Description
A day retreat with Dr Sophie Messager and Professor Joyce Harper
There is a moment, somewhere on the other side of perimenopause, when a woman steps out of her cycling years and into something new. Not an ending, but a threshold. Postmenopause is a passage into a phase of wisdom, strength, insight and possibility, and yet few of us are given the time or the space to consciously celebrate or mark it.
In most cultures, this shift passes unwitnessed. The bleeding quietly stops, life carries on, and the depth of what has changed goes unnamed. This day is our answer to that silence.
Together, we will honour the journey from our cycling years into postmenopause. Through reflection, movement, drumming, music and ritual, we will share our stories, release what is ready to be released, and reconnect with who we are as we step into this next stage with intention, connection and renewed confidence. It is a day to pause and put yourself first, to grow your self-understanding and self-compassion, and to be held by a circle of women walking the same path.
We would love you to join us as you move into Your Joyful Years.
Who this day is for
This day is for any woman who has moved through, or is moving through, the menopause and wants to mark the transition consciously. Whether the change is recent or some years behind you, whether you arrive celebrating or still 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
10.00 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 singing, breathwork and 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 it wishes, 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 4.00 : The ceremony
The heart of the day. 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.
4.00 to 5.00 : Stepping into Your Joyful Years
We close in circle, sharing our reflections, exploring how we wish to move forward into this next stage, and naming any barriers we sense in the way. A closing meditation 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 2nd of August, 10.00 to 5.00
£80 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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