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.

They say women are excellent multitaskers. That’s a lie. What we’re really good at is overriding our body and nervous system to the point of exhaustion and suffering through undernourishment. There is no multitasking in diet and exercise. You can’t run yourself into the ground without rest and balanced nutrition and get stronger. Skinny and healthy aren’t the same thing. Today on The Work IN we’re talking about some of those weight loss lies and how to start working with the body so we can feel safe, strong and confident in our own skin.

For me anything that you do that takes your body beyond what it can already comfortably do can be resistance training. But that’s the hard part. To do that we have to push ourselves. We have to be willing to try things that we aren’t sure that we can do. So not only is there physical resistance, we also have to overcome the mental resistance to being uncomfortable.

Once we can do that we can do anything.

But why? Why should we care about this kind of exercise?