Yoga for Perimenopause & Menopause with Judith Hanson Lasater and Lizzie Lasater

·1 hr 10 min·5 clips

Judith Hanson Lasater reveals why menopause is not a mistake but a stage with hidden benefits, challenging yoga's silence on the topic.

Andrea Ferretti introduces the episode by welcoming back Judith Hanson Lasater and Lizzie Lasater, focusing on their collaborative online course about yoga for menopause. Judith is a PhD, physical therapist, and author with over 50 years of teaching experience, while Lizzie is a vinyasa yoga teacher and online course producer. The host shares her personal nervousness around Judith, who co-founded Yoga Journal, and notes the generational span of the guests: Lizzie in perimenopause, Andrea in menopause, and Judith beyond it. They begin with a bell-ringing invocation to center themselves. The discussion first covers their mother-daughter working relationship, highlighting mutual respect, a 50-50 partnership split, and clear division of responsibilities. Lizzie explains how she brought Judith's teaching online, creating a global community. The conversation then shifts to menopause, with Judith noting it's often taboo in yoga compared to pregnancy. She lists benefits like higher iron counts and postmenopausal zest, referencing elephant matriarch studies to emphasize wisdom in aging. Judith defines perimenopause as a three-to-five-year transition phase with symptoms like hot flashes or shoulder pain. For yoga practice, she recommends supported backbends and inversions during perimenopause, intuiting they help balance hormones, and suggests menopausal women take three days a month to practice as if menstruating to honor residual estrogen cycles. Philosophically, Judith teaches that suffering comes from identifying with form and that menopause invites deepening into stillness. The guests discuss grief and freedom in menopause, with Lizzie noting it's the first life stage involving loss, like fertility. They critique how mainstream yoga often promotes athleticism over cyclical needs. Judith emphasizes the mat as a refuge, not a challenge, for menopausal women. The episode also addresses digital distractions, with Judith advocating for the 'pause' to cultivate awareness and choice, and shares personal tactics like using paper planners. They reflect on building online sanghas globally through restorative yoga courses, blending digital outreach with offline intentionality. The episode closes with Judith quoting that love, not life, is strong, tying it to yoga's purpose of self-love.

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