The Menstruality Podcast - 217. How to Navigate The Heat of Menopause with Water Medicine (Tamu Mosely)

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

Our guest today is Tamu Mosely, who is a student of Alexandra and Sjanie’s Menopause: The Great Awakener course, and is an initiated Sacred Woman, wholistic wellness facilitator, teacher, and mama. Tamu was guided by her mum to track her cycles from her very first bleed, and now, a few years post menopause, she sees how cycle awareness guided her through her menopause initiation.When Tamu was entering perimenopause she was studying with the world renowned spiritual teacher from Burkina Faso, Sobonfu Some, who said that when a woman enters menopause, she becomes the carrier of the water of life for the community. In our conversation Tamu shares about the water medicines that supported her through the fire and heat of the five phases of her menopause process, and have become core to her life purpose in her third act. Tamu is the founder of Wholistic Shine and Uchū Botanical and is a kitchen alchemist, a home herbalist, a flower essence practitioner and a student of cha dao (the way of tea). Tamu is guided by a deepening relationship with and devotion to the sacred element water through daily practice, prayer and intention.---Register for our free three-day menopause event: How Menopause Awakens Your Power on October 21st-23rd---The Menstruality Podcast is hosted by Red School. We love hearing from you. To contact us, email [e-mail]---Social media:Red School: @redschool - https://www.instagram.com/red.schoolSophie Jane Hardy: @sophie.jane.hardy - https://www.instagram.com/sophie.jane.hardyTamu Mosely: @wholistic_shine - https://www.instagram.com/wholistic_shine

Welcome to the menstruality podcast where we share inspiring conversations about the power of menstrual cycle awareness and conscious menopause. This podcast is brought to you by Red School, where we're training the menstruality leaders of the future. I'm your host, Sophie Jane Hardy, and I'll be joined often by Red School's founders, Alexander and Sharny, as well as an inspiring group of pioneers, activists, changemakers, and creatives to explore how you can unashamedly claim the power of the menstrual cycle to activate your unique form of leadership for yourself, your community and the world. Hey, thank you for joining me today. So our guest today is Tamu Mosley, who's a student of

Alexander and Shani's Menopause the Great Awakener course, and she's an initiated sacred woman, a holistic wellness facilitator, a teacher and a mama. And she was guided by her mum to track her cycles from her very first bleed. And now, a few years post-menopause, she shares how cycle awareness guided her through her menopause initiation. When Tamu was entering perimenopause, she was studying with the world-renowned spiritual teacher from Burkina Faso, Sabon Fus Some, who said that when a woman enters menopause, she becomes the carrier of the water of life for the community. And in our conversation today, Tamu shares about the water medicines that supported her through the fire and heat of the five phases of her menopause process and how these water medicines have become core to her life purpose in her third act.

Tamu is the founder of holistic shine and Uchu botanical. She's a kitchen alchemist, a home herbalist, a flower essence practitioner and a student of Char Dao the way of tea. And as I shared in the middle of this conversation, listening to Tamu, to me, felt like listening to a gently flowing river. And I hope you feel as soothed and inspired by this conversation as I did. Let's get started with Tamu mostly. So Tamu, I've been looking forward to this conversation ever since I've read a post from you on Instagram where you said you had been introduced to tracking your cycle and your bleed when you

first started bleeding by your mum and it tracked your cycle your whole life until your menopause process which was around three years ago I think and I thought I need to speak to this woman I've never met a woman that consciously tracked their cycle the whole way through and it's wonderful to feel you walking on our earth having done that your whole life and yeah I was excited to see where we go and welcome thank you thank you so much for being here thank you for having me so we always start with a cycle check-in and I know that you haven't been cycling now for a while menstrual cycling but I'm curious what cycles are moving you and shaking you and what what cycles are you with in your life at the moment actually it was my last bleed in December of 2021 I bled my third

first day of my bleed was on the full moon. And I always tended to lean towards being a full moon bleeder rather than a new moon bleeder. I think at some point in my life, I heard, first day of your bleed should be around the new moon. And I felt that's not me. And I slowly became aware that I can really own the full moon bleed. So we're approaching the full moon. So I would definitely say I am in that premenstrual inner critic phase, especially as I was preparing for this and also preparing to head off to Oregon to all women's gathering. I am having a lot come up. Yeah, just around myself and trying, really leaning into being gentle with myself, being soft with that beautiful awareness

that I am approaching the full moon phase of my cyclical nature. I am definitely being kind to myself and being watching my thoughts and being aware and doing my best to slow down a little bit and take care and also simultaneously hold a lot. And I definitely tune in to the the cycles of the moon. I do want to share that it was also that last bleed synchronistically

lined up with a woman who offers a 13 moon course. And I started that in January just after coming out of my last bleed. At the time, I didn't know that that would be my last bleed, but I had a feeling and I started this 13 moon course where we were moving through nine phases of the moon each 28 day cycle. So I felt like that that awareness around cycling with the moon came forward in the perfect time as well. I can really hear the depth of your cycle awareness practice right there because there's just so many different ways to cycle. So you're with the moon and the full moon as a time of retreat for you, as your, what would have been your menstruation time and now your deep rest time. So the waxing moon becomes your premenstrual in an autumn phase. And

it's the other way around for some people. And it's just so beautiful to hear there are no shoulds. There's no right way. There's just the way that we find ourselves in. And that's such a path of authority, like claiming our own authority and our own knowing of who we are and where we are and how we're experiencing these cycles. Thank you for modelling that. Thank you. So how was it for you when your mum said, okay, you've started your bleed and this is how you can track it? And what do you think inspired her to do that? It was a very trailblazing thing to do back then. Yeah, I believe so. Well, my mom grew up in the South. in Texarkana, Arkansas, and she, I would say, trailblazed here with my dad as an interracial

couple leaving the south to California to find space to be in this union together. And my sister and I came along, I have a twin sister. So we were ushered into that together. Yeah, we're 70s babies. And at the time, my mom was in Berkeley, California, women's groups were coming together, women gathering to share in spaces with each other, raise their babies. And my mom had on her shelf this book, I don't know who the author is, but it's called Our Bodies Ourselves. I believe it probably had cycle awareness, you know, different forms of birth control. just really body empowerment. And maybe that's what inspired her.

I'd never asked her. But when I started bleeding and I will share, and I thought maybe this would come up later in our talk, but when I started bleeding, I didn't go to my mom and tell her. And I actually kept it to myself. And when my twin sister came to my mom and said, I started bleeding, I said me too instead of, which I think I had started possibly bleeding first

and I didn't say anything. And I'm not really sure why because my mom was open and I believe she had laid a foundation for us to come and talk to her about that. But for whatever reason, I didn't go to her and I kept it to myself and I was, you know, stuffing toilet paper in my underwear. And but when she did find out she went and got these little calendars and it was a little tiny date book and she showed us how to track start count 28 days and then put a D for due and I started tracking and yeah I continue to do that through pregnancy and then they developed those cycle apps And I tried that for a minute and I didn't like it. I wanted that little tangible date book or I graduated to a wee moon calendar, which is a

beautiful calendar created by women. And I feel so blessed because I was able to really know exactly when my last bleed was, which feels so special. What do you think it opened up and made possible for you being in touch with your own cycles and your own body in that way? I mean, like I said, an awareness, an awareness of my cyclical nature, of our cyclical nature. yeah being able to be empowered and rooted in my body yeah yeah just hearing stories from other you know bleeding bodies that it can be disorienting or disarming to start bleeding when

you're out doing something or i don't know when my bleed is coming or and i never thought to ask are you tracking that you know there's many reasons why a bleed could be inconsistent, but also starting with the tracking, I almost feel like it's an invitation for something to regulate. And I actually, when my daughter, I have one, I have three children, I have one daughter. And when she started bleeding, I shared this tracking practice with her. And she wasn't so much doing it, but I was actually tracking her cycle. aware that she had a shorter cycle than me her bleed was more like 23 days and then my cycle started shifting to almost align with her i was 28 days and then i started moving towards a 25 day cycle

interesting yeah this might be a difficult question to answer because you don't know anything other than the life that you've lived but i've got this theory And maybe I can try it out with you, Tamu, that when girls are introduced to their cycle at a really young age, they have more access to understanding their own needs and claiming their own boundaries. And I think through those years of 13, 14, 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, where starting to explore sexuality, trying to understand who we are in the world and what is okay and what isn't okay. Do you have any sense of how cycle awareness might have guided you and supported you there? In so many ways, I feel like I have grown into being able to have boundaries and being able to say what I need. But I do feel like I was pretty tuned as a young person pretty tuned into walking my path versus getting swept up by pure pressures. and the things that I liked to do and give my time to and my hobbies and what I was

tending as a young person and the things that I was passionate about were pretty led by my own sense of self. That's so beautiful to hear. And then your last bleed, so that was three years ago now, I think. And you mentioned in the Instagram post that I read that you still honor that date. And could you say a bit more about that, about why you honor it and how you honor it? Well, I've come to know myself as I really feel in my body when I'm returning to a cycle, important dates in my life live in my body.

So the memory starts to show up. And I don't know if I intentionally was planning to honor me. my bleed every year after, definitely the one year mark, but two and three, I didn't necessarily think about that, but I always find myself starting to dip into where I was at that time and really hold space for it. So coming to that day, really an acknowledgement. Now I have such a practice with water by way of sitting with tea every day. by way of working with flower essences and by way of, you know, going to some of my favorite creeks and streams.

So those are all ways. I feel like being with water is how I honor that day, but I also do that every day. There's a piece of that thread of honoring through every single day. I'm so aware right now of this tending of the water. And knowing that the moon, blood that blood was was those waters and now I don't have that and so deepening the relationship with water and it's really how I honor the end of that bleed. Can you tell us about this

experience that you had then with Sabon Fusomei where you, I think you said it was the women's wisdom in the heart of Africa event and she was sharing that when a woman enters men she becomes the carrier of the water of life for the community. And I get shivers, full body shivers, and I feel that. Yeah, can you tell us about what happened in you when you heard that and how that's how that guided your perimenopause time? Yeah, thank you for asking. So Bonfosomei was an elder, is now an ancestor,

and she has an audio, it's a six-disc audio. set called Woman's Wisdom from the Heart of Africa, where she's speaking about many things, including cycles and cycle awareness and menopause. And I listened to it once, didn't hear the part about menopause. My ears were not attuned to hearing anything about that at that time. But in my journey through perimenopause, I really started to, crave guidance from elders. And I remembered this offering the wisdom from the heart of Africa. And I got curious, is there anything about menopause? And sure enough, in actually, I think it's chapter two, she speaks to this. And I think at first, because I was so in my

phase of really needing to slow down and take care of myself when she says you become the carry of the water of life for the community. I'm thinking, I don't want to serve the community right now. I really just want to take care of myself. Also simultaneously knowing that I had been really starting to tend and deepen this relationship with water, when she said it, I was like, wow, I felt like I am on the right track. I'm in the right stream. I am in the right flow. And so I just really held it. And then you talked, I think this was in the email conversation that we had before speaking now, you spoke about you were how you were shifting from your earth body to your water body. And some of the, you call them the water medicine.

that have helped you with this. Could you open that up for us a bit and walk us into some of these water medicines and how they've been a resource for you through the menopause journey? Yes. Like I think I shared with you, I've been kind of taking stock in this menopause journey,

so it really became more illuminated, even in the last week, this collection of water medicines that I am now tending in this next phase. And I feel like I was definitely in my earth, more in my earth body through my motherhood portal. And then that started waning around 45 or so. And I really honed in with with the teachings, the teachings of Masuru Imoto around water consciousness. And I was spending a lot of time in ceremony, offering.

prayers for the waters, the waters within and the waters without. And from there, grew working with flower essences, which I do call water medicines because they are energetic remedies that are made with an imprint of a flower in water. So water really holds the information of that flower to support in harmonizing the inner land. or the emotional body. And then more recently, I have really come to honor myself by making a pilgrimage to collect fresh living spring water from a spring that's probably about an hour from my house and only consuming that water, preparing smoothies and nut milks and soups with this water and which led me to a daily tea practice that I have been tending to coming on a year

now. I'm just, I'm listening and thinking how much we are made of water. Like, are we, are we like 75% water? Is that it? Yeah. Yeah, we are, we are watery creatures. And yeah, I had a really beautiful interview with an Irish woman called Iski, Britain. and she is a water being like you. You two would have one together. She's a big wave surfer in Ireland. And she has written two books about her relationship with water, salt water and the blood and ebb and flow

and about her cyclical nature. And she taught me to go to the place where we get our drinking water, which is this huge dam called the Dermint Dam, and to sing to the water and to bring gratitude. to it and I took Artie my son and we went and sang to the water and he loved it and we go back every now and then and hearing you speak now is reminding me we can take it for granted this beautiful life-giving substance that we are made of and it's so beautiful to hear the subtlety that you're holding here around how you how you're relating to cultivating a relationship

with this with this it's a subtle process right that's what I'm hearing Definitely. I did listen to that podcast some time ago. And I now name myself a water being. And from a very young age, I was very aware that patience is one of my practices here on this timeline. Slow and steady wins the race. is one little phrase I keep in my mind a lot because I'm always seem to be in a rush or I used to be in a rush to have things happen. This slow and steady tending is what I have learned works and resonates for me, even leaving my job, which definitely emerged in this menopause portal. I didn't just decide one day. I am leaving. I did. very slow and steady tending, building this relationship with water, a slow and steady, very much guided, beautiful webs and synchronicities and tendrils that would show up that I get to say yes to

or no, or no to. It feels like such a gift to nurture something slowly and watch it bloom in a way that feels natural and organic rather than forcing. So relaxing to hear you talk. And I feel it in your intonation and in the way you speak. It is like speaking with a river, human river. There's a real steady flow in you. Okay, well, I'm wondering if we can take this water medicine and, you know, bring this beautiful ancestor Sabonfu Somei with us and her wisdom with us into an exploration through

the lens of these five phases of menopause and see how how water has guided and supported you through them because you've taken the journey the red school menopause the great awaken a journey a couple of times so it's really wonderful that we can you know like you know these phases you know them having experienced them and you know that the theory of them and let's yeah let's have a look at your experience here and where I feel moved to go first is the first phase being betrayal I'm thinking in my experience I haven't been through menopause but in my experience sitting with women and people in it and having on the other side of it fire and rage and anger basically always comes up you know it's it's always

is Alexandra was saying it to me today in a message of some kind, she said, you know, anger is always at the top of the list. And I'm hearing you saying you were transitioning into this water being and one of the antidotes to fire is water or one of the medicines to apply to fire is water. And I'm curious, I've said so much there, Tammy, but I'm curious, was there fire in your betrayal phase and how did the water work with you there? For sure. Well, first I just want to say, Thank you for the menopause, the Great Awakener. And I didn't sign up for it until after I was through and had arrived at menopause.

So I know that some people join it at various stages. So I was able to really reflect on that betrayal phase. I remember when I tuned in. And I also just want to name that once you sign up for that, you get. lifetime access to each one every time so you can dip back in when you're ready and that's what I did. So I did it twice. There are actually some women that have done it five times at this point, some women and folks who have just like they joined right in like at the beginning of perimenopause and now they're like either in or through menopause and they've come back every year. It's been

amazing. Yeah. A beautiful way to reflect and hone in and so that betrayal phase I remember when the dialogue around that was open and there were two things that came up for me. One was I felt betrayed by my body because I had a lot of symptoms come up. One of them primarily being that fire, that inner heat, burning, burning fire. I mean, it must have come in four weeks after I stopped bleeding and didn't stop. some time and it's still going actually because what I have learned about this fire is that it welcomes me to burn away any self-defeating thoughts any worries any anxiety if I am running

that loop I will have a hot flash and it will even now if I started having a conversation that was self-defeating or full of angst and worry and anxiety, I would start to fire up for sure. And the other rage and anger was feeling betrayed by our culture and our society for not holding space for this journey, for um this journey through menopause and um and i'm thinking of the medical institution the educational institution and you know the nine to five job i felt very angered by the fact that there wasn't space or the beautiful potent initiation that this is

is and to start to reweave this idea of productivity and doing, doing, doing, going, going, going. And I'm always asking, how do we reweave what we've been taught about being productive? It feels like you've already laid some beautiful pathways for us there in this conversation with your slow and steady wins the race. the tortoise approach and the flowing of the river because the river just endlessly flows and endlessly creates without effort. I mean, and creates things like the Grand Canyon.

I often think about this one, thinking about the power of water. What it can create is so huge in that effortless flow. Harves the giant stones, softens their edges. Yeah, the water softens the water softens edges, let's say that for sure. As Tamu just shared, the Red School Menopause, the Great Awakener online course is designed to accompany you through your menopause process. Once you join the course, you can return each year if you want to to receive the holding

and support of the teachings and the amazing community that's gathered around this course. It's starting this year on October the 31st, and if you'd like to find out more, please visit Red Schoolmanopause.com. There's an early bird price available until midnight on Friday the 24th of October, where you save £50, and there's also a pay-in-three payment plan. And if you'd like to get a taste of Alexandra and Shani's approach, you can join their free three-day event, which is called How Menopause Awakens Your Power. next week, on October the 21st to the 23rd, hundreds are already gathering around the world

for this. It was wonderful last year. It promises to be another really insightful and supportive event again, and you can register for that also at redschoolmenopause.com. Okay, let's get back to the conversation with Tamu. And were you working with tea from the beginning of the heat rising in you and did that support that practice of being with the with the heat no i was not i was not working with tea but i was working with flower essences and making them and also learning and exploring more about ones that would support this transition flower essences are so amazing for times of transition whether that be in a relationship or a job or a life stage or a death of sorts,

a death of many sorts. So I was very much with the water medicine through the flower essences, going to collect spring water to make these medicines in my local spaces and also learning from what I call OG flower essence practitioners who have so much wisdom to share around how these essences can support our inner landscape or our emotional body. Are there essences that you've seen to be helpful for many women and folks in menopause or is this a personal thing? Yeah. Oh, for sure. One that is coming to mind agave and agave is the late bloomer's essence or it's known as the late bloomer's essence if you know

these agave plants they only bloom once in their life and that could be at seven years that could be at 25 years of their plant life so that one was really helpful for me in that I felt like I was just really uncovering um my purpose and what I really came here to offer and I'm thinking, questioning, why did I not do this? If I could have known this in my 30s, I'm here now at 50, you know, surrounded by young people who are, you know, have been tending these things and diving in and here I am. So that one was amazing. I even got this agave bloom tattoo to honor that medicine through my journey.

And then I made one called Wisdom Body. It's a pink magnolia rose quartz, really tending the heart space, self-compassion. And I made that one actually in February on the full moon one month after I had stopped leading for the last time and so that one is a beautiful one to support the journey through different life stages menstruation um even mothering if that if that's in your timeline and then menopause yeah thank you this kind of segues us into maybe into the second phase the repair phase so you experience in betrayal a sense of your body betraying you the symptoms happening the betrayal of the culture of not recognizing what was happening what you were going through

and you bring this beautiful rose quartz and pink magnolia essence in as you are journeying through the repair phase and these aren't we know these aren't necessarily like one year is betrayal and next year is like they cycle they loop they spiral yeah So say the repair phase part of your manopause journey, what needed to be repaired in you and what supported that process? I was doing a lot at that time. I had a full-time job and then my wellness practices on the side and then supporting and organizing some medicine communities.

And so I was doing all and simultaneously parenting. and partnering and all of that. And I actually ended up breaking my ankle in maybe a few months into my, my, what I call this incubation time before one year of not bleeding. And it put me smack down on my bed with a cast. And my partner picked up the pieces of, you know, the daily commute with my son. and my son started cooking for himself and and the grocery shopping was done it was a and I got to sit on my bed and really sink in now I tell spirit we don't need to have like a health

crisis to stop me in my tracks let's be aware but at that time it was really it was really I mean it was really challenging but it was also such a beautiful gift now feels like a great time to hear about the tea and the process of being with with tea in this ceremony because it I had some small taste of it when I was in Japan when I was visiting my twin brother who lived in Japan for a while and we got to experience tea ceremony and so meditative so soulful so mindful so yeah can you share a bit about how this tea practice developed and how it supported the repair yeah like I share the relationship with water was growing.

And I had been going to my spring, like I said, to collect water to make medicines and drink occasionally. And I remember saying to myself, I am worthy of receiving this living water into my body every single day. And then I feel like I was ready to sit down with the tea consistently. And I joined together with some women who were offering this way of sitting with tea. called Cha-Dao or the way of tea and I started going to tea sits and then I acquired some tea wares to continue my practice at home and it's about 350 days that I have been sitting

with tea every single day, every single typically in the morning for about an hour with this practice and pouring the water and sitting with the steam and letting the leaves open in the bowl and being in a meditation. And my partner, he also joins me. And it has really deepened our connection and intimacy because we sit in silence together. We're not talking and doing anything

and we could even come to that tea table in the morning, feeling a little unsettled with each other, but by sitting in silence with the water and really bringing our hearts forward, we're actually able to let that dissolve. And I will say the water, the medicine of these tea leaves has definitely opened that to unravel.

And again, I am just so in awe of, of these um the way that the water just continues to ripple through but there was a space in my backyard that a structure that was a storage space that has a well underneath and we got the well working and now my partner has transformed this space to be a space where I can sit with tea share tea share the medicine of flower essences and this is all unfolded really in the last few months but wow it's very moving like your commitment to this different pace of living and how this tea ceremony this being with tea has supported that the third phase of menopause that Alexander and shani teach about

in the great awakening is the the revelation phase and they talk about it as this docking docking back into the root system of your life and you already spoke to it you know how come imagine if I could have uncovered this in my 30s when I was younger and then how come it's now but what would you say over these past years of your manipause journey has been revealed to you most clearly that I don't need to reinvent myself actually everything that I have been tending, it's all there. I didn't really give myself credit for that. I think I did go through a period where I was doubting everything, but what was revealed was that that the tending has been there. And I don't need to reinvent. I just need to continue to follow the threads.

It's so interesting. As I hear you, it sounds like there was gold here all along and menopause through this burning away of these patterns of anxiety and, I think, negative self-negation that you described as, and also maybe the shedding of your work, your job, like, things were being peeled away so that the nature of you could be revealed. Am I getting that right? I would say yes, definitely, for sure. I'm just letting that sink in. Yes. It's been a journey to, arrive here right now. I reached my 52nd year in December and the calendar that I follow, the 52 is a rebirth. You return to the galactic signature that was the day you were born. It takes 52 years to arrive there again. And I definitely feel this arc or this path that I've

move through to arrive here at 52 and also I recognize that it's very cyclical in this moment this is this is how I'm feeling I have arrived I've emerged and also know that I could go back into the underworld for a period of time if if that's what's needed you mentioned the word emerge and we will get to the the emergence phase I'd love to hear while we're in this repair and revelation territory, how you navigated, understanding that you needed to leave your job, how you prepared to leave your job, and how you actually left.

Because I know so many women and folks in menopause is a part of the journey, is a career shift of some kind. Could you share, could you unpack that for us a little bit? I really want to give credit to the menstruality podcast because while I was tend to, that and really feeling into it, I was listening to the podcast and it made me feel so seen in my desire to leave and that it was 100,000% normal to be to arrive at this place right now. And there were other women sharing their journeys of needing to shift the course.

I would go to the podcast to receive affirmation and confirmation that I was doing the right thing. Again, this all happened together in 2021. As I was on my last bleed, I had a chart reading with an astrologer, and she amplified what I was feeling around leaving my job, and she named that as a Capricorn and the Capricorn Sun and Rising, that of pretty much all of the signs getting stuck in where you are is real. And I was like, yeah, I'm definitely stuck. And also wanting some security in the leaving. I do know that other people, they get this idea and they, tomorrow or a month from now, they're done. And they've walked away and they don't know what's coming next. And they're not worried about it.

because of how they're cosmically wired. And I know for me, I needed some security in that. And also I needed to jump out on faith as simultaneously. I was holding those two things. And I actually started just exploring what would that look like. And I started saving money so that I could be okay for a year. No one is saying, you know, here's your menopause sabbatical. There was definitely a lot of frustration there, but I also was just decided that I had

enough resources that I could be okay for a period of time and give me space to really nurture all of the other things that I was doing, the wellness offerings, the things that were really speaking to my heart and soul. So I left. And it was terrifying and also the right thing to do. And now it's been exactly, you know, this week, two years since I had a full-time job, a beautiful salary, health insurance, all the things that gave this, this person security. But I'm also trusting and I'm also holding faith.

And I also recognize whenever I do step, really step away, like maybe I'll go to a bathhouse or maybe I'll drive up to the river and spend the whole day offline, not connected to anything, I come out of those spaces and there is an invitation in an email or a phone call or a message to do the thing or offer the thing. And I always tell my friends, look, this is what happens when you actually stop and you fully unplug. The magic is happening. It's all still being woven together.

You don't have to constantly be online for those things to unfold. So I continue to remind myself of that. And also, when it happens, I'll call my friend and just say, look at what happened. when we went to the river and we spent the whole day, you know, just basking in the sun and the water, look what happened. So good to remind each other of these things. I really harvest them together. Thank you.

Shared so much there. The first thing that really moved me was what you said about the podcast that you needed to hear voices of others who all who had the courage, the inspiration, the insight. the wherewithal to be able to make their shift. And I thought of the word, well, when you said that. It's like a metaphorical well that we can come to. It's like whenever we're going through some kind of transition, we need to have our wellspring.

And that could look like our women's circle or our family or our partner or a podcast, whatever it is. So I'm so glad that the menstruality podcast was a wellspring for you there. And thank you for naming the just grounded wisdom of saving. that is real in a world that isn't yet offering paid menopause sabbaticals, which is so a vision of mine for the future and better maternity leave as well. And I've got a mentor, Edvich Fairchild, actually, who was just on the podcast a few weeks ago.

And she often spoke to me in my transitional phases of life about how when you're making a leap, it's like you have to let go of one trapeze and just fly through the air before you can catch the next trapeze and it's absolutely freaking terrifying and incredibly liberating because you're flying through the air but it's scary and um the other word that came to me was this potentizing that i hear frequently from women and folks and through the manipause journey that there's this less is more slowing down but somehow everything gets distilled and potentized and that's what I'm hearing in you yes the vision and the emergence phases of the journey what do you know is possible now that you didn't know was possible before that being in tune being aware of our

cyclical nature can really inform how we move through menopause and beyond, slowing down. And that was the thread that I wanted to bring in that cyclical awareness. Even though I didn't have it in the way that that is shared a lot here in Red School, I now feel it's my responsibility to continue to tune into that conversation. as I as I you know work with play with commune with younger women to really like if they show up you know to be with me for the day that and they share that today is the first day of their bleed how we move through the day is going to look different you know so that really has come come through as well is how to move slower, move more mindfully.

I feel like we're in such a potent time on the earth to completely unravel this masculine, very young way of constantly producing and doing. And this is not just for the menopausal body, but for all bodies. All bodies are being asked. to let that narrative go and be more intentional and maybe fall back a little bit, hold space, go within, slow down, maybe not be ready to, you know, say the thing right away, but actually be able to like sit with it and sit with the discomfort and really sit with the discomfort and and let it teach and let it offer some,

guidance. What I often think of here is only 0.1% of life on earth is human. So 99.9% of life on earth is non-human and it's cyclical. It moves in cycles and all life has fallow times and fallow phases. It winters. And it's only us, us little 0.0% that think that we can do to do all the time bless us but it helps me remember oh there's a there is a lot of wisdom to rest back into in that 99.9% of life that is cyclical letting the seasons um the the seasons in nature guide has definitely also been a theme through this um time that i began became to have full awareness that i didn't have before i didn't realize oh yeah in the winter time maybe it the winter does not need to look like um spring fall or

summer at all at all like the schedule doesn't need to be the same the workload doesn't need to be the same yeah and then coming to the final phase the emergence phase you use the word emergence a while back does it feel like this is where you are that you have you have emerged and what are you emerging into? I do. I do feel like I've emerged and I also mentioned that I recognize that this path is not linear

and maybe I will have, I will cycle in all of these, through all of these phases again, but I definitely feel more recently, because I have spent this like year, two years really slowing and taking care of myself and the day looks very different than it did a few years ago, my days, and I feel like I'm emerging in a way where I can now hold that intention that Subamphu Somei spoke of, of being the carrier of the water of life for community.

I am seeing younger, young women show up to me sitting, you know, at my tea table or, you know, sitting in circle and needing support and guidance and space holding. And I am actually able to do that from a far more resource place. and it feels it feels like my responsibility and also my responsibility is to continue to to weave the life that allows for slowness and for me to come and offer and be available from a resourced place and if I can't do that I can also say no I had a beautiful invitation to support a community that's in deep grief this weekend and I actually said as much as my I want to be there. I need to take care of myself and in preparation for my departure and this and that

feels dysregulating for me to show up and support in that way and I can support in other ways. It doesn't have to be my physical body there. Thank you. I feel like I'm sitting at your tea table right now, receiving a really good dose of menopause boundaries and wisdom there. Thank you. Yes, we can say no because it because it's dysregulating for us. Oh, hallelujah. Thank you. Thank you so much, Tammu. If those listening would like to connect more with you and your work, what's the best way to do that? Oh, yes. Please go to holistic shine. um dot com that's my website i have offerings there seasonal cleanses um i'm forming the dancing the

in between um menopause um circle there flower essence consultations um you can go follow me at on Instagram at holistic, and it's holistic with a W.H underscore shine, where I continue to share my journey, my daily practices, my offerings. In the summertime, I will share that I do go to Oregon. This will be my third year bringing the dancing, the in-between womb circle and holding space for this journey from perimenopause and beyond and I continue to show up. I plan to be there every year to hold that space for sure. So if you're listening, look out for Spirit Weaver's gathering that takes place in Oregon every summer.

Thank you so much. Thank you for being the river that you are and for this steady flow of goodness. that you're bringing into the world and for, you know, your courage to make the shifts that you've made for how you're translating this beautiful wisdom. Thank you for bringing Sabon Fusoma in to our space here. And yeah, thank you for, thank you for your pace. I feel so so soothed. And I bet those listening feel the same. So thank you so much, Tamara. It's been a real joy to be with you. Thank you so much, Sophie. I just feel so blessed and honored to be able to contribute to this, this, this, this offering that that you tend to it's it's just it's really profound and has supported me through

through in my path i'm so glad well enjoy your tea and i look forward to connecting with you down the line lots of love thank you bye thanks for being with us today thanks for being with us today i hope you enjoyed this conversation. If you know someone that would benefit from hearing Tammu's story, please share it with them. And if you'd like to explore the Menopause, the Great Awakener course, it's starting on October the 31st. And there's a free event coming up next week, how Menopause awakens your power, where you can get a taste of Alexander and Sharnie's approach. And you can register for the course and for the free event at Red Schoolmenopause.com. okay that's it for this week because we're having our special month of menopause we're going to have

another episode coming out next week we're breaking our biweekly rhythm and we're having episodes every week this month so I'll be with you again next week and until then keep living life according to your own brilliant rhythm