In this episode, Kimberly speaks with Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer about the spiritual power of menopause. Pope and Wurlitzer are co-founders of Red School and authors of Wild Power and Wise Power.
Each woman traces the turning point that led them to this work: for Alexandra, sudden and relentless menstrual pain at 31 and the decision to listen to her body; for Sjanie, seven years on hormonal contraception and the return of her cycle, which brought her inner life back online. Kimberly, two and a half years postmenopause, asks what women orbit once the menstrual cycle no longer guides them.
They explore menopause as a great void and an initiation, the two “superpowers” of no and sight, the menstruality life arc as a turning of seasons, ego death and the dismantling of the psyche, and brain fog as the “decommissioning” of the mind. The conversation turns to what’s missing culturally: elders and “secret teachers” who can dignify the passage, allies and listening partners, and a framing that doesn’t pathologize.
They close on choice, including the choice of medical support, as its own act of inner authority, and on Red School’s October programming for Menopause Awareness Month.
Bio
Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer are the co-founders of Red School and pioneers of the emerging field of menstruality. They are the co-authors of Wild Power: Discover the Magic of the Menstrual Cycle and Awaken the Feminine Path to Power (Hay House, 2017) and Wise Power: Discover the Liberating Power of Menopause to Awaken Authority, Purpose and Belonging (Hay House, 2022), and the creators of the Menstruality Medicine Circle™.
Drawing on backgrounds in psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, coaching, embodied movement, teaching, and facilitation, they teach a psycho-spiritual approach to health, creativity, leadership, and spiritual life rooted in menstrual cycle awareness and conscious menopause.
Alexandra, a psychotherapist, began this work in her early 30s, first sharing her discoveries in workshops at Sydney’s Royal Hospital for Women. Together they have spent decades listening to thousands of women’s experiences of the journey from menarche to menopause, and they teach worldwide through Red School’s courses, trainings, and online events.
What Alexandra & Sjanie Share
- How severe menstrual pain at 31 led Alexandra to listen to her body and begin the work that became Red School
- Sjanie’s seven years on hormonal contraception and the “technicolor” return of her inner life when her cycle came back
- Why menstrual cycle awareness is a training ground for inner authority
- Menopause as a great void and an initiation, not a medical event to manage
- The two superpowers of menopause: the power of no and the power of sight
- The menstruality life arc as seasons, with menopause as winter and a fertile void
- Ego death, the dismantling of the psyche, and brain fog as the “decommissioning” of the mind
- Why we need elders and “secret teachers” who can dignify the passage
- Listening partnerships, allies, and Wise Power as a companion through the transition
- Choosing medical support as its own act of inner authority
What You’ll Hear
- Kimberly’s postpartum realization: “it’s all a lie”
- What we orbit when we’re no longer cycling with the moon
- Why charting with the moon may not speak to people in the thick of menopause, and when it might
- “I don’t recognize myself”: the falling away of habits, roles, and performance
- Facing the shadow and dearmoring on the approach to menopause
- Kimberly’s reframe of symptoms as “indicators” and the 47 changes she tracked
- The cultural absence of a dignified framing, and what it costs women
- Birth, dying, and menopause as the great initiations no one sails through
- The edge between martyrdom and relief: HRT, epidurals, and whether the rite still happens
- What to do if you don’t have a secret teacher
- The moment you want to burn the house down, and what actually needs burning
- Red School’s October programming for Menopause Awareness Month
Red School Resources:
- Website: https://www.redschool.net/
- Instagram: @red.school
- Upcoming Free Menopause Event at Red School