You Can Heal Naturally, Avert a Midlife Crisis & Achieve Midlife B.L.I.S.S
Menopause does not need to be a life-disrupting transition! Let's design your life to optimize health & hormonal balance.
Your Body Chemically Responds To You
Your thoughts, moods and emotions have a direct influence on your hormones
Your body and mind are connected in many more ways than we can imagine. They influence one another in real time, so your body chemically reacts to your state of mind the instant it changes. When one is out of balance, it can effect the other.
1. The Mind and Body are One
The mind is not a separate entity from the body. What you think and what you feel manifests in the physical body.
2. Hormone Imbalance Starts in the Brain
The Hypothalamus and Pituitary glands regulate the endocrine and reproductive systems of a woman's body.
3. Unresolved Trauma and Chronic Stress
The strong emotions left over from unresolved past traumas and chronic stress have a negative impact on feminine hormonal balance. This can affect the HPA axis, which is the top down cascade effect from the Hypothalamus -Pituitary and Adrenal communication.
4. Altered Nervous System
Negative thoughts and emotions create chemical imbalances in the brain and body that can cause anxiety or depression. It also affects many other organs of the body, like the heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.
5. Lifestyle Choices
The things you are doing or not doing are all part of your lifestyle. These choices can be linked to your hormonal health.
6. Physical Symptoms
If the 5 previous items have been going on for a long period of time they manifest in the body as physical symptoms. This is your body's way of asking for your help.
Have We Been Conditioned to Normalize Menopausal Symptoms?
Are you dreading the thought of menopause? We've all heard the horror stories about its symptoms.
- PMS, Cellulite, Varicose veins, Belly fat and Hip Fat
- Endometriosis & Infertility
- Thyroid Nodules, and Hormone-Sensitive Cancers: breast, thyroid, ovarian, or uterine (endometrial).
- Depression, Mood swings, Rage
- Tender, Sore Breasts
- Migraine/ Headaches, Insomnia
- Weight Gain, Bloating, Water Retention
- Hot Flashes, Joint & Body Pain, Osteoporosis
- Heavy & Painful Bleeding, Irregular Cycles
- Abdominal Cramping
- Hair Loss, Dry Skin, Vaginal Dryness
Does this really have to happen? Or is this something that we have been conditioned to believe?
Studies show that women in rural areas in developing parts of the world like India, Southeast Asia and Africa, do not experience the same kind of menopause symptoms as modern women living in developed countries.
Women in Asia, rural Africa and India report very minimal symptoms compared to women in western countries.
Why is this? What are they doing or not doing that is keeping their menopause symptoms away?
Their lifestyle, movement routines and daily habits are key factors in minimizing their menopause symptoms.
Menopause 101 The Basics You Need to Know
Most of these symptoms can be reduced & even alleviated through holistic lifestyle changes such as diet & nutrition, reducing stress levels, taking time to relax, and changing our perception & mindset about our health. The biggest disservice that is happening to women going through peri-menopause is the lack of education we have about our own body's natural cycle. There is also a disconnection from our own inner guidance. If your health is your top priority you can make these lifestyle changes with ease and determination. If not, then what do you think is going to happen as you continue to age?
*Data & statistics taken from 1. The Evernow Menopause Study, 2. Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Menopause
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30868921, https://www.swanstudy.org/swan-featured-in-article-that-highlights-racial-differences-in-menopause/
Our Modern Lifestyle is Mal-Adaptive to Hormone Balance
1. Do you spend most of your time under high amounts of stress?
Stress has been normalized in our modern lifestyle. We all have a lot on our plates between our careers, our relationships and our family responsibilities. A good majority of us have unprocessed emotional trauma from the past that adds to the pressure and stress we feel on a daily basis.
So what do we do?
We find ways to cope, adapt and rise to the occasion of being a good partner, mother, wife and career woman. The irony is the things we tend to use to cope with our stress and to make our lives comfortable & convenient are the very things that are causing us to be unhealthy.
Our modern lifestyle and creature comforts come at more than just a financial cost. They also come at the cost of our physical, mental and emotional health.
Here’s why:
Chronic stress can cause cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline levels to remain elevated. When prolonged, these stress hormones have a negative effect on the body. Excess cortisol alone can cause to high blood pressure, mood changes, low libido, weight gain, and irregular periods.
In addition to that, our chronic stress responses – drinking coffee, smoking, taking medications, comfort eating, drinking alcohol etc - can also interfere with the balance and production of sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.
When our hormonal balance is compromised, it further exacerbates these problems and adds others to the mix.
2. Are the foods you eat causing more harm than good?
JUST BECAUSE IT TASTES GOOD, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!
When your body is going through the natural aging process of peri-menopause and menopause, your food choices play a key role in the type of experience you are going to have.
If you are not consuming nutritious whole foods and opting to consume too much sugar, fried foods, red meat, processed foods, coffee, nicotine, & alcohol, then your experience is going to be very tough.
3. Has your lifestyle been sedentary?
In a recent study, sedentary women were shown to be more likely to experience severe menopausal symptoms than physically active women. Their symptoms included vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes/night sweats/heart palpitations/anxiety) depressive symptoms and insomnia.
Sedentary women also had greater waist circumference and greater levels of obesity and diabetes than physically active women. An active lifestyle greatly influences the neurotransmitters and hormone levels in your body that help regulate all of your systems and keep you balanced.
4. Are you getting enough restful sleep?
During REM sleep your body has a chance to rejuvenate, repair, detoxify, regulate hormones, correct chemical imbalances, adjust blood sugar levels, store and manage memories, and heal itself. Sleep disturbances are one of the most common symptoms of the menopausal transition and can have a very negative impact on a woman's quality of life.
Women literally need 8-10 hours of their beauty rest.
5. Are you exposed to daily toxins, pollutants, and xenoestrogens without even knowing it?
This modern lifestyle leaves very little to no room for self care and taking the time we need to really get in touch with ourselves.CTime is a scarce resource so we end up buying fast food, spending less time with our families and not taking care of ourselves during this natural aging process.
This is now the normal life of many middle aged women all over the world. Stress and exposure to to all sorts of pollutants have a negative effect on our endocrine system.
The Endocrine System is responsible for regulating the production and distribution of your hormones. This system has many components that involve major organs like the kidneys, liver, lungs and the G.I. tact.
The skin is actually the largest organ in the body. Its secondary function is to absorb materials it comes in contact with. Perfumes, cosmetics, beauty products, anti-aging cremes, soaps, deodorants and lotions all normally contain chemicals that have xenoestrogens in them.
Xenoestrogens (aka environmental estrogens) are compounds that bind to hormone receptors throughout your body, sending unnatural signals that create unintended estrogen production. This results in a disruption of the body’s natural hormonal balance. Therefore, the exposure to toxic chemicals along with other contributing factors such as chronic stress, poor gut health, sluggish liver and low levels of progesterone, can cause a condition called estrogen dominance.
Estrogen Dominance happens when a male or female has higher levels of estrogen in their body than naturally needed. This can lead to cancers, weight gain, migraines and sets the tone for other serious conditions to develop.
For women in particular, estrogen dominance can cause breast & uterine fibroid, irregular and heavy painful periods, osteoporosis, migraines, cramping, bloating, loss of libido, hair loss, body pain, dry skin, depression and mood swings.
Women in peri-menopause (late 30's to 40's) are at a higher risk for estrogen dominance. Estrogen Dominance in menopause is even more dangerous than in reproductive years because women tend to produce more “dirty” estrogen that can be harmful. "Dirty" estrogen means that bio-active estrogen is being re-circulated in your body when it actually needs to be eliminated.
A Holistic Lifestyle Can Change Your Menopausal Experience
Learn to dance with the chemical changes of your body.
Aging is a natural process. Some of us dread the idea of getting old, yet we never stop aging while we are alive. When our bodies reach this pivotal time, we shift from our reproductive years to our years of wisdom. When this happens our bodies will go through chemical changes. If we continue to live our lives as is, ignore these changes and stick to what we know, then we can expect to face the consequences.
A holistic lifestyle is a lifestyle that incorporates every aspect of our selves. It means that we are addressing our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual evolution as a whole, rather than separate issues. When we look at our whole MindBody as being an interconnected unit, we can make changes that will help us harmonize all of our internal and external elements.
Doing this will bring us more peace, calmness, comfort, clarity, wisdom and ease us through this transition.
Don’t put life on pause for menopause, press play and stay in the game! Its far from over and the best is yet to come.
Hi! I'm Robyn Narciso
A Sports Injury Changed My Life For The Better
I’ve always prided myself on being a type A person. I was a go-getter and did things to the extreme. Years back I was living an unbalanced lifestyle. I had no idea about hormones, the body’s chemical makeup nor the changes that happen during aging.
When getting into health and wellness, the journey can go into two different extremes.
My journey was polarized towards peak performance as an athlete so I started body building with the idea that adding more muscle mass to my body would prevent problems from as I aged. I started out with a few gym sessions a week, but once I saw progress, I increased the amounts of weight I was lifting during each session. 20, 30, 40 kg squats, shoulder presses, biceps curls and all sorts of new exercises were added to my routines for variety.
My pre-workout diet consisted of carbs, high protein and coffee with MCT oil. Everything was progressing fine and I was seeing my figure take shape until one day I pushed too hard. I came home and I noticed a pain in my knee.
From a pain, it grew into not being able to walk properly, climb stairs, ride a motor bike or workout for months. This is when I decided to dig deep into women’s health. During my studies I realized that there is so much we are not being told about the things we need to do to keep ourselves healthy during our aging process. I dedicated countless hours to research how to naturally heal my injury without having to get an x-ray or see a doctor.
This is when I took a holistic approach to my own health, was able to heal my injury and prepare myself for the incoming changes that happen during peri-menopause. I see so many women making uninformed decisions when they feel the natural symptoms of aging.
HRT (hormone replacement therapy), Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement, supplements and medications all are quick fixes to a long term problem. Each one has a glass ceiling of effectivity until it wears off and lifestyle factors start to dominate a woman’s health.
It is my mission to educate women on their bodies, their lifestyle choices and help them make informed decisions about entering into peri-menopause and menopause. I aim to increase your awareness of natural alternatives, practical lifestyle changes and learning to harmonize their mindset with the body’s natural aging process.
Anything of value never comes easy. If you are willing to do the work with me, I’ll give you 110% of my best effort to help you get to where you want to be. It is not going to be easy, but your health, peace of mind and happiness is worth it all!
Robyn Narciso
Embody vitality, wisdom and ageless beauty
Are you ready to embrace aging and enjoy the process?
I can help you learn how to live your life with more energy, less pain, & more vitality
- Learn how to balance your specific gut, hormone, and life stressors
- Manage your stress levels through easy to do stress release techniques and self care exercises
- Hone the skills needed for self-mastery over your body, mind, and emotions
- Learn about your nutritional needs and the kind of foods that will help, support & balance your hormones
- Master the dynamics of what is going on with your hormones, so that you build self-awareness and can apply techniques, diets and exercises accordingly
- Cultivate your inner guidance & the wisdom of your intuition so you can create a life that's true to you, purposeful, peaceful, and healthy.