The journey of menopause can disturb our equilibrium. We may find ourselves subject to new fears and anxieties that seem to arise from nowhere. We are changing and growing, our lives are changing, our bodies and psyches are changing ~ what are the best tools for coping with this change with equanimity?

Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool. This simple form of meditation has been shown clinically to reduce stress and have a positive impact on our health, both emotional and physical. I have had an on-again-off-again meditation practice for years, and I know that when it is ON, when I am committed to a daily practice, even if it’s just ten minutes, I feel more resilient, stronger, and more able to cope with change.

In our Vivid Menopause Live Retreats, we start each day with mindfulness meditation. The skills are very simple to learn. People often think that meditation requires emptying your mind. This is not the case. Mindfulness meditation is simply the practice of “being with.” We sit, and as we sit we cultivate the skill of releasing, rather than clinging to, each thought and feeling. We let the thoughts surface and fade, without following them, without attaching to them, without judging them, without reacting to them.

This can be very uncomfortable. Meditation fosters the ability to relax, but it is not in itself relaxing. In fact it can be agitating. But we simply sit with what is. Eventually this gives us greater ability to be with whatever arises in our lives, without judgement, without clinging, without reaction.

A daily practice of even five or ten minutes of sitting can have a significant impact on your sense of well-being and your inner resilience.

xo
Love
Bronwyn