AS I take a deep breath and lift the 10kg kettlebell to the sound of Block Rockin’ Beats by The Chemical Brothers, the words of personal trainer Caroline Bragg ring in my ears. “Prioritise time under tension,” she says. In other words – slow down.
She might be talking about strength training and how women 40+ should focus on building muscle not just bashing out reps, but this mantra sums up the entire experience of the & Breathe menopause retreat I’ve signed up for – held at La Jugie, a rustic farmhouse in the rolling French hills 30 minutes’ drive south of Limoges. Rest assured I’m on a three-night break hosted by women’s wellbeing expert Clio Wood and fitness queen Caroline, designed to help midlife women focus on themselves as they tackle the menopause. And when I arrive, my battery is pretty depleted.
At almost 43, with two young children, Ralph, seven, and Max, four, a hectic career as a writer and battling the onset of perimenopause – I’m now on a low dose of HRT – I find it hard to spend time on my own wellbeing without feeling guilty. The eight guests on the retreat range from late-30s to 50s, and we are all mums at different points in the parenting trenches. Some attend in pairs, others solo.
Most read in News Travel But the rambling 18th-century farmhouse, with six acres of land, a heated outdoor pool and a homely, antique-rich interior, has plenty of space for privacy if you want it. My ensuite room, overlooking the hills, has a cloud-like k.