Keywords
Perimenopause, menopause, self-care, letting go, receiving support, energetic healing, being held, nature as medicine, Reiki, emotional nourishment, midlife reflection, holistic wellness, surrender, feminine energy, rest and restoration.

Summary
This episode explores the power of receiving support during perimenopause and menopause, and the importance of letting go of control to allow ourselves to be held—whether by people, nature, pets, or healing practices. Françoise shares personal insights on rest, surrender, and the quiet nourishment that comes from softening into care.

Takeaways from this episode:

~Allowing yourself to be held is a form of deep self-care, especially during perimenopause and menopause.

~Support can come from many sources—partners, nature, pets, or healing practices like Reiki and aromatherapy.

~Letting go of control creates space for nourishment, restoration, and unexpected gifts.

~Receiving without needing to give back is both healing and necessary at this stage of life.

~Beauty and presence in simple moments can offer profound emotional support.

Timestamps:
00:14 – Introduction: Françoise welcomes listeners and sets the tone for the episode.
01:20 – A Change in Plans: She explains the change from the originally planned topic due to being ill.
02:05 – What It Means to Be Held: Introduction of the core theme—allowing ourselves to be nurtured.
03:40 – Personal Reflection: Françoise shares how being sick reminded her to surrender and receive.
06:10 – Everyday Examples: Discusses being held by nature, pets, aromatherapy, and more.
08:20 – Why It’s Hard to Receive: Reflects on control and independence in midlife.
09:55 – Energetic Exercise: A simple guided practice using hands to demonstrate energetic ease.
10:50 – Guided Check-In: A short body awareness and intention-setting moment.
12:00 – Closing Reflections: Encouragement to soften and receive support in the coming week.

The Way Home to Yourself – Bonus Episode: Allow Yourself to Be Held

Francoise Decatrel: Hello ladies, and welcome to The Way Home to Yourself, a space for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and midlife with clarity, calm, and ease. My name is Francoise. I’m a menopause coach, a holistic guide, a clinical aromatherapist, an herbalist, and a Reiki practitioner. I’m also the founder of The Way Apothecary,

where we embrace this transition as a time of empowerment—not as something to fix, but as a homecoming to yourself. We explore all phases of menopause through a mind, body, and spirit perspective. Each episode of this podcast offers gentle guidance, reflections, and practical tools to support you on this journey. I truly believe that this unique time in our lives

is all about our journey home to ourselves. So let’s begin.

Last week, at the end of our podcast, I mentioned that this week we’d be talking about a really powerful, wonderful subject—and that is the heightened intuition and sensitivity that comes during perimenopause, and lasts through menopause and for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately,

I got really sick with a stomach bug and was off my feet for the entire week. I began to get kind of stressed out about how I would record this. Then I thought, you know what? I have to practice what I preach. So I decided not to go ahead with that scheduled podcast as planned.

But today, we’re just going to talk for about 10 minutes and check in—and talk about something I was reminded of this past week: allowing ourselves to be held.

So what does that mean, exactly? Allowing ourselves to be held can mean so many different things. But at its core, it’s the idea of letting someone or something hold space for us—to nurture us while we back off and simply allow ourselves to receive. We don’t have to do anything.

That could mean different things to different people. For instance, it could mean allowing ourselves to be held by our partners. And when I say this, I don’t mean physically. I mean the sense of allowing someone to nurture and give to us without our needing to micromanage it, think about it, or give back—sort of like getting a massage.

A massage requires you to lie there and just take it in. You’re on your back or your stomach, literally in a submissive pose. That alone is an act of surrender.

When I was sick this week, I literally couldn’t do anything. I just couldn’t get out of bed. I was exhausted. I had to allow other things to hold space for me and nurture me.

One way I did that was by simply staring out my beautiful window. I look out into a redwood forest, and the trees are gorgeous. It happened to be one of the first warm days of spring—it was actually up to 75 degrees. There were butterflies flying everywhere, and it was just so warm. I thought, you know what? I can’t do anything. But all this goodness—all this nature, all this calm—is holding space for me.

Another way to look at this is through working with herbs or aromatherapy. These are plants—and they’re helping us. Yes, we have to take them and use them, but let them work their magic. Let them do what they are here to do.

Another example is being held by a pet. If you have a cat or a dog, you know that when you sit with your pet, you don’t have to do much. Sometimes you play and need to be engaged, but other times, they know what you need. If you’ve ever cried in front of your pet, they come to you and do the exact right thing. It’s beautiful. So allow yourself to receive that without needing to give back.

And this is where it gets tricky. Because here’s the deal—by the time we hit midlife, most of us have done a lot. We’ve hustled, we’ve worked, we’ve had families. We know how to get things done. But at this time in our lives, we need extra care. We have to allow others in who can nurture us and care for us. That means giving up some control. We don’t need to manage everything.

This could take the form of weekly therapy, a massage, a retreat, or a walk in nature—just letting the beauty around you hold space while you stop trying to think of everything.

One of the ways I’ve really allowed this into my life lately has been going for Reiki once a week. I’m a Reiki practitioner, and I used to think, “Well, I can do it myself. I’ll just do it at home.” And I do—but over the past few months, I was experiencing some extra stress. I realized I needed someone else. I couldn’t do it all. So I went—and it was the best decision.

I got on that table, and it was just so wonderful to allow this skilled, talented woman to hold space for me. To give up that power.

From an energetic perspective, doing is forward movement. We’re pushing. In fact, join me in this: put your hands together in prayer pose and push them together. Both are pushing, creating tension. Now, what if one of them eased up? It makes it so much easier for the other to do the work.

That’s what I’m saying. We need to call that energy into our lives. We don’t always have to be doing. We don’t always have to be trying. We don’t always have to be struggling.

If you’re in perimenopause, you’re already going through so many changes. Let someone else hold space for you. Let them bring their beauty, their talents, and their skills into your life. And again, it doesn’t have to be a person. It can be a pet. It can be trees.

Go to the ocean. Sit and just watch. Don’t expect anything. Don’t even try to solve a problem. Just look at it. Appreciate its beauty. Let it fill your body. Because it does change things.

Take beauty in. Take nourishment in. Even from food. When you’re eating, instead of rushing through a meal or being distracted—reading or scrolling on your phone—take time to let the food you made fill you up. Especially if you made it for yourself. Let it nourish you with its goodness and its nutrients.

Just allow yourself to receive. It’s really hard at this age. Admittedly, we all become a little controlling. We do. I know I do. And that’s okay. We’ve been around a while. We know how we like things. We know how to reach our goals.

But if you leave room for other people, places, and things—you’ll receive gifts you couldn’t create on your own. And that is a beautiful thing.

Let’s shut our eyes for a second.

Just come into your body. Feel your feet on the ground. Feel yourself being pulled toward the earth. And just check in with your body. Notice any tension, any shakiness—just see what’s there. Don’t judge it. Just acknowledge it.

And now, make a promise to yourself that in one way—over the next week, until we meet again—you’ll allow someone, or something, to hold space for you. You’ll let go of a little control. It might not be easy at first, but I promise you—it will feel so good that you’ll want to keep doing it.

Once you see it’s not that hard, that nothing bad will happen, that you’re safe, you’ll remember that others—and again, they don’t have to be people; they can be pets, nature, herbs, a tea, an aromatherapy treatment, an essential oil—can meet your needs. You are safe and cared for.

Now take a final deep, slow inhale—deep into the belly. And then a slow exhale through the nose. And when you’re ready, open your eyes.

Thank you so much for joining me today on The Way Home to Yourself. I hope this short episode offered a moment of calm, reflection, and support.

If you’d like to learn more about a holistic approach to menopause and self-care, come visit me at The Way Apothecary.

And next time, we will get to that episode I promised, all about the heightened intuition and energetic sensitivity during perimenopause and menopause. It will be a powerful conversation blending science, indigenous wisdom, and practical tools for tuning in—or out—of energetic sensitivity. It’s going to be really special. Don’t miss it.

I look forward to seeing you. Have a beautiful week.

Music Credit: Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/yasumu/blue-waters
License code: UW8VEXJFWADQ3GNE