Menopause and the rise of The Matriarch

Welcome to this weeks edition.

This one is a big one for me, along with many other women 38 and over who are experiencing "signs" of what is being called Peri Menopause.

For the purpose of context in this conversation, I am referring to naturally occurring transition, although those who have been thrust into it from medical treatments may appreciate my perspective.

In my quest to understand my own body and the physical changes it has been going through, I have been doing some research and joined a few online support groups.
What I discovered from the over 40K strong group of women is this...

There is a general consensus that all stages of the menopause transition are wrong, that there is something wrong with women going through it and that "we" need to be fixed by following the "Gold Standard" approach (according to menopause Australia and other Dr's around the globe) which is HRT.

This is a rhetoric that I am choosing to resist and not buy into because quite frankly, I think its a load of shit and yet another way to oppress women.

In my other role as a massage therapist of 18yrs and someone who has delved into physical symptoms of spiritual, mental and emotional "upsets, trauma, imbalance" and working through the book I have been reading since February, The Anatomy of Spirit by Caroline Myss, I have found a link to the 2nd chakra. Since working on this spiritual element of myself and the associated blocks in my mental and emotional health that correlate to it, I have found it's had a positive impact on my Peri symptoms.

During a conversation with my power team of women last week, I noticed myself talking about how menopause is such a powerful time for women and one that makes space for the rise of the matriarch.

For women over 40, they have usually been through a lot of life experiences, they've healed a lot, learned a lot, grown a lot and overall give less of a fuck about most things as they become more empowered in the knowing and acceptance of who they are and what they stand for.

This level of empowerment, coupled with the ending of the menstrual cycle makes women appear as a "threat" to the patriarch because it's a time where women really can stand as equals among men because the child bearing and interruptions associated with it are in the rear-view.
We have the spiritual and emotional magic of wisdom and intuition on our side so it makes sense that the "story" told to women is one of "There is something wrong with you" "You have nothing to offer now", "You're crazy" and need to be fixed.

Over centuries, women have suffered atrocities for possessing the magic of the womb. They have been sterilised, burned at the stakes, sent to Dr's for treatment for "hysteria" by way of being given orgasms, among other things, all with the intention of fixing us or silencing us.

What if our generation could learn from other cultures like the women of Japan and the Aztecs and instead of buying into the wrongness of menopause, that we choose to embrace it as a time to step into the full empowerment of The Matriarch?

What if we allowed ourselves to love this transition, and ourselves through it, by managing our lifestyle?

What if we look for the gifts and wisdom in it?

It is such a natural and beautiful process, why can't we treat it as the sacred rite of passage that it is?

Do you know what?

We can! I am !

How about you?

I'd love to know your thoughts on this so comment below or email me. Join the conversation.

Until next week
Mel