Supporting Menopausal Women

Mid life and especially the menopause years, are today’s new 20 something… and the 50s are the new 30s! Midlife is the time for our cool, cougar, sexy years. The years where wisdom, time and confidence should be at an all time high. We all want to look like Jo L surely? Let me tell you that not all women feel this way. Many feel ashamed of their sweating for example, embarrassed about their weight gain and some are dehydrated due to the volume of tears being shed. (a joke, not a science backed statement) Not to mention the red mist rage that descends like a waterfall. So we are supporting menopausal woman wherever she might be.

WonderDrug

The good news is that we can help make this transition so much lovelier. Exercise is a wonder drug and physical activity can reduce many of the symptoms that can arise during peri-menopause years.

So what can we do to support or adapt to women doing through the menopausal years? Firstly we hate the phrase “women of an age” Women of an age hate that phrase! It belittles them and reminds them that they are crossing over into the land of beige and getting older. So however you refer to menopause, please avoid anything that sounds like an advert for Tena ladies. The average age is 51 for Menopause and she could be presenting with symptoms (peri-menopause) for 10 years prior to this. 1 in 4 women suffer with debilitating symptoms. This is the fastest growing population. There are more menopausal women than you can shake a broomstick at in our communities and this is a time for you to enjoy our special program for MidLife.

Caterpillar to Beautiful Butterfly

Inside her body, things are changing and the classic is, the bladder and her periods. Without sounding that peri menopause is something out of a psychological thriller/horror film. The more we understand what could happen, the more power we have to support each other. Sneezing and leaking, jumping and leaking, coughing and leaking are all common (not necessarily) normal so high impact sessions maybe have a huge impact on the changing body. In addition there becomes an element of fear that women smell of wee! This is a genuine fear.

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Whilst we are talking leaking, let’s talk periods and flooding. Another erratic element of peri menopause. Some (notice I am speaking generically), some women’s periods change, irregular, heavy and some start passing clots. Be prepared. So when taking part in your core workouts, may be try adapting from crunches to some more static work, planks, balance and standing pelvic floor work. She needs her confidence and posture is a great way to help her stand in her own power.

Hormones

As hormones change the viability of tissue in the pelvic floor, vagina and bowel, they can become weak and some women can prolapse. Low impact sessions with higher impact variations for those not affected can be useful. Not to mention that joints can feel more sensitive or stiffer… and then comes the frustration… “I used to be able to do that, move that way”

Loss of Confidence

The big one is losing our confidence. 29% in the workplace lose their confidence as a result of menopausal symptoms. Not to mention a loss of libido. Helping and supporting women to find their inner sassiness is such an empowering thing to do. Women need to feel liberated from their sadness, allowed to throw their arms into the air, lose control for a moment, let them find themselves in the joy of rhythm and great tunes that they can sing along too. Body confidence programmes are fantastic and they help women to love themselves again – do more of that, especially in these difficult times. Learn to feel sexy, stand in her own power and shine. (that’s a metaphor for feeling fabulous not a hot flush).

Mind Body Work

So this is a time for Pilates and mind and body work. A time where stress needs to be managed. Pelvic floor certainly needs training and an opportunity for her to connect mind with body using breathing, mindfulness and or meditation. Mind and Body work like Pilability help with restoring hormonal health and happiness.

Talk About it

Let the conversation flow and grow. Talk about it. Talk about women’s health in your conversations. Share information to support women who may be in this phase of their life. Some women are going through menopause as a result of cancer or surgery.

Menopause is no longer a taboo subject. The more we understand it the better we can all offer support. iCareiMove offer three types of Menopause training. We keep it simple with the fundamentals of menopause with Menopause Warriors, Manopause for Men and Managers and finally Menopause First Aid, which offers support around policy writing and management and business support. We can include movement session such as Pilates and Pilability which addresses movement and mobility for mid life and beyond.

Your Take Away

Sometimes it all feels a little technical and worrying, once empowered just sit back and watch women transform. Top tips;

Eat well – reduce processed food and enjoy whole nutricious food

Rest well – fatigue can be a thing, take naps

Laugh and don’t stop laughing – remember this.

Have loads of orgasms – your vagina is a muscle too! ?

There is no greater power in the world than the zest of a postmenopausal woman

Anon

If you want to join our Menopause Courses, contact us on info@icareimove.com or call on 0800 0541 118 for more information.

You can find Helen and the team at iCareiMove across all social platforms and they are always happy to talk through supporting you to stay well, happy and empowered.

Recently published NICE guideline on Diagnosis and Management of the Menopause.