So soon. So young.

No thought of the future. Or where I’d be in 10 years.

Within those 10 years though, I’d had two children (and two businesses) and just a few years after that, was heading towards Perimenopause. Who’d have thought? So soon. So young.

And so much in the dark. This look of hope and brightness of the future was dulled not only by the weightiness of life but by the fact I knew nothing about what was about to happen. By my mid to late 30s I was in the throes of perimenopause along with all the symptoms of low libido, mood swings, depression, anxiety, and sweats. It was confusing, disheartening, and devastating.

Perimenopause and Menopause have a profound impact on relationships and intimacy in midlife. The average age of divorce/ breakups for women in Australia is 43. It’s no surprise that this is around perimenopause for many women.

The breakdown, however, is not just in the fact that almost every decade, women's bodies change. As if that isn't enough. But the underlying cause also may be deeply attributed to the unconscious automatic, mechanical way that sex plays out in relationships over time.

This is a time when a woman can fall into the intimacy trap in Perimenopause and Menopause:-

1. That there is something wrong with her. And that she needs fixing.

2. That low libido means the end of intimacy.

3. That she needs to keep seeking outward for the answer.

This Saturday, 9th March, in my presentation, Sex, Menopause, and Beyond, at the Yoga Australia Menopause Summit, I will be offering a hopeful look at these two taboo subjects. Bringing what has been in the dark into the light of Love

As a long-time advocate of one of my favourite practices, Yoga, I'm honoured to have been invited to part of this day, along with so many other esteemed presenters. The live Summit runs from 10 am AEDT to 5 pm AEDT. Here is the link to book.