Take a deep breath and relax! Nudity is more at this stage of life than just taking your clothes off...thankfully! Here are some suggestions for turning National Nude Day into something that will help you become more mindful, shed negative feelings about your body and enjoy the fact that now that you’re in the empty nester category, it’s time to leave the bedroom door open for when you really want to go au naturel!
Nudity and Menopause
Menopause usually translates into covering up rather than taking it off, but if you’re good with an itsy bitsy teeny-weeny bikini, then that’s good, too! Many women breathe a deep sigh of relief at this stage of the game and learn to ignore that airbrushed perfection on magazine covers touting the most perfect person in the world. We’ve got bigger and better things to think about!
So, next time you’re standing in line at the store gazing at those perfect 10’s on the cover, think about what a trusted friend your body has been to carry you this far. Appreciate it! Live in the present and get ready to spend your time...exactly as you please! Feel better, already?!
Let it RAIN!
Rather than focusing on what’s not perfect in your life, while missing the things that are worth a second look, why not try mindfulness, which is just paying attention to what’s going on right in front of you. Simply put, live in the moment and enjoy your life as it unfolds, rather than continually ticking off your ‘to do’ list in your head!
Studies show that this one psychological shift impacts almost every part of the body, affecting your hormones, immune system and even the psychological behaviors behind over-eating and substance abuse! What’s not to like? Mindfulness is also associated with stress reduction or MBSR, which stands for mindfulness based stress reduction.
Even long-time depression manifesting in anxiety and mood disorder moved in a positive direction through mindfulness practice. Mindfulness is so powerful that it impacts your DNA and can change the gray matter in your brain, say researchers. Long story short: mindfulness even affects your DNA and the aging process.
Here are some ways to become mindful:
- Practice meditation (mind-body)
- Take up yoga (physical component)
- RAIN: Recognize strong emotions, Acknowledge it, Investigate it, Non-identify with what is there
The New Transparency
As we all move into the ‘empty nester’ category, discover the new transparency it offers by celebrating a renewed relationship with your significant other through open communication. Scientists suggest this time of life is ideal to become a couple again after years of identifying as just a parent. Men can suffer from empty nest syndrome, too, so it’s a good time to partner up for grownup things--with the door open!
Privacy rocks! Plop down on the sofa, nude if you like, and learn how to have a conversation with your husband again about something other than, ‘the kids.’
Love Your Body
Finally, menopause is a time to relax your self-imposed rules about having to look perfect all the time, especially in the nude. Consider your body a trusted friend who served you well through the years and treat it accordingly. Pert, taut and flat might not be the first words that come to mind, but there’s nothing wrong with curviness, soft skin and ‘my husband/boyfriend likes what he’s looking at,’ to replace them?
Loving yourself is the first step to accepting others. Acceptance is the first step to awareness and guess what with awareness, we’re right back to mindfulness. So, give your DNA a rest from constant stress and anxiety, which leads to early aging. It’s time to enjoy this new chapter of your life and release those self-doubts about...well everything! Live free and love it.
Suffering in Silence is Out! Reaching Out is In!
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Ellen Dolgen is an outspoken women's health and wellness advocate, menopause awareness expert, author, and speaker.
After struggling with her own severe menopause symptoms and doing years of research, Ellen resolved to share what she learned from experts and her own trial and error. Her goal was to replace the confusion, embarrassment, and symptoms millions of women go through-before, during, and after menopause-with the medically sound solutions she discovered. Her passion to become a "sister" and confidant to all women fueled Ellen's first book, Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness. As a result of the overwhelming response from her burgeoning audiences and followers' requests for empowering information they could trust, Ellen's weekly blog, Menopause MondaysTM, was born.
Menopause MondaysTM is a platform from which Ellen reaches the true needs of her readers through varied and substantive discussions of menopause, women's health, and the modern woman's life today as a menopausal woman. Her weekly newsletter provides readers the most current menopause news and research. With her updates, women gain access and the knowledge needed to take charge of their health and happiness. Her motto is: Suffering in silence is OUT! Reaching out is IN!
In addition to Ellen's ever-growing social media presence, EllenDolgen.com has fast become "the place" on the web for informative and entertaining women's menopause and wellness engagement. Ellen is #1 on Dr. Oz Sharecare.com Top 10 Social HealthMakers on Menopause. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, EllenDolgen.com / Menopause Mondays was named first on the list of the "Best Menopause Blogs" by Healthline. Ellen is also a regular contributor to over a dozen leading women's health blogs.