I am sharing this after so much pondering; after all, I am not a doctor, nor an expert, nor a nutritionist. I am simply a woman approaching 51, experiencing some changes in my body, and trying to figure it all out—just like so many other women. I am shy of my 51st birthday, and aging has been a good process for me overall. Growing up and working as a model for most of my life, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to take care of myself and be very in touch with my physical body. After all, being “out of shape” was never really a choice. You were expected to always be “ready” for the next photoshoot, always in your best form. And of course, the definition of “your best form” has changed dramatically over the decades. From the heroin-chic, Kate Moss-inspired grunge era of the 90s to the more curvaceous era brought to us by Gisele Bündchen and beyond. Whatever the “era” is now. After moving to Arizona in 2010, modeling took a bit of a backseat, and I dove more deeply into yoga. I had always practiced yoga, even while traveling in my 20s. It wasn’t the “hit” that it is today, and a lot of people imagined yoga as mostly meditation. Most of my friends would declare it “boring” before even knowing exactly what I was doing. While the modeling market took a little break, I immersed myself in the very interesting world of yoga. In 2014, I took a few of my first yoga teacher trainings with YogaFit, even before choosing my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) with LifePower Yoga at Life Time Fitness. And somewhere along the way, I heard about menopause. Almost like one hears about a distant cousin that no one really knows. Meh. It’s years away. Not something to worry about. Until suddenly…it isn't.
So, what has changed?
I have almost always eaten relatively healthy. With the occasional lactose intolerance and the small amount of carbohydrates I used to eat—again, going back to that whole “always ready for modeling” mentality—I never spent much time worrying about the weight of my food choices. Sugar was another story. I’ve always enjoyed it, and lately I have become much more aware of how certain foods affect the way I feel and sleep. I have had to pay much more attention to my sugar intake and to the connection between what I eat and how I feel throughout the night. And sleep? Well, let’s talk about that. Anyone up for a pickleball game at 2 a.m.? Curiously, I seem to have a ton of energy at that time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last me all day. As a salad lover, I have always tried to keep some sort of balance in my life. But having to consciously limit sugar lately has been, frankly, a little sad.
And then there are the hot flashes.
It wouldn’t be a blog about menopause if I didn’t mention hot flashes. We tend to imagine them like a commercial for menopause medication: a woman waking up completely drenched, looking as though she has created a small puddle in her own mattress. Face and body as red as a pepper. My experience, at least so far, has been much less dramatic. For me, it is usually a fire that starts somewhere inside my chest and spreads through my body. Yes, I sweat. But not profusely. And I certainly wouldn't presume to speak for other women. Everyone’s experience is different. Mood swings? I’ve always had them. Brazilian? Check. Mood swings? Check. So perhaps menopause gets a little unfairly blamed for that one.
Where does yoga fit into all of this?
For me, yoga has been less about “fixing” menopause and much more about helping me navigate it. Yoga has taught me patience. It has taught me to slow down when I want to react. To breathe when I am frustrated. To notice what is happening in my body instead of immediately fighting against it. And maybe that is one of the greatest gifts yoga can offer us as we age. Our bodies change. They are supposed to change. Instead of complaining, I am trying to count my blessings. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I am celebrating the fact that my beautiful body is getting stronger despite—or perhaps because of—my age. I am blessed to be making new friends on the pickleball court every day and challenging shots that, just two years ago, seemed impossible to me. I am challenging my mind by learning a new language every day, although sometimes I get so confused about what a word means and, more importantly, which language it belongs to. And I am learning that getting older doesn't necessarily mean doing less. Sometimes it means discovering completely new things you are capable of doing.
There is life after menopause.
I had to rewrite a big part of this blog because I lost the original. Yes, technologically impaired here. But perhaps losing it gave me the necessary room to put down something a little more meaningful. Because if there is one thing I hope you take away from reading this, it is this: There is plenty of life after menopause. There is power. There is beauty. There is strength. There are new friendships, new challenges, new things to learn, new places to go, and, hopefully, many more things to accomplish.
