A Flocking Circle for Women in Midlife (40 – 65) - 17 April 2024

ABOUT

Is your body changing, and your relationship to your body becoming increasingly unfamiliar and confusing?

Are you frustrated by the lack of understanding (and acknowledgement) within the medical profession about the impact of perimemopause/menopause on the health and wellbeing of women in midlife, and the lack of clear guidance about available treatments?

Are your family relationships, roles, structures and dynamics changing (including children leaving the house to further their studies, enter the world of work or start their own families; and aging parents becoming ill and passing away)?

Are you concerned about diminishing job prospects or shifting work goals and interests?

Would you like to explore, in community with other women, how to navigate the changes, challenges and gifts of midlife?

If you answered yes to any of these questions (or maybe even all of them), we invite you to join us for our online Flocking Circle for women in midlife (40 – 65).

What is a Flocking Circle?

Our normal physiological responses to fear and anxiety are Fight (becoming hyper efficient, prepared, controlling), Flight (hiding out, withdrawing, disengaging), Freeze (paralysis, engaging in numbing behaviours) and Fawn (trying to please others to avoid conflict).  

However, another response is to Flock – where we seek out the comfort and safety of the collective.

And where, when feeling an increased sense of physical and psychological safety, we are able to move from ‘survival mode’ (our emotional brains) to our ‘higher order functioning’ (our thinking brains); and we are able to think more clearly and more creatively and make more informed decisions.

Therefore, Flocking Circles are spaces where we can tap into our individual and collective wisdom; and spaces where synergy, innovation and solutions abound.

The 2024 Flocking Circle for Women in Midlife

Who: Open to women in midlife (between the ages of 40 and 65) based anywhere in the world!

Where: Online (via Zoom)

When: Monthly (with separate registration for each session, so you can sign-up and attend sessions as and when you're keen and available!)

What: Proposed themes for 2024 include the following (subject to change based on what's emerging for participants and what gets brought to the circle!):

• "Our health and wellness" – exploring all things health, fitness and beauty (07 February, 6pm-8pm SAST)
• "Our relationships" – loving and dating in midlife (20 March, 6pm-8pm SAST)
• "Our families" – navigating changing roles and relationships with maturing children and other family changes (17 April, 6pm-8pm SAST)
• "Our ageing parents" – navigating changing roles and relationships with parents and coping with the loss of parents
• "Our wills, living wills, estate planning, etc." – getting our ducks in a row
• "Our finances" – planning for financial security
• "Our bodies" – responding to menopause-related changes, e.g., weight, muscle tone, nutritional needs, sleep patterns, hot flashes and other physical changes in midlife
• "Our workspaces" – managing the mood swings, hot flashes, foggy brains and lack of sleep at work
• "Our friendships" – navigating the changing dynamics of our friendships and building companionship in midlife
• "Our mental health" - coping with stress and anxiety in midlife

Tickets

Tickets are ZAR 120 per person per session

(Approximately $6.00/€6.00, depending on the exchange rate at the time of purchase.)

Limited space available, book now!

“If you’re looking for a beautiful safe space to explore this coming of age, please join this group held with love and compassion but also very professionally facilitated. In my experience this combination is rare. My only gripe is that I have to wait a whole month until we meet again!” - Flocking Circle participant 

NOTE: These online sessions are supportive in nature and will offer self-care strategies. The sessions should not be a substitute for, or an alternative to, treatment when a medical or mental health condition is present. Participants are advised to seek professional services from licensed physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and health care professionals, if and when necessary.

By purchasing (a) ticket(s) to this session, you indicate your understanding and agreement with the nature of the group.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or [email protected].

WhatsApp Group

We also have a WhatsApp group, through which we share relevant resources and updates about the sessions. If you haven't already, join using the following link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BPEGwuKDpSSHfJSzvyNimP.

Using Flocking Circles More Broadly

Flocking Circles can be used to address a range of issues, as well as serving as debriefing and conflict resolution platforms in organisational settings. Contact us if you would like to explore how a Flocking Circle could support your organisation or company.

About the Facilitators

Samantha (Sam) Stern is a facilitator, trainer and coach with twenty-five years of experience working in the areas of psychosocial wellness, leadership development, team effectiveness, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She grew up in the UK and then lived, studied and worked in the USA before moving to South Africa in 1998. Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a Master’s degree in International Affairs. She is a certified Facilitator and Assessor of learning programmes and she has trained in a range of approaches for facilitating adult learning, managing change and working with complex systems.

Jennifer (Jenny) Parsley grew up in South Africa and lived for some time in the UK and the USA. She works as a development practitioner, coach, researcher, writer and facilitator. She has worked and travelled extensively in the African continent. Jenny holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Development Sociology. She is a certified coach and has trained in various facilitation methodologies including Process Work, Deep Democracy, Conflict Resolution and Theory U.