Over the course of my advanced yoga studies, I completed several case studies as part of my 500-hour certification and Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialist designation. This is part of a series of posts where I'll share a more personal look at the work - the stories, the challenges and the quiet wins - that came through during those case studies. Each one taught me something different. Each one deepened my trust in yoga as a healing path.

This case study is close to my heart because I was going through many of the same changes in my own life. As we began our work together, I drew from what I had learned in the Women's Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine training module I had completed with Yoga Medicine in 2018. That training gave me a deeper understanding of the energetic shifts during different stages of life. These concepts became the backbone of our sessions - guiding my approach to sequencing, breath work and even daily habit recommendations.

Kate (pseudonym) was 48 when she began working with me. She was in early stages of perimenopause and experiencing a wide range of symptoms: irregular periods, persistent brain fog, unexplained weight gain and aching joints, especially around the the SI joint. She had already started hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and while it brought some relief, she still felt like she was missing something. She wanted to feel better in her body. She wanted to feel more like herself again.

During our intake session, we talked through her symptoms using a traditional framework - identifying what brought on the symptoms, what made them better or worse, how they felt, where they showed up and how long they had been present. From there, we also discussed her history, any relevant treatments and what she hoped to gain from our work together. It became clear that she wasn't looking for a fix, but rather for tools. A way to move through this time with more steadiness and support.

I built our sessions to support and soothe rather than challenge and push. We focused on nourishing practices: breathwork to calm the mind, gentle movement to ease joint discomfort and supported yin postures to encourage down regulation and hormonal balance.

Between our sessions, I gave Kate simple sequences she could do at home. Things like legs-up-the-wall with breath retention, soft cat-cow to increase circulation in the spine and short body scans for mental clarity. I recommended warm, cooked foods, less screen time before bed and slow walks in the morning when possible. These seemingly small things started to add up.

Over the course of eight weeks, I saw subtle but meaningful shifts. Her sleep improved. The brain fog began to lift. Her SI joint pain became more manageable. And maybe the most important, she began to trust that her body wasn't failing her - it was simply changing.

Of course, not everything was linear. Some weeks were harder than others. When stress spiked, so did her symptoms. When she skipped her practices, she noticed. But what emerged was a growing awareness of cause and effect, of how stress, sleep, food, movement and even mindset played a role in how she felt day to day.

Working with Kate reminded me that yoga is never about perfect alignment or big poses. It's about meeting someone where they are and offering them tools they can actually use. It's about remembering that healing doesn't always look like progress - sometimes it looks like presence.

This study hit close to home for me. At the time, I was beginning my own journey through perimenopause. Holding space for Kate meant holding space for myself, too. And that deepened everything. Since then, I have felt a calling to keep learning, to keep growing in this area. Over the past couple of years, I've been developing my education around peri- and post menopause - pulling from yoga, TCM, lifestyle adjustments and lived experience. I want to continue building resources for women navigating this season of life, because we deserve to feel supported, seen and strong.