I had been dreaming of creating a class for awhile and not knowing what it was about or who it was for exactly. I soon realized I wanted to support women's biology so I started creating a class in Feb of 2025 to focus on perimenopausal and menopausal women. I sent an email out to my closest friends and students in their 40s and 50s. These stages are ambiguous in terms of ages and timelines and this is a fine place to start.

Pausing is a class scored from: Pilates and other weight bearing/resistance training methods, breath practices, nervous system work and reframing how we think about these stages of aging and our bodies. No one is required to have any experience in any of these realms. We move, breathe, pause and find our awareness in a way that slows down the habitual rush in our physiology. There's that great idea in Zen Buddhism of a beginner's mind, where we can stay open and eager to do a lot more without the barrier of preconceptions.

There’s a lot of information wrapped up in these ideas of movement, breath and the nervous system. My desire is to arrange them in a cohesive way physically while understanding the whys of them. How do these practices connect to improving and supporting the experience of hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause? 

Pausing is a 75 minute virtual class that takes place through zoom every other week. The class is recorded so every participant gets that recording to work with on the off week. I'm determined to tailor it over time so students receive the benefits of a private session, within a group, at a reasonably less expensive price than a 1 on 1 session.

Pausing launched in March of 2025 and it’s been a great pleasure to teach so far. I’m pleased to report that in November of ‘25 I was able to teach Pausing as a workshop with fabulous in-person bodies around me at the Pilates Garage in Brooklyn. I’m talking with other studios, hotels and wellness centers about bringing it as a live workshop to those who are interested.

Please email me if you’re interested or have questions at L.DonnellOakley@gmail.com.

“Our culture’s assumption about getting older is that posture will deteriorate and the body will become a burden. If this is our belief, it is no wonder that we’d rather not think about caring for our bodies. Aging happens to us all and knowing how to use your body well will make a huge difference in how you experience the process. “ -Mary Bond