Meditation for Menopause to Beat Brain Fog
- Julie Jarvis
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
It Happened One Day at Work
A few years ago, I was in the office, presenting a client strategy to my team, something I'd done many times, and for many years. I was in full flow, it was a great strategy with many exciting opportunities to engage with the client and then it happened. I went completely blank. Mid sentence. I had nothing. Nada. Zilch.
The whole room was looking at me. I was turning redder than red, and feeling like a complete idiot.
Brain fog. Agghhhhhhhh.
Luckily I had great colleagues at the time and they covered for me while I recovered my composure, but what a horrible experience. My whole self-confidence took a real beating.
Menopause in the Workplace
A recent CIPD survey, Menopause in the workplace | CIPD found that a whopping 73% of female employees have experienced menopause symptoms, with two thirds citing memory loss, loss of confidence, mood disturbances, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and reduced concentration as the most common symptoms. (Ladies - hang on in there, employment law is changing, separate blog coming!)
The great news is that there is a free and simple solution available to combat brain fog that genuinely works. Meditation.
What is Brain Fog?
Brain fog is described as a temporary loss of thought, or forgetfulness, when your mind goes completely blank. Many women experience it as forgetting the names of actors, or going upstairs to fetch something only to forget what it was you needed when you get there. Some women even begin to wonder if it is the beginning of dementia, which is more than a little scary. Is this sounding familiar?
It is thought to happen when levels of oestrogen fall and interrupt the neuro pathways in the brain (we have oestrogen receptors absolutely everywhere!) and so impacts women going through the menopause transition.
How Does Meditation Help?
What meditation does is help to restore those neuro pathways, whilst also calming the mind, giving the brain a much needed rest and reducing stress.
Meditation can take many forms, such as prayer, listening to music, running, walking in nature etc, but my personal preference is for the ancient wisdom of yoga meditation.
Yoga Meditation
When yoga originated over 4000 years ago, it is believed to have started as meditation. Learning how to quiet and still the mind was considered a path to finding self actualisation, that is, reaching our fullest potential. Our minds are so incredibly powerful that learning how to control them for the benefit of our overall health makes us incredibly powerful too.
Aside from helping to combat brain fog, the recorded health benefits of meditating include:
Reduction in pain
Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
Increased immunity
Improved memory
Improved cognitive function
Improved focus and attention
Reduction in stress
Reduction in anxiety and depression
Increased state of relaxation and therefore happiness
Leading to increased life satisfaction
How to Meditate
If you're new to meditation, I recommend you aim for a short meditation to start with, and build up from there. You are likely to get the greatest benefits when you meditate for at least 10 mins, and up to 30 mins daily.
To begin, find a comfortable seated position either on the floor, sat on a cushion, or on a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Connection to the ground is important as it helps your brain to feel safe, and therefore to relax.
Place your hands somewhere comfortable for you. You could try hands over your knees, palms facing down to feel grounded. Or you could have your hands on your knees, palms facing up, to receive. In time, you could try holding your hands in various mudras, as long as it feels comfortable to hold for a few minutes. My current favourite is Garuda Mudra, which represents the wings of the mythical Garuda bird.
Close down your eyes, and start to focus on your breath, with no judgement or expectation. Just the natural ebb and flow of your natural breath. As thoughts come into your head, and they will, bring your attention back to your breath. Aim to begin with 2 minutes of meditation daily, and build up from there.
Like all new skills, this will take time to learn and perfect, but in time you will come to love meditating and look forward to that point in the day when you get to just breath and relax.
Here's a short meditation I've recorded to help you get started. Enjoy!
Jules xx
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