#19: How to Move Gracefully Through Menopause

How to Move Gracefully Through Menopause

Menopause is more than a hormonal transition. It is a deeply personal journey that often unfolds quietly beneath the surface.

In this heartfelt episode of Menopause Breakthrough, Katina shares a powerful message about extending grace to yourself during perimenopause and menopause. While many women continue to show up for their families, careers, and responsibilities, they may be navigating exhaustion, disrupted sleep, mood changes, and a body that feels unfamiliar.

Drawing from her own experience and her work with clients, Katina offers encouragement to women who may feel frustrated, misunderstood, or discouraged during this season of life.

In This Episode, You Will Discover:

• Why menopause is not a season of stopping, but a season of slowing down and learning to live differently 
• How self-compassion can transform the way you experience this transition 
• The hidden challenges women face while still appearing strong on the outside 
• What the Bible teaches about grace and how God's strength supports us in moments of weakness 
• How extending grace to other women can foster healing and connection 

A Message to Every Woman

If you are struggling with fatigue, sleep disturbances, hot flashes, mood changes, or simply feeling unlike yourself, this episode is a reminder that you are not alone.

You may not feel your strongest every day, but the fact that you continue to show up is a testimony to your resilience.

Give yourself permission to slow down.
Listen to your body.
Release unrealistic expectations.
And remember that God's grace is available to carry you through.

A Message to Husbands and Loved Ones

Menopause is a significant transition, and women often need a different kind of support during this time. Patience, understanding, and compassion can make a meaningful difference.

Share This Episode

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with another woman who may need this reminder to extend grace to herself during this important season of life.

To learn more about our program visit our website at

https://www.happinessinyoucoach.com/menopause-elite-program/

Also, if you are a woman going through peri-menopause, menopause, or post menopause and would like to be a part of our mailing list to stay updated about programs, resources, and more, send a message to ksmith@happinessinyoucoach.com and type in the subject line, e-mail list.

Don’t forget to download and share this podcast with other woman. This allows woman that need support to find this podcast more easily.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to menopause Breakthrough, the podcast for professional women who want to reclaim their clarity, energy, and balance while navigating perimenopause, menopause, or postmenopause. I'm your host, Katina Smith, your menopause and wellness coach, and I also am a certified functional nutrition practitioner where I use nutrition and lifestyle to support women in this stage of life. I know firsthand how challenging this season can be physically, mentally, and emotionally, and what it's like to feel stressed and maybe even a little burnt out. Here you'll find education, strategies, and encouragement to help you thrive at work, at home, and in life. So let's dive in. Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the show. You know, there are actually moments in our life where what we are experiencing internally, it just doesn't match what people see externally. And you might show up with a smile and you just keep going, but really deep down inside, there's just another story unfolding that's beneath the surface. And in this season of life, um, as a woman, whether you're navigating perimenopause or you've reached menopause, um, I will definitely say that it's a quiet transformation happening. And if we're not careful, we will just move through it with a lot of pressure or frustration. And I I'll say sometimes misunderstanding too. Um today I just really want to talk about something that really shifted my perspective, not just for myself, but just for also the women that I serve, the clients that I have worked with and continue to work with. Um, you see, when I started my business, I always knew that I was supposed to support women. Um, I didn't fully understand what that would look like over time. It has changed. Um, but one of the things I know for sure is that I share many similarities with the women I encounter and the women that I serve that are clients as well. Um, because in many ways we walk similar paths. Um, and recently I was having a conversation with a new client, and I was reminded of something very important, and that is we must really learn to have grace for ourselves, especially during this season of life. And I don't fully know why I experienced perimenopause the way that I did in the beginning. Um, but I do know that it can be brutal. Um, even as a woman of faith, and I know that God, He is a healer. I still went through what I went through. And even though I'm feeling better these days, I still have to monitor like what my body is doing because this is still a transition. A lot of times women think, oh, I'm in menopause now, so it's over. And actually, it's probably even more critical that we are more in tune with our bodies and really understand, you know, really how to support our bodies. But my mission is really to help make this season of life a beautiful season of life for women instead of something that's defined by negative beliefs and connotations. Um, for too long, I will definitely say that women have been ignored and dismissed in this stage of life. Um we don't talk about it. A lot of the studies that have been done, just in general, when it comes to health, have been on men. Um, and again, a lot of uh professionals just don't know how to support women in this season of life. It's again not a season to just stop doing what you're doing, but it really is a season, I truly believe, designed to slow women down and approach life um in a new way. And I know um, you know, we can be very hard on ourselves, especially when expectations are placed on us by society and even um by ourselves as well. But I will definitely say for me, there are still days that are challenging. I have these challenging moments where I'm like, okay, what is this? Like, what's my body doing today? And that's why it's so important to stay attuned to what your body is telling you. Um, sometimes I really think about those movies. You've probably seen them where in the beginning scene, you know, it starts out one way, it might be an action scene where somebody's running or something's happened to them, and then it will show on the screen 24 hours before. So I often feel that way a lot of times, or I felt that way, or on this journey, you know, you might not see me at my best, but if you only knew, you know, what happened 24 hours before, you'd understand the strength it took, you know, just for me to show up. And that's um, I know a lot of women can probably identify with that because in this season, I will definitely say you really matter. You are important, and you know, it's not about your background, your upbringing, your status, or your appearance. Um, it doesn't change that you are loved. And it can just be difficult sometimes for women to show up um to different places because there's so much going on physically, mentally, and emotionally. Um, and so maybe we're not at our best um always, but I think of um there's a scripture, um 2 Corinthians 12, 9. Um, it says, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. And this is a scripture that I often return to because, you know, with God, you are enough. His grace is sufficient for you. Um, but his power is made perfect in weakness. So when you are weak, he is strong. So it always says to me that I can always go to God, no matter where I am, what I'm feeling, um, no matter the situation or circumstance, um, you know, God accepts me, God sees me where I am, and you know, just who I am as an individual. Um, because I will definitely say so many days I needed to be reminded of that particular scripture. And I'm not a theologian, and I took anytime I'm reading scripture, I like to go back and look at the Greek and the Hebrew meaning to get a deeper understanding. And in Hebrew, and I'm not going to even attempt to announce or pronounce, excuse me, um, the word in Hebrew, but um it's spelled H-E N. Um, but it means favor, kindness, acceptance, and pleasantness. And it reflects being favorably inclined towards someone, not because it's earned, but because kindness is chosen. And another related word um is spelled H-E-S-E-D. Um, and this speaks of loving kindness and steadfast love, a faithful, loyal love that remains even when it's not deserved. And I will say grace in a sense, it's like relational. It reflects, I think, the posture of a person's heart. Um, and when you look at it um in the Greek, it means grace, favor, gift, goodwill, and kindness. And it's something freely given without expectation of return. It also speaks to empowerment, not only receiving something undeserved, but just being strengthened by it. And that's God's grace. Um, it's his favor, his kindness, his power that works within us. So again, his grace is sufficient for you. Um, you are enough. You know, that's how God sees us. And, you know, when I think about women going through menopause, when I think about, you know, what I experienced, the physical, the mental, the emotional, and being in a place where I won't say I I wanted to give up, but it was, I was almost at the end of my rope. Like, if another thing happens to my body, or if I get another symptom, you know, and the the frustration often came from not knowing, but also going to the doctor back and forth and still not knowing, you know, what was going on within my body. But for some women, what tends to happen, there's this level of exhaustion, and it's very difficult to explain. It's almost like you're doing everything you can while your body is doing what it's doing. And I had many days like that. Um, and it's almost like you have enough energy just to get dressed and get to where you're going. So, you know, again, you know, I've shared the symptoms that many women have that are going through menopause, um, from having sleep um disturbances or your sleep is disrupted. Um you may not be stressed, but you're waking up in the middle of the night, it could be cortisol, could be your blood sugar, insulin, you're having hot flashes, you're having night sweats, um, they're keeping you up at night. But so many women still show up, you know, and I think that's amazing. And that's why it's so important to learn to have grace. If God's grace is sufficient, you know, show some grace towards yourself. You know, many of us were just taught to push through, to be strong, and just to keep going. And I really understand that mindset, but I also recognize the need to really respond differently in this season of life. And, you know, I just want to take a moment in this space just to honor, you know, my mother. I often think about my mother and her strength and her smile. Even now, you know, I find myself smiling without a reason, simply just feeling content, I guess. But I think I get that from my mother because I always remember her smiling at me. And I just think there is just a quiet strength in women that really deserves to be acknowledged and honored. And, you know, with Mother's Day that has um just passed, um, I just really want to take this moment, you know, to honor those women who just tend to just continue to show up, push through. Um, you know, we're different. Um, we have different personalities. Um, we've had different experiences, and we may not always understand one another. Um, but I say that's why it's important to extend grace to one another during this time. Um there has not been, I think, again, enough attention given to what women are experiencing in this stage of life. And so many are searching for answers because of this, and they're feeling frustrated. But I I want to be clear when I say that, you know, I'm I'm not happy with the way the health system is today. And it's not about the doctors because I have great respect for doctors to, you know, go to school for, you know, 10 plus years and through training and you know, to learn what they learn is just how the system was designed because there's a hidden agenda behind, you know, the healthcare system. It's about money, and we know this. But I want to say here, you know, for the men listening, your wife is in a season where she needs a different kind of support. And I'm grateful personally that I do get support from my husband um during this season of life. Like he's open and understanding of what I'm going through at different times. And I'll definitely say, again, this season of life has um changed a lot of my views. And definitely, I will say, one of the lessons I have learned is just really the up the importance of showing grace to myself. Um, I was really conditioned to be hard on myself, and some of you understand that without explanation, um, you know, just a lot of expectations, um, not just from society, but just in environments that I've been in. And I realize it made me be super super hard on myself. But I just also see the need to extend grace um just to other women um as well, because you know, woman might seem distant or not like herself, and she just might be going through something, and it may not be personal. Um, it may just be the season that she's in, and she's just trying to work through it. And personally, there were so many things I didn't understand about myself, you know, why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Um and it wasn't always easy, but I showed up. Um, I don't think we always understand and see the full picture of what some women experience as they're going through menopause. And again, please learn to show grace to yourself. Um and we must learn to show grace to one another and really find those places, those spaces where you feel safe, where you can just be who you are and remember you are enough and you are beautiful, and you are definitely loved by God. And I just wanted to dedicate this episode to my mother because she was a woman of faith, a woman of love and kindness and strength as well as grace. And um because I think of her and the influence that she had in my life, um I've been able to just get through so many things in life. And yes, God has given me strength as well, but she's instilled a lot of things in me that just helps me to just keep going, that helps me to just push through. I I can see her as an example in my life, and she's um, you know, she's had such a major impact in my life over the years. So I want to just take that time to honor my mother on this Mother's Day. Um, she's always in my heart, in my mind, and greatly loved. So that is all my friends, though, for this episode. Um, I will definitely see you on the next episode. And don't forget to extend grace to yourself. Thank you for listening to Mentipod's Breakthrough. If this episode resonated with you, don't forget to hit the follow button so you never miss a new conversation. Share it with a friend, colleague, or anyone who could benefit from support during this season of life. You can connect with me, access more resources, tips, and coaching support, and learn about our menopause program for women by visiting www.happinessinucoach.com dash menopause dash elite dash program forward slash. Remember, you don't have to just survive menopause. You can thrive through it. And you are not alone in this season of life.