Breathing Practices

Studies have shown that conscious breathing is a great tool for managing perimenopausal symptoms.

15 minutes twice a day can help to reduce hot flushes by 44% *

• Journal of the North American Menopause Society

Joint Releasing

Why would you do a regular joint releasing practice if you don’t have issues with your joints…..YET…..?

The loss of estrogen during perimenopause causes dryness in different parts of the body, one of which is the joints. All of our joints have fluid in them, which helps with easy and pain free movement.

The loss of fluid in our joints in gradual, so it often goes unnoticed until you begin to have substantial loss of movement, discomfort or even pain when you move.

Joint releasing exercises help to keep the joints moving pain free. You will not get the usual stretching sensation of yoga, as you are aiming for a different result. But combine it with a breathing practice which helps to calm the nervous system and you can create an enjoyable practice, that your body will thank you for in years to come.

Sleep

Broken sleep is one of the most common complaints of perimenopause. The effects of which can have a huge impact on our ability to function during the day. Broken sleep also exasperates some of the other symptoms of perimenopause, such as brain fog, inability to focus, feelings of anxiety, frustration and anger. So finding ways to help you get a restful sleep are so extremely important.

Relaxing Yoga

During perimenopause, most woman naturally levitate towards a more relaxing and restoring yoga practice. One that will help them feel relaxed and calm, while also not generating anymore unwanted heat in the body!

A yoga style that is created to focus on calming the nervous system, finding single focus of the mind and reducing feelings of tension in the body are all going to help.

Hot in the Kitchen

Aryvedic medicine (and backed by Harvard Studies) tells us that what we eat and drink impacts hot flushes. So try to reduce (or avoid) hot drinks and spicy foods.

Supplements

Magnesium is well known for helping muscles relax, and taking Magnesium supplements an hour before bed may help relax the muscles which can settle you to sleep (consult with your health care practitioner )

Journals

Some people find writing down all of the thoughts whirling around inside before bed into a journal is helpful. Like a mental download. Other people, like myself, are not fans of this technique, but give it a try and see if it works for you.

Daily Morning Exercise

Avoid exercising in the heat of the day, if you are someone who struggles with hot flushes. The ideal time to exercise to help with sleep is 7AM. A gentle walk is the perfect form of exercise. Studies have proven that exercising earlier affects your blood pressure in a beneficial way 15-20 hours later, which promotes good sleep *1

Exercising at 7am may shift your body clock earlier, meaning you’ll feel more alert in the morning and get tired earlier in the evening, potentially priming you to get enough rest to wake up and do the same thing the next day. Some research even suggests that it’s easier to stick to healthy habits completed in the morning *2

Meditation

In a clinical trial, meditation was found to increase plasma melatonin levels which seems to improve quality of sleep *3

A different study of post-menopausal woman has demonstrated that regular meditation is effective in improving sleeping patterns, to combat symptoms of insomnia and other sleep disorders. While I could not find a study specially focusing on perimenopausal woman, I feel that the result would be similar, so decided to include this for you. *4

Sources

*1 Effects of exercise timing on sleep architecture and nocturnal blood pressure in prehypertensives Kimberly Fairbrother,1 Ben Cartner,1 Jessica R Alley,1 Chelsea D Curry,1 David L Dickinson,2 David M Morris,1 and Scott R Collier1

*2 Study published in 2019 in the Journal of Physiology

*3 Tooley GA, Armstrong SM, Norman TR, Sali A. Acute increases in night-time plasma melatonin levels following a period of meditation. Biol Psychol. 2000 May;53(1):69-78. doi: 10.1016/s0301-0511(00)00035-1. PMID: 10876066.

*4 Garcia MC, Kozasa EH, Tufik S, Mello LEAM, Hachul H. The effects of mindfulness and relaxation training for insomnia (MRTI) on postmenopausal women: a pilot study. Menopause. 2018 Sep;25(9):992-1003. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001118. PMID: 29787483.

Overwhelming Emotions

The feeling of anxiety, dread, stress and anger that some woman experience during Perimenopause certainly is not fun.

But there are holistic tools we can learn and practice that can help to deescalate these feelings when we have them. The key is to regularly practice them when you do not need them, so when you do call upon them, your body and mind knows what to expect.

Stress

Too much stress is not good for our bodies or minds. The effect that stress can have on the physical body is clearly obvious to some woman when they realise that their hot flushes can also be triggered by their emotions and thoughts

Anxiety

The changes in your hormones can create more anxiety. We can take the edge of this feelings with simple mindfulness based techniques.

Anger

Often viewed as a secondary emotion, with the primary emotion being fear and sadness (which are things a lot of woman feel as they make this transition in life).

Tips for dealing with emotions

• Regularly practice anxiety reducing micro pauses (breath work, mindfulness techniques - all are part of the practices in this series), so when you need to regulate your nervous system, your mind and body knows what to do

• Talk, talk, talk! You are not the only person who has gone through this. Try to find people who are currently going through it.

• Yoga - a cooling, calming and nurturing practice

• Reduce or eliminate caffeine and sugar

• Use a journal to keep track of your emotions, and pay attention to any patterns that may show you triggers (think foods, work, activities and thoughts)

• Meditation and Mindfulness - begin to really pay attention to your inner dialogue and notice if it is causing more emotional stress. Also find that inner calm, that is beneath the surface of the strong emotions - it feels like a warm embrace of coming home :)

• Counselling - these new emotions can be overwhelming, and sometimes anger maybe attached to unprocessed emotions. Seeking out and speaking to someone is a great way of helping to navigate this, and to keep you on track

• Loving Kindness meditation - a beautiful meditation to add into the mix. Focusing on bringing love, kindness and acceptance to yourself, during the moments you are shining and the moment you feel like you are failing

• Gratitude - bring to your mind one thing per day you are grateful for. These can even be things that you would normally view in a negative light. Hot Flush = beginning to notice unsupportive thoughts are triggering you. Anger = perhaps you used it to stand up for yourself as you transition to truly putting yourself first.