey through this natural transition, revealing how it can lead to newfound wisdom and empowerment. Whether you're experiencing menopause firsthand or supporting someone who is, this episode offers valuable insights into managing symptoms and understanding the emotional and physical changes involved. With years of hormonal work and lifestyle tweaks, my journey through menopause was relatively smooth, and I’m eager to share practical advice on nutrition, exercise, and maintaining mental health with love, compassion, and a touch of humor.
Take a calming walk through a forest with our guided meditation, designed to bring the healing essence of nature into your life. Let the soothing sounds of nature help you embrace change and encourage personal growth, as you take small steps outside your comfort zone. Reflect on your goals, and understand how even minor adjustments can lead to greater ease and well-being. This episode is your guide to navigating menopause gracefully, with practical tips and heartfelt stories that remind us all to approach this phase with kindness and curiosity.
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Perfect. So I recorded this earlier today, talked for half an hour and for some reason, the system I use at the time they decided not to record it. So here is take two. So today I'm going to do a very special show and please hear me out if this is not something that relates to you. I really feel like it's still something worth listening to because there's bound to be someone in your life going through this. I'm going to talk about menopause, so maybe it's got absolutely nothing to do with you, but I'm sure there definitely will be someone in your life and I think it's worth listening to because you have a deeper understanding of what, what is happening to your, your relative, your colleague, your partner, etc. Your mother.
Speaker 1:And the menopause has often come in the past of a lot of stigma and judgment and this kind of strange way of looking at older women. To me, since even since I was a young girl, I've always revered older women, I think when they're in their power and they are doing something that's inspiring other generations like I know ladies in their 80s that are still working and still inspiring people they are like kind of so special and yet it's just like the judgment of older women is. In many ways it's sad because in some communities they're seen as the wisdom keepers and I really feel that is a time, and it's a different way to look at menopause, as a time where you become really kind of almost in your mystical power, in the sense that your body's going through this massive transition, either pre-post or right in the heart of your menopause, and once you come up, liver end you feel like you're kind of free, this massive sense of relief and massive sense of being. Now I'm lucky enough to have made the transition in the last year, and without all the symptoms. Now don't get me wrong. People say my friends have said to me oh, you've sailed through it. I wouldn't say sailing was quite the right terminology, for whatever reason.
Speaker 1:I did a lot of work on my hormones for about 10 years, trying to become a mother, which nearly happened for me. Sometimes fate gets in the way. No matter what you do, you can't change situations, and then you can either kind of be a victim or you can turn that around for something else and for whatever reason. I went through this journey, which wasn't particularly easy, but then I learned so much about hormones and I think because I applied those to my lifestyle from a younger age. I think I almost got given a break by the universe and just thought, actually I'm going to give the Gentle Yoga Warrior an easier time as she transitions through this. And I haven't had the extreme, the extreme symptoms, but I have done a lot of research and with the goal of helping other people who are going through this.
Speaker 1:Just to let you know, I'm not here to to kind of replace any medical advice or anything like this. I'm not a qualified doctor or anything like this. I'm just sharing you my story and, as always, whatever information you get, you can choose for yourself which is the best for you. My teacher always said do not follow anything blindly, and I think that is a very true saying and a very good mantra to have. So take from what I say what finds you find inspiring, what you want to explore, and things that you don't agree with. You don't need to agree with me.
Speaker 1:So when we go through menopause, the body starts to change in so many ways that we lose estrogen, progestin, the follicle-stimulating hormones, all that kind of stuff, and as the body and brain reconfigurates itself, we can have kind of. We have some extreme, some extreme symptoms, like. I know some women that have extreme hot flushes and night sweats, which I can imagine can be very, very uncomfortable. The most I've had to do to any kind of sweating is if I eat dark chocolate and have green tea before bed. It can cause my forehead to perspire a bit so I could sit there and think, oh, war is me. But instead I just don't have dark chocolate and green tea before bed. I'll have it occasionally during the day where it doesn't have such of an impact. And if you're listening to this and menopause, like I said, is not, is nothing to do with it's nothing, not something that's you're going through it's really worth listening to this and then you can understand your loved ones a bit more.
Speaker 1:So, knowing your trigger foods. So sweet things play havoc with the body, processed foods a lot. Well, a lot of the time, rather, we're not getting enough of the things that we need. So leafy greens provide a lot of B vitamins. We definitely need amigas at this time, be it the vegan variety, from like things like starflower oil or the fish variety. There's a lot of choice out there. Go and speak to your, your health food shop, your naturopath, your doctor will do. In the uk I'm sure there's similar services elsewhere will give you a free blood test, like an annual checkup, and they can test your vitamin levels and then you can see what vitamins you're lacking in. If you go on the menopausal society website, they say about vitamin d I know that helps with our bone health vitamin e as well. Vitamin c again. Check what vitamins you're lacking in in punches, where they eat a lot of oily fish and iodine. They don't seem to have the problem so much. So generally there's a lot of iodine that's also lacking in people's diets as well.
Speaker 1:Keeping hydrated Hydration helps our body in so many ways and there's a lot of mental health things that can happen due to menopause depression, anxiety, overwhelmment, feeling isolated. The list goes on and on. So things like hydration, getting the support you need, things like mind spring to mind. Talking to people, maybe join a menopausal group where they will understand what you're going through. Keeping a sense of humor that is my number one tip. Keeping a sense of humor in all humour that is my number one tip. Keeping a sense of humour in all Some days, right, you might feel so calm, and other days, everything that anyone says makes you feel a bit annoyed inside, or some days you may feel weepy, overwhelmed and perhaps that you're feeling a bit kind of oh, you tried on your jeans and then your waist has got a bit bigger because the oestrogen, when we've lost it, it kind of the body stores it around the middle, which can be. So, basically, because of the decline in oestrogen levels, it shifts the fat and can cause it to accumulate around the stomach and sometimes the buttocks, so production levels decrease, your metabolism can slow down, loss of muscle mass, which can be a thing. I found that my I always be super strong and then I had some injuries just before menopause and then it's taken my it's taken me about six months to get about 80 percent of my strength back and I realize now that I have to incorporate more strength into my workout.
Speaker 1:But I have my opinion on exercise is that you don't have to like spend hours at the gym every day. I would even be prudent to say that 25 minutes each day would be a good level of exercise. But again, your gym, your health advisor, there's not one shoe fits all. But I found for myself doing 25 minute workouts and then just doing a couple of one hour ones each week helps me. I find yoga, bar, pilates, walking and some cardio helps me as well. And then obviously lifestyle factors like exercise. As we get older, I think we should be exercising more, not less. When I mean more is more frequently, rather than kind of not exercising. Just I see it as a car like. I think it's like the body rusts. We let the body rust and decay if we don't exercise. It's like letting the body rust and decay if we don't exercise. It's like letting the body rust and decay in my opinion.
Speaker 1:So another common symptom is hot flushes. Like there's no like as far as I have the research I've done, I can't see there's any specific factor that's caused it. But they do think it could be to do with, like the decrease in estrogen levels, the fluctuations from hormones. It could be to do with, like the decrease in estrogen levels, the fluctuations from hormones. So the hyperfamilis, which plays a crucial role in regulating our body temperature etc. Goes through this kind of, I'd say like a metamorphosis when we go through our menopause, with the declining of, like our estrogen levels etc. So there is some a school of thought that that may be causing a hot flush, which is just why it kind of reconfigurates itself and I know someone's really suffered from it. So please go and see your medical practitioner if you're really suffering during the menopause. I'm sharing you from my kind of holistic approach but again, there is absolutely no judgment. I hate the way women are judged like you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.
Speaker 1:You go through this the method that suits you, with kind of love and compassion. You know, as you go through menopause you may find like you become more sensitive to like foods and, um, you have increased sugar cravings. But the sugar can actually make your symptoms worse, more likely to kind of exaggerate your hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings. There's increased level of diabetes, hormone fluctuations. So trying to choose a low glycemic index diet is good. So kind of whole grain, starchy foods and stuff rather than refined sugar.
Speaker 1:Have a nice amount of water to drink and just try and be a bit more kind and loving towards yourself. And like going for, like taking we'll get back to the bit, miss things, but I wouldn't say like take everything at once. I would work with like someone who knows vitamins, like a naturopath or someone like that. There has been studies that things like saint john's walk can help reduce mood swings and help calm the being. Um, I drink it occasionally at night as a tea, but again work with a herbologist to kind of know the right levels. Vitamin d is so crucial for our bones, especially in the uk you might be listening to this in a country where you get lots of vitamin d and that's going to help, but in this country we don't get so much of it. So taking a vitamin d supplement magnesium also is supposed to be very good for us during this time, calcium being like an obvious one. I've never tried it myself, but I have heard that wild yam creams can help.
Speaker 1:Um is a hormone therapy for menopause. However, I can't talk from experience of that. So that's just a few ideas of things that are worth exploring, and there are some great websites out there as well. If you look around, there's some great websites the Menopausal Society. There's a website called. There's an app called Preppy, which has lots of advice on menopause as well, which will be of help, I am sure, and very important with the mental health thing is to feel completely supported.
Speaker 1:So if you're living with someone who's got menopause and you're wondering why all of a sudden they're kind of being more quiet and stuff just showing some care and support and, if you're going through it, maybe explain to your loved ones why you are feeling the way you are. And also, the best thing is not to presume things. There's so many misunderstandings in life in general, regardless of menopause, uh, where people would presume that we know something. So if you presume something, I always think it's best to talk it out and then you kind of have more clarity and remember that, um, there's nothing's cut and dry. One person isn't right, another person's wrong, and vice versa. So that's why discussion's always, always a good thing to have.
Speaker 1:So I'll leave you now with a meditation to help soothe your being, and this is one of my favorite meditations, and it's a forest walk meditation, and you may think what's that got to do with menopause? It's such a beautiful thing because if you can't get out in nature, or even if you can and that and you want it, but do this one at home when you're sitting down, it just brings the essence of nature, and nature has a really healing effect on your being. So I hope you enjoy this a lot. Thank you for listening. Top tips for the meditation is either sit nice and cross-legged on the floor with a nice, straight back always nice to sit on a block or a cushion, or that's not available for you. You sit in a chair with the back nice and straight. The important thing is you're not slouching, and if you're doing something that requires your concentration, all you need to do is just pause this and you can reconvene the meditation at a time that is good for you.
Speaker 1:If you're doing the meditation, let's begin recorded. Live in a private forest and I'm surrounded by birds and you can hear the water from the brook and the little river behind me. I'm going to take some slow, calm, deep breaths and just start to take some steps Via your imagination. You can also be in a forest with all its noises, and as you breathe slowly, calmly and deeply in this forest, you start to take a little journey. So you're walking slowly on the ground and as you walk along in your imagination, you know that change is made up of steps, always done from a place of mindfulness, as much as we can, as much as we can. Sometimes we have to dive in deep and sometimes we have to step in slow, but whatever we do through life, everything happens by making the first step.
Speaker 1:So what first steps can you make today? What changes? Perhaps to slightly go outside one's comfort zone, which isn't always what we want to do. However, remember, there's more discomfort in life by not making changes that are for our good than by being in the comfort of unease. Disease in the body is when we're at disease.
Speaker 1:So what small steps can you make today as you walk through this imaginary forest Forest? The sound of the feet on the ground, the smell of the flowers, the wild flowers, the rustle of the little creatures, the song of the bird, what is your song? What is your goal? What is your mission in life? The textures of the leaves, the ground. What can you show up today to do that might be slightly discomfort but in the long term, will bring ease and whatever that is for you, perhaps as we come out of this meditation, as you inhale, as you exhale, you begin to make a note of it and with each day you can make a note of which step you can make towards that. It can be a little step, sometimes it's a giant leap, sometimes it's just a tiny micro step, but whatever it is, just step into your flow.
