Knife Sharpener

Knife Sharpener

By Kate Poux

I just started the Whole30 diet  and spent the weekend prepping. After finding coconut aminos, ghee and “compliant” mayonnaise,  the Whole30 people told me I should sharpen my knives. I rolled my eyes, but later as I sliced through 5 lbs of carrots, I felt smug and prepared for the challenge ahead. Look at me, handling, preparing, making life easier for myself.

This feeling of preparedness reminds me of a Great Moment in Parenting years ago. My kids were little and they had the neighbor kids over to play school. I suggested that they watch the new National Geographic dvd’s we got for Christmas as part of their school. I even suggested they “take notes”. After a long, luxurious break upstairs by myself I went down to check on the quiet in the basement. The kids were dumbstruck. It turned out the videos were part of the new, action-packed NatGeo series. This one was called “Doomsday Preppers.”

“They’re getting ready for something,” Oona said about the video.

“What are you learning?” I asked.

“We need a lot of guns,” one kid said.  Another kid’s notes said, “Be prepared.”

Where is all this going? Menopause is not for babies. Or Millenials. Yet.  It’s a major life change full of unpredictable challenges, shrouded in weird taboo. We aren’t going to Whidbey Island to prepare for the apocalypse, stockpile guns, baking soda, unscented bleach, buckets with lids, bic lighters, Pedialyte,  duct tape, cotton swabs and paracord, but we DO hope to arm you with a few tools to help you cope and connect to your center when things get crazy.

Like the Energy Meter, an observation tool to measure how much energy you gain or lose from different activities and parts of your life, designed to help you let go of the energy-suckers and recognize what brings you the most energy and joy in life.

Using a Body Scan we locate our menopause symptoms and struggles, physical and emotional, on a body map labeled with the energy chakras. I cured my chronic neck pain after last year’s retreat by expressing my anger at work more, speaking up when I feel mad or confused.

Proprioceptive Writing is a writing meditation, self-guided stream of consciousness. There are rituals to guide you if you get stuck and help you harvest important truths that come up in your writing.

And Yoga Nidra. This amazing practice of meditation through “yogic sleep” helps you locate opposite feelings in your body and practice moving back and forth between them. The first few times I practiced with Laura, I could feel wings stretching out from my shoulder blades as the floor fell away from me. I’m not kidding.

So, come sharpen your connection to your intuition, your awareness of the hormone-emotion connection, your self-observation skills and feel better prepared for when the shit goes down.