Mind-Body-Soul Self Care

Getting scared for the future of your sports as you anticipate transitioning to a new phase of womanhood? Or maybe you are struggling in the present? If/when it resonates with you and your doctor or trainer, consider advice from Dr. Stacy Sims, a sports physiologist who specializes in female athletes through our life cycles. According to her bio, she has a MSc, a PhD, has published numerous articles, several books, “and is a regularly featured speaker at professional and academic conferences, including USA Cycling and the U.S. Olympic Committee.” She also has free online TedTalks and podcasts if you too financially sapped to buy her books or courses. –but I presume she would appreciate your support if you have the funds. 😉

How are your self-care routines changing as you mature? Are you straddled between taking care of yourself and caring for others?

If you are a healthcare provider/wise womyn healer, what recommendations do you have for active, bad ass Gen X women at this stage of life regarding changing dietary needs, how to get good SLEEP, how to fit in mindfulness practices and play?

This section will share a collection of voices on what is working for us in terms of nurturing our high-achieving selves, mind, body, and soul.

Specifically for Competitive Athletes

Have you ever Googled to try to find out what to anticipate regarding how perimenopause and/or menopause will affect your sports? If you haven’t, DON’T DO IT! Even a Xena would cry.

Instead, here are a few sites to supplement inspiration from the Sports & Adventure section of this blog!

“Meet the 62-Year-Old Japanese Woman Who Ran a 2:52 Marathon”: https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a35702201/mariko-yugeta-marathoner/

Five 50+ Menopausal Athletes to Watch in 2023: https://www.feistymenopause.com/blog/five-50-menopausal-athletes-to-watch-in-2023 (Potential trigger warning for my Arab sisters on the sister who was an elite commando trainer for the Israeli army before she was a pro cyclist. Multiple points of view welcome here.)

Main recommendations from older wiser athletes and from physiologists specializing in female athletes seem to be: do more strength training; do more interval training; trade some carbs for more protein; gracefully accept that you might need more recovery time after races than you did when you were 20. But you probably will have lots of juice left in your batteries to keep competing, and perhaps even improve your PR (personal record)!

Remember that your best advice will come from your own body. As athletes, we are generally good at tuning in to what our bodies need and what they are trying to tell us. As competitive sorts, though, do we always listen? If we don’t, in our 40s, 50s, 60s, our bodies will start to scream, not whisper. Respect your body’s acquired wisdom, too.

The Title 9 Gray Wave

In the US, we made history as the first girls out of the Title 9 gate. Now, building on the efforts of our trailblazing foremothers, we will make history as the first GIANT WAVE of mature American women to keep going with our competitive sports, as well with as our careers and passions beyond sports. There will be more female athletes than ever in the US facing perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause changes; but there is precious little out there for us that actually encourages us to keep striving, to keep improving. Let’s change that so our trial-and-error efforts will make it easier for subsequent generations of women.