Until recently, menopause—a natural biological transition—has been veiled in mystery and viewed as a dreaded, yet inevitable life event for women. Even the name includes the word “pause,” reinforcing the idea that female vitality gets put on hold.
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Until recently, menopause—a natural biological transition—has been veiled in mystery and viewed as a dreaded, yet inevitable life event for women. Even the name includes the word “pause,” reinforcing the idea that female vitality gets put on hold.
At the same time, hormones and emotions fluctuate, libido languishes, bone density plummets and heart disease risks rise. It has been a taboo topic, shrouded in shame and dismissed as nonessential, even among physicians in their basic medical training.
Menopause is a term rooted in the Greek words pausis (pause) and mēn (month), marking the end of a woman’s monthly cycles of menstruation. Historically, the focus on this stage of life has been on endings. Yet, as Generation X and even some millennials are entering menopause and perimenopause, attitudes are shifting. Women are embracing this stage with positivity and potential.
The shift is less about the absence of fertility than the abundance of freedom—the chance to step into a hard-earned, new era of life. Instead of mourning our metamorphoses, we can celebrate them. After all, the popular refrain of the wellness industry is that transformational learning elevates us to higher states of happiness and fulfillment. What is menopause, if not an extended moment of transformation?
The Power of the Pause
Despite its mainly female demographic, the wellness world has largely disregarded this time of change that comes with emotional and physical consequences. However, the tide is turning, bringing a refreshing wave of spa programs, services and treatments for menopausal women.
Thankfully, the menopause conversation—previously whispered in quiet corners—is emerging loudly in public. Movie stars and cultural icons ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow to Serena Williams are using their platforms to help women to embrace this natural phase proudly and engage in open, honest dialogue about its physical, emotional and mental effects.
This is a movement flowing away from preserving unrealistic ideals of fabricated youth and into accepting the essential grace of aging. This worldview finds beauty in the impermanence of nature. Women are finding empowerment with newfound knowledge about menopause symptoms and comfort from an upswell of community support.
“We’re in the middle of a menopause gold rush,” reports The New York Times. “The market is flooding with high-profile, well-funded menopause-related beauty products and telemedicine startups, as well as a growing roster of celebrities willing to admit it’s happening to them.”
The conversation includes everything from hormones to hot flashes. Now there are even entire menopause vacations, dedicated getaways for anyone addressing issues related to menopause—whether you are going through it yourself or supporting someone close to you.
Spas and resorts focusing on well-being are poised for the pause. They are ready to fill the dearth of menopause-related information, and services with targeted and intentional education, support and innovation.
Related: Expert Advice for Menopausal Skin Care
Shedding Shame
According to a recent Global Wellness Summit (GWS) report, the menopause market is projected to reach $600 billion, serving more than 1 billion women worldwide who have experienced perimenopause by 2025. “They (menopause vacations) offer something unique: real time spent on education, letting women be heard, giving them some much-needed personalized attention, and the power of shared experience and community,” notes the GWS.
Women sign up for menopause vacations to learn more about the changes happening to their bodies and how they affect their thoughts, feelings and outlook on life. Armed with previously hard-to-find knowledge and supportive tools, they can turn to experts and each other to redefine the next stage of their lives. It’s a time to thrive, not—as it was historically perceived—power down.
If our field of hospitality, spa and wellness is about maximizing comfort, we need to address where learning often happens: in the realm of or as a result of discomfort. We gain wisdom by examining experiences that make us uneasy. We study physical pain and its causes to elevate the quality of our massages, or unpleasant skin conditions to enhance our treatments.
What’s more uncomfortable to people than the subject of menopause? We can all learn more about addressing its symptoms if we shine a light on the source.
Raising our well-being levels often means releasing things that no longer serve us. When it comes to menopause, we need to let go of shame.
“It’s time to bring these conversations into the open and stop suffering in silence,” says Miraval Arizona integrative health specialist, Lyndi Rivers, who leads women-focused workshops like Pelvic Floor Wisdom and Mindfulness & Pleasure: Women, Sex & Desire. “We don’t have to accept that pain during sex, prolapse or incontinence are our lot in life just because we are a certain age.”
Meno-Spas: From Acupuncture to Zen
From expanded acupuncture and Ayurvedic offerings to Thai massage and aquatic therapies, spas worldwide are tailoring their menus. They are including products and services that address the vasomotor symptoms (including hot flashes and night sweats), joint pain, dryness and sleep disturbances associated with menopause.
In addition to women embarking solo on menopause travel, we are seeing many arrive with partners or groups of female friends who seek to support them during this time. One resort’s most popular classes—even before the menopause “revolution”—was a class led by a registered nurse on menopause and libido. A considerable portion of the guests who signed up were men seeking to support their wives through this life-altering phase.
Overall, the rising trend of menopause travel is a refreshing and positive change in the spa and hospitality industries. Spas, hotels and resorts have the opportunity to cater to a particular demographic of women for a specific need that they may not have previously targeted before.
For example, the Miraval brand (with resorts in Massachusetts, Texas and Arizona) offers specialized sessions in nutrition, Ayurveda and exercise physiology specifically for women experiencing symptoms of menopause. One class focuses on finding your dharma—or special purpose in life—citing late bloomers like Julia Child and Betty White, whose careers didn’t even begin until middle age.
Miraval Berkshires nutritionist Jenae Halstead notes that, “Menopausal changes go beyond hormones and impact brain function, weight, calcium absorption, mood and so much more. Reminding a woman that she is not crazy, but experiencing real physiological and psychological changes can open up attitude-changing conversations.”
A Menopause Moonshot
If menopause marks the end of menstruation, we can take our cue from the moon, whose lunar phases—waxing, waning, new or full—are often linked or compared to women’s cycles.
The final stage of a waning moon, before the sky goes dark, is known as the balsamic phase. It’s a time of low, mellow, regenerative energy, a dimmer switch in the sky that feeds our inner luminosity. We can reframe menopause to be a balsamic phase as well: a time to unplug, recharge and boost our cyclic intelligence. Spas and resorts can make it a protected and private space of germinating ideas, eased energy and restoration.
It’s hard to slow down in a fast-moving world, but menopause vacations can help redefine this new life phase by sending women to the spa and back, replenished with tools, techniques and nurturing communities.
Dina Fenili Niekamp brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience to her role as associate vice president of sales, marketing & brand at Miraval Resorts. She works to drive consumer awareness of the brand and spearheads marketing and communications efforts across all three properties.
