Integrative Medicine | Lifestyle Medicine
Midlife doesn’t have to be a crisis. It can be an awakening.
Let’s transform your menopause journey.
Wholeness in Midlife
Moving Through Menopause with Balance and Vitality
An Integrative Group Approach to Menopause Care
Menopause is not a decline or a disease. It’s a transition. And it can be empowering, connected and informed. Too often we don’t know who to believe or what to do. We are busy, taking care of others in our lives - children, spouses, partners - and we don’t have the bandwidth for all that is happening in our bodies.
What we need is a safe space to breath, lay down our obligations and start to turn our attention within so we can feel whole, healthy and strong.
This program is open to ALL people going through menopause, including cis-women, transgender men, and non-binary folks.
Who is this program for?
You are…
Struggling through the symptoms of menopause
Gaining weight for no discernible reason
Feel brainfog, memory loss, insomnia and fatigue and wonder if this is perimenopause
Awaiting a doctors appointment that is months away
Feel dismissed by your doctor when you bring up your symptoms
Not getting the answers you need
Crave space and time to slow down
Feel frustrated and fed up!
You are ready to…
Learn about your body’s specific needs based on your symptoms and lab work
Figure out if hormone therapy is right for you
Establish regimen of supplements and lifestyle to support your health.
Be the best parent, partner, co-worker and leader you can be
Start feeling balanced and whole again
Get back to having fun and enjoying life!
This program is open to ALL people going through menopause, including cis-women, transgender men, and non-binary folks.
You deserve to feel good.
There are times in our lives when we really need each other. We need to be able to be held in the container of collective wisdom, ancestral knowledge and deep connection. Menopause is one of those times.
This country and the systems that exist in it do not make it easy to be healthy. In fact, we are surrounded by junk foods and anti-aging products … a lot of it makes us feel worse about ourselves and our bodies.
We live in a culture that prizes women for their youth, innocence and ability to control. But we are not going quietly in the night. We don’t need another beauty cream, we need to feel balanced and strong in the beautiful aging bodies we inhabit.
Women in cultures that are revered as they age - for their wisdom, leadership and skills - do not experience menopause in the same way.
Can you believe it? Women feel less menopausal symptoms in cultures that prize women’s leadership and knowledge as they age. This tells us that menopause is a cultural and political phenomenon as much as a biological one. Which means, we have the ability to rewrite the script!
Wholeness in Midlife
An 8 week physician led group designed to help midlife people build hormonal, metabolic and emotional balance during the menopause transition.
I invite you to join me.
Feel balanced, whole and strong.
Grounded in science and delivered in community, this program moves beyond symptom management to address the root causes of menopausal imbalance including isolation, unsustainable life practices, sleep disruption, stress physiology, inflammation and cardiovascular and metabolic health. Let’s use this time to set ourselves up for the life we want 30 years from now!
It’s not “self” care, it’s collective care.
Our hyper-individualistic culture has forgotten one important thing - we don’t heal in isolation. We need each other. This reciprocity goes back to ancient times and tribal ways.
When we heal, our communities heal. Our families heal. We impact each other in profound ways. When we are cared for, we transform our ability to care for others - our children, our parents, our co-workers and the organizations and groups we belong to.
We may know what is missing but we don’t know how to fix it. We wake up every day feeling tired and overwhelmed, and it’s rinse and repeat. When it comes to the menopause transition, the life we’ve set up for ourselves can feel unsustainable. Something needs to change. And that often means pouring the attention and energy we’ve given to others back to ourselves. Let’s come together again to support each other through what can be a very tumultuous journey of menopause.
“Caring for myself is not self indulgence, it is self preservation, and this is an act of political warfare.”
What you can expect
-
We will start each session with a grounding practice to help us focus on ourselves and be here in the present moment.
-
This group invites you to be open and honest about how menopause in impacting your life, what opportunities it can bring and what your vision is for your future. We will have time to share our stories with each other.
-
Each week will be an evidence based presentation on topics such as a diet/metabolism, sleep, exercise, mind/brain health, GI microbiome, sex & relationships, Culture & Race
-
Each week will be an opportunity to reflect on our health practices and how we can incorporate new practices for health and balance.
-
Each week you will be sent a practice video - a meditation or movement - to support your nervous system.
-
Based on your symptoms and labwork, you will leave with a personalized treatment plan which will include how to find a doctor, pharmaceuticals, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
-
The life we want in our elder years starts now. Let’s envision a future together that incorporates ourselves and our health goals for years to come.
I want you to feel strong, empowered and confident!
You deserve to feel good in your body, to love your life and be able to live well.
It’s time to slow down and connect with yourselves and each other.
So often we are too busy to really pay attention to what we need. We are in our heads and can’t put away our devices and to-do lists in order to listen to ourselves let alone others. With small group discussion, grounding exercises, reflection prompts and time to share our stories, we’ll create space for our nervous systems to relax and repair.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
Get up-to-date information for midlife from a physician you can trust.
You’ll get a personalized action plan based on your needs
No more guessing at what you should do. You’ll get a baseline understanding of your health as well as a step-by-step wellness plan to understand your next steps and how you can best support your health through midlife.
An ever expanding emergent curriculum
The medical information around menopause is changing rapidly. The curriculum will not be up-to-date but also customizable to what the group needs.
Why you will love this program
Curriculum
The curriculum is modifiable depending on the needs of the group but this is what you can expect to cover during our 8 weeks together.
-
Are hormones right for you? What do we know about hormone therapy? Is it safe? What other supplements or pharmaceuticals could help? You will leave with a plan for your next visit with your doctor to advocate for your care.
-
I will ask you to get labs done before this week so we can assess your metabolic health and make a plan to help through dietary changes. You will learn about the foods that are most important in menopause and what to avoid.
-
Assess your exercise regimen and learn what kind of exercise and how much is needed during this time of perimenopause. Get some tips to start exercising and learn about the benefits of exercise as we age.
-
Learn about the impact of chronic stress on the body and especially the relationship between stress and hormones. Make a plan to deal with stress.
-
Sleep can be hard and unpredictable during the menopause transition. Learn about what to do to help you get restorative sleep - pharmaceuticals, supplements and best practices.
-
Learn about the microbiome and the impact of perimenopause on our microbiome and what that means for our overall health. Make a plan for a healthy microbiome.
-
Menopause is different based on race and culture. Learn about those differences and what they can mean for your experience of menopause. Start to envision a different narrative around menopause for future generations.
-
Midlife is a time of life to envision the rest of our life. Let’s make a plan to boost our longevity and vitality for the next 30 yrs. It’s not about anti-aging but aging with independence and health.
“Neelam has been so supportive and I have learned so much from her in this wild ride called menopause. She validated my feelings, symptoms and concerns rather than just going off my ‘normal’ labs and helped me figure out the best combination of supplements, medications and appropriate care. She made me feel seen.”
— Former Client
How It Works
We will meet once a week virtually, for two hours a session, for 8 weeks.
The specific meeting days/times will be determined based on the days that work for the most people (will be weekends, evenings)
8-12 participants to keep it intimate and so everyone can get individualized support
Community whatsapp group to share your experience throughout the week
Weekly practices to support your nervous system
Optional half day retreat at the end to close out the experience
FAQs
-
Wholeness in Midlife is for anyone going through menopause. Trans men, cis women, gender non-binary folks are welcome and encouraged to participate.
-
When you join this program , you will receive 8 live sessions which include wisdom sharing, group coaching, grounding practices, small group reflection, evidence based medical information and goal setting/accountability. You will also have access to a community whatsapp group to connect and engage throughout the week.
-
I combine an evidence based medical background with other practices like meditation, ritual, and connection. You get an integrative approach - the best of both worlds. As a physician, I have access to the medical knowledge. As a practitioner, I have access to many types of healing modalities. And as someone going through menopause myself, I get how chaotic this time can feel.
-
Please visit the contact me page - the link is at the top! I would love to hear from you.
-
I offer 3 options for pricing:
Community Rate - $700
Standard Rate - $900
Sustainer Rate - $1100
Contact me if you need to pay in installments.
The first 5 people who sign up will get $100 off.
-
Yes - payment plans are available. Please contact me to discuss your specific needs so we can work together.
-
The part of the session that includes any educational curriculum will be recorded.
-
Life happens! It’s okay to miss a session or two. However, the price is for the whole program. If you need to miss a session, you can view the recording of the educational piece and we will inform you of any reflection and goal setting we did.
-
This program is designed specifically for people going through the symptoms of peri/menopause regardless of where you are on the journey.
If you aren’t experiencing any symptoms of menopause or perimenopause but want to learn more about the transition in advance, please contact me.
I am right here with you.
I know menopause because I am right smack square in the middle of it myself. My journey started four years ago when literally all of a sudden, I started to gain weight in my abdomen without changing a thing about my diet or exercise routine. The insomnia, irritability, and night sweats occurred soon after. My journey was complicated by getting long COVID and MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) which is more common in the perimenopause period. I also was slammed with an ankle tendonitis from running (so much for trying to lose weight) which left me unable to walk much for almost 9 months. I didn’t know what to do or even that all of these problems were connected for a long time.
I can count on my one hand the number of hours we received in menopause training in medical school. And those paltry few hours were spent talking about hot flashes and how there wasn’t much to do about it. It was a natural transition that women have to suffer through.
That didn’t feel good enough. I couldn’t manage my life feeling like the way I did. This was not sustainable and something needed to change. Fast.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to get further training in Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and Integrative Medicine as well as education through the Menopause Society which helped me figure out a lot of missing pieces. My menopause journey has been up and down but through it all, I have learned a lot. What made it easier was talking to good friends who are also going through it. I am happy to be able to share my knowledge and create community with you.
