A Flocking Circle for Women in Midlife (40 – 65) - 27 August

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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 2025 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: A different theme/topic each month. In addition to providing opportunities for participants to share, witness and identify tangible tips and tools, some months we will have guest speakers to give expert input on topics.

In August, we will be joined by Xoli Madlala, author of The Perimenopausal Globetrotter, menopause coach and advocate, TedX speaker and founder of Redefining Menopause Africa! We'll be exploring how to raise awareness and advocate for ourselves in the workplace, including how policy can better support women in perimenopause and menopause.

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 samstern@mweb.co.za.

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 Facilitator

Samantha (Sam) Stern is a facilitator, trainer and coach with over twenty-five years of experience in organisational development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), team effectiveness, leadership development and psychosocial wellness. As the founder of Journeys to Remember, Sam designs and facilitates transformative learning experiences that provide opportunities to reflect, reconnect and rediscover – for individuals, teams and organisations. Her approach to transformation focuses on bringing both individuals and systems back into greater wholeness – or re-membering!

Sam grew up in the UK and lived, studied and worked in the USA before moving to South Africa in 1998. Since then, her work has taken her across the African continent, and to parts of Europe and North America. Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, with a major in Psychology, 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. A Nia dance technique white belt and snorkelling enthusiast, Sam relishes the sense of peace and freedom that comes from being in rhythm and flow! Sam is also a woman in midlife and the proud mum of a young adult who teaches her more about herself each day.