Monthly Archives: May 2025

Not all women go through menopause without issues. According to the latest figures, only a third do. The remaining two-thirds face mild to severe physical and psychological symptoms. However, there’s a solution. Studies show that exercise for menopause symptoms can significantly alleviate these challenges, as confirmed by gynaecologist and psychotherapist Dr Birthe Furthmann.

She emphasises that you don’t need to start exercising before menopause to see benefits. What’s more important is the type of exercise. “Recent studies reveal that a combination of cardio and strength training has been particularly effective for managing menopause symptoms,” explains Dr Furthmann. She adds that these activities can help counteract the risks associated with hormone loss, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Exercise can restore strength to the body despite hormonal changes, compensating for some of the effects of menopause. “It’s good to exercise regularly in the first place,” she continues, noting that exercise for menopause symptoms is beneficial in various forms. However, Dr Furthmann stresses that a balance of strength and cardio exercises is particularly effective in the long run.

The best workout during menopause: strength training

It’s no surprise that strength training has proven effective against many symptoms of menopause. “Strength is important because the loss of oestrogen accelerates bone loss,” explains Dr Furthmann. She highlights studies that show women lose a certain percentage of bone mass each year after menopause. “Through exercise, especially weight training, you can help mitigate the consequences of bone loss, such as a hunched posture or femoral neck fractures.”

Dr Furthmann explains that strength training works so well because it strengthens the connective tissue and muscles surrounding the bones. Bone cells are constantly undergoing remodelling, and exercise helps keep these processes active, ultimately supporting bone health. While menopausal women may not yet experience significant bone loss, the aim is to be proactive and preventative.

Starting strength training to counteract bone deterioration after menopause offers long-term benefits. “It’s not about becoming a top athlete at 90, but about staying mobile and independent in everyday life—whether that’s reaching for something on the shelf or picking up grandchildren,” says Dr Furthmann. Sport also enhances blood circulation in the joints, which is vital since many women experience joint issues during menopause. “The loss of oestrogen affects the receptors that keep the joints flexible, but exercise can help maintain that flexibility.” Strength training during menopause is mainly about “maintaining the muscle mass you already have.”

Why does exercise affect the symptoms of menopause?

Dr Furthmann clarifies: “Exercise doesn’t directly increase or maintain the levels of female sex hormones—those can only be supplied through hormone replacement therapy.” However, there are other ways physical activity helps combat the symptoms of declining hormone levels. “Exercise stimulates metabolism in the muscles and encourages the formation of new muscle fibers. We also know that physical activity boosts happiness hormones like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline,” she explains.

You are born with a flair and you are born with divine protection to safeguard your flickering light. Sag, sleep over it. Make commitments when you are certain, and definitely if you are afraid to move in a certain direction – be it love, money, career, health or anything else – ask yourself if you can see traces of these habits or mannerisms in your family tree. The answer may be in plain sight but it appears when you ask the right questions. For some, you have manifested your soulmate relationships – so now, learn how to cherish them.

Cosmic tip: Go with the ebbs and flows of life.

Blake Lively wears Atelier Versace and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry at The 2022 Met Gala celebrating In America: An Anthology of Fashion. The annual event was held at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 2, 2022.. (Photo by Chris Polk/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)WWD/Getty Images

2021: In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

Andrew Bolton, The Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, told Vogue he centered 2021’s event around the question “who gets to be American?” which was originally posed on a red, white, and blue silk sash from Prabal Gurung’s tenth anniversary collection. “American designers are at the forefront of conversations around diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, gender fluidity, and body positivity,” he said. “The framework of the show enables us to focus on the younger designers who are engaging thoughtfully and deeply with those ideas.” It included over 100 pieces from American designers, ranging from Marc Jacobs to La Réunion.

Guests included co-chairs Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, and Naomi Osaka, who abided by the night’s official dress code: American independence.

2020: “About Time: Fashion and Duration”

The 2020 gala was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic, but its theme is still worth revisiting: In honour of the Met’s 150th anniversary, “About Time” took a look back at a century-and-a-half’s worth of fashion. Bolton found inspiration in Orlando, the 1992 film based on the Virginia Woolf novel of the same name. “What I like about Woolf’s version of time is the idea of a continuum,” Bolton said. “There’s no beginning, middle, or end. It’s one big fat middle. I always felt the same about fashion. Fashion is the present.”

2019: “Camp: Notes on Fashion”

For 2019’s exhibition, Bolton drew on Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay, “Notes on ‘Camp’.” The essay describes a sensibility marked by performance, excess, and a kind of winking bad taste exemplified by figures like Oscar Wilde and outré aesthetic movements such as Art Nouveau. Among the pieces on display were dazzling looks from Off-White, Schiaparelli, Moschino, Dior, Thom Browne, and lots more.

2018: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”

2018’s divine theme had hundreds of holy items on display, including dozens of artifacts and objects sent over from the Vatican (most of which had never seen the light beyond Rome). Guests rose to the occasion at the annual gala, with Rihanna dressing as the pope and Katy Perry as an angel (wings and all).

2017: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between”

The Met gala toasted the legendary Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo and featured her “objects,” as she likes to call them. Some guests, like Rihanna and Caroline Kennedy, stuck to the theme and sported original pieces, while others interpreted the topic through other designers. The event was co-chaired by Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams.

2016: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”

The Met Gala 2016 event went back to the future with tech at the forefront. Stars like Claire Danes literally lit up the ball in a glowing gown, while Emma Watson wore a five-piece Calvin Klein Collection set, which was made from recycled plastic bottles. The exhibition itself focused on the dichotomy between handmade and machine-made fashion, displaying more than 100 pieces of haute couture and ready-to-wear.

2015: “China: Through the Looking Glass”

The 2015 gala celebrated China’s influence on Western fashion with a theme fit for an emperor. The exhibition was a joint effort between the head of the museum’s Department of Asian Art and the Costume Institute, showing looks from Chanel, Alexander McQueen, and Christian Dior Haute Couture. Attendees from George and Amal Clooney to Rihanna (wearing a stunning yellow robe by Chinese designer Guo Pei) dressed on-theme for a night at the museum.

2014: “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”

The museum celebrated a major figure in the fashion world, but one less known to the general public. The Charles James theme was lively and highly anticipated, with a display of 100 of his most important designs. Co-chaired by Sarah Jessica Parker, Bradley Cooper, and Oscar de la Renta, the 2014 party was filled with ball gowns of the sleek and larger-than-life variety.