Midlife and Menopause: Key Shifts Women Who Thrive During This Transition Make
Midlife and menopause are potent (and inevitable!) transitions, which can also be an empowering period of growth, self-discovery, and transformation. For many women, this phase marks a time to reflect, redefine, and realign priorities. While menopause often comes with physical and emotional changes, there are key shifts that can help you not just survive but thrive. By embracing a more natural, feminine approach and leveraging the power of connection, we can make this transition a time of rejuvenation and strength. Here's how.
1. Embrace Physical Changes with Compassion and Self-Acceptance AND CURIOUSITY
Instead of resisting the natural aging process, it’s time to embrace your body with compassion. Menopause can bring visible changes—weight distribution shifts, skin texture alters, and energy levels and mood fluctuate. Rather than focusing on the symptoms as something that needs fixing take time to understand what’s happening and what your body is communicating to you. Be curious about what she needs to thrive in this next chapter or ‘second Spring’ as it is referred to in Eastern Medicines.
A more naturopathic approach to managing these changes includes embracing practices like dry skin brushing to improve circulation, or using herbal remedies such as evening primrose oil or black cohosh to help balance hormones and soothe menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.
Self-compassion is essential - unkindness to self speeds the aging process and depletes the hormones that give us our mojo and aliveness no matter our age. As your body evolves, give yourself permission to be less focused on societal ideals of youthfulness and more focused on feeling well from the inside out and on what brings you alive.
2. Prioritize Your Health and Well-being with Nature in Mind
During midlife, it becomes even more critical to invest in your well-being. This shift means making self-care non-negotiable and turning to nature for support. Herbal allies like red clover and vitex can support hormone balance, while adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and rhodiola help your body cope with stress and fatigue.
Daily movement—especially practices like yoga, walking in nature, or qigong—nurtures both body and mind. These low-impact exercises don’t just support physical health but also help calm the nervous system and increase oxytocin—the "love hormone," which naturally declines during menopause. Oxytocin helps us feel connected, calm, and content, making nurturing activities that boost oxytocin essential to thriving in midlife.
3. Reconnect with Feminine Energy and Lead from Within
Midlife is an invitation to shift from the masculine hustle to a more balanced, feminine approach to life. In a world that often rewards doing and achieving, menopause calls for a gentler rhythm—one that honors being, receiving,, feeling and intuiting. This is the time to lead from the feminine, embracing qualities like collaboration, empathy, playfulness, creativity, sensuality, and intuition.
As oxytocin levels dip, making a conscious effort to reconnect with this feminine power through meaningful relationships, community, and connected self-care becomes crucial. Whether it’s nurturing friendships, bonding with loved ones, or simply spending time with yourself in reflection, fostering connection is one of the most important shifts to make.
The hormone oxytocin is often stimulated through physical touch, laughter, and community—so seek out activities that foster this hormone. Hug more often, laugh with friends, and practice self-massage with essential oils like lavender or clary sage to create a deeper sense of peace and connection. Castor oil is one of my favourite oils to incorporate for women’s wellness.
4. Reevaluate Your Purpose and Legacy
Midlife often brings a reevaluation of life purpose. This can be a pivotal time to shift from focusing solely on career or family responsibilities to seeking meaningful, soul-aligned work or projects that bring joy and fulfillment. It’s an opportunity to reassess your gifts, passions, and the impact you want to have in the world.
Consider the energetic wisdom of the feminine—this period of life is a time to share your wisdom, perhaps through mentorship, creative ventures, or leadership in your community. Rather than viewing it as a time of winding down, see it as a time to step into your full power and lead with your heart.
5. Nurture Meaningful Connections for Emotional Well-being
Connection is essential in this phase of life. Studies show that women who nurture strong friendships and community ties are more resilient and experience less depression during menopause. As mentioned, the hormone oxytocin, fosters bonding and emotional well-being, and plays a key role here. Women are naturally wired to thrive in community, and nurturing these connections can be profoundly healing.
Consider gathering with like-minded, growth-oriented women who are interested in not giving up on their dreams and desires. If you are interested in this I periodically host gatherings/group sessions that support women’s expansion and evolution in community Activities like group meditation, hiking or shared rituals, can boost oxytocin, fostering that sense of calm, well-being and connection.
6. Balance Hormones Naturally and Proactively
One of the most daunting aspects of menopause for many women can be the hormonal shifts that affect everything from mood to metabolism. Rather than approaching this phase reactively, proactive, natural hormone support can be a great place to start in your 40s help ease the transition.
Consider incorporating naturopathic treatments like herbal remedies, acupuncture, and nutrition to balance hormones. Foods rich in phytoestrogens, such as flaxseeds, lentils, and fermented soy products, may help balance estrogen levels. Seed cycling—the practice of eating specific seeds during different phases of the cycle—can also help gently regulate hormonal fluctuations in the peri-menopausal stage..
Essential oils like clary sage, geranium, and peppermint are known to support hormonal balance and can be used in diffusers, bath soaks, or massage oils to bring pleasure and ease symptoms.
7. Shift Away from Perfectionism and Toward Authenticity
Midlife offers the gift of authenticity. This is the time to release perfectionism and embrace the freedom that comes with showing up exactly as you are. After decades of living according to societal pressures and expectations, the midlife shift invites you to focus on what truly matters.
Let go of the need to "have it all together." Instead, prioritize what feels authentic, aligned, and meaningful to you. Whether it’s changing careers, scaling back, or focusing more on creative pursuits, this is the time to honor your true desires, free of external validation.
8. Nourish Your Sexuality and Intimacy in New Ways
While hormonal shifts can affect libido, this doesn’t have to mean the end of a satisfying sex life. In fact, midlife can be a time to explore deeper levels of intimacy, connection, and sexual expression with yourself and your partner.
Communicating openly about desires, using natural lubricants, and exploring new forms of intimacy can help keep sexual connection strong. Boosting oxytocin through touch, massage, and shared moments of vulnerability fosters closeness and intimacy in relationships. Honouring your sexuality and sensuality as a vital part of your wellness is not talked about enough i find. It has a huge impact on your quality of life and how you show up in the world. Recall how much lighter and happy and centered and creative you feel when you are connected to the sexy goddess you are at your core … connected to your juzh .. your mojo. Cue song: “This girl is on fire …”
9. Create a Supportive, Nature-Centered Lifestyle
Finally, embrace a more natural, slow-living lifestyle. Spend more time in nature, practice grounding techniques (like walking barefoot on the earth), and engage in forest bathing to reconnect with your body and the natural rhythms of life. Nature is a powerful healer, offering a sense of peace and balance.
By making these shifts, you can navigate midlife and menopause with grace, purpose, and vitality. This phase of life isn’t an ending—it’s an opportunity for rebirth, reinvention, and profound connection with yourself and others. The most powerful time of impact in a woman’s life is (in this order) 70s, 50s and 60s. Leading with your feminine energy, supported by nature’s gifts, you can truly thrive in the most powerful years of your life.
With warmth, Dr. Monika ❤️ (here I am with 2 of my besties leading our annual Ultimate Vitality Retreat on Savary Island - sisterhood is everything!)
Are you a heart centred woman whose energy is often focussed on supporting others to thrive? Is it easier for you to care for others than yourself at the deepest level? Do you have dreams you aren’t realizing yet?
I. am . here. to. support .you! ♥️ I am a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, mother, nutritionist, midlife and motherhood health transformation life coach with training in feminine power facilitation and somatics for awakening women. I work holistically with caring, wise , successful women like yourself so you can lead your life from your most authentic self and continue to do the beautiful, important work you are here to do while feeling your absolute best physically, somatically, mentally and emotionally. Midlife and motherhood are my areas of expertise and specialty (and passion! These were big portals of evolution and expansion for me and I wish I had someone who really understood these times hormonally and on all the other levels ).
We can’t become our whole thriving selves by ourself. I am here to support you in recharging and reseting and fostering an unshakeable connection with your truest self so you can share your unique gifts and shine your light with joy, energy, confidence and without burning out. I work holistically at the physical, emotional, mental and soul levels of wellness as needed.
My intention is that you live with a level of health, calm, clarity, confidence and vitality that allows you to stay aligned with your true north and create a life YOU are so proud of and nourished by. Reach out if you would enjoy some support! (403) 609-8385 👑 Midlife Wellness Transformation Blueprint Group Journey - runs yearly February 14 - June 20 but the 1-on-1 coaching of it runs all year long.
Check out the upcoming retreats - In Joy - this year’s Women’s Wellness Retreat in Mexico will undoubtedly bring you into your next level of radiance and well-being … in a way that lasts!
