During my recent visit to India to speak at the Women Economic Forum, I was invited to speak at the Zorba the Buddha Spiritual Centre on the subject of using mind/body techniques for menopause symptoms. It is the subject I am most passionate about so the only answer was ‘Yes’!
At Zorba the Buddha, Delhi
The centre is an oasis of calm in the mayhem that is Delhi. You turn off the busy, noisy main road into quitter back streets and then walk through a gateway into a haven of quietness. The Centre hosts a programme of events and an eco-village is being developed where visitors can stay and enjoy a peaceful retreat. This whole blog could be about how much I enjoyed the evening!
I was interested to find out about the experience of Indian women in relation to menopause. Research into the relative experience of women in India and women in America found that older women in India were generally held in more respect. Because of that they had a more positive attitude to getting older and a better experience of menopause.
At the beginning of the session the women seemed a little unsure about what to expect but after a few minutes of practising relaxation breathing they were looking calm and interested. Their concerns were the same as all of the women’s groups I have spoken to; weight gain, poor sleep, hot flushes, anxiety, and aches and pains.
Pat Duckworth working with a woman at Zorba the Buddha
I was asked to provide an ‘experiential’ presentation, so after a short explanation about what is happening to our hormones during menopause, we dived into trying out some mind/body techniques. It was only possible to demonstrate with one woman for each technique but all of the women could follow the instructions and experience the benefits.
After the relaxation breathing, I lead the group into visualising their inner control room and finding the control for their temperature. This was very apt as the external temperature had peaked at 47 degrees C during the day and wasn’t much cooler in the evening.
We moved on to anchoring a relaxed memory so that you can have access to a relaxed feeling by just pressing a point on your hand. By the end of that exercise the atmosphere in the room was very soporific.
One of the younger women in the room was experiencing period pains so I worked with her on changing the characteristics of her image of the pain in order to reduce the sensation. Much easier than it sounds and very effective.
There was a good discussion around the effect of what we eat on our menopause experience. One of the women admitted to having a sweet tooth so I demonstrated a technique called ‘Swish’ to exchange unhelpful images for helpful images. It is a lively and fun technique and everyone enjoyed it.
Pat Duckworth giving a copy of Hot Women Cool Solutions
I couldn’t believe how quickly the session had gone. Two lucky women had their names picked out of the hat to win a copy of ‘Hot Women, Cool Solutions’, and then we were all invited for supper on the lawn. I could write a whole other blog about sitting in the magical environment under a full moon chatting and eating delicious food. You will just have to imagine it.
What I took from the evening was that feeling of solidarity with other women and us all having similar experiences no matter where in the world we are.
Mind Over Menopause at Zorba the Buddha
If you need help with menopause symptoms, contact me to find out how we could work together.
