Chaos to Calm

Redefining Fitness for Women Over 40: with The Posture Queen Bek Di Mauro

• Sarah McLachlan • Episode 20

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Are you over 40, noticing changes in your body, and curious about how exercise can support you through this next phase of life? Strap on your sneakers! Because this  episode of Chaos to Calm is all about getting your groove back with movement and exercise.

We’re joined by Bek Di Mauro, AKA The Posture Queen, who has made it her life’s mission to redefine fitness and promote body positivity for all shapes and sizes. She gives us a glimpse into her inspiring journey into the fitness world, breaking away from the "perfect body" stereotype and advocating for the 'average person'.

Bek guides us through the importance of understanding our bodies as we age, stressing the need to build foundational exercise habits. We dig into the significance of posture assessment, being mindful of hormonal changes, and how these can influence our workout routines. Bek shares her successful tips on integrating exercise into our daily lives, even in the most mundane tasks, proving that no movement is too small. She emphasizes that adding even three minutes of intentional movement to your day can drastically improve your wellbeing.

We finish with a chat about overcoming perfectionism - how taking the first step in your fitness journey can be the hardest, but the most rewarding. Listen as Bek shares with us  the transformative role of exercise during perimenopause and how prioritizing our health can significantly enhance our quality of life.

Whether it's the benefits of weight-bearing exercises or the power of setting intentions for your workouts, this conversation with Bek is chock full of gold nuggets to help women over 40 lead healthier and happier lives. So, start your journey to a better you today and let Bek inspire you to just get started with something!

Find out more about Bek here: https://www.theposturequeen.com/
And find her free Posture Assessment Guide here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/s3l6t3

Send us a question for the FAQs segment or your feedback, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Sarah, her services and the Freebies mentioned in this episode at https://www.ThePerimenopauseNaturopath.com.au

  • OPEN NOW: Discover how to use food as your most powerful medicine, smoothing hormonal fluctuations and easing perimenopause symptoms naturally. (Yes, you have more options than hormone therapy!) Say goodbye to feeling out of control and hello to feeling more like your old self every day, with PerimenoGO (because who wants to pause anyway?!)
  • The Perimenopause Decoder is the ultimate guide to understanding if perimenopause hormone fluctuations are behind your changing mood, metabolism and energy after 40, what phase of perimenopause you're in and how much longer you may be on this roller coaster for.
  • Been told your blood test results are "normal" or "fine" while you feel far from your best? Discover the power of optimal blood test analysis with The Blood Test Decoder: Optimal Ranges for Women Over 40.
  • For more, follow on Instagram at @theperimenopausenaturopath.
Sarah McLachlan:

Hey there. I'm Sarah McLachhlan. Thanks for joining me on the chaos to calm podcast, a podcast designed for women over 40 who think that changing hormones might be messing with their mood, metabolism and energy and want to change that in a healthy, sustainable and permanent way. Each episode we'll explore topics related to health and wellness for women in their 40s. Like what the heck is happening to your hormones, what to do about it with nutrition, lifestyle and stress management, and inspiring conversations with guests sharing their insights and tips on how to live your best life in your 40s and beyond. So if you're feeling like you're in the midst of a hormonal storm, and don't want perimenopause to be horrific, then join me on chaos to calm as I share with you how to make it to menopause without it wrecking your relationships and life. Now, we've all heard it right, move more, eat less. It's the you know that magical mantra of weight loss that we've all grown up being told is the key to having that ideal body that we're also growing up being told should look a particular way. But as most of us know, from trying it, it doesn't work, especially in perimenopause or any menopause then, so why would you want to add exercise or movement to your already long to do list as we navigate our 40s and beyond? Is it all spandex leotards and sweat? Can it actually be fun? What benefits does it bring us? These are all questions we're going to explore with today's guest. The brilliant, Bek Di Mauro. So Beck is a seasoned professional in health and fitness. She's a nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga teacher and coach. She's been doing this stuff for more than half her life so she has some gold nuggets to give us today. Her mission as the posture queen is to cut through the noise of overwhelming fitness advice and show us the real importance of exercise especially for women over 40. So grab your water bottle, tighten your ponytail. No leotards necessary today, but let's dive right in. Hey, Beck, thanks for joining us today for episode number 20 of chaos to calm. And we're going to be talking all about exercising moving your body after 40. And you know what changes or what you need to keep in mind because that's your part of your zone of genius as Exercise and Movement. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Before we jump into that? Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be PT, yogi nutritionists, all those things that you are?

Bek Di Mauro:

Wow, that's a big question.

Sarah McLachlan:

I know.

Bek Di Mauro:

So I in my past life, I worked in an office and I did officey things. And I was fortunate enough to be made redundant in when I was about 24, which was another lifetime. And I had always wanted to go into the exercise space. But as you will remember back in the late 80s, early 90s, where we were just joking about the kind of leotards that were being worn back then, for someone that was not a size eight, and I've never been a size eight, the messaging around who could lead in that space was pretty terrifying. And I just thought I was too. I mean for want of a better word fat. That was how I felt at that point. And I wasn't which is really sad. But I was courageous enough to just throw my hat in the ring. And I went and study to be a personal trainer, and yada yada yada. I came out of that program, got a job working in a women's gym, which I loved. And that was over 25 years ago, and I've done lots of different courses over that time. And I was doing personal training before it was even a thing you know, exercise physiology didn't exist back then. None of those things existed. And we were sort of on the forefront of this concept of one on one training. And you know, that was a good experience for me because a normal body back in the day was still it was why it made exercise for so many people and it still does feel unaccessible because you don't have the right shape. And it looked that's all improving as we know I think messaging around. All bodies are acceptable when we want to focus on health and people feel feeling more body confident. But that was not a thing back in the 80s.

Sarah McLachlan:

Definitely not like you think about most of us coming up, or being, you know, raised in our thoughts conditioned in that time. And it was, you know, Cosmo, Dolly, those magazines we all grew up looking at and reading and the pictures and how photo airbrushed or, you know, adjusted they were but we didn't know those things. Whereas, you know, like, now our children know that they adjust photos and they do stuff to it. But we didn't. I wasn't aware of any of those things. And yeah, it was all about how you looked and being thin was seen as healthy and the ultimate goal, wasn't it?

Bek Di Mauro:

Correct.

Sarah McLachlan:

It was during Leo?

Bek Di Mauro:

I know. And there wasn't, there just wasn't much to be seen for the average person like me have normal bodies and your bodies were not size eight bodies. That was the only thing that was on display. Any aerobics classes that you would attend anybody in a gym, Jane Fonda. Anyone on TV, remember aerobics old style?

Sarah McLachlan:

Yes.

Bek Di Mauro:

Anybody. I know, you'd be fine.

Sarah McLachlan:

It was really courageous of you doing that. Really bold and brave to do that. So I'm glad that you did. Because now you've got the opportunity for helping, you know, women over 40. When the reality is, it's it's still a struggle for many of us to think that well to fit, moving our body and exercising in but there's still that limitation or that limit limiting belief that we have to look or be a certain body shape, or type to do different things like lift heavy things, or

Unknown:

Yeah. You know how many times I hear people say, they'll call up and they'll have a call with me about exercise. And I'll say I just need to lose five or 10 kilos first. I like that. That's still a thing.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yeah, it is an all aspects of life, don't you think like that, that applies or gets in the way so many times and, and although, you know, we both know, and that, you know, moving more, and eating less is not the weight loss solution that we all grew up thinking that it was because, you know, neither you nor I would have a job if that was the case. But movement is about so much more, especially at this phase of life. And so I was wondering, because you have been doing this for more than half your life. That's what I just felt when you're working that out. And that's amazing. And I know you have a lot of passion around it too. But can you talk us through how the exercise or movement needs of women change as they hit their 40s and beyond and start moving into perimenopause or menopause.

Bek Di Mauro:

Yeah, so I think some things are the same. So the needs and the benefits in terms of overall health are similar throughout the life phases. You know, there's a minimum dose of exercise that we kind of all need for those minimum health benefits, you know, that cover things like cardiovascular health, bone health, muscle and joint health, metabolic health. But I continue to really focus on women over 40 needing a finessed approach. And if anyone sees me talking anywhere, that's what I'm always covering, you know, usually they arrive in their 40s with some injuries, or, you know, there can be postpartum injuries that can be just other injuries that they've sustained in life. Some of them haven't recovered all those all that well from those injuries. And they've got postural changes, which they may not even be aware of, until they actually have a look at themselves in the mirror, which means that they are at greater risk from poor exercise choice, or returning to what they would think is regular exercise, or they are deconditioned, meaning that they can either hurt themselves and stop exercising, or they are training so lightly, as if to have very little benefit. So the common story that I will hear is someone hasn't trained. I mean, it could be anywhere from three months to a decade other than walking, you know, lots of people walk for different amounts of time, but they won't have done anything else. And this could include pilates, yoga, going to the gym, doing gym related fitness classes, anything that's kind of a trend. And they go back. And they think, well, I should be able to do this. This is what we call general fitness. And they laughed anywhere from one class or one session to two weeks and something happens, something breaks and they don't understand why. And there isn't anybody there to explain why to them. They might go and get treatment or not. And then that's it and they think well, it's not for me anymore. Like obviously that's my body's too far gone. I can't do that. And, yeah, there's a real lack of advice of how to really help women understand where their bodies are at and understand how can you go from where you are back into whatever it is you want to be if you want to join a Pilates class, or if you want to do yoga or resistance training, how can you get there, from where you are now. And I think, honestly, that's kind of one of the biggest barriers that I see to people either engaging, like they don't know where to start. Or they do engage, like they are actually courageous, and they throw themselves in, and they're rewarded with an injured shoulder. Yeah, really sore, lower back.

Sarah McLachlan:

All of those things. And often, though, I find as well, and you might, you would probably notice this a lot too, is that people will just accept a lot of that stuff because they're old, and say that in inverted commas, but you don't need to put up with that as well. But what I was hearing from what you're saying there is really around how a personalized and supported approach to going back into Exercise and Movement would is really beneficial.

Bek Di Mauro:

Yes, it is.

Sarah McLachlan:

Probably for anyone but more. So at this point, when we might have been out of the exercise or movement market for 10, or even 20 years or, you know, sometimes more or less, to help avoid those injuries or those- yes, blockers.

Bek Di Mauro:

Honestly, even even for some of my people that I see that are already engaging in what I would call general exercise, the amount of them that have aches and pains, sore knees, sore hips, that again, within those kind of general fitness classes, or if you've just been given a program and you're sort of out on the gym floor. It's not tailored to you. Nobody's evaluated you. No one's having a conversation about oh, wow, like that hips not moving very well. You should deal with that before we throw you into a body pump class. Yeah, he's and again, you can get away with that in your 20s and even your 30s you can flog yourself, not recover enough, do whatever you have to stretching or and still try and stretching. Honestly.

Sarah McLachlan:

That's true. And I guess that's the biggest difference, isn't it that we just need to acknowledge that while we're not I always tell people we're not old and going through perimenopause or being in menopause doesn't necessarily make you old. Despite we're not all it's we're not. That's right, we've got lots of life left in us yet. So putting up with or accepting those aches or pains or dismissing them as I'm just old is not a great thing to do. But also. Yeah, avoiding that is by taking that stepped approach or, you know, we're both big fans of personalized nutrition. We're not all the same, we don't even have the same, you know, ratios of chest or waist to legs and that kind of thing. So it makes sense to have a personalized or supported approach into doing training. So is there anything that you do like anything that you particularly focus on in terms of when you're supporting women in getting them back into training? Like, is there a particular thing to focus on? You know, is cardio the answer. Is weights the answer? Like what's ideal for women in this age or phase of life?

Bek Di Mauro:

Great question. So I developed a postural self assessment, and people can download that you're going to have my website details. But actually, tuning into your body is really a great place to start. Most of the women that I see, are so disconnected from their bodies, that they see parts of their bodies aching or feeling a certain way, but their brains don't perceive that with any detail, like, oh, it's hurting, right here in my shoulder, they'll literally report like, oh, that hole, all of that feels terrible, because they're not tuned in to their bodies. And so if you can start with that, of just getting a sense of where your body's at, so that postural self assessment, people take photos of themselves, they use the grid that I've developed, and they can literally just get a sense of where they are like, Oh my gosh, my shoulder is like five centimeters higher on the right. Sorting over people have no idea until they stop. And then if you kind of think about that, okay, well, you put that body that's a bit twisted on one side and your hips one place, and you just go and stick it in a body pump class or a general pilates class without having maybe attended to those things. Then invariably, those loans are going to be changing across how they're affecting different body parts, and yada, yada, yada. Oh, yes or

Sarah McLachlan:

Yeah, that's so interesting. I know, when, in knee? recent times, my car, I took a picture of me and my back and I was like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe it, like I'm, I'm crooked and twisted it. And it explained, it helped me understand what was why I was feeling pain or discomfort in different parts of my body. And I think it's really huge as well, for women of our generation, Gen X women, that we often don't pay attention to our body or the symptoms or, you know, they're just inconveniences that we want to push or squash down and not pay attention to Yeah, but like, I always tell my clients and is, those things are flags or messages from your body. That's what is out of balance. And they're so I think that it's so incredible what you've developed that tool to help women focus in on their body and what it is telling them and see, you know, what we're working towards, or what we want to work towards. So. So yeah, when they've got that worked out there in terms of their body, and what's out of balance there as well. What are some of the main exercises or training methods that you would do with women in this age group?

Bek Di Mauro:

Yeah, so obviously, I have a particular method, the way that I approach things, and actually everybody that comes to see me in this space now goes through that same process. So I develop that 14-Day Posture Reset Program, you know, that people can, it's an online, it's so I've made it really affordable, because not everybody can afford to go and see a person to have all of this stuff resolved. So that program really teaches people a postural self awareness. Okay, you've done the you've done the grid, you've worked out that you look like this. And it explains that here are all the gaps that you might need to fill in, to sort of prep you for whatever's next. So whatever's next might be I want to join the gym, I want to do whatever. So it's very much kind of focusing on a broad area of the common issues that I see, like everybody's got tight hips and glutes, so it teaches them how to stretch, everybody's upper back is stiff and sore. So there's trigger point ball exercise to release that off, and chest and upper back, and neck stretches. And these are kind of all the foundations that need to be laid. And I kind of explained exercise to people like Okay, so, you know, I think about people doing even a general pilates class or a pump class or even even like a yoga flow. You know, if it's taught at an advanced level, I say those things is kind of level seven out of 10 exercises. You know, most people don't have levels one to six filled in. And so they're rocking up. And it's almost like building a house. And you've laid the second and third floor, but you forgot about the footings and the first floor, and all of a sudden you start and things start crumbling down. Yeah, that's effectively what happens like it's it. Like everything, there is a great approach. Can you do a squat, you know, can you sit down and up from a chair without doing you know, without tipping forward, or lifting your heels off the floor, that kind of thing. If you can't do that, and you're going into a pump class and doing 100 squats with that terrible technique, something is going to hurt. So I think again, it's around that belief of the fact that we should just be able to go in and do anything under the guise of it being general fitness. Yeah, without understanding you're kind of not game fit, right? Like you are not match feet. Because you haven't stretched your calves. You haven't stretched your glutes for like 10 years and you can't even bend down to the floor and up without hunching over or hurting pulling a hamstring. But you want to go and put yourself in that situation. It's not gonna end well. And we, as we discussed, we are more vulnerable in our 40s because of all those hormonal changes, because we're deconditioned we have injuries that makes us in uniquely more vulnerable to breaking. And so, you know, this whole journey of trying to become the best version of ourselves that we've ever been, means we want to optimize all of these areas of our life and if you can, you know, hurt your knee, third class in you can't even walk them like you can't even perform your activities of daily living that is going to seriously a make your life hard and be mean you're much less likely to go back and try again because everyone is scared about where to go. Look, if you do it yourself once, what you're going to be thinking, well, what am I going back to the gym? It's going to be more of the same, which it probably will be. Yeah, you need someone that can tell you. Yeah, that's where your hips tight on that side or, you know, there's a reason why you hurt your knee, let's fix the reason, then you can go back and start doing all of those things that you want to do. And that's like, trip seriously, we don't want to be having all of these aches, pains and injuries in this age group. Because I just think of with this decrepit when we're 50. What is it gonna be like at 16 and 17. Like, that's a lot of life left to live.

Sarah McLachlan:

We've only got like, we've only lived half our life really, realistically. And it's always about, I think it's important to think about what you how you want to age and that's the you know, perimenopause. And your 40s is such a great phase of life, because you actually get to choose, you get to choose your own adventure, choose what comes next how you age, how you feel, as you move through that. And, you know, Exercise and Movement is such a strong base for that, like your balance is a predictor of your longevity, whether you can balance on on one foot, or, you know, and I was thinking about that while I'm brushing my teeth and try and stand on one foot first one is easy way to do it. I am. And habit stacking, as we both know, is wonderful for making those habits actually stick. So maybe while we're talking about habits, do you have some tips that you would give to someone to help them implement or get some movement in their day or week?

Bek Di Mauro:

Yes, let me just refer to my notes. Because as we earlier discussed, this is a lot of information. I can barely remember two sentences at times. And I think that's-

Sarah McLachlan:

Yeah, so yeah. So thinking about someone maybe that hasn't exercised for a while most of us are working at our computers or, you know, on our phones, that kind of thing. And I know we had this conversation recently, because I confess to you that I had fallen out of my usual yoga and pilates habit. And just, you know, when I had my fractured thumb started it got that playing lacrosse. And I just thought I can't do it for nine months. So yeah,

Bek Di Mauro:

I know when you've started, which is amazing. Like whoo!

Sarah McLachlan:

In my tip, there was do it in your PJs. During the morning, that was my other thing I forgot to tell you that was the massive thing, not picking up my phone. Because I gained half an hour. And I had time to do a 20 minute session of yoga Pilates in my PJs.

Bek Di Mauro:

How amazing is that? Because for me, that's actually like you've removed barriers, like barrier one So yeah, honestly, I talk. I talk to people about that. I getting into my exercise clothes. I did it in my pajamas. think one of the big things that I hear people, one of the big barriers that I see is, particularly again, speaking of women in our age group, we can have very fixed ideas about how things have to look right. And I have this conversation every Like, that's huge. There's so it's such a simple thing that week. Okay, have you started? You know, how's it going on? I haven't got good. Okay. What are the barriers? Because doing anything is beneficial? Can we just start with one or two minutes? And then like, is that really beneficial? Anything is beneficial. So again, like we just talked about habit you just kind of highlighted there and even just around not stacking. I talk about that. What can you do? What do you do every morning? I have a coffee. Great. How long does that take me to press the button and the coffee to come through? Excellent. Or you're waiting for your herbal tea to state? Okay, that's good, too. You've got three minutes, what can you do in the kitchen in three minutes, you can do hold on to your kitchen bench top, do 20 squats, you could do 10 Push ups on your picking up your phone. Because as soon as you do that you've kitchen bench top. Now if that's all you did, multiply that by seven right so 10 Push Ups by seven is 70 by 30 days is 280 Push ups that you loaded up your body with that you wouldn't have done squats 20 by seven by 30 That's like 600 squats that you started your day. And that's, you know, that time is now over wouldn't have done. So in terms of the benefits, you know, the trickle down benefits, you're getting resistance training benefits, you're getting cardiovascular benefits. You started your metabolism first thing in the morning, and you've improved your posture and like that. How your morning, you've carved it out, you've now your function. So how cool was that, like three minutes has ticked about 10 different boxes? And yep, you can do it and your pajamas and your ug boots, you haven't had to factor in any extra time. And they are functional load bearing full body exercises. They're low risk. Yeah, it just for me, it's moved into work mode. So that's done. all about trying to get people to make a start. And I think as we know, that's the key to everything. And then that you can stack on.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yes, but yeah, so the biggest thing is always we have these grand ideas of how things have to look. Same with self care, or no self care is just like, I have to go have a massage for an hour and or mani pedi, and I don't have time for that. Actually, some self care is spending that three minutes in the kitchen doing some squats, and some push ups. That's perfect. So yeah, we tend to have these glamorized views of how things should look. I also do it too, but it's all about awareness what we've been talking about today, isn't it awareness what your body is looking like and when so if your blockers and your barriers and, and

Bek Di Mauro:

I think that's, that's what you highlighted is this idea that like, and this is most of us in our 40s, I don't know if it's an 80s Hangover. But if you don't do 30 minutes, there's no point like, oh, yeah, in our heads

Sarah McLachlan:

five times a week. Yeah, it's got to be five times a week.

Bek Di Mauro:

Or there's no point. And it's like, they have really deeply ingrained beliefs, honestly, it's all or nothing. It's a perfectionism. It's I've got to be in the clothes and roll the mat out and have all of the candles lit. No, you don't.

Sarah McLachlan:

I know, you don't have time for that takeaway today is actually it doesn't have to be perfect or look like Yeah, but I remember well, growing up, it was like I mean, the teams would love nothing than yelling at the you had to do what, five sessions 30 to 60 minutes, get your heart rate above 80%, who, you know, matsing working that out? No wonder we don't do it. So yeah, so I love that it doesn't have to be perfect. It's just get it, get going and get it started thing. Anything is good, anything is good. And it's parents and then making them suffer. so true. Also, I had a client recently who told me she got her team to be her accountability buddy with doing some functional exercises. So he would very gleefully remind her or check in with her each day to see if she'd done her. Hers was 10 minutes of push ups and squats and that kind of thing that she decided she was going to do. And if she hadn't, he would get her to do it in the kitchen. There or, you know, wherever they were. So we Yeah, right. When she that, yeah, she was noticing changes within the first week. So he's like, yeah, we can get that feedback really quickly. I think that's good, too much motivating.

Bek Di Mauro:

And you can stack on that. Like, if you do that for a month, that could then lead you to think maybe I could do a bit more like I've done it. I can do it their success. I feel better. What else? Yeah. So I think again, sometimes starting like that is the way to go.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yeah. And it removes that objection, doesn't it? So it's not all that it's, you know, sometimes those things we use them as an excuse, I will I can't do it because I don't have exercise gear or I don't have half an hour or 60 minutes. So the reason why we can't is also the reason why we we can or we or we do or we should is often the case it I've totally lost my train of thought we were talking about minnow brain earlier on. So

Bek Di Mauro:

That's why this conversation is perfect. You're asking for my tips around like how to Yeah, the how people can get started. Yeah, just do something. And, you know, reach out for help. Like if you know, like, go download that like that postural self assessment form is free, gives you all of the instructions of what to look for. And that might be your first step to going okay. Yeah, I might need some help. And then decide how you want to source that help if you need it. You know, there's plenty of YouTube videos if you can't afford to spend any money and or if you feel like you need some face to face contact, you can hump that down as well. But that self assessment gives you a platform to have a conversation. Is it safe for me to do X, Y and Z because I noticed that my shoulder was here and I know that you and I are both super passionate about women over 40 being empowered with their health. And you can only do that if you're educated. If you want to park your brain and give everybody else like we go along to the doctor and we just go.

Sarah McLachlan:

What do you say to them?

Unknown:

You do, because you don't know anything about this machine. that you're inhabiting and you, the more you understand the better questions you can ask. Yeah, and you can then source the right help for you, and you're in control- nothing is missed and don't have a sore knee because you just were like, I didn't even realize that my hip was that screwed up, well, come on, let's take, let's be responsible for ourselves, like nobody else is gonna care.

Sarah McLachlan:

I think that's quite different for a lot of us too. And how we were raised or in that generation of the doctor was right, then, you know, you just do what the doctor tells you. I remember with the birth of my first child, I was like, Okay, I'll just do what the obstetrician tells me. And I mentioned something about a birth plan, he laughed at me. And I was like, okay, so I don't do that. So no concept of what I wanted, or, you know, any of that. And I think that flows on for us all through our life, but it really don't knowledge is power, and it's impairing, and that's how we get to. Yeah, if we take start with our health and our bodies and thinking about how it is and not just ignoring it, or, or thinking, Oh, well, they know what they're talking about. So they told me, we're living in our bodies, we are the experts on our bodies. Correct. And I think-

Bek Di Mauro:

You and I both agree, you know that we trust our patients to know how their bodies are going like they are the best ones. Yeah, to tell us this doesn't feel right, some things. But you can't even do that. If you are so tuned out and handing over responsibility for your health and wellness to somebody else, you need to engage and ask questions and be educated about your own body. Yeah, and because you want to get the one. And even in this season of our life, it's a second opportunity to prioritize ourselves, and, and really restore even some of that health that has been lost. We can actually get it back. We can be like I have women telling me all the time, they're in the best physical health they've ever been in and not, you know, speaking specifically around the exercise, they're doing things they've never been able to do. You know, they've gotten rid of old aches and pains that they put up with for decades, because nobody ever taught them how to deal with it. It's all possible. I know that with you being responsible.

Sarah McLachlan:

That's it. And if you look at like, say for example, a marathon runners, often the best women, marathon runners are post babies and in, you know, they're not in the early 20s, they're closer to 40, or even over. And so, same I have had clients that have gone to lifting heavy things and doing weight lifting and training and it's all possible, you know, like, I still play lacrosse, it's an active running sport. And I still do that you lift lots of heavy things, and have the best arms I think I've ever seen. Someone to aspire to. But it's all possible. I think that's what we don't need to write ourselves off. And I often think that's what women in this phase do is. Part of that is because culturally the way we look at perimenopause and and see that as the end. And we're old. And I think what you're saying today or you're conflicted, affirming with me is that that's not the case at all. There's still so life left in your muscles and bones. And, of course, that's a great benefit of moving and exercise and resistance training in perimenopause is to protect your bones.

Bek Di Mauro:

Absolutely. And that's one of the you know, some of the stats around bone health. Like, again, I that's another thing I harp on about. But resistance training, like a lot of women think walking is enough, walking is not enough. It's probably enough for your cardiovascular preservation. And it's great for moving the lymphatic system around and for our mental health so fabulous for that. It's not going to improve your posture. It's not going to help you with any of those posturally related aches and pains. It's not going to do a whole lot for your bone health. And here are some stats which I do actually like to terrify women over. What do you with? Most women will lose 10% of their bone mass and the first five years after menopause 10% and 51% of women are osteopenic which is you know, is that is they're on their way to osteoporosis during menopause over the age of 50. Yeah, 27% of women under 60 have osteoporosis. So that's my this is my next decade. Yeah, 27% osteoporotic, that's not even on their way.

Sarah McLachlan:

And so is that and that's where something like resistance training comes in or weight bearing exercise. Is that right? Yeah.

Bek Di Mauro:

And I think what's exciting about that is that Even the myths around what that can look like is like, you don't have to be in the gym lifting heavy things, it is one of my preferred things to do. And one of the reasons for that is you just can feel so powerful when you're in there, it's your time. Obviously, I really encourage people to train from home as well as what I'm doing at the moment I'm training in my office.

Sarah McLachlan:

You can see a track thing behind you on the video.

Bek Di Mauro:

It's my TRX cables are all my weights are up here. But you know, exciting yoga is resistance training, great. Pilates is resistance training. Squats and push ups are resistance training, you know, bending down to pick up your load of teenagers washing, is resistance training

Sarah McLachlan:

That they shouldn't be doing. Yeah, that they should do.

Bek Di Mauro:

Bull all that stuff is low during carrying your your groceries into the house and your car. That's the same as if you were carrying kettlebells at the gym. Yeah. So there's so many different ways to load bear across your body. It's really just a matter of finding what floats your boat.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yep. And so I think when it's like, I think of times when, you know, we'll go out and perhaps catch the train. And so we're walking to the train station with a backpack, that kind of thing as well, that goes along with what you're saying there. But I love that yoga and pilates are resistance training. They're two of my favorite things to do. I do like to, but I'm not not structured with it. I just love it. Because it's so good. Like, you know, while you're a yoga teacher, there's that mindfulness aspect to it as well. And in tuning into your body, and feeling the difference as you go. Which also is such a great benefit there as well. What's the you know, thinking about yoga and in the mindfulness of it. What's your favorite benefit for women in over 40? In perimenopause?

Bek Di Mauro:

Well, I've always been a fan of yoga and actually trained to become a teacher, maybe two years ago, and I never planned to teach it was because I wanted to add elements of it to what I was doing. And I don't think you can do that unless you're properly trained. But I ended up teaching. And so to me, the reason that I promote it to everybody is that it's life changing. So for me personally, in my week, if I've had an extremely busy, taxing day, I am looking forward to rolling my mat out because it is it's a practice. It's a what's the word I'm looking for? There's a lot of perimenopause words gone missing today.

Sarah McLachlan:

Well, you're in the right place, because we're all relate.

Bek Di Mauro:

I know, right. But it's, it's that ritual. That's the word of God, it came back. It's a ritual. So it's the holding the mat, it's the rolling it out. It's the signaling that this is your time, you know, you go on to the mat, you set, you set your intention for your practice, you take that time to get the breath going. And in those moments, you are actually then communicating to your body. How are you today, buddy, I haven't paid much attention. I've sort of taken you for granted, as I've gone about doing everything that I expect you to do. Here is my time, to now give you what you need. And to me it is a practice that then so connects every element of who we are, you know, it's the spiritual element. It's the physical element, it's the breath. It's it's the emotional components, all coming together, to be refreshed. And to me, that's what happens. And it's so lends itself to whatever you need from your practice on that day, is waiting for you. And it's up to you. You know, if you feel like you just need a gentle, nourishing breath focused practice. That's what's available for you. If you are like I actually just really want to work hard today. Like as if I was going to the gym doing weight that is available, and you get to. And I always have a bit of a visualization when I'm doing yoga I have, you know, those pods that people get into when they're flying to outer space for years, I kind of visualize myself pulling down the door. And this is my time. I'm now enclosed in my little sphere of me. And this is my time and honestly, it's those times that shift you from whatever you came to the mat with. You then get to just be you without all of the labels that we all carry during our lives just for you. All have that beautiful parasympathetic nervous system stimulation, we're in that nice rest and digest time. And then you can come off you Ma'am, you are like a different person. And so for me, it's yoga signals, it's a break, it's a break from everything that's going on, to refresh, to reconnect, to give attention to those areas of my body that maybe didn't like the fact that I stayed at my desk for six hours without moving. I've created that space. And so I think for all of us, if you can find that for you, however, that works for you, but for me, it's that because it takes every single box around physical activity, mindfulness, breath, practice, connection to your body, all of that happens for me in that space. And so, yeah, and it's, it's also just taking responsibility for yourself. Like, I love that element that I am taking personal responsibility for my own health and well being. I'm not grumbling about the fact that I've got a sore neck, but I'm not doing anything about it. No, I'm making space because it's up to me. Yeah, if I've still got a sore neck later, that's my problem. I can do anything about it.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yeah. And I think sometimes that Exercise and Movement can feel like, you know, something that you have to tick off your to do list, you know, that we were joking before about being raised that we have to do 30 to 60 minutes, five times a week, certain heart rate there. But actually, it really is about doing something that fills your cup, brings you joy, maybe have fun doing it, or maybe you do it with friends or any of those kinds of things. And I feel like yoga gives us that opportunity, particularly but, you know, any kind of movement gives us that opportunity to totally be restored, doesn't it and cared for.

Bek Di Mauro:

And even just going for a walk with friends. Like I really feel like this age group is a real rebirth for women in reconnecting with their female friends. Yeah, so you know, another thing go climb a hill with a friend or Ryan, out right up, have a laugh, talk about how ridiculous it all is. That is vagus nerve, parasympathetic, nervous system nourishment right there. You know, it doesn't. And I think the contrast of those two things is so beautiful, like the yoga is very much about that time, it's just about for you connecting with you. But the other one is like physical activity, but with all the other added benefits of doing it with the people that you like having a laugh with.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yes, gives you something to look forward to as well, which we know has many benefits for our mental health and, and all of those things as well. So we're out of time today. But but I've enjoyed we could talk for hours. As we know, we can always talk about lots of stuff forever. But if I'm going to summarize, the main things I'm taking away from chatting with you today is all about awareness and identifying where you're at where you want to be. And then, you know, thinking about or setting goals or working with someone to help you get there and what works for you, like, you know, just like nutrition, personalized Exercise and Movement needs to be personalized to you and where your body's at. And people can find your website and the link to your free download around your body. Oh my gosh, minnow brain here as well.

Bek Di Mauro:

The postural postural assessment. My YouTube channel has so many free exercise videos.

Sarah McLachlan:

Alright, well, I'll leave those in the show yet so people can get that awareness, identify where they're at, and start moving to where they want to be using your free raw resources. And of course, they can always connect with you if they wanted to do your course or connect into your for one to one work around their movement. So any final tip or gold nugget about you know movement, exercise perimenopause, before we go back.

Bek Di Mauro:

Just do something chess, you know, just do something because it feels so much better to be in a body that is working well that is not constantly full of aches and pains and headaches and a sore neck. And it feels strong that you don't have to ask someone to carry your groceries in because you've got a sore shoulder or to take, take responsibility for this body that you want to carry you through the rest of your life. Is it in the best physical condition that it can be and if it's not What can you do to just move yourself forward even an inch? And what could you do today? Could you do the squats? Could you do a little squat when you're getting up off the toilet and just hold there for 10 seconds? Maybe that's your first thing that you do. Just make a start and then see what happens. You know, I think a moving vehicle is a lot easier to redirect than one that is stuck in the garage.

Sarah McLachlan:

I love it. I love it. That's a great analogy. So they Yeah, just do something and start small. And we can aim big.

Bek Di Mauro:

And listen to your body if something feels wrong. Or you're getting weird, pained, don't press through, that is a message please stop and listen to it.

Sarah McLachlan:

Yes, yes, yeah. And, yeah, time to stop ignoring and just tune in to the and Exercise and Movement does give us that opportunity to check in and see where we're at, and really changing. But that's great. So thank you so much for joining me today back. And it's been great. I hope everyone's got that fresh perspective on movement and exercise, you know, for that life after 40 and parry or menopause there as well. So, yeah, it's not just another thing to tick off on the to do list, but a pathway to a stronger, healthier body, and a body that's going to support us right through to 100. And beyond, hey, you're carrying our groceries, still carrying our groceries and still walking down the street to meet our friends and have a coffee, all those things that we want to do there as well. So thank you so much for helping us overcome that barrier and get started and understand what we need to do for moving our bodies in after 40.

Bek Di Mauro:

Perfect, thanks for having me.

Sarah McLachlan:

So there you have it. A fresh perspective on Exercise and Movement for women over 40. And during peri or menopause. I wonder what your takeaway was from there today. I just love how Bek's drawn our attention to awareness and the importance of understanding where we're at where our bodies at and our baseline, and using a personalized approach to then address any blockers or barriers and get us moving towards our goals. So yeah, she's also told us that, you know, Exercise and Movement. It's not just about not being another item on your to do list, but actually a pathway to that stronger, healthier body. And something that can be fun and a way to connect with your peers and your community. So remember, it's not about exercising to lose weight. It's about getting that fresh or new perspective on your bodies, what they're capable of what it feels like to be strong and help embrace the change that comes in our bodies in perimenopause and nurturing that wellbeing for a better perimenopause experience and a strong old woman body. That's what I'm working out for. And I know Bek is definitely focused on that too. So I hope that you found the information in this episode useful. Don't forget that you can check out Bek's free postural self postural assessment and other resources in the show notes. I'll pop all the links there. And if you did find the information in this episode useful, please do share it with your friends so that they can understand how to transform their own perimenopause experience because we're not alone on this journey. You know, it can feel lonely sometimes, but we're all navigating this phase of life together and having similar you know, stumbling blocks or a similar experience there. So, be kind to tell a friend that you know, perimenopause doesn't have to be horrific. So until next episode, keep embracing the changes wonderful women and remember in the midst of chaos is the path to calm. It's really common for women over 40 to experience the chaos of changing hormones, mood, metabolism and energy. But I hope you know now that common doesn't have to equal normal for you or them. You can help others understand that aren't alone in feeling this way. And that perimenopause doesn't have to be horrific by subscribing, leaving a review and sharing this podcast with other women in their 40s and beyond. Thanks so much for listening and sharing your time with me today in this chaos to calm conversation.

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Sarah McLachlan

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