Empathy for Adrenals
Apr 05, 2026
If you are navigating any part of the menopausal transition (perimenopause to post menopause), what I am going to share today may be incredibly helpful. According to Ayurveda, a woman’s life unfolds in three sacred stages, each with its own wisdom, energy, and role:
Kapha stage (birth~25)
The child / maiden years. A time of growth, nourishment, learning, and building foundations physically, emotionally, and energetically.
Pitta stage (~25–50)
The mother / creatrix years. A life stage of action, purpose, productivity, and contribution, where we build, lead, birth and tend to others while shaping our place in the world.
Vata stage (50+)
The sovereign queen / enchantress years, where the menopause threshold lives. A time of refinement, intuition, creativity, and deep wisdom. Less doing, more being. Less proving, more truth and sharing of wisdom gained over a lifetime.
Understanding these stages helps us honor what our body and spirit are asking for, rather than resisting the natural rhythms of change. We can layer this knowledge with our prakruti, or innate constitution, and vikruti or imbalances, to get a more complete picture of the elemental influences we are navigating at each stage of our lives.
Here is a second layer to support your understanding for now being in the second half of your life:
Did you know that as we go through the process of menopause, the hormone production switch (back from) ovaries to our adrenals?
The adrenals were our main hormone producers when we were prepubescent. In our fertile years the ovaries took over the primary hormone production, while the adrenals get to manage the stress in the body.
For most Western women, when the ovaries are ready to retire, the adrenals are in no condition to take over hormone production. This is because the amount of stress we are trying to manage in our over-scheduled lives, full of constant sensory input, in a culture that rewards doing over being, is simply too much to sustain. We don't know how to live in alignment with our new hormonal needs.
No wonder our bodies are struggling to keep up!
We need to lean into all the ways that we can naturally support ourselves, so we aren't as vulnerable to the volatility of the world - we find our center, and hold it strong.
Wishing you a peaceful week ahead.
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