Name: Monique Cupid
Menopause phase: Perimenopause
Place you call home: New Jersey
What you’re creating: An annual festival that celebrates women’s queendom in midlife and menopause
Age: 53
1. Rituals can be deeply personal. Share a specific ritual that has helped you embrace the changes of menopause with enthusiasm or resilience?
I have to say producing & curating Life In The Pause Festival. I’m always inspired and empowered by the speakers that give us much hope and options to navigating menopause. And it’s also exciting to see women show up ready to share and celebrate the menopause experience.
2. How have you redefined beauty as you’ve aged? Do any of your rituals support this new definition?
I’ve redefined beauty by focusing on how I feel—prioritizing what makes me happy, confident, and stress-free. I also embrace beauty from the inside out by being mindful of what I put in and on my body making sure I have nutritional meals that support hormone balance and use nontoxic skincare & makeup to prevent endocrine disruptions.
3. Is there a particular practice—whether it’s movement, meditation, or something else—that has become essential to your well-being during menopause?
3. Getting out of the house and moving my body has become essential to my well-being during menopause. Walking near water helps calm my anxiety and sparks my creativity. My favorite spots are the beach in the fall and parks with peaceful lakes.
4. What role does your community or your sista circle play in your menopausal and aging experience, and do you share any rituals with other women that support this journey?
4. I could not survive this perimenopausal journey without my sista circle. Every week, I meet with two different groups to chat about our experiences, compare notes and share insights & solutions. My sista circle is the guiding light that helps me reach the end of the tunnel with a few bumps and bruises.
5. What does ‘sacred’ mean to you in the context of aging and menopause? Do you have any sacred rituals that honor this stage of life?
5. To me, sacred means fully embracing who you are and letting go of idealized self-images, so you can feel comfortable in your own skin and live freely, unapologetically.
6. Looking back on your pre-menopausal years, is there anything you wish you had known or done differently to prepare for this transition? How does this wisdom shape your rituals now?
6. I often say my 30s were my darkest decade, and I believe perimenopause played a huge role in that. At the time, I had no idea what was happening to me, but looking back, I wish I had known about perimenopause and how it would manifest.
7. How do you define well-aging, and what does it look like in your life?
7. My newfound wisdom has made me more intentional about how I spend my time. Self-care is more important now than ever, so I make it a priority to schedule well-aging activities like play and a curated health and wellness routine with my healthcare provider and functional practitioners.
8. Everyday Rituals: Share one ritual that you’ve not shared above:
8. To keep my mind and body at ease, I take a hormone balancing tea and protein bar. This ritual helps turn mountains into mole hills which allows me to be present and to actually enjoy this perimenopausal time.
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