Meditation for Menopause
13 million women are currently peri/menopausal in the UK... and that doesn't include those in post-menopause. And there are over 30 things on the list of common symptoms. Symptoms which can last a few months, most commonly around 4 years, but can persist for 7-10 years and even into post-menopause. All this demonstrates a need to identify and learn techniques and tools that can support women through this time, which can be a huge chapter of their life, and can even result in lifelong changes.
Can meditation help?
Studies show it can effectively counteract many menopause symptoms and can be highly beneficial as a complimentary therapy. It isn't a magic cure, rather a whole approach to the relationship we have with our bodies and minds, to the relationships we have and the world around us, where we can take back some control and create space to move through the symptoms. It's a bit like learning a new language; it isn't easy, it takes time and practice, but once you've learnt the basics, it opens a whole new world. It provides a vehicle to navigate the entire menopausal journey and beyond.
"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."
-Jon Kabat-Zinn
Meditation can help with the 6 most common menopause symptoms:
Mood changes
No matter what mood you’re in and how unexpected or unexplained that mood seems to be, meditation can change your brainwaves from anxiety-prone Beta waves into calmer Alpha waves in just 3 minutes.
2. Hot flushes / night sweats / chills
The nervous system keeps our body in balance (homeostasis). This includes involuntary bodily functions like shivering, hairs standing on end and sweating to regulate temperature.
Extreme body temperature changes happen during menopause because the significant rise in 'stress hormones' like cortisol puts pressure on the nervous system which means it cannot consistently regulate homeostasis.
Meditation can lower cortisol + regulate the entire nervous system.
3. Brain fog / difficulty focusing
Consistent meditation practice over 8-12 weeks plus can actually cause certain areas of the brain to grow and shrink. This results in 'trait' changes that affect how we behave. Two areas we can change to counteract symptoms are:
Reduce the size of the Default Mode Network. This is associated with rumination, daydreaming, internal dialogue and mind chatter.
Grow the Pre Frontal Cortex (Executive Centre). This deals with decision making, coordinates thoughts and regulates social behaviour.
4. Low mood / loss of interest / disconnected
This symptom is mainly associated with the reduction testosterone plus the drop in oestrogen which makes women more susceptible to stress, resulting in more frequent spikes in the stress hormone cortisol. Meditation can help here with the ‘Relaxation Response’; a state change that occurs in our body soon after meditating. It was discovered and coined in the 1970s by Dr Herbert Benson. Here’s what is does:
Decreases stress hormones by 30-40%
Reduces blood pressure
Reduces heart rate
Increases oxygen to the brain
Reduces muscle tension
5. Poor sleep / tiredness or lack of energy.
This is common during menopause as progesterone + testosterone drop. Sleep is negatively impacted by other symptoms – such as night sweats, anxiety, muscle and joint pains... Meditation stimulates the vagus nerve which:
Switches body from 'fight/flight/freeze' to 'rest + digest'.
Reduces inflammation and the proteins causing it which contribute to tiredness'.
Helps regulate sleep cycles, and supports better quality restorative, deep sleep.
6. Anxiety / fearful or fretful / feeling tense.
These feelings can come out of nowhere, with no obvious trigger – or one that never would have brought out this reaction previously.
Meditation can't increase those hormones that reduce during menopause to cause these feelings but it can decrease the size of the amygdala – the stress centre – of the brain, meaning we are less likely to go straight to a fear/stress/anxiety response.
This is another 'trait' change that can take place with consistent practice, altering how we respond to external stimuli.
"Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively."
-Sharon Salzburg
You might still be thinking – so what exactly IS meditation?
It is a tool to anchor our attention, awareness, focus, in the present moment. And you can use many of the tools and techniques in day-to-day life, with your eyes open, anywhere and everywhere, with no one even knowing you’re using them.
There are many types and techniques of meditation but all provide an anchor, something we can return to whenever we notice the attention has drifted away to the past or the future.
Why keep our focus on the here and now? The 2 major causes of chronic stress (which in turn causes a multitude of mental and physical health complaints) is worrying about the future and ruminating on the past.
And as you’ve seen with the ways meditation can counteract symptoms of peri/post/menopause, there are a huge range of benefits that happen in the body and the brain that improve health and wellbeing. These are real, measurable changes that have been studied and scientifically monitored and evidenced.
Meditation for menopause starts by cultivating a feeling of safety within the mind and body.
As I've explained there are ways meditation physically changes things in the body to bring balance where menopause has caused disruptions:
Hormones
The nervous system
The brain
The body
But it’s also about reconnecting with our bodies and minds on a gentler level; making friends with them – even the bits we're finding frustrating, challenging and infuriating, cultivating a kinder internal voice for how we talk to ourselves, provides another layer of safety during such uncertainty.
Are you wondering whether there’s a meditation style out there to suit you?
Choosing a meditation type that suits you is a bit like shopping for a pair of trainers! There are many different types, and countless techniques to tailor them to you as well. There's walking meditations, chanting, visualising, loving kindness, mantra, breath...and it’s okay if you try a type and find it doesn’t flow for you. You can explore by dipping your toe into different options and go with what feels right for you in the moment.
Emma x