Terry Dunn, Health Coach: Be Authentically You

I am Terry Dunn, I am an Endorsed Humanist Celebrant. I am also a Certified Holistic Health & Wellness Coach, my primary focus, though not limited to, is to help peri-menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal women transition into their very best selves. I am nearly 53 and a widow of 15 months. I am embracing this post grief menopause time. It is a challenging time to be sure, as change is difficult for most humans. I think that the difference in menopause is that the changes are essential, a time to reset and prepare for what you really want your life to be on purpose. It is a time to make the life you have always wanted. I am and I have been, and not limited to; a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, a sister, a friend, a student, a wife, a lover, a mother, a teacher, a shepherd, an employee, a server, a manager, a bartender, a cook, a hostess, a business owner, a widow and now a Holistic Health Coach. I can not be defined by any one of these titles, but in my role as a health coach, each of the roles throughout my life has unlimited potential to be shared as experience. I have survived and thrived all of life's ups and downs and I am grateful for the events I have experienced to date, even those most challenging and difficult had powerful lessons to teach.

I believe that menopause is an opportunity for every woman to reclaim her authentic self, emotionally, physically, sexually and spiritually. For most, our lives to this point, have been focused on the outpouring of ourselves to others. I also believe that failure to use the opportunity that menopause offers, has the potential to leave us clogged and barren in every sense of the word. As is always key, self awareness and self love are vital instruments to navigate what for some of us may be a lifetime of self neglect. There are far too many good women suffering poor, neglected and unsatisfying relationships feeling hopeless, trapped and dependent. Menopause is extremely difficult for those already suffering and can feel far less than an opportunity for self discovery, self acceptance or the time of life to become fully prepared for the second half of what can be a rich and rewarding life. One of my favorite quotes is from Wayne Dryer, he says: "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". These are the most powerful fifteen words to ever get into my head.

Like with satisfying sex, much of our success as women is born first in our heads! It is in living honestly to your needs, purging what does not work, that is the gift in the opportunity that this rich time of life offers to us. I think that it is the time in a woman's life for total clarity. I think that her inner strength at this time is at an all time high and her necessity, for what others may perceive as selfishness is optimal in finding her self in peace. I believe that this process unfolds for each of us in degrees depending on how far away we are from our deepest desires and living your most authentically. Our culture is hard on a woman over 50, we can and do tend to feel invisible to akmost everyone, that can be especially tough on a woman who measured herself worth by the attention gleaned from others.

It is a sad fact the so many women find themselves unable to find enjoyment in their bodies sexually. I believe that hormonal imbalance accounts for some, years of industrialized food and environmental factors are certainly not helpful. I also believe that for many there may also be repressed emotional issues that often times the woman herself is unaware of. We do not live in a culture that allows for women of a certain age to own their right to sexual pleasure and satisfaction. In what feels like a lifetime ago, I spent time as a Passion Party consultant. To my surprise then, and I was in my early 40's then, the number of women with whom I had contact that were unaware even of their sexual anatomy was surprising. The social morays for a generation or two of women were based on the Madonna/whore images of what expectations women were to have of them selves. This reality and the incidence of molestation that exists for young girls throughout history it is a wonder that there are any women realizing healthy sexual experiences, I joke for levity. I Intend to blog on this subject and base my practice around it. Too many women honestly have no safe outlet for this subject.

So, some potentially scary stuff indeed, but, to be sure, I also believe that far more thrilling and wonderful adventures await those women willing to embrace the journey, life can be short, but it can also be very long for an unfulfilled dream to lie in wait never to be realized. I so appreciate you having read this far, and hope that you will stay tuned in. There is much to come as I journey into living my own dream. Feel free to contact me if you would like my assistance to help you on your journey to yours. I look forward to being of service to those in need and appreciate any feedback or questions that you may have.
I received my training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I was trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. Drawing on this knowledge, I will help you create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.
Learn more about my training and my unique approach to health coaching.
Are you Ready? I can help. it is my goal that this site be a resource and an inspiration.

All the Best!
Terry