Mysteries of Menopause Study — Exit Questionnaire

The Mysteries of Menopause Study: Exit Questionnaire

You've made it to the end of our two weeks together, thank you. This last questionnaire is the heart of the research element, and your honest answers (whatever they are, including 'this didn't really work for me') are exactly what I need.

It takes about 20 minutes. Your reflections are the central material of Chapter 13 of the final document and will inform what gets written about each practice. Please complete this by the end of Sunday 17 May so I can include your voice in the final document.

There are no right answers. The 'no change' response is just as valuable as the 'this transformed my life' response. Required questions are marked with a small *; everything else is optional, skip anything that doesn't fit.

One note before you start: your written responses feed directly into Chapter 13 of the final document. I ask about your permission for verbatim quoting near the end of this form, please read that question carefully.

With warmth,
Melanie 🌹

First, so I can match this to your intake

Your name *

Email *The same one you used for the intake form, so I can pair the two responses.

Your symptoms now

For each of the following, please rate how it's affecting you today, on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (significantly). Same wording as the intake, so we can compare.

Your engagement, honestly

Before the detail, a quiet self-rating. There are no wrong answers, life happens, and the honest picture is far more useful to me than a flattering one.

Looking back honestly, how would you describe your engagement with the study? *

Fully engaged, I did most of what I committed to Partially engaged, a good amount but not all Light engagement, I dipped in but wasn't consistent Minimal, life got in the way

Anything you want to add about that?Optional. Context, what got in the way, what helped.

The practices you committed to

Tell me which practices you actually engaged with regularly across the two weeks. The detailed feedback questions below will adjust based on what you tick. After that I'll ask about anything else you dipped into.

1. Cooling breath (Sitali)

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *A short paragraph is plenty.

2. Humming bee breath (Bhramari)

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

3. Alternate-nostril breathing (Nadi shodhana)

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

4. Heart-centred meditation

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

5. Spanda Kriya

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

6. Breast practice

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

Feedback on the breast meditation audio guide

Your feedback shapes future recordings.

Did you use the audio guide for this practice?

Yes, most times I practised Sometimes Tried it but mostly did the practice without it No, didn't use it

The style of the meditation uses questions like 'what does this part of the body know?' or 'what would it like to have happen?'. How did that style land for you?

How was the pacing of the recording?

Too fast Just right Too slow

How was the length of the recording?

Too short Just right Too long

Was there anything in the voice or recording that helped you settle, or pulled you out?

Would you listen to this audio again outside the study?

Yes Maybe No

7. Yoni awareness

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

Feedback on the yoni awareness audio guide

Your feedback shapes future recordings.

Did you use the audio guide for this practice?

Yes, most times I practised Sometimes Tried it but mostly did the practice without it No, didn't use it

The style of the meditation uses questions like 'what does this part of the body know?' or 'what would it like to have happen?'. How did that style land for you?

How was the pacing of the recording?

Too fast Just right Too slow

How was the length of the recording?

Too short Just right Too long

Was there anything in the voice or recording that helped you settle, or pulled you out?

Would you listen to this audio again outside the study?

Yes Maybe No

8. Heart-yoni meditation

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

Feedback on the heart-yoni audio guide

Your feedback shapes future recordings.

Did you use the audio guide for this practice?

Yes, most times I practised Sometimes Tried it but mostly did the practice without it No, didn't use it

The style of the meditation uses questions like 'what does this part of the body know?' or 'what would it like to have happen?'. How did that style land for you?

How was the pacing of the recording?

Too fast Just right Too slow

How was the length of the recording?

Too short Just right Too long

Was there anything in the voice or recording that helped you settle, or pulled you out?

Would you listen to this audio again outside the study?

Yes Maybe No

9. Yoga nidra

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

10. Morning kriyas

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

11. Mirror reverence

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

12. Esoteric Tantra Yoga asanas

How often did you actually do it? *

Did you notice anything when you did it? *

Other meditations and resources you found yourself

If you brought anything in beyond the menu, I'd love to know.

Did you bring in any other meditations or resources during the fortnight?

Yes No

If yes, what were they? (name, where you found them, what they were)

Which ones worked well, and what made them work for you?

Anything that didn't work, and why?

Anything you'd recommend to other women in similar work?

Practices you tried beyond your chosen ones

Some of you may have dipped into practices you didn't formally choose. Tell me here.

What did you try, how often, and what did you notice?Optional. As long or as short as suits.

What shifted most

Across every practice you engaged with.

What made that practice the one that shifted things most?

Across all the practices

Was there one practice that surprised you, for better or worse?A short paragraph. Optional.

The bigger picture

Has anything shifted in how you relate to your body over these two weeks? *A short paragraph. Optional.

Has anything shifted in how you relate to menopause itself, the meaning of it, the story you tell about it? *A short paragraph. Optional.

Has anything shifted in your relationships, partnership, or how you communicate?A short paragraph. Optional.

What was the hardest part of doing this? *A short paragraph. Optional.

What was the easiest, or most surprising? *A short paragraph. Optional.

If you had to name one thing — a practice, an insight, a shift — that you're taking forward from these two weeks, what would it be? *A sentence or two is plenty.

On the format itself

Did the two-session structure (start and end) work for you, or would you have liked more, fewer, or different contact points? *Optional.

Did two weeks feel right, too short, or too long? *Optional.

Anything I, as the facilitator, could have done better?Honest feedback welcomed. Optional.

How did the WhatsApp group land for you? Helpful, distracting, would you want more interaction, less, none, something different? *Honest feedback welcomed. Optional.

Staying connected

Entirely optional. I'd love not to lose touch, but only if it serves you.

Are any of these of interest? Tick anything you'd like to hear more about as it develops.

The Eternal Goddess (my signature menopause programme, the natural next step from this study, and something I'll be evolving based on what we've learned together) A longer version of this menopause study Desire, Boundaries and the Body (a 6-week somatic course on consent, desire and boundaries — running again later this year) Women's Circle (monthly in-person gathering in North London) Self-study programmes (work at your own pace) 1:1 sessions with me Couples or partner work Nothing specific, just keep me on the mailing list Nothing right now, thanks

If you'd like to stay in touch, how would you prefer me to reach you?Tick any that work.

Email newsletter (occasional, not frequent) A WhatsApp group for women interested in this work Just a one-off note when the next programme opens, nothing in between Please don't keep me on any list

Permission for use of your words in the final document

Everything you've written in this questionnaire is invaluable to Chapter 13 of the final document. I want to be clear about how I can use it.

How may I use your responses in the final document? *

You may quote me anonymously from any of my answers in this questionnaire. Use what serves the work best. Please use my responses only for synthesis and findings, not as verbatim quotes. If a specific line is irreplaceable, please email me first to ask. Please don't quote any of my responses, verbatim or otherwise. Use the data for symptom comparisons and statistics only.

If there's a particular phrase, sentence, or moment from your experience you'd especially like me to consider quoting, please write it (or copy it from above) here.Optional. This is in addition to the permission you've given in the previous question, not a replacement for it.

Sharing publicly (optional, and separate from the academic quote above)

If something from your experience could help another woman considering this work, I'd be grateful to share it. Entirely up to you, and only with the attribution level you choose.

Is there a short line, a sentence or two, you'd be happy for me to share publicly on the website or social media?Optional. It doesn't need to be polished, I won't edit beyond light tidying.

If you offered a quote above, how would you like it attributed?

Anonymously, as 'menopause study participant' First name only First name plus age range (e.g. 'Emily, late 50s') Full name Please don't share publicly

Anything else you want to say?Optional. Open box.