The reality is that menopause is not a standalone experience; it is the culmination of decades of hormonal rhythms, biological patterns, and lived experiences.

Yet, many holistic practitioners approach menopause without considering the full menstrual health timeline. This is where the gap in support begins. Without understanding menstrual health as a lifelong framework, you are missing key insights that could transform the way you work with clients.

Menopause is not the start - it's a continuation

Most education on menopause focuses on what happens when oestrogen declines, often overlooking the collective role of other hormones—such as progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol—throughout perimenopause and beyond. But how many professionals were taught to look at the decades of cyclical changes leading up to that transition?

The menstrual cycle is not solely about reproduction—it is a biological rhythm that influences metabolism, cognition, mental health, cardiovascular function, and immune resilience. Every period, every hormonal fluctuation, and every symptom experienced along the way shapes the perimenopausal and menopausal experience.

When practitioners only begin paying attention to hormones at the point of decline, they miss the opportunity to identify patterns, prevent avoidable struggles, and guide clients with confidence long before they reach perimenopause.

Flipping the Menopause Narrative

What if we recognised menopause as part of a lifelong hormonal rhythm, shaped by years of cyclical changes, rather than an abrupt shift? What if we prepared for it with the same awareness and support we offer for other major transitions—puberty, pregnancy, and postnatal recovery?

This shift in perspective allows practitioners to:

• Identify early patterns of imbalance in clients long before they reach perimenopause.

• Improve long-term health outcomes by supporting menstrual health at every stage.

• Reduce uncertainty and fear around menopause by positioning it as part of an ongoing process rather than an abrupt disruption. (for those travelling a typical timeline)

When holistic practitioners embrace menstrual health as the foundation, they move beyond symptom management and into true, proactive support.

Why Holistic Practitioners are the key to change

Conventional medicine often approaches menopause as a set of symptoms to be treated rather than a natural process to be understood. This is why so many people feel lost—because they weren’t taught to observe and interpret the signs their bodies have been giving them for years.

This is where holistic health leaders must step in.

Your work is already focused on the whole person—on balance, alignment, and deep transformation. Adding menstrual health as a guiding framework does not complicate your practice; it strengthens it.

If you work with the body’s natural cycles rather than against them, everything shifts:

• Coaching and therapy become more precise when you factor in the role of oestrogen, progesterone, and their influence on emotional regulation.

• Nutrition and movement strategies become more effective when you understand how metabolic demands shift across the cycle.

• Client confidence increases when they realise they have always had the tools to navigate their health—they just needed the right guide.

Reclaiming menstrual health as a vital framework

It is time to move beyond treating menopause as an endpoint and start seeing menstrual health as a lifelong map of well-being. This knowledge is not new—but it has been ignored, dismissed, and fragmented for too long.

Now, holistic practitioners have the opportunity to bring it back into focus. The more we teach menstrual health as an integral part of long-term well-being, the better prepared our clients will be—not just for menopause, but for every stage of life.