In or approaching menopause? Do you really know how to take care of yourself during menopause? Menopause is a time when you’ll find out how much you really love yourself as a woman.
Menopause is a life-changing experience. Check out these 7 absolutely important concepts of how to take care of yourself during menopause. I wish I had this information when I was approaching menopause. So glad I can share this with you!
7 Important Tips For Mastering Menopause
1. No “Out of Order Sign” On Your Private Parts
It’s easy to just let the gravity of aging bring you down. We didn’t earn that grey hair and wrinkles for nothing! But don’t lose your sexual vitality. You don’t have to have the sex drive of a 20 or 30-year-old. But do those things that keep your female reproductive area healthy.
And this also doesn’t mean you have to have a sexual partner to keep your feminine parts alive and well. Over fifty percent of the population is single. Many women spend their later years alone. This doesn’t mean you have to be a dried up prune. Your female parts are still important. Don’t put an out of order sign on them. Create a new kind of sensuality and sexuality for yourself. Connect to your feminine energy.
Women of menopausal age aren’t designed to have what I call biological sex. Our bodies want nourishment. We need to take care of our sensuality and sexuality during menopause. Make menopause more sexy but in a whole new way. Learn nourishing practices that turn your sexual energy into vitality.
I’ve been using my yoni egg for over 12 years and have enjoyed the long-term benefits. It’s a practice I learned from Dr. Saida Desilets. I love how this practice has supported my female reproductive organs. If you’re not familiar with the yoni egg check out my free jade/yoni egg class.
To take care of yourself during menopause is to also take care of your female parts. They don’t have to go dormant. They want to be nurtured. And when they are it makes menopause an even more special time of life.
2. Take Care Of Yourself During Menopause By Detoxing
On a completely different note. Some of the symptoms of hormone imbalance during perimenopause and menopause are due to accumulated toxins in the body. A cleanse is a great way to free yourself of accumulated toxins that are getting you off balance.
If you’ve never done a cleanse, now is the time. If you feel resistance to the idea of a cleanse, I want you to know the benefits are immediate! And that’s why I recommend it as the first step. Not only will you eliminate environmental toxins that are detrimental to your health, but you can also balance your hormones in the process.
Estrogen is metabolized through the detoxification pathways in the liver. If you’re filled with years of environmental toxins (and most of us are) your estrogen metabolizing pathways are less than optimal, creating metabolites that have negative effects on your body. Doing a cleanse supports your liver and helps metabolize estrogen through the “good” pathways. This reduces the production of unwanted metabolites that can cause those uncomfortable menopausal symptoms.
A whole foods, anti-inflammatory cleanse is your kick-start to implementing healthy habits and establishing a foundation for better health during menopause. Each time you cleanse, good habits are reinforced and more easily incorporated into your daily routine. If you have never done a cleanse, make sure you first get the education, support, and guidance you need.
Taking care of yourself during menopause by doing a cleanse could eliminate most of your symptoms!
Then you may need only minor “tweaking” with diet and supplements to feel your best. After the detox period, you’ll find yourself naturally focusing on eating healthy, and avoiding inflammatory foods. The bad eating habits fall away much easier, and good habits become normal. It’s a beautiful thing to experience because you’re no longer “dieting”.
The fastest way to change your consciousness is to change your food. Getting toxic build up out of your body is a beautiful way to take care of yourself during menopause. And the journey continues by continuing to eat clean.
3. “Clean” Eating is the Foundation of Good Care During Menopause
You’ll age much more gracefully and have fewer health issues if you commit to clean eating. I’ll admit that it takes work to eat clean in today’s world. Wherever we go, we’re inundated by processed and packaged food, sugary snacks, and luscious lattes. Socializing is often centered around food. It can be a challenge to avoid the temptations.
Don’t beat yourself up regarding your food choices wishing you could be the perfect healthy eater. I support the 80/20 rule. Taking care of yourself during menopause involves being easy on yourself. If you can keep your health intact and your symptoms at bay by eating clean 80 percent of the time, then it’s okay to indulge now and then, especially if it helps you stay sane.
The reality is that alcohol and caffeine can easily trigger hot flashes. As much as you may enjoy these beverages they are not taking care of you in the way your body wants and needs. If it is too hard to do without alcohol and/or caffeine make sure you at least do them in moderation. Your body will be much happier.
As you get older you’ll find it is easier to gain weight. You need to be okay with that. Don’t live your life struggling to have the same figure as when you were in your twenties. Cultivating a deeper sense of body acceptance is an important part of how to take care of yourself during menopause.
With that said, maintaining a healthy weight is important. Excess body fat is inflammatory. And reducing inflammation is one of the best things you can do during menopause. So learn to eat less but don’t get discouraged if you seem to have more belly fat than before. It’s your body’s way of handling hormones.
4. Support Yourself With Supplements
The vitamin business is a multi-billion dollar industry however you still need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. Taking supplements is a controversial subject for some, but giving yourself extra nutritional support during menopause is important. It’s another easy way to take care of yourself during menopause. Just make sure you take high-quality supplements. The truth is that even if you have a healthy diet it’s still challenging to get all the vitamins and minerals you need, especially during menopause.
There are multiple reasons for this. Our soil is depleted. For example, the amount of nutrients in most of our vegetables today is not the same as it was 25 years ago. For food storage and transportation, fruits and vegetables are picked before they’re ripe, reducing nutrient content.
We’re also exposed to more toxins than ever before, including the toxic effects of chronic stress. And stress depletes vitamins and minerals in your body, leading once again to poor functioning of your detoxification pathways. Gut issues are also common and can affect your ability to digest food and absorb nutrients. Many women approach menopause not realizing how depleted they are. Having raised kids or focused on a career (or both!), it’s time to receive support and really take care of yourself during menopause.
Now more than ever is the time to give yourself extra support through good nutrition. Often, all a woman needs is supplemental nutrition.
Here are the basic supplements to take care of yourself during menopause:
- Quality multivitamin
- B complex
- Fish oil (omegas)
- Vitamin D
- Probiotic
5. Exercise Your Beautiful Body
Menopause is not a time to become stagnant. Whether you’re a regular exerciser or not, movement in any form is important. Stretching, walking, dancing, doing yoga. Move every day and create a regular routine. You’ll notice the difference. When you exercise your energy, mood and sleep will improve. And don’t avoid breaking a sweat. Sweating releases toxins and improves circulation. It’s also great for your lymphatic system.
Exercise also helps you to BE in your body and not just hanging out in your head. This is what my teachings are all about — BEING IN YOUR BODY. Menopause is a time when your physical body goes through changes. It’s easy to think of this time as a period when you’re getting old and feeling like your body is breaking down. Maybe even experiencing more aches and pains making you want to disconnect from your body.
Don’t buy into any of it. Embrace your body! It’s important to develop a deeper sense of self-love and honoring of your “aging” body. See your exercise routine as something nourishing and enjoyable. This will serve you well during menopause and beyond.
6. Slow Down and Cultivate Calm
Do you live your life on the go? Chronic stress has been linked to just about every health problem there is. When under stress, your body goes into “fight-or-flight” mode causing physiologic changes such as increased heart rate and increased blood supply to your brain and muscles. This is great when you’re running from a saber-tooth tiger, but not so good in today’s world where many of us are under chronic stress, and essentially in a constant state of fight-or-flight. Don’t take this statement lightly. What are you running from?
The stress hormone cortisol, while necessary for normal functioning, can wreak havoc when chronically elevated by a stressful lifestyle. Chronic high cortisol production can contribute to problems such as weight gain (especially around your belly), anxiety, insomnia, and hormone imbalance.
Also, when you’re in a constant state of fight-or-flight, your body forgets how to “rest-and-digest”, which should be our normal state of being and is important for balancing your hormones. Slow down, stop hurrying and start cultivating more calm in your life.
Stay calm by:
- Making sleep a priority.
- Getting regular massages.
- Using guided meditations regularly.
- Practicing deep breathing exercises.
- Making you important.
7. Gratitude Is a Great Way To Take Care Of Yourself During Menopause
Attitude everything. Gratitude is grace. If you want to stay “beautiful” as you live out your menopausal years start being thankful for your life. This is a time of life when we look back over our lives. Don’t wallow in regrets or past hurts.
Stay positive and keep your mental chatter in check. Are your belief systems serving you? And what is your attitude towards menopause and aging?
Menopause is a rite of passage and not a medical condition that needs to be fixed. Don’t think about menopause as something negative. You earned it and the wisdom it is bestowing on you. It’s an opportunity to shed the old and allow the new you to emerge. Enjoy the process, make it sacred and let it happen. Your attitude and how you embrace this change can profoundly impact your experience of menopause and deepen your relationship with yourself. It is truly a sacred time to refine how you take care of yourself.
Create a “gratitude practice”. Maybe having a gratitude journal or counting your blessings before going to sleep at night or first thing in the morning. Make gratitude part of your daily life.
Keep all of these in mind
In order to take care of yourself during menopause, start with a detoxifying cleanse, develop healthy eating habits, make sure you’re getting adequate nutritional supplementation, exercise regularly, create a calm lifestyle, develop a deeper sense of gratitude and nurture your female parts.
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I’m Anna-Thea, an author and Divine Feminine Educator. I support women in reclaiming their bodies as sacred. I have easy to use online courses that give you the tools you need to create a more fulfilling life. From the comfort of your own home, you’ll get the know-how and learn the art of really nurturing your feminine soul.
This article was originally published on my website at: https://annathea.org/
If you would like to see the original article with any updates please visit: https://annathea.org/how-to-take-care-of-yourself-during-menopause
