This time on the podcast we welcome back Kate Codrington, author of Second Spring, to talk about her new book The Perimenopause Journal, which was published this week.. Kate’s new book is a lovingly created year-long journal which can be started at any point in your perimenopause journey and builds on her writing around the different seasons of pre/peri- and post-menopause in Second Spring (although you certainly don’t need to have read this to use the Journal). Within you’ll find journaling prompts and guides that help you figure out which of the different types of seasonal self-care are right for you as you navigate the rollercoaster of perimenopause. As Kate herself outlines, there’s no time in our lives where the prompt “How can I be kinder to myself?” is not appropriate, but perimenopause is surely one time where we desperately need to allow ourselves more kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness. She describes perimenopause as a process of refinement - showing us what isn’t working for us, what is not serving us in life. In this sense the Journal is a helpful vehicle for us to be able to look back over a period of time and see how we have developed our self-kindness practices. The positives of perimenopause - which are much more available to us when we are well rested - include getting clear on our needs and how to get our needs met - which can be easier said than done given we have (generally) been socialized to put our needs last. Processing this can reveal to us the gap between who we actually are and how we have sold ourselves short. The act of writing things down in a journal helps us build the muscle of articulating what we need. This practice - of accepting our vulnerability and strength, claiming lost parts of ourselves - takes time and however we choose to deal with perimenopause (whether we take HRT or not), this inner process is still likely to be going on… We joke about ‘enforced rest and respite’ for perimenopausal folk (we can dream!) - but the journal really is a framework for enabling what our minds and bodies are calling out for. The Perimenopause Journal also gives you access to some of Kate’s fantastic yoga nidra meditations (accessible using the QR codes in the book) for 20-minute doses of deep restorative rest, as well as intention-setting meditations each month. We unpack a little of my skepticism around moon phases which are used as an anchor in the journal - Kate gently explains why exploring and noting how we feel in relation to the phases of the moon can be supportive especially once the rhythm of other cycles has gone. I love Kate’s description of the journal as “a soft-lined nest for you to rest in’ - and who would not want that! You can find out more about Kate’s work and writing (and access her free resource library, including some yoga nidra recordings) at www.katecodrington.co.uk The Perimenopause Journal is published by David and Charles: https://www.davidandcharles.com/books/diaries-letters-journals/the-perimenopause-journal-9781446313589/ Second Spring is available in paperback: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/second-spring-kate-codrington/5752562?ean=9780008469771 If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online! If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/
