When a women enters her pre-menopausal years, her body goes through a metamorphosis. As it turned out for 47-year-old artist Aleta Braun, that physical transformation was a self-awakening and a lesson about respect for her health. In essence, she's learning to listen to and understand the wisdom of her body.

As she reflects on her health through the past decade, Braun - an artist who teaches and works in collage/mixed media in Greenville, N.C. - chronicles how her body awareness has blossomed. In her middle and late 30s, she enthusiastically embraced bicycle racing in Boulder, Colo., a mecca for serious athletes intent on high-altitude training. "I had the attitude that my body was a machine and I could tell it what to do," she admits. She trained hard - biking for hours in the mountains with only water and a banana. After her work-out, she would put in a busy night's work at a restaurant.

However, her vegetarian diet didn't live up to her enormous physical needs, and Braun became anemic. She began to feel weak and tired; often when she went riding, her feet felt like lead. "Unfortunately, I wasn't a `smart' vegetarian," she says. "I didn't know how to balance foods to get adequate protein or nutrients." Working with a doctor, she began to revise her diet, adding in soy, and occasional servings of liver and meat when her body craved them. "I found I had to respond to my body's needs and take care of it," she says.

As another part of her health evolution, Braun realized she needed to soften her hard-driving habits. She started with body work to relieve the aches and pains that resulted from excessive cycling. Shiatsu, a form of Asian acupressure, alleviated many of her muscular and joint strains. Later, a repetitive motion injury - overstressed wrists and arms from hand-mixing papier-mâché - drove her to seek help through the Feldenkrais method, a style of bodywork that retrains the body to move in a self-sustaining way by using touch therapy and special muscle-balancing exercises.

Now, with a gentler way of treating her body, Braun became more aware of her emotional state. In her early 40s, she felt depressed and out of control, not knowing what direction her life was heading. Frustrated by her general malaise, she began treatment with a Chinese doctor who used both acupuncture and Chinese herbs. "I didn't know what was going on in my body," she says, "but with Ming's help, I figured out it was menopause. I realized the tiredness was my body going through a big change."

Acupuncture balanced her changing hormones and addressed the general stress of her life, leaving her feeling balanced and in control. Even more profound was the way it taught Braun to respect her body and soul. "Menopause is becoming a rich experience for me," she says. "It's a time for a woman to stop and take inventory about what's important and what things she wants to carry into the second part of her life."

Motivated to learn more, Braun sent questionnaires to her mother, aunts and sisters asking about the physical and emotional aspects of their menstrual history. "This was such a wonderful way for me to come together with my family of women," she explains. In addition, it helped her better understand her own body, and it's wisdom she can pass on to future generations. "With this knowledge, my initial depression has led to better body awareness and a positive experience of menopause," she says. She encourages other women to research the vast amount of information on menopause in order to chart their own uniquely individual course through their transformational years.

Braun also consulted with herbalist Brigitte Mars, who introduced her to the herb Stinging Nettles . "At the time, I was suffering from wrist pain. I'd fallen off my bike and twisted my wrist, which hurt for months," she says. Brigitte took me into her garden and `stung' me with the nettles. The area became warm and tingly, then the pain disappeared and never came back." In addition, nettles provide calcium - vital during menopausal years. Braun now cooks fresh nettles in soups and stir-fries. Mars also taught her about the herb oat straw, taken as a general female tonic.

As she enters the second phase of her life, Braun feels healthy overall and enjoys a renewed relationship with her changing body. She still bicycles, but more moderately. Mostly she loves to walk and does tai chi, yoga and foot reflexology. "I'm going through major changes, through a huge transition," she acknowledges. With help, however, she's adapting and welcomes the new era in her life. "Over the years," she adds, "I've gotten more attuned to what my body needs and now I pay attention."