Written by: Angela Warburton, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
How menopause can propel you to your greatest success and the top 3 things you need to do to harness this power.
Menopause isn’t something that has been welcomed with excitement or joy in our modern culture.
Neutral at best, dread with regularity.
Yet, in many cultures in the world this time is thought of as an honour and treated with deep respect and relief.
The modern narrative of menopause has distilled this stage down to a series of unpleasant symptoms that are preventing us from simply ‘getting on with it’ or disrupting our ability to operate and produce in the ways we are used to. Many women associate this time with a loss of impact, worth or value.
Approaching menopause from this angle is missing the wisdom and opportunity that this stage of life brings, and couldn’t be further from the truth.
Menopause marks a shift into a new stage of life, much like that of puberty, helping to move us from childhood into our menstruating reproductive years.
The menopause shift is like a funnel, stripping away the non-essential. It refocuses and reprioritizes our energy and resources to elongating life. Shifting the resources needed to have a cycle every month, and using them elsewhere.
There are many shifts and changes that happen during this time that are both natural, and beneficial to this third stage of life.
During this time our brain starts to change. It starts to shed and shift. We start letting go of the multitasking, all-seeing, all-doing brain of our past, and become a little more single focused.
We’re reprioritizing energy and focus and things that don’t feed our energy, don’t excite or interest us. If it doesn’t feel like a good use of our time, these will start to show up as irritations and straight up interrelations if we keep trying to plow through.
We literally start to become repelled by those things that are no longer in alignment with what’s most important to us.
We feel drawn towards the things that are life giving…even if they don’t make sense.
The Wisdom of Menopause
Menopause marks a time where we’ve lived, learned, we have gained experience and wisdom along with a greater sense of self.
So different than in puberty where we’re literally trying to find ourselves in the sea of hormones.
Once we hit menopause, we know ourselves – what we like or don’t like, what interests us, what drains us or what enlivens us.
And it is essential that you listen and honour this. Because, If you don’t listen, your body will start to not only talk to you, but can start to scream when the signs and symptoms of living in a way that is out of alignment become louder and louder.
Enter many of the symptoms we commonly associate with menopause in the Western world (hot flashes, brain fog, insomnia, irritability, hair loss and mood shifts, etc.).
These menopause symptoms are very common in our modern world, but not actually part of the natural flow of this transition. And certainly not inevitable.
In Eastern Medicine, this time of life is called Your Second Spring as it is literally like a rebirth. A time of renewed focus and clarity. A time of shifting priorities and realignment.
It can be freeing and enlivening as we shed the things of the past that our out of alignment.
But when we try to push through in old and outdated ways that are no longer serving us (even if they did in the past), we suffer.
Luckily, there are so many things you can do to harness the wisdom of this stage and ensure you feel well during the transition and beyond.
Top 3 ways you can harness the power and magic of menopause and reduce symptoms
1. Book time alone regularly – even if it’s just 20 minutes a day to start with.
Ideally, it gets to be longer stretches, but carving out time on your own is essential. And this isn’t time alone to DO things. This is time alone to simply Be.
The shedding process and recalibration that is part of this natural stage of life takes time.
The life that is calling you, the one that is in deep alignment with who you’re called to be in this next stage, needs time and space to be revealed.
If every second in the day is accounted for, or there is a relentless checklist in your mind of all the things you need to get done, there’s no space for your inner knowing and wise inner voice to be heard.
So take time, and ideally, try to include some of it in nature.
The chronic pushing and rushing is also the number one cause of hot flashes and many of the discomfort we commonly associate with this time.
When you create space for yourself, you will feel better.
2. Get curious, and use your body as a guidepost.
How do you feel when doing certain activities – Better or worse?
Who do you love to be around?
Who irritates you or leaves you feeling worse after you meet?
What jobs/tasks/things drain your energy? What enlivens you?
These are simple questions, but when you’re able to take the time to listen to what is feeding you and in alignment, and what is not feeding you, you’ll be able to slowly but surely shift your resource to those things the bring you energy and plug the ‘energy leaks’ on those that drain you.
3. Start saying NO more.
Our brain is shifting during the menopausal years, and our energy levels are different than when we were younger (if you hadn’t noticed). But when we approach menopause as a sort of energetic decluttering or cleaning house if you will, it can be a highly clarifying time that helps us to identify the things that need to go and the things that we want to stay. This alone can start to free up some precious energy
And yes, I know that your world is probably filled with many things that you have no idea of how to let go of. But the first step is recognizing.
Start practicing saying no to things that drain your energy.
Your body is going to let you know when something feels good, and when it doesn’t.
Hot flashes when you overstretch, or say yes when you mean no.
Sleepless nights when you’re eating or drinking something that just doesn’t work for your body.
Resentment when you do a task that maybe you could push through in the past, but truth be told, you really don’t want to do.
When you can honour these shifts and changes, you’ll naturally start to feel better.
Menopause is a call to change.
It’s a call to deepen leadership roles. It’s a call to honour your creative self. To live your most authentic life.
Menopause marks a culmination of your past experiences combined with your inner knowing and wisdom. And, when approached from this angle, it can propel you into living your most authentic, impactful and fulfilling life yet, in your Second Spring.
Angela Warburton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Angela is passionate about helping modern women transform their stories and experience of midlife, menopause, and aging. She supports women in living their most aligned, vibrant, and radiant lives.
She has over 25 years of experience in women's health and wellness. She combines her work in Traditional Chinese Medicine with Transformational Coaching, Nutrition, Women’s Leadership, Sacred Womb Work, Trauma Healing, and Applied Mindfulness.
As an educator, writer, speaker, workshop leader, and with highly customized 1:1 work, Angela empowers women and helps them integrate transformational shifts into their life, long term.
Angela infuses her work with deep compassion, humor, and as much joy as possible.
