April, 1 2018

A midlife blessing is the release of many outdated beliefs, which leaves room for new revelations. As our hormones change, we reform our psychological perspective.  A surprising midlife shift of my own was in my attitude about working with children.

When I was younger I believed that I would not be taken seriously in pediatric work if I did not have kids of my own, so while I worked on clients’ kids with good results, I kept quiet about it. I also watched others work with kids in an effusive way that I could never emulate. I am a mellow, contemplative person who loves people, but I thought I was not bubbly enough for kids.  

Once my hormones shifted into menopause I cared less about what other people thought, or about being like them or in subtly dissmissing my own talents. Instead I focused more on honoring my essential nature and developing what I do best to contribute to the community.

The truth is that I have a lot of assets that help me work effectively with kids: I am a steady and calm person. I understand the effects of shock and trauma on the body, and I have highly sensitive palpation skills. CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is fantastic for kids and I’ve been practicing it for over twenty years. Mothers report that after their CST sessions their babies are nursing better, sleeping more peacefully, and have less digestive problems.

The other surprise is that once I opened up to working more with kids, this deep sense of my inner grandmother emerged. Despite the fact that I am not a physical mother or grandmother, these inherent feminine gifts are still within me. I never realized how deeply I would care about the younger ones coming up in the world and feel how important and joyous it is to support families.  Anthropologists talk about how the human race survived so successfully because of grandmothers, and I am starting to feel and embrace that power in my own blood and bones.

So, if you read about my adventures in working with kids, pregnant moms, and nursing babies and wonder if I’m no longer focusing on midlife women, please know that it all fits into my essential mission of supporting women’s health with diverse modalities while acknowledging the gifts of our different developmental ages.