The word menopause literally means the cessation of our periods. It marks one day of our lives—the 356th day that we have been free of our monthly menses. At its Greek and French roots, menopause means “moon pause.” The standard use of the word menopause has come to encapsulate three phases of life: perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.

From a Western societal view, the overall idea of menopause is that our periods stop, our fertility stops, our youth wanes quickly as our bodies begin to change in ways that will bring us unhappiness. Essentially, we are told that our lives as we know them are over. The idea of this ending and decline is full of negative connotations and is, in our view, toxic not just to middle-aged women but to young women who themselves will one day be middle-aged.

Most women will live half our lives as post-childbearing years, and yet we are taught to feel like victims of our bodies' natural processes. Here, we don’t ascribe to this and have chosen to eschew society’s negative narratives of the “ending” of our womanhood. To bring women a positive experience of this empowering time in their lives, we have chosen to rename menopause to The Way. The origins of this name came after our founder was inspired by a Buddhist poem (above) that she read which tells us that the path we are on that seems difficult may very well be pointing us to enlightenment.

The journey of hormonal change is easier for some than others. There are physical and emotional challenges, there is a fear of loss of beauty, there is a fear of being unseen. We are reframing this narrative, as we believe that this time can lead to the biggest spiritual transformation of our lives. This time of life is not an ending at all. It is a continuous path, and if you choose to embark on it with the intention to become a new, refined version of yourself, you will emerge as a magnetic, powerful, beautiful sage of a woman who is full of wisdom. Going through The Way can be the most rewarding experience imaginable.

Let’s be cycle breakers together. For ourselves, our daughters, and the many women to come. Let's experience and then teach that The Way is not the end but a beginning.