Wellness Platform for Menopause
Officially launching its online platform, Xali is Australia’s first training, dietary and wellness program to cater to women going through biological changes with a focus on perimenopause and menopause.
As part of launch preparations, Xali undertook research to garner insights into Australian’s perspectives of perimenopause and menopause, and undercovered the need for less shame and secrecy, more understanding and the desire for more information and expert advice.
Some of the findings included:
There is confusion around what menopause is. While 90% of Australians claim to know what it is, over half (53%) of those who recognise what menopause is incorrectly defined the definition of menopause. And only 38% of respondents claim to know what perimenopause is.
Of the women aged 40+ who experienced peri or menopausal symptoms, almost 1 in 3 (29%) didnt attribute it to peri or menopause, highlighting the need for greater awareness and education.
By and large women 40+ experiencing symptoms connected with peri and menopause do not seek help (64%) . 21% thought ‘it was just part of getting older’ and didn't know there was anything that could help and a whopping 39% just ‘live with the symptoms’ they experience.
78% of all women feel people don't really understand the impact menopause has on women's lives.
The sense of shame and ‘secret women’s business’ around peri and menopause is most felt by women aged 18-39, with more than 1 in 2 feeling this way (59% shame, 57% secret women’s business). Interestingly, this same group of younger women have overwhelmingly expressed the want to be more open about this stage of life, with 79% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing.
Only 24% of women 40-65 feel that there isn’t a sense of secrecy or shame surrounding peri and menopause.
Only 4% of women 40-65 and 9% of all women have talked about peri/menopause with their male partner
While 77% of women understand that hormones influence energy levels and can affect the ability to exercise, there has to date not been programs like Xali to service this need.
More than 1 in 2 women (67% aged 18-35 and 59% of 40+) have expressed that they would utilise a platform such as Xali were it available
Created by Northern Rivers resident Naz de Bono, Xali is a daily personalised program that provides workouts, recipes, education and support to women based on the 4 pillars of Move, Eat, Learn & Connect. Xali creates recommendations for women bursting with energy but also provides options for the days when they want to pull back. As women experience biological changes, the way they exercise needs to be adapted. A shift in hormones means women have a higher risk of injury and Naz has created a library of workouts with this in mind.
Xali offers:
A personalised daily workout recommendation based on our users journey preferences (level of fitness) paired with their daily emotion and intention (i.e. do you want to work it hard, or do you need to be nurtured). Accessible online from any device, the majority of Xali workouts are around 30 minutes in length and do not require any additional equipment.
Personalised daily recipe recommendations based on members journey preferences and dietary requirements paired with their intention (e.g. to refuel or for an immunity boost). There is also an incredible library of over 250 recipes to choose from. All of Xali’s recipes have been created and tested by clinical nutritionist and chef Samantha Gowing.
Thoroughly researched information on health and hormones aimed to arm members with knowledge.
Access to a community of like-minded women.
Naz says “I created Xali after going on my own journey with peri and menopause, and finding it an incredibly lonely and confusing time. This is something every woman on this planet experiences yet we hide from.
I’m 50, I’m in the middle of menopause and I realised that instead of fighting it, I needed to accept that something profound is happening to me. I’m not the same as I was before. As a woman we are more than just our physical shell. Once I realised that I needed to express the emotional as well as the spiritual side of myself, I was able to find true wellness.
As a Health Coach I’ve been trying to train myself back to my 30’s. But I realised that woman has gone. There’s a new woman, the wise woman that I’m in the process of meeting. But I’m scared. Because I don’t want to become irrelevant and that is keeping me disempowered. We need to find ways to meet this woman, find out who she is, what she looks like and how she occupies space in this world. Xali is a safe space to do this, and I invite everyone to join our community… It’s not menopause, it’s metamorphisis.”
After an initial 14 day free trial, pricing for Xali starts at $8 per week ($420 annual 12 month subscription, 3 months at $50 per month or $75 month to month). Xali is available via: https://xali.com.au/ instagram.com/thexalimovement
About Naz de Bono
To Naz de Bono, 50, health and fitness has never been just a job, it’s an innate, fire-in-the-belly passion. A passion for the physical body within herself, and that of helping others reach their best place of physical health.
After an early life feeling disaffected by sport, Naz turned to personal training as a way to understand both the strengths and limitations of her own body and mind, and how to work with those challenges to get the best out of herself every single time. For over 20 years, Naz has worked and studied alongside specialist trainers, nutritionists, and mindfulness experts to do the work and learn the lessons.
Cut to a few years ago where Naz had her own very lonely and confusing experience of Perimenopause and Menopause. Naz realised that she wanted to combine her knowledge with her own personal journey to drive the creation of Xali, and build a safe, supportive community for women to access.
Naz’s way of training - the Xali way - is not to challenge you to push beyond your limits, to drag you through the grades to the point of injury or exhaustion. Rather, she will align with your goals and expectations, supporting you every step of the way.
About Samantha Gowing
Dip.Hlth.Sci.(Nut.); LCBMGastTour
Chef & Clinical Nutritionist
Sam is an award-winning clinical nutritionist who put the ‘food as medicine’ concept on the map in Australia with her combined expertise in nutrition, fine dining and business. For over 20 years she has been improving people's health and wellbeing as a chef, clinical nutritionist, teacher, and mentor.
With a Masters in Gastronomic Tourism from Le Cordon Bleu, a Diploma of Health Science (Nutrition) and wisdom gained from Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, Sam’s influence is respected among healthy lifestyle audiences. A former Melbourne hotelier and chef hat-winning restaurateur before turning her heart and mind to food as medicine, Sam is also a keynote speaker and wellness authority, and author of The Healing Feeling, a beautifully written compendium of recipes, personal stories and teachings.