Understanding our own menstrual cycles and menopause symptoms from the beginning, middle to end is crucial to our well-being. Your menstrual cycle is influenced by a range of lifestyle factors.

It's important to understand your hormones in this middle stage of your life and the signs of menopause symptoms or perimenopause.

Between the ages of 12 and 52, a woman will have around 480 periods, or fewer if she has any pregnancies. Generally speaking, women continue to menstruate until the age of 45 to 55, when menopause begins.

We can have about 500 periods in our lifetime.

The average woman menstruates from age 13 until age 51. That means a woman can use 9,600 tampons over her lifetime!

Usually beginning around age 40, women can experience skipped, lighter, or even heavier or more frequent periods. This irregularity of menstrual flow is caused by changes in hormone production. 

Period Awareness And Understanding Your Cycle

Why aren’t we more aware of personalized systems for happier periods? Shouldn’t we be taking on a more full-body approach when it comes to understanding our own cycle and be learning this all from oh’ I don’t know the very beginning?

All women are different, and so are our periods. But we need to talk more about menopause symptoms and how to deal with them as well!

But in the past, there haven’t been “guidance counselors” to teach coping mechanisms or to just help take on a more personalized approach to our cycles. 

Most of us just talk about our periods with girlfriends and drink wine or alcohol to numb the cramps, but as much as we love a good Malbec, there has to be a better way; so why aren’t there more period coaches again? Keep reading to learn more about the signs of menopause and perimenopause.

Meet Period Coach Claire Baker and Why We Love Her

We’re living in the 21st century and there’s practically a coach for everything. There are Personal Coaches, Accountability Coaches, Executive Coaches, Leadership Coaches, and of course, there will always be the American 90s sitcom television series Coach. 

According to her bio, Claire Baker is a sought-after period coach, speaker, and natural fertility teacher. 

For nearly a decade she has taught thousands of women how to live in harmony with their menstrual cycle, rather than working against it.

Claire believes menstrual cycle awareness is the missing key in women’s well-being, empowerment, and creativity, and her immersive online courses and workshops inspire women to know their flow and become the authority in their own lives.

Her online program Adore Your Cycle has students in over 35 countries. And her goal is  to ‘make periods fun.’ She also wrote a book called '50 Things You Need To Know About Periods.' 

In her book, Claire explains the ‘four seasons’ of our menstrual cycle and how they vary hormonally to affect everything from mood, motivation, and memory, to energy levels, confidence, focus, and stress. Keep reading to learn more about menopause symptoms and perimenopause.

50 Things You Need To Know About Periods

She talks about each phase your body goes through and what tools your body needs to push with the flow rather than against it.

And she lets you know that you’re not crazy and that it’s totally normal to have different feelings and emotions throughout each season. 

You’ll learn how to chart your cycle to identify your unique superpowers in each hormonal phase, the tools you need to work with your body rather than pushing against it, and that you’re not crazy: it’s completely natural to feel different from week to week. 

I also recommend signing up for Claire’s newsletter. In it, she shares emails about twice a month. Plus 20% off all her eBooks and courses. 

You'll also receive:
+ Menstrual Cycle 101 Guide
+ 90-minute "Inner Seasons" Online Class
+ Lunar & Menstrual Cycle Calendar
+ Get Unstuck eBook
+ Creative Living Guided Meditations Duo

Period and Parallel 
Claire is a pioneer. She’s tapping into a topic that is not discussed enough in today’s world. Why didn’t we learn this in school?

Shouldn’t women have more tools available and a firmer understanding and awareness about our cycles and what we can do to help our bodies when we menstruate?

And what happens to our bodies when we stop having periods? What is perimenopause exactly? How can we better prepare ourselves for menopause and menopause symptoms? 

But more importantly, why isn’t this talked about more and why isn’t there more education on this subject and more coaches like Claire?

Why don’t we learn more strategies to understand or better cope with how to live in harmony with our cycles from early on? Shouldn’t we really know our bodies better?

Never Stop Learning About Your Body

In conclusion, Claire is amazing and we are just thankful that women like her are thinking outside of the box.  She is innovative and authentic which makes for a winning combination.

We need more women to start breaking down taboos and barriers and speak up for women’s health and period awareness. Your body, health, and well-being should always come first. 

In the end, the wisdom gained from comprehending our bodies' changes during menopause and perimenopause empowers us to make informed decisions, seek appropriate healthcare, and inspire others to embark on their own journeys of discovery.

By knowing our cycles, we not only honor our bodies but also contribute to a future where women's health is universally understood, embraced, and nurtured.