Today we are talking about sleep and hot flashes. For the past few weeks we’ve been talking about how menopause and perimenopause affects our bones, our muscles, our pelvic floor, our gut, our brain, our metabolism and more and perhaps you’ve already noticed some of the connections between all of these areas. Sleep is one of those integral connections. How we sleep no matter what season of life we’re in is the canary in the coal mine. If we don’t sleep well we don’t function well and it’s an indicator that we aren’t functioning well. In perimenopause and menopause it’s the number one complaint for women. Not that we can’t get to sleep but that we can’t stay asleep. And the culprit is often the dreaded hot flash. What is going on here and what can we do about it? That’s the question for today’s Work IN.

Today we’re talking about the gut and gut health. We have discussed the importance of the gut microbiome in previous podcasts but never in relation to perimenopause and menopause. And that’s because no one really knew that was a thing until very recently. But it makes sense though since our gut and the biodiversity of the microbiome affects every other aspect of our health why wouldn’t our hormone balance be involved in some way.

Menopause brain…We say it like it’s a bad thing. We laugh it off as if it’s a joke when deep down we wonder if we’re losing our mind. It’s not a joke. And it’s not a loss either. It’s actually an update. During perimenopause and menopause every system in our body gets a giant hormonal update over the course of a decade or so. And just like when we update our computers or our phones, it takes time to learn the new systems. Things might look a little different on the home page than what we’re used to. The drop down menus change. That’s our Work IN today. We’re looking at how and why a woman’s brain changes through menopause.

If our purpose is to reduce frailty in the bones and build strength overall in the body we need to choose challenge to make that connection between the mind and body. The mind will tell you to quit long before the body needs to. If we’re going to build strength and bone mass and change the way we age we need to ask the body for more than what we already know we can do. That’s our Work IN.

Today we begin a series of episodes on the metamorphosis of menopause and perimenopause. and how  to use yoga and the principles behind a yoga lifestyle to tap into a deeper well of wellness for longevity and health beyond what the eyes can see.

What does detoxification have to do with menopause? Turns out quite a bit. Today I want to connect the dots between toxicity in our environment, our diet and our nervous system and how that can show up in menopause symptoms and what we can do to buffer ourselves in that transition.