Focusing on midlife mental health, join our very own Islena in diving deep into the neuroendocrine changes that occur during menopause, reframing this stage of life as a "second adolescence".

Time-Stamped Highlights:

0:00 - 0:27 Menopause as a neuroendocrine journey of transformation.
0:30 - 1:50 Islena shares her personal experience with anxiety during menopause and the tools she uses to navigate it.
2:00 - 5:40 Exploring the concept of befriending sensations rather than chasing symptoms. Insights into menopause as a second adolescence.
6:07 - 9:38 Internal family systems therapy explained: Recognizing inner child sensations and their connection to stored trauma.
9:39 - 13:46 The role of attunement in grounding anxious energy and creating presence in the moment. Practical tips for connecting with your surroundings.
13:47 - 18:30 Generational patterns and how they shape our responses to stress during menopause. Validating stored energy in the body through a self-compassion practice.
18:31 - 19:17 Reconciliation with younger adolescent parts during menopause as a healing process.
19:18 - 27:23 Guided visualization exercise led by Islena to soothe anxious thinking and connect with stored unprocessed energy in the body.

Gain insights on:

• Understanding menopause as a time of transformation rather than symptom-chasing.
• The mind's need to "fix and cure" symptoms of discomfort and how that fixation can partition into anxiety during menopause.
• Tools for befriending sensations and emotions through practices like guided visualization and Internal Family Systems therapy.
• Guided practices to integrate and stabilize unprocessed energy.
• How generational patterns impact our responses to stress and change.

Islena demonstrates how to befriend (and not resist) sensations that arise during challenge & stress, and guides us in a Grounding Meditation, closing with hands-on practical tools from her embodiment practices, to help you traverse biochemical, neurological, and emotional shifts with grace.

If you'd like to connect with Islena, you can find her at⁠ ⁠www.onboardyoga.com⁠⁠ or⁠ ⁠linktr.ee/islenafaircrest⁠⁠.

With over 23 years experience as a yoga educator, somatic therapist, and IFS practitioner, she utilizes the trauma informed healing centered engagement of Internal Family Systems with her clients and community. A mother of two young adults, and a former doula and prenatal educator, Islena has taught yoga teacher trainings & retreats world-wide, and written for health content media. As a somatic & wellness educator, she teaches nervous system regulation & holistic wellness practices, mentoring individuals & families in their healing journey towards empowered living, with workshops, stress management, therapeutic movement, breathwork, counselling, and healing attachment trauma.