Description
The Menopause Ceremony: a day of reflection, connection and renewal.
A day retreat for women in peri or post menopause, with Dr Sophie Messager and Professor Joyce Harper
In most cultures, menopause passes unwitnessed. Many women struggle during the perimenopause then life carries on, and the depth of what has changed goes unnamed. This day is our answer to that silence.
We feel menopause is a significant life transition deserving acknowledgement, reflection and community. We believe this should be done through ceremony, not to celebrate menopause or pretend it is easy, but to acknowledge this significant transition and honour whatever this journey has meant to you.
During this day we will come together to share our menstrual and menopause stories, move our bodies through Dance of the Sisterhood, share food, be held through body wrapping, drum, sing, honour what has been, and imagine what comes next. Whether you arrive feeling lost, hopeful, angry, excited, uncertain, or joyful, you will be welcomed exactly as you are. This is a space to be heard, witnessed, supported and held by other women walking a similar path, as we step into this next stage with intention, connection and renewed confidence. We hope you will leave ready to move into Your Joyful Years.
And for those who wish to, Joyce invites all participants to dinner at her home the evening before the retreat.
Who this day is for
This day is for any woman who has moved through, or is moving through, perimemopause and/or menopause and wants to mark the transition consciously. Whether the change is recent or some years behind you, whether you arrive celebrating, going through challenging times or grieving your cycling years, there is a place for you in this circle. No experience of dance, singing, drumming or ritual is needed. You only need to come as you are.
The shape of our day
9:30.00 to 12.00 : Gathering and remembering
We begin by welcoming you in. Joyce and Sophie will introduce themselves and the intentions for the day, followed by an opening meditation to help you arrive fully. Each woman will have space to share what she hopes to receive. Then, through gently guided group conversation, we will trace our menstrual journeys, from puberty, through the fertile years, and into perimenopause, honouring the arc of our cycling lives.
12.00 to 1.00 : Releasing through movement
Ecstatic dance, as a way to honour and release our cycling years through the body. A chance to let the music move you however you wish, with nothing to perform and nothing to get right.
1.00 to 2.00 : Bring and share lunch
Time to rest, nourish yourself, and connect with the other women.
2.00 to 3.00 : Stepping into Your Joyful Years
Sharing our reflections, exploring how we wish to move forward into this next stage, and naming any barriers we sense in the way.
3.00 to 5.30 : The ceremony
Through full body wrapping with Mexican rebozos, singing and drumming, we will symbolically close the reproductive phase and welcome the postmenopausal self. The wrapping ritual soothes the nervous system and offers a felt experience of being held and witnessed, while the drum carries us into a deeper, quieter state where transformation can settle, very much like a caterpillar dissolves to reform into a butterfly. This is where the threshold is truly crossed.
A closing meditation & circle completes our time together.
Your guides through this day retreat:
Dr Sophie Messager brings together science and ceremony. With a PhD in reproductive physiology and two decades as a research scientist, alongside 15 years of work as a doula, ceremonialist and drum keeper, she has spent over a decade bringing ritual back to women through closing the bones, rebozo wrapping and intuitive drumming. She is the author of The Beat of Your Own Drum and Why Postnatal Recovery Matters.
Professor Joyce Harper is a leading academic in women’s health at UCL, and the author of several books on fertility, reproduction and menopause. She brings decades of research, teaching and public education on women’s reproductive lives, and a passion for helping women understand and navigate the menopause transition. She is the author of Your Fertile Years, and Your Joyful Years.
Together, they offer a rare blend of the evidence-based and the ceremonial, the scientific and the soulful, held in one day.
The practical details
Abington Barn Courses 52 North Road, Great Abington
Cambridge CB21 6AS ,
Sunday 18th of October 2026, 9:30 to 5.30
£100 per person
Please bring a dish to share for lunch. We will provide drinks and snacks throughout the day.
What to bring
Comfortable clothing you can move and dance in, a blanket, a drum if you have one (spares will be available), water, a notebook if you wish to take some notes, and an open heart.
A small intimate setting
Places are limited to 12 women, so that the circle stays intimate and everyone can be seen.
Have a question before you book? We would love to hear from you.
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