Menopause Resources for Veterinary Teams - WellVet Series
- Vet Empowered
- Feb 24
- 8 min read
WellVet's menopause resources now live with Vet Empowered
We are proud to host this free library of menopause resources, originally created by WellVet, to support veterinary team members through perimenopause and beyond.
These resources are aimed both at individuals experiencing menopause directly, and at anyone who wants to better understand and support those around them — and that should be all of us.
There is a wealth of information and practical guidance presented in accessible, bitesize videos, covering the pillars of lifestyle medicine, breath work and yoga techniques, and the neuropsychology of hormones.
What is menopause?
Menopause is defined as the point in time one year after a woman has had her final menstrual period.
Perimenopause is the period of time around the menopause — typically lasting for a decade — during which women may experience symptoms due to fluctuations in hormones. These symptoms can affect multiple organ systems, including the brain, and vary significantly between and within individuals. Even for those who do not experience obvious symptoms, there are subclinical changes that can increase the risk of cardiovascular, urogenital, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Why does menopause matter for veterinary teams?
Watch this short video outlining the impact of menopause on veterinary teams, produced in conjunction with Dr Belinda Steffan, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and expert on the psychosocial aspects of menopause in the workplace.
How to use these resources
This course is for everyone. The bitesize videos and audio are designed to help you try different support resources to empower you with understanding, help you mitigate symptoms and/or support others who may be impacted. Dip in and out, explore what may help you and others, and please like and share to other veterinary colleagues to help us all live happier and healthier through what can be a challenging phase of life.
About the speakers
Dr. Claire Gillvray, medical doctor, founder of Gillvray Health, Lifestyle Medicine specialist and psychiatrist
Dr Claire talk us through an introduction to menopause, treatment options, then how we can adapt the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine to help us live happier and healthier through the menopause: stress, movement, nutrition, connection, negative behaviours, and sleep. She finishes with discussing the importance of workplace support, and how men can engage with menopause and the comparison with andropause.
Dr. Chloe Hannigan, vet, qualified yoga instructor and founder of VetYogi
Dr. Chloe provides practical yoga, meditation and breathwork sessions to help us achieve more balance around the pillars of lifestyle medicine outlined by Dr. Claire.
Dr. Libby Kemkaran, vet, neuropsychologist and coach, founder of Tame Your Brain(TM)
Dr. Libby talks us through the neurochemical changes in the brain due to our hormones, how this impacts different personality types in different ways, and practical mitigation tools.
Additional resources:
Peer support – join the Veterinary Menopause Chats facebook group, for everyone impacted by menopause to share and discuss, and for those wanting to learn and understand how they can support others.
Scroll to the bottom for lots of great links to other resources; veterinary or otherwise.
The Veterinary Menopause Resources
Introduction to the Menopause
7 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray gives an overview of the phases of menopause and associated symptoms — covering what perimenopause is, how hormonal changes affect the body and mind, and what the research tells us about the impact on veterinary professionals.
How to Tame the Menopausal Brain — Part 1: Your Big Cat Brain™
23 minutes
With Dr Libby Kemkaran
Dr Libby Kemkaran introduces her Big Cat Brain™ profiling framework and explores how the four brain types — Cheetah, Lion, Leopard, and Tiger — are each differently affected by the identity shifts of perimenopause. A genuinely fresh perspective on a transition we all go through.
Stress Management: Meditation SOS
6minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A gentle guided meditation to help you reconnect to your sense of self during the hormonal flux of menopause. Suitable for any position — seated, standing, or lying down — and designed for those in caring professions who often put themselves last. Can be returned to whenever you need a moment to come back to you.
Movement and the Menopause
17 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray explains why movement is one of the most powerful tools available during perimenopause — covering bone and heart health, strength training, flexibility, and how to fit regular movement into a busy working life.
Connection and the Menopause
Approx. 15 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Connection — to ourselves, to others, and to nature — is a vital pillar of health during perimenopause. Dr Claire explores the science behind why this matters and offers practical, evidence-informed ways to nurture connection during this time.
Connection: Circle of Support
10 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A heart-centred guided meditation to help you reconnect to the circle of support around you. Drawing on the heart chakra, this practice invites you to cultivate genuine gratitude for the people in your life — and to remember that you are not alone in this.
Sleep: Evening Unwind Yoga
22 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A gentle evening yoga practice designed to help you release the tension of the day and prepare for rest. Moving through neck and shoulder release, seated twists, forward folds, Baddha Konasana, and head-to-knee pose — with options throughout for all levels.
Menopause in the Workplace
12 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray examines the impact of perimenopause on the veterinary workforce, drawing on the Veterinary Woman and SPVS survey (2020), and outlines five key workplace recommendations — from breaking the taboo to developing a genuinely inclusive culture. Essential viewing for practice owners and managers.
Menopause Treatment Options
12 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray covers symptom tracking, how to get the most from your healthcare professional, and treatment options — including HRT (transdermal, tablet, progesterone, and testosterone), vaginal oestrogen, CBT, and lifestyle medicine approaches.
Stress Management: Cool and Calm Breathwork
18 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
Dr Chloé Hannigan guides you through three practical breathwork techniques to help you stay cool and calm during menopause — usable in the moment, wherever you are. Includes Samavriti (equal breath), Sitkari (cooling breath through the teeth), and Shitali (cooling breath through a rolled tongue). No experience needed.
Movement: Channel Your Inner Fire — Vinyasa Flow
35 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A dynamic vinyasa flow yoga class to help you channel the fire of this transitional phase into energy that serves you. Moving through sun salutations, warriors, lunges, and hip openers — with options throughout for all levels. You will need a yoga mat and enough space to move.
Connection: Connect to Change — Yin Yoga
60 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A full yin yoga class designed to help you connect to the changes of perimenopause rather than resist them. Slow, supported, and deeply nourishing — moving through dangling, wide-legged straddle, sphinx, child's pose, bananasana, butterfly, and legs elevated. Props suggested but accessible alternatives offered throughout.
Negative Behaviours and the Menopause
14 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Negative behaviours and habits can be especially harmful during a period of psychological and physical change. Dr Claire helps us identify patterns we may not even be aware of — using her 4 Ps framework — and offers evidence-based strategies for building healthier habits.
Sleep Tonic Meditation
5 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A short, soothing bedtime meditation designed for those moments when sleep feels out of reach — whether that is struggling to drop off or lying awake in the middle of the night. Can be played on loop as many times as you need.
Men and the Menopause, and Andropause
10 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
It is vital for everyone to engage with menopause awareness so we can better support the people around us. Dr Claire explores the role men can play — at home and in the workplace — and introduces andropause, the male equivalent of the menopause, and what can help.
How Hormones Impact Our Brain — Part 2
20 minutes
With Dr Libby Kemkaran
Dr Libby Kemkaran takes on three deeply entrenched myths about menopause — that it is a hormone deficiency, that signs of ageing signal lost purpose, and that sensitivity is weakness — and replaces them with one vital truth: you are not broken, wrong, or failing. You are transitioning.
Stress Management
28 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray explores the first pillar of lifestyle medicine — mental wellbeing and stress management — and how it can help alleviate menopausal symptoms. Drawing on the Jenga tower framework, Dr Eleanor O'Connor's recovery research, and practical tools for managing the cumulative load of stress at this stage of life.
Nutrition and the Menopause
21 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Dr Claire Gillvray explains the importance of adapting nutrition during perimenopause — covering macronutrients, the gut-brain axis, the microbiome, and anti-inflammatory eating, alongside practical, evidence-based guidance on what to prioritise at this stage of life.
Connection: Connecting You to You — Mind, Body, Breath Meditation
10 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A gentle guided meditation to help you reconnect to your sense of self — physically, mentally, and through the breath. Designed for those in caring professions who often put themselves last, this short practice can be done in any position and returned to whenever you need it.
Sleep and the Menopause
19 minutes
With Dr Claire Gillvray
Poor sleep is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of perimenopause. Dr Claire Gillvray walks us through the science of sleep — covering CBT for insomnia, circadian rhythm, sleep drive, and the role of psychological conditioning — and offers practical, evidence-based tools to improve sleep quality.
Sleep: Restful Yoga Nidra
22 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
Yoga nidra — the yogic sleep — has been shown to help calm brain waves and prepare the body and mind for deep rest. Research suggests one hour of yoga nidra can be as restful as four hours of non-REM sleep. Enjoy this practice lying comfortably, or in bed, whenever sleep feels elusive.
Stress and Hormone Regulation — Yoga Class
Approx. 30 minutes
With Dr Chloé Hannigan, VetYogi
A full yoga class focused on stress and hormone regulation during perimenopause and menopause — connecting to the sacral chakra while releasing tension from the hips, spine, and nervous system. Moving through reclined butterfly, bridge, pigeon, forward folds, and a closing seated meditation. Props suggested, accessible alternatives offered.
Tame Your Brain™ — Part 3: Neuro Hacks for the Journey
Approx. 25 minutes
With Dr Libby Kemkaran
Dr Libby Kemkaran closes her three-part series with the practical toolkit — explaining what is happening in the brain during perimenopause and sharing three core pillars (Mediterranean diet and supplements, exercise and lymphatic clearance, sleep) plus three in-the-moment neuro hacks to lower stress levels and shift the brain from sympathetic to parasympathetic.
Additional Resources:
Menopause Podcasts:
The Biggest Silent Crisis in Vet Med – Clinician’s Brief podcast with Katie Berlin
Leading The Way To Support Women’s Health – Vet Med Wellness + Leadership Podcast with Crystal Stokes
Paws, Claws, and Perimenopause—Let’s Talk About Women’s Health in Veterinary Medicine – Vetfolio Vet2Vet Podcast with Dr. Cassi
Managing the Menopause – Vet Times VBJ First Opinions podcast with James Westgate
Other Resources:
Peer support – join the Veterinary Menopause Chats facebook group, for everyone impacted by menopause to share and discuss, and for those wanting to learn and understand how they can support others.
Some kind reminders:
If anything in these resources has brought up difficult feelings, or if you are struggling with your mental health, please know that you do not have to face this alone. In the UK, VetLife offers free, confidential support specifically for the veterinary community — call 0303 040 2551 or visit vetlife.org.uk.
You can also contact NHS 111 at 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111, the Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), or text Shout on 85258.
If you are based outside the UK, the International Association for Suicide Prevention maintains a directory of crisis centres worldwide at iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres,
Wherever you are in the world, please reach out — help is available.
With thanks to the original sponsors of this campaign
These resources were made possible thanks to the generous support of the original WellVet sponsors: VET-CT, VetPartners, Layered, Chewy Health, Merck Animal Health, SPVS, and Mind Matters Initiative. Their commitment to veterinary wellbeing helped bring this library to life, and we are grateful that their investment continues to support the profession through these resources finding a new home here at Vet Empowered.
