A second key focus after sleep, (if you haven't accessed your free mini classes from Mays email drop in here) in both the nervous system reset group and the peri menopause workshops are boundaries.
What feelings does that word conjure up for you? How comfortable do feel saying no? Digging deeper - how comfortable do you feel saying no, without any explanations, disclaimers or apologies? I know it's something I struggle with. When I first met my partner (and still now, it's a continuous process) he pointed out how often I say sorry for absolutely no reason at all.
Just constantly sorry, for not having the 'right' answer, being 'an inconvenience', sorry for just frickin existing. Enough. Maisie Hill writes in her book Peri Menopause Power "An absence of healthy boundaries can create anxiety, depression and exhaustion. When your boundaries are foggy or non existant, you loose your sense of who you are and what makes you happy. Your existence becomes entrenched in what others think and need of you." I could bang on at you about rest, and sleep routines, and movement practices, and self care rituals until I'm blue in the face .... but if you aren't making the time for it, scheduling that time in FOR YOU, then you just aren't going to get around to it. Spoiler alert - people and events and changes and challenges and loved ones will ALWAYS demand things from us, thats just life. It doesn't go away, new things simply appear. Sorry i'm feeling spicy today... ...actually no I'm not sorry, sometimes a harsh truth is what we need. So, in a realistic world, where we have kids and jobs and responsibilities that we can't just abandon (although the thought crosses our minds every now and then, right?)
So, how can we start setting healthy boundaries? Baby steps, just like everything else.
Some journal prompts for you.. Where can you carve out 5 or 10 minutes of time for yourself today? What can you say no to this month? (you can start with the 'no sorry I just don't have the time or energy, because of xyz, and work your way up to the unapologetic no) Where can you calmly ask for support from loved ones, before you reach breaking point and resentment or rage? This can be something small but that makes a real impact to your day - like the dishes! Or shock horror, an afternoon to yourself?? I'll leave it there, for now. The peri menopause & menopause series is now open for drop in sessions every Thursday. Oestrogen is often described as our 'yes' hormone, the gloss, the wonder woman energy, the doing everything drug. Let's see how we can manage this powerful transition and learn how to say know before the ebb and flow of our hormones and the symptoms that may show up, forces us to.
Hope to see you there, hop on to the booking page to save your spot.
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