
Understanding the different phases of the Change
PHASE 1
PERIMENOPAUSE is TRANSITION
Perimenopause, this first phase in your menopausal transition, can begin as early as ten years before you officially enter Menopause. This stage is ushered in by a change in hormone levels, starting with falling progesterone.
As a result, you may notice common symptoms like mood swings, restless sleep or trouble falling asleep, night sweats, changes in skin and hair, or a loss of energy. You may also experience irregular periods or heavier or lighter bleeding.
It is also a time of inner transformation, where you are being called to pay closer attention to the myriad of emotions arising and to learn how you can better care for yourself, establish healthy boundaries and shed layers that no longer serve. You are transitioning into a new phase of your life.
PHASE 2
MENOPAUSE is INITIATION
Women enter Menopause once they have gone a full 12 months without a period.
The decline in oestrogen and progesterone can bring about a bout of new symptoms: from loss of libido and painful sex due to a lack of vaginal lubrication, to loss of skin moisture, shifts in mood, trouble concentrating, depression, fatigue, hot flashes, headaches, and insomnia, amongst others.
Menopause is an Initiation and these are seldom easy, as they force upon us a shift in identity, a change in how we see ourselves and our surroundings. Yet from this rite of passage, you can arise with a renewed sense of self and of your place and role in the world. You are being invited to step over the threshold and embrace the inner and outer changes, welcoming your wise woman years.
PHASE 3
POSTMENOPAUSE is INTEGRATION
You have arrived on the other side and while your body still needs support in Postmenopause, you have already moved through the greatest challenges of the menopausal transition.
This is the time to integrate everything you have learnt about yourself and enter a new chapter of your life!