Health, Beauty & Well-being
-
Mind, Body & Soul: Mental Health Matters for South Asian Women in Midlife
World Mental Health Day invites us all to pause and reflect on an often invisible struggle: the mental health of women navigating midlife and menopause. For South Asian women, this can be a particularly complex journey, shaped by cultural expectations, intergenerational trauma, and hormonal upheaval. The Mental Health Landscape in Midlife Midlife is a time of profound change. Physically, emotionally, and socially, everything feels like it’s shifting beneath our feet. For South Asian women, these changes intersect with cultural pressures to be resilient, caretakers, and pillars of the family. This can make it difficult to prioritise mental wellbeing or speak openly about struggles. Breaking the Silence: Mental Health Stigma in…
-
The Silent Ache: Unmasking Arthritis in South Asian Women in Midlife
Arthritis is often seen as an inevitable part of ageing, something to quietly endure with turmeric lattes and “stiff upper lips.” But for South Asian women in midlife, the silence around joint pain, mobility issues, and chronic fatigue can be devastating. As we observe National Arthritis Week, it’s time to centre the unique struggles and strengths of South Asian women who are living with arthritis during one of the most hormonally, emotionally, and socially complex times of life: perimenopause and menopause. Understanding Arthritis in Midlife There are more than 10 million people in the UK living with arthritis, and many of them are women over 40. The two most common…
-
Beyond the Pink Ribbon: Breast Cancer Awareness for South Asian Women in Midlife
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – a global campaign drenched in pink ribbons and calls for early detection. But behind the slogans lies a pressing truth: South Asian women in the UK are less likely to attend breast screenings and more likely to face delays in diagnosis. As we enter midlife, a time already shaped by hormonal shifts, menopause symptoms and identity transitions, many of us place our own health on the back burner. But the cost of silence is far too high. The Statistics We Can’t Ignore Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, and 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime.…
-
The Menopause Meal: Rethinking Traditional South Asian Diets for Hormonal Health
The scent of cumin sizzling in hot oil. The warmth of fresh roti. The comfort of daal and chawal at the end of a long day. Our food is a story of love, culture, and home. But when menopause begins, so does a deeper conversation: Is the food I’ve always loved… still loving me back? Our traditional diets: full of flavour, but not always hormone-friendly I grew up on heavy dinners, creamy curries, and deep-fried pakoras (oh, I do love my pakoras!) on rainy days. Food was a celebration. The food was family. But as I entered perimenopause, my body started giving me signals – bloating, hot flushes after spicy…
-
Clothing, Body Image & Confidence: How Menopause Redefines the South Asian Woman’s Wardrobe
There’s something deeply personal about how we dress, especially as South Asian women. Our wardrobes are woven with identity, family tradition, and cultural memory. Sarees passed down from mothers, suits bought for weddings, and kurtas stitched for family gatherings. What we wear often isn’t just about fashion – it’s about who we’re expected to be. And then comes midlife.The body shifts. The clothes stop fitting the way they used to. The mirror looks unfamiliar. It’s more than just physical – it’s emotional. When the wardrobe becomes a battleground During perimenopause, I started to feel bloated, heavier, and achier. The trousers I once loved clung in places I didn’t want them…
-
Is Perimenopause Stealing Your 3 AM Sleep?
Across the world, millions of women in their 40s will lie awake at exactly 3 AM, victims of a biological crime so systematic it’s almost coordinated. No one warned them. Most don’t even know they’re targets. And the medical establishment? They’re still talking about hot flashes. About 75% women experience problematic symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and night sweats, 77% experience sexual drive problems, 2 out of 3 women disturbances in sleeping, and brain fog, but here’s what they don’t tell you: sleep disruption isn’t a side effect, it’s often the most devastating symptom. Data reveals that more than 40% of perimenopausal women report sleep problems, yet just 49%…
-
Coming Home to Ourselves: Ayurveda, Midlife & Menopause in South Asian Women
For South Asian women, midlife and menopause often arrive quietly, wrapped in silence and shrouded in cultural taboos. But what if, instead of fearing this chapter, we returned to the wisdom that has always lived within us? What if midlife could be a sacred homecoming – a return to balance, intuition, and wholeness? Ayurveda, the ancient science of life, offers us just that. Rooted in Indian philosophy, Ayurveda teaches that health is not simply the absence of illness, but the harmony between body, mind, spirit, and environment. For thousands of years, it has guided women through all of life’s transitions – including menopause – with compassion, understanding and deep reverence…
-
Reclaiming Our Well-being: Midlife as a Turning Point for South Asian Women
Well-being is not a luxury. It’s not a spa day, a green juice, or a bubble bath wrapped in hashtags. For South Asian women in midlife, well-being is a radical act of self-preservation. World Well-being Week (24–30 June) is an opportunity to redefine what health and wholeness look like, especially for women who’ve spent decades putting others first. At The Sattva Collective, we honour well-being as a deeply personal, multi-layered journey. For many South Asian women, midlife is a powerful invitation to finally prioritise ourselves – body, mind, and soul. What Does Well-being Really Mean? Well-being isn’t just the absence of illness – it’s about how we feel, function, and…
-
Reclaiming Our Roots: Yoga, Menopause & Midlife for South Asian Women
This International Yoga Day, we’re coming home to our bodies, our breath, and our heritage. If you’re a South Asian woman navigating midlife and menopause, this is your gentle nudge to return to something that’s always belonged to you. A Sacred Practice in Our DNA Yoga isn’t a trend. It’s our tradition. But somewhere along the way, many South Asian women – myself included – forgot that this ancient practice was ours. It was designed to hold us, heal us, and help us come home to ourselves. When I first reconnected with yoga in midlife, I was battling brain fog, low moods, joint pain, and deep emotional shifts. I didn’t…
-
Breaking the Silence: Why Cervical Screening Matters for South Asian Women in Midlife
For many South Asian women, midlife is a season of shifting roles – caring for ageing parents, navigating perimenopause, rethinking our purpose. But amidst these changes, one essential aspect of our well-being is often overlooked: cervical screening. Cervical Screening Awareness Week (19th–24th June) is a vital reminder that preventative care saves lives. Yet in our communities, smear tests (also known as cervical screening) are often avoided due to fear, embarrassment, or cultural stigma. It’s time we changed that. Understanding Cervical Screening Cervical screening isn’t a test for cancer. It’s a test that checks for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that can cause abnormal changes to cells in the cervix.…
