The Hidden Connection Between Menopause and Your Inner Seasons

Summer 2026: The Winter Invitation - Because every season within you deserves to be heard.

What if we're setting ourselves up for menopause stress long before menopause ever arrives?

Not because menopause is the problem, but because we've slowly lost the relationship with our own inner seasons.

When I talk about Summer and Winter, I'm not just talking about the seasons outside. I'm talking about the seasons within us.

Summer reflects our Fire.

Winter reflects our Water.

In Chinese Medicine, these two exist in relationship with one another.

- Fire brings warmth, joy, passion, expression, connection and love.

- Water brings nourishment, restoration, softness, stillness and depth.

One isn't better than the other, and neither can exist in harmony without the other. To me, that's fascinating and is what led me to deepen my understanding and relationship with my own inner seasons.

But what has all this got to do with menopause?

Just take some common symptoms...

• Hot flashes

• Anxiety

• Heat

• Feeling reactive

• Feeling flat

• Feeling wired but exhausted

• Feeling like life is just too much

Are these really signs of "menopause", or do they exist because we've forgotten how to nourish our Water - our inner Winter?

When Water is present, Fire shines.

When Water becomes depleted, Fire can begin to feel overwhelming.

And if we think about modern life, it seems that we are encouraged to live in perpetual Summer.

Always doing.

Always giving.

Always producing.

Always achieving.

Always connected.

Always available.

We tell ourselves to push through. To get on with it. To stay strong.

To accept that this is just part of life.

But is it?

Were we really designed to endure such relentless busyness?

To keep overriding our body's call for rest?

To believe that stillness is something we have to earn?

Or is this simply another example of what I call "physical bypassing"?

Physical bypassing is when we override the wisdom of the body instead of entering into relationship with it.

How often do you say you want to feel more connected, and in response you create more Fire?

More distraction.

More busyness.

More scrolling.

More drinking.

More eating.

More doing.

More consuming.

As though the answer to too much Fire is ... more Fire.

But that's not how nature works.

Remember,

Summer only exists because Winter exists.

When we equate this to the body, the Heart belongs to Fire (Summer) and the Kidneys belong to Water (Winter).

These two parts of ourselves have a beautiful relationship -

Healthy Heart Fire descends, and healthy Kidney Water rises to meet it.

They move towards one another, and they create harmony together.

But when that relationship weakens, that's often when Fire begins to rise unchecked.

So perhaps the invitation isn't to put the Fire out, or feed it any further.

Perhaps it's simply to nourish the Water and restore the relationship.

And this isn't just about menopause.

It relates to every stage of a woman's life.

Whether you’re 25, 35, 45, 65 …

Because every season asks something different of us.

Sometimes we need to express.

Sometimes we need to retreat.

Sometimes we need to create.

Sometimes we need to simply be.

Especially now, in the height of Summer and during Leo season, we're invited into the heart.

Not the head.

The heart.

To create a place inside ourselves where we feel safe enough to express who we are, and safe enough to receive everything Summer has to offer.

Not through over-giving.

Not through over-working.

Not through over-protecting.

Not through exhausting ourselves trying to hold everything together.

But by allowing Winter to nourish Summer.

That's why I've created The Winter Invitation.

It's a weekly hour to step out of perpetual Summer and return to a relationship with yourself.

A space where, over 4 weeks, we explore the wisdom of Winter through gentle facework, seasonal reflection, and simple practices that help nourish your Water, so your Fire can burn steadily rather than burn you out.

Facework has become one of the ways I listen to this relationship within myself. Rather than trying to fix symptoms, I use the face as a living mirror, helping me notice where I'm holding tension, where I'm overriding my body's signals, and where harmony is asking to be restored. It's a gentle practice, but a profound one.

This isn't another thing to add to your week.

It's one hour that's entirely yours, where you are free to attend live or listen to it at your own pace.

It’s a place to stop doing for a little while.

Not to bring you down. Not to take away the joy and magic of Summer.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

To enrich it.

To create the conditions for your Water to nourish your Fire.

Because when that relationship is restored,

Summer doesn't burn you out.

It helps you shine!

The Winter Invitation begins on Tuesday 28th July.

If something in this story has resonated with you, I'd love you to join us.

Just email me with the subject "Winter", and I'll send you all the details.

On reflection, I guess that's the real invitation.

Not to choose between Summer and Winter, but

to remember they have always belonged together.

Just like every part of you! ;-)

Julie Grint

Understanding yourself through the language of the body.

julie@juliegrint.com