Personal pleasure and menopause.

Gabriella Espinosa, founder of the Awakening Pathways to Pleasure programme.
 
Gabriella Espinosa has been an active part of the MPowder community from the very start. In fact, she was one of my first Phenomenal Women interviewees. I remember interviewing her about her work, squeezing it into a lunchtime call from Bond Street tube station when I was still juggling my day job with this new purpose!

In the last 2 years she has supported our product trials with personalised support for our MPowder Makers. She is a vocal contributor in our private Facebook community, The Powder Room.

Now, following a period of further study and exploration, has evolved her own practice to focus on personal pleasure. And I’m delighted we found time to talk again.

I often describe the numbing of pleasure that we can experience in midlife, as the ‘taboo within the taboo’. If 67% of us find the topic of menopause uncomfortable, I’d put the number of us feeling awkward at the thought of sharing our thoughts on pleasure at c. 97%!

Gabriella is passionate about empowering each of us to know, trust and love our bodies - and to access the deep pleasure we have inside. Her coaching is informed by 20 years of practicing and teaching yoga, somatic movement, meditation and breath work through the lens of embodiment and neuroscience.

Take time to listen in to this conversation. It’s an important one.

With love, Rebekah & the MPowder Team.

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We’re fascinated by the springboard our menopause journey can offer us, if we allow it to! What have been your key learnings on your transition to date?
 
I have learned that our bodies are an incredible source of intelligence, but we have to take time to deeply listen to their messages and nourish them with healthy food, regular movement, rest, relaxation, pleasure and connection. When we do this the benefits beautifully ripple out to our relationships, work and community. 
 
 
In moving forward, we also have an opportunity to evaluate what we take with us, and what we leave behind. What, if anything, have you consciously let go of?
 
I am letting go of the cultural and societal narratives of how a post menopausal woman looks and behaves. I am wholeheartedly embracing the freedom to choose how I show up in the world, unapologetically me.
 

How has your own menopause transition impacted:
The way you see yourself? 
 
Now at 55 years young and 5 years postmenopausal, I finally feel at home in my skin, accept and appreciate my body and recognise myself as a sensual and sexual being  - not the 20-30 or even 40 yr old version, but the present version who fully owns her pleasure, power and purpose.
 

The way you choose to live?

For me, this time of life is a gift that celebrates my lived experience and honours my wisdom. I treasure each day, enjoy the simple pleasures of life and am incredibly grateful to do work that I love and share it with others.
 

Our second spring can also bring a new sense of purpose - and ambition. How would you say your focus, in life and professionally has evolved? 

I moved through a lot of life ticking all the boxes and following all the “shoulds” that my family or society dictated.

Now, I am loving the freedom to dismantle all the “shoulds” and live life on my terms. Sure, I still want to be in service to my family, work and community, but this now comes from a much more easeful and boundaried place.

Tell us what you do today - what drives you, and what does it facilitate?

In my work, as a Women’s Body Wisdom coach, one recurring theme is how disconnected women feel from their bodies, their pleasure and sexuality.

I realised how little we have been taught about pleasure, especially female pleasure. It’s been seen as taboo, shameful, something to keep secret, so this chips away at your identity as a sexual being so you disconnect from the parts that nourish your sexual expression.

You arrive in midlife, try to make sense of it all and ask, “Who am I as a sexual being?”.

I help women answer this question by creating a safe container to build a more loving relationship with their  bodies, explore new pathways to pleasure, awaken full body pleasure and improve sexual confidence.

It all starts with you deepening the relationship with yourself and what lights you up.

I believe that when we connect to our pleasure we are more loving, generous and show up more powerfully. The whole world benefits when women prioritise their pleasure. 

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Thank you Gabriella.
If you’re curious to find out more, you can work with Gabriella in a number of ways- through 1-1 and group coaching programmes, as well as retreats across the glove. Find her on Instagram @gabriellaespinosa or via her website: www.gabriellaespinosa.com.

Time limited offer:

Gabriella has also generously gifted the MPowder community a 20% discount on her Awakening Pathways to Pleasure 6 week group coaching programme which starts on 16th May 2022. Simply add MPOWDER when prompted. There is already a waitlist! But she’ll do all she can to accommodate you.

Click HERE to find out more.
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