about me

Hi!

I’m Manuela but my friends and family call me Mani and you are welcome to also.

MY VALUES

Equity -- Education –- Communication –- Community

I believe education keeps women physically and mentally strong so they can stay at work and be financially independent. When we know why something is happening in our bodies, and have access to information about our options and alternatives, we can make the right choices.

MY MISSION

To help you cut through the medical jargon to understand the physiological reasons your body is going through perimenopause symptoms you’re having, so you can make informed decisions about what you need, when and how.

I don’t want you to feel confused, scared or alone.

I also want to ensure our daughters know more about the unique function of our bodies than we ever did.

Forewarned

forearmed

formidable

Managing midlife and perimenopause is a challenge isn’t it?! Until recently, no one was really talking about perimenopause. I would really like our education and knowledge around this normal life stage to improve, so I decided to be part of the solution.

HI! I’m Manuela – but my friends and family call me Mani – and you are welcome to also! 😊

I’m a teacher and a mum to a son and daughter newly launched out into the world. When they left home and no longer needed me on the daily, I’ll be honest – I felt adrift. I truly had to recalibrate what my role was in this life now. After it felt like the wheels fell off my life in all areas – health, home and work, I took myself on a journey of discovery to educate myself on as much as I could.

Honestly, I didn’t think I deserved for it all to be so hard!

You too?

The final straw for me, when I tried to be all grown up and proactive about preparing for ‘menopause’ as I approached 50, was when the female doctor asked me if I was planning to get pregnant? (At fifty! Was she on drugs?? Did she not hear what I just said? I speak very good English you know….) When I said ‘no thanks, I’m good.’ she replied with "well in that case, you no longer need your oestrogen and progesterone and any symptoms you’re experiencing are a normal part of the ageing process I’m afraid. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

And you know what, I knew what Oestrogen was (thanks Yr 6 Sex Ed) ……that was my fertility hormone that helped me get pregnant…..it was produced in my ovaries, but what the bloody hell was progesterone? I had no idea. Maybe someone mentioned it when I was pregnant but truly, you’ve got a bit going on in those 20 years post baby and it’s not exactly a helpful piece of info that takes up real estate in your brain at that time – am I right?

So I Googled it. What I read, told me that it’s main function was to ‘protect the integrity of the uterus.’ “Hmm” I thought. “I still have one of those. Could be important. I wonder if there’s anything about Oestrogen I don’t know?” O.M.G. I was 49 years old before I learned that Oestrogen is not just a reproductive hormone. It impacts every major bodily system and process! Anti-inflammatory (sore joints anyone?), helps to maintain bone density and muscle mass, regulate body temperature and support sleep cycles.

Suddenly so many things about my symptoms made sense!!

I couldn’t help thinking.

"I am an educated, privileged white woman living in a city of a first world nation. If the answer I got from the doctor is what I can expect, what kind of experience are rural, remote, regional and indigenous women having?"

Since then, I've spent the last few years reading countless books, attending the International Menopause Conference to learn from scientists, professors, doctors and specialists. I've completed accredited, internationally recognised courses out of the U.S. and the U.K. to understand the mania of symptoms and best practice approaches for perimenopause. As a result of this, I have a very comprehensive understanding of how perimenopause impacts not only our physiological health but also the impact on:

  • mental health,

  • movement and meditation,

  • motherhood – as a mum as well as the changing relationship with my own mum,

  • men and relationships,

  • money and of course,

  • ‘manifesting’ my next stage of life and what I wanted it to ‘look’ like.

I realised that the medical profession doesn't have a management plan or strategy for us to follow, so, I created my own. I want to share what I have learned with you, so you don't feel like you are doing this alone. Hence, why Midlife with Mani was born. I don’t want you to have to wade through dozens of books and websites like I did – let’s cut straight to the important bits - because let's face it - who has the time!

I also want our daughters to be better prepared than we ever were.

With everything I have learned, I know I can help other women to navigate this life stage for the better. I came up with a symptom checklist that organised them into the various 'types' depending on the bodily pathway affected. A checklist to take to Dr's appointments so I wouldn't forget what I wanted to say or ask for. I created tools so we could advocate for ourselves and frameworks so we could workshop what we needed at every stage of the journey.

We need to keep women employed and financially secure while we navigate the symptoms that could derail us.

Did you know that from the age of 44, a woman’s career and work trajectory traditionally starts to taper off?

Research has shown that up to 47% of women will not take on a promotion, 23% reduce their hours of paid work by up to half and 11% leave the workforce entirely because of the impact of their symptoms.

We’re living in a time when women aged 55 and over continue to be the fasted growing demographic of homelessness in our Country – a first world nation, and this started even before Covid or our current cost of living and housing crises.

This is unacceptable to me.

These are women just like me who have raised children, supported partners, had multiple jobs and careers throughout their lives to contribute to their community. There are options out there that are right for you and I would like to help you find them faster.

If we want our ‘seat at the table’ we need to stay in the job pipeline and not be forced out because of physiological symptoms beyond our control.

Let’s also ensure we make things better for our daughters and the women coming after us.

Here's to all of us being 'Forewarned, Forearmed and Formidable!'

Mani xx

making sense of Perimenopause

All things motherhood, money, movement, mental health, meditation, mindfulness, making meaning, and relationships.

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