Navigating Perimenopause with Yoga and Lifestyle Changes, with Nicola Moberg
Reframing Perimenopause: A Conversation About Hormones, Yoga, and Empowerment
When was the last time you heard someone talk about perimenopause with excitement rather than dread? If you’re like most women, the answer is probably never. The dominant narrative around this natural life transition tends to focus on symptoms to fear and problems to fix, leaving many of us approaching our forties and fifties with anxiety rather than anticipation.
My recent conversation with Nicola Moberg, founder of Puna Yoga in Helsinki and certified yoga teacher trainer, completely shifted my perspective on what perimenopause can be – not just a phase to endure, but a powerful transition to embrace.
The Symptoms No One Talks About
At 45, Nicola started experiencing heart palpitations and sleep disturbances. Like many women, she visited doctors who couldn’t quite pinpoint what was happening. Her hormones were changing, but because her cycle remained regular, perimenopause wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
This is the reality for countless women. We know about hot flashes and irregular periods, but what about the brain fog, the anxiety, the way your nervous system seems to operate differently? What about the identity shifts that happen as estrogen decreases and you suddenly care less about pleasing everyone else and more about pleasing yourself?
Nicola’s experience highlights something crucial: perimenopause symptoms can begin years before your cycle changes, and they’re far more varied than most of us realize.
Preparation Matters More Than You Think
One of the most powerful insights from our conversation was this comparison: just like approaching birth with fear versus empowerment creates two entirely different experiences, how we prepare for perimenopause shapes how we move through it.
Nicola spent years building practices that served her body – regular yoga, particularly inversions that balance hormones, lifestyle habits that support her nervous system, and awareness of her menstrual cycle. When perimenopause arrived, she wasn’t caught completely off guard.
The women who struggle most, she noted, are often those for whom everything hits at once – without the foundation of body awareness and supportive practices already in place. Drawing on her experience training hundreds of yoga teachers through Puna Yoga’s 200-hour programs since 2017, Nicola emphasized how living yoga’s principles with integrity makes all the difference.
Yoga as a Tool for Hormonal Balance
So how exactly does yoga help during this transition? Nicola explained that until her late forties, her regular asana practice provided enough strength and hormonal balance. But as hormones shifted, she adapted her approach.
She now practices according to her cycle – strength training and more vigorous yoga during her high-energy phase, and restorative practices when her energy naturally dips. This isn’t about pushing through or maintaining the same routine every week; it’s about honoring what your body needs in different phases.
For postmenopausal women, Nicola suggested following the moon cycle instead – treating the new moon as menstruation and the full moon as ovulation, allowing nature’s rhythms to guide your practice.
Natural Approaches and Individual Choice
While hormone replacement therapy dominates many perimenopause conversations, Nicola explored natural alternatives like wild yam cream, chasteberry, and shilajit. She emphasized that every woman’s journey is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
Some women sail through with no symptoms. Others experience severe disruption to their daily lives. The key is observing your own body, understanding what’s happening, and making choices that align with your values and needs.
A Powerful Reframe
Perhaps the most beautiful part of our conversation was when Nicola shared why she feels better at 50 than she did in her forties. She’s living guilt-free, focused on her own growth and purpose now that her teenage children are more independent. She has knowledge about what’s happening in her body, which gives her power and control rather than fear.
“I’m excited for what’s coming next,” she told me. “Welcome, you know, whatever it brings me.”
What if we approached perimenopause the way we learn to approach birth – not as something to fear, but as a powerful transition to prepare for with intention? What if we started learning about it earlier, building supportive practices now, and reframing it as a phase of wisdom and freedom rather than loss?
That’s the conversation we need to be having. And it starts with honest stories like Nicola’s.
Connect with Nicola on IG @nicoyagala or visit her studio’s website www.purnayoga.fi
Thank you for listening!
