how’s your existential crisis going?
How predictable. I’ve turned 51 and I’m having a mid-life crisis.
There’s been a lot of deep stuff going on at work, I was very sick for a couple of weeks and feel like I’ve lost time, I had a super sad birthday, and some health stuff has come up. I’ve been reminded that I’m vulnerable… just like everyone else!
And when I talk to others it feels like there’s something in the air. A sense of dissatisfaction, disillusionment, and in some cases deep sadness.
When I’ve had some of these deep conversations with friends, students and colleagues, a few of them have reminded me that “this too shall pass.” And it will. It will probably also result in some sort of shift, upgrade or improvement in my life. It always does. (In fact I’ve already quit Instagram… which is a good thing!)
I was lucky to attend a training course on resilience this week because it came at the perfect time. One of the biggest take aways from the session was to make sure you know your core values and to do your best to take actions that align with them. Core values are simply things that are super important to us and they are almost as unique as finger prints! I shared my core values with a work colleague at the training, and although we are Virgo twins and so similar in many ways, our core values were quite different.
Here is a PDF of core values I created for my Body Love course back in the day… and they are still relevant. I’d just forgotten to look at them for a few years 😬. The aim is to get your list down to a maximum of 5. Three is even better. I got to 4. Loyalty, Kindness, Balance, Integrity.
If you are feeling a bit angsty like me, or even if you aren’t, I recommend taking time to look at this list and trying to get your personal values list down to less than 5. Once you know your core values it can help you make decisions and notice why you are feeling triggered or out of sorts. I can see now that recent events have triggered all of my core values and now I can do some work to get things closer to what I value. It’s not necessarily easy to do but at least I now have something to work with!
Finding purpose and dealing with mid-life crises are part of my menopause health coaching. It’s common to get lost in mid-life so I have lots of tools to support women at this stage (and I know when to refer when someone needs clinical support). You can find more about my menopause coaching program here.
Vitality 30 Menopause Fitness
It’s two weeks until World Menopause Day and that’s when I hope to start my new 30-minute fitness class especially for women peri and post menopause. (And honestly it’s great for anyone at any age to help prepare for menopause too!)
This class will include some gentle yoga, a short HIIT session for cardiovascular health and some strength training for bone & muscle health.
Just 30 minutes and you’ll learn some moves that you can do in a few minutes a day at home.
Fridays 7.00am at Albany Contemporary Dance. $60 for 6 classes or $15 for a casual class.
All the details are at emmapolette.com/classes
Yoga
Term 4 yoga is already filling up. If you’d like to join me for some gentle yoga in the lead up to Christmas, now is the time to book. Click here for all the details.
Pause - one day yoga retreat
Excited to say I’ve got one more one-day retreat in the diary for 2024. This one is dedicated to anyone going through the menopause transition.
People who are worried about what perimenopause may bring
People suffering from symptoms like hot flushes and brain fog
People who are post-menopausal and want to learn to take care of themselves in this new phase of life
This retreat will include yoga, meditation and some mini-workshops about managing menopause. Lunch & afternoon tea is supplied.
When: Sunday 1st December 10 - 4
Where: King River Hall
Tickets: 6 spots - $185