Let's start by taking a laywoman's trip through the reproductive system - that of our anatomy that has already brought us so much pleasure and so much pain. Getting to know its inner workings and its hormonal underpinnings is essential to understanding what occurs before, during and after menopause.

At birth, women already contain the seeds of new life. We are born with nearly one-half million ova or eggs held in sack like follicles in our ovaries - a generous gift since only about five hundred of these will be needed throughout the three or four decades in our reproductive life span. Each month during the menstrual cycle, an egg will ripen and be released by the ovary. Unlike the male sperm cells and other cells of the body, these original ova are never replaced by new cells. Rather, there is a gradual attrition of female eggs until menopause. By a woman's late thirties and early forties she has fewer eggs and may occasionally skip ovulation, making it more difficult to become pregnant in those years.

Eventually, at an average age of fifty, no eggs remain, or only a relative few that are no longer sensitive to the chemical messages that previously would have caused an egg's release. Ovulation ceases, and menstruation stops, and the circle of fertility has completed itself.
Strictly defined, menopause occurs at the final menstruation.

It is generally agreed, however, that one full calendar year without menstruating at all must pass before we can be certain we are no longer ovulating, no longer fertile.
Some women experience an abrupt end to menstruation, although that is uncommon. Most go through a period of gradual transition that includes a winding down of the cycle in pre menopause; its closure in perimenopause, the time closest to the last menstruation; and the body's final adjustment in post menopause.

Medically referred to as the climacteric, these three stages take place over a matter of years and embrace the entire change over from the reproductive to the non reproductive phase in women. During this transition subtle changes in our remarkable internal reproductive system begin to occur, five or even then years before menopause.

Endocrine Ecology
If we view the ova as having a leading role in the great reproductive drama, then the endocrine system can be seen as providing the supporting cast and the technical talent to ensure a smooth and successful production every month.

The endocrine crew is a group of small organs called glands that secrete minute but very powerful chemical substances called hormones. These hormones travel from the glands through the bloodstream carrying messages to specific organs in the body. The hormones "urge on" virtually every cell in the body to do its proper work, influencing all the activities of daily life. In Eastern practices such as yoga, the endocrine glands are considered the chakras or even energy centers of the body. Each of these glands with their particular hormones and specialized functions work in a tea with all the others. Any alteration in the balanced pattern of chemical relations, any change to one part, can cause a shift in the whole system.

Four hormone producers are especially significant to us at menopause: the hypothalamus and the pituitary, the ovaries, and the adrenals. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland - the producer and director of the whole endocrine system - are located in the head.
About the size of a walnut, the hypothalamus is part of the lower brain. It serves as a link between the endocrine system and the brain and nervous system, keeping both systems sensitive to the environment of the other.

Through the hypothalamus, for example, our thoughts and emotions can affect the functioning of the glands and their hormones; likewise, the glands can influence our state of mind a reciprocal relationship that science is just beginning to understand and which may be crucially important for understanding the experience of menopause. The hypothalamus controls all hormone release in the body and is directly involved in regulating the reproductive cycle as well as the body temperature.

Ultimately, as our cycles slowly wind down, all of us will stop menstruating. Almost one-third of us will have our last period by the age of forty-eight, half by fifty, and three-fourths by fifty-two.
As far as we know, the latest age a woman has menstruated is fifty-eight. We have no sure way of foretelling when our own menopause will happen. Some have thought the age of a woman begins to menstruate contains a clue to the age she'll stop; so far, however no clear cut evidence of such a connection has been found. Smoking, as several studies have shown, appears to cause an earlier menopause, as might poor nutrition.

Hot Flashes and Exercises
As a kind of "home-brew estrogen" and stress-reducer, exercise done regularly can profoundly influence our experience of hot flashes, as well as the other signs of menopause. Exercise tunes up the entire endocrine system, producing positive hormonal changes. At the time of menopause and in the years following, two hormonal elements are particularly important. First, how much estrogen we continue to produce. Second, how well this estrogen is received and utilized by the tissues. The belief is that exercise can enhance both of these processes - before, during and after menopause.
Consistent vigorous exercise increases the levels of estrogen circulating in the blood, as well as adrenaline, testosterone, and other hormones. Exactly why this happens remains un clear.. It may be that exercise causes more hormones to be produced. Or it may also be that exercise alters how our hormones enter the cells of the body.


- Workouts worth doing after and during menopause:
Jane Fonda's Easy Going Workout
Jane Fonda's Low Impact Workout