Unfolding

Summer is on our doorstep, bringing more light and of course, the longest days of the year.
Landscapes brighten, colours intensify and temperatures rise (well, we hope so!).
Nature stretches, uncurls, opens-up and flourishes … and so can we!

For a few years, I have felt like I was walking through thick fog, with a belt strapped tight around my chest— dense, tense, restricted. I felt stiff, tight and strangely disoriented as if my internal compass had been scrambled. And on top of that, I didn’t understand what was happening to me.

When we talk about menopause, we often focus on the physical aspects — hot flashes, dryness, sleep disruption... But the emotional, mental and even social aspects can be equally powerful, often tumultuous and they can catch us off guard.

After navigating without visibility and ignoring the subject for too long, I decided to dive into the topic. I read countless books, listened to many podcasts, took a brilliant Menopause Wellbeing Practitioner course,  and that changed everything.

A new world unfolded before my eyes. I wasn’t losing the plot! Far from it.
My body, mind, motivation and emotional landscape were all changing. That change was turbulent yet real, valid and meaningful.

More than change, it was shedding, unravelling, stepping into something different, somewhat unfamiliar. A new flow, a new way of being — gently emerging.

In some traditions, this stage of life is called the Second Spring.
Not a closing, but an opening.
Not an ending, but a tender re-beginning.

This season of life invites us to ask:

What is quietly unfolding in me right now?
What do I want to blossom into?

Unfolding isn't always easy, far from it. But if we listen carefully, the body whispers long before the mind catches up.

• • •

Pause and check-in … what is your body telling you?
Is your breath shallow?
Are your shoulders tense, your jaw tight, your back rounded?
Do these postures feel all too familiar?

• • •

Try this gentle invitation to soften, stretch, and breathe into who you are becoming:

Clench your fists. Hunch your shoulders. Squeeze your eyes shut. Curl your toes.
Hold for a moment… then stop.
Sigh. Release.
Drop your shoulders. Wiggle your fingers. Unfurl your spine.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Open just a little more.
Stretch — like a fern in morning light.
Unfold, softly, into a different way of being.
Shake your hands gently.
Smile.

Image Credit: Photo by noel nesme on Pexels