Menopause Support

Menopause is a very important transition, I like to call it the ‘menoportal’. It’s only in very recent times that women have felt able to talk about it publicly and that women in the public eye have used their position to draw attention to the difficult process of it and lack of in depth understanding about it and support.

Despite the media coverage, (which I was grateful for when I was experiencing peri-menopause) I noticed that I couldn’t find anyone talking about the menopause in the ways I wanted to talk about and experience it – from a spiritual, creative, meaningful and ritualistic perspective. So I began crafting my own ‘magical menopause’ using creative projects and personal ceremony, drumming, songs and ritual, and began writing them down. This has turned into a small forthcoming book called ‘Crafting a Magical Menopause’ which will include reflections, ritual and creative projects.

Menopause is very potent time that often involves what shamanic practitioners call initiation and ‘dismemberment’. This process of breaking down what was and letting go is the process of metamorphosis that we see in nature. For a lot of women the menopause is usually a very uncomfortable, discombobulating process and involves (aptly) a big change (whether visible or not,) and often feels like having the rug pulled from under you. It can bring up old or unresolved traumas, feelings of grief; recognition of patterns that aren’t serving you and brings up strong emotions such as frustration and anger, even despair.

This transformation and ‘breaking down’ (like composting) or perhaps more like ‘breaking open’ – think the cosmic soup stage of the caterpillar when it has to dissolve completely to become a butterfly, or a seed having to break open and discard its entire former shape in order to grow and bloom – can be experienced literally, physically, emotionally, metaphorically or spiritually, or all of the above! This process can be very difficult before there is an eventual re-emerging and a transformation in some way, whether or not it is visible on the outside or to anyone else.

If we were prepared as younger women for this process, well ahead of time, way before peri-menopause and then properly supported through the transformation and eldering process, we might find that we can even embrace this challenging period as a meaningful and potent portal/transition, and not just as a set of symptoms to try and get rid of.

Once we feel connected to meaning and perhaps even connecting to some sense of awe, seeing the natural magic in the transformation process, we can change the narrative around menopause. It’s no longer just a set of unpleasant symptoms but a natural, sacred journey that can be embraced and honoured with reverence and ritual, aligned with nature’s cycles, the elements and the feminine divine, which are reflected in and around us.

I’ve drawn on my own intense experience menopause, (now I’m officially post-menopause!) as well as over a decade of meditation study and practise and experience as a shamanic practitioner and complementary therapist to create some especially tailored sessions for other women needing more support with their menopause journey, who are looking for a more meaningful, spiritual, nature-focussed take on it.

The Crone Circle

To that end, I’ve created ‘The Crone Circle’ – a sacred space for honouring and supporting all aspects of the menopause.

Whether you are ‘peri-peri-menopausal’ – feeling as though your body is changing but you haven’t been officially ‘diagnosed’ as peri-menopausal, traversing the often tumultuous peri-menopause process or are on the (still often tumultuous!) post-menopause path but feel unsupported, unseen, unheard and uncelebrated, or just want to create more meaning and purpose from this process – this is a space to welcome women at all phases of their ‘menoportal’.

The Crone Circle includes creating online and in person spaces (indoors and outdoors) for meditation, rest, relaxation, reconnection and realignment; space for feeling heard and supported, practices for self-healing, as well as ritual, ceremony, creativity and exploration. The emphasis for creating meaning and connection will be on connecting back to nature and honouring the sacred cycles and the Divine Feminine archetypes.

Imagine learning to relate to an intense hot flush by honouring the fire element within, slowing down the experience and following the flow of heat until you feel it dissipate and offer that heat back to the elements? This is just one of the ways we can begin to relate to the experience of menopause in a much more meaningful way!

The full extent of the Crone Circle is still emerging, but at the moment I’m tailoring my therapeutic Shamanic Reiki Drum sessions and creating space and opportunities for sensitive discussion and support, 1:1 or in small groups.

Shamanic Reiki Drum sessions work to help the body relax and rebalance, helping to create a deeply restful state and clear energetic blockages (letting go of the past or old habits etc). Reiki Drum sessions can support working with anxiety, lack of confidence, reducing stress and tension, which might help improve sleep; there are also therapeutic affirmation practices to help ground and find your centre during these challenging times.

Reiki Drum Sessions could also include a drum journeying to meet the inner wisewoman or power animal. It could include learning how to drum yourself for reducing stress or creating a ritual together or a ‘croning ceremony’. You can honour your menoportal and cronehood however long ago it was and in any way you wish!

The offerings within The Crone Circle will include small meditation circles and Crone Circle menopause retreat days. I’m also planning workshops for crafting a ‘crone spirit doll’ to empower, honour and represent your eldering process as sacred.

The Crone Circle is for bringing back magic and meaning to the journey of initiation into menopause. It’s for celebrating and elevating the eldering process and well as providing holistic, therapeutic support.

Do get in touch if you would like to work with me 1:1 for bespoke sessions with any personal ritual, shamanic Reiki Drum techniques as mentioned above, I also combine Reiki & Reiki Drum with Indian Head massage and I teach Reiki & Reiki Drum and can tailor teaching for working with the menopause.

You might like to join my Crone Circle mailing list to be the first to hear about events, workshops, offers and links to resources such as guided meditations.

You can follow the Crone Circle Facebook page for creative projects, information and a supportive environment.

Contact me if you would like to make an enquiry about any of the above and/or to discuss how my Shamanic Reiki Drum sessions and more, can be tailored for you menopause support.