Yes, you can become who you were meant to be - even at age 50+!

Working with brilliant but exhausted, high-achieving women over 50 is my passion and calling because it’s who I was at 50. 

I have learned so much through my own slow, self-healing journey, guided by programs, certifications, and extraordinary mentors (most of them women), including: Ana Forrest, Steve Emmerman, Talya Ring, Jill Miller, and Anahita Joon. 

None of these mentors speak specifically to high-achieving women over 50, but all of their work contributes. I am an artisan. I weave together the threads of all that I have learned and create a space and a method for women to move ahead into their second 50 years with strength, vision, creativity, and passion.

Self-healing isn’t a quick fix; it’s a deep, transformative journey. After so many years of teaching and observing my over 50 women clients and students, I began to see that we face a much deeper challenge than fixing a frozen shoulder or simply meditating to calm an anxious mind. Decades of stress, trauma, pressure, and the need to take care of others. (some call this “conditioning”)  takes months to unwind. Women in the program routinely tell me that they don’t really “get it” until about 3 months have passed. Self-healing takes time. That’s why this program is designed to be a year-long — it’s about creating lasting transformation, not temporary solutions. (P.S. I describe this process throughout my Fierce Over 50 book.)

I ask that you be able to get up and down off the floor easily. You should be able to move your arms and legs, walk, raise your arms. It’s fine if you are currently working with a professional physical therapist for an acute issue that limits movement in one part of your body. 

I’ll ask you to use your self-awareness to decide what movements you can participate in and what you can’t. Even if you can’t move throughout our session for a period of months due to an injury, the breathwork and the woman-centered connection is enormously supportive. If you have particular questions, email me to set up a conversation.

There are two reasons I no longer give privates outside of the FierceOver50 Gathering. 

First, women who come for privates are often still operating out of a self-care model, which asks me to fix what is broken in them. And, as I have written about extensively in my book, I have seen that this does not work. 

Second, being in a woman-centered program offers you much more wisdom than I, alone, can provide.  Often women in the group offer a perspective, hack, process which none of us have thought about before.

Many participants notice results from the first session — from the moment they begin breathing differently. 

That said, the habits we bring to the FierceOver50 Gathering have been decades in the making. That’s why I eventually realized that I had to create a year-long program. Our inclination to push beyond our capacity  is a very tough habit to unwind. It may take as long as 3 months to unwind long-held habits.

My book, offered in many other places on this website, creates its own learning path. I also invite you to sign up for my free 15-minute self-healing session, which also gives you access to my monthly newsletter where I often share free resources.

I do not offer refunds for this year-long program.  Sadly, results is a term that refers to the self-care industry’s claims to fix aspects of your body or mind that are broken. In the FierceOver50 Gathering your growth,  evolution, and self-healing capacities come from inside you. This growth takes time. I encourage each member to acknowledge how much growth is taking place daily in how we feel in our bodies and our lives. There is no external yardstick for this process. 

That’s a clear no. I’m so sorry. I realize your time zone or personal responsibilities might make it impossible to attend most sessions. (We all go on vacation or travel or have situations that might make it difficult to be at every session.) The personal growth that we experience as magic depends on the intimate and regular connection among the women who attend. 

Many of us, myself included, have benefited immensely from yoga. However, this program moves more deeply into self-healing –learning how you, in the company of other women, can shift daily patterns of life. 

We also emphasize targeted myo-fascial self-massage in the areas that you hold tension in your body. Thus, only you can know where self-healing massage will be most effective. 

The FierceOver50 Gathering is not a class taught by me. Rather, it is self-exploration and self-healing directed by your own awareness of your body. 

While the FierceOver50 Gathering offers comprehensive support, it is not an “all or nothing” program.  Many women in the program, myself included, see therapists and other specialists. Usually, a helpful conversation with me and with your practitioner will support you in finding a way to move forward. 

Because we are “exhausted achievers,” we often think that if we can’t do the program at 100% full tilt, then we cannot do it at all.  We have had women participating from bed, doing breathwork and soaking up the wisdom of the group. We learn lessons from being sick about loving ourselves and being worthy even when we can’t perform. These are often new lessons and perspectives for us. 

We all go on vacation and we should!  That is partly why this is a year-long program: life goes on and so it should. On occasion you might be able to attend the session from wherever you are, or you might watch the reply. Or, you might simply skip these sessions and keep up with your practices however that looks for you. Going on vacation is a great opportunity to ask yourself how to keep your self-healing practices going each day, whether we are on vacation or not. This is such an important lesson – it’s a practice that you can’t investigate if you don’t go on vacation and try it out! 

The FierceOver50 Gathering is a sanctuary for a group of women who have committed to their self-healing. As the guide it is my job to make sure that the women who step in and take on this year-long commitment are really available to travel this journey with the other women. 

Personally, I love it when you let me know you can’t attend a session.. I care about everyone and want to know if you won’t be there. I record all the sessions except our very personal celebrations (4 times a year.) You get the replay, typically the morning after the session. 

I cap the FierceOver50 Gathering at 20 women so that we can connect and grow together.  Everyone in this group has a voice and is welcome to ask questions as we do our physical and spiritual practices. We all know each other and connect deeply. That’s the way we evolve best and that’s the way I’m keeping it. 

I should hope so! I welcome all of us who self-identify as women  – whatever color, race, ability, and inclination. Whatever and whoever we are, I welcome us. 

That said, in the FierceOver50 Gathering, we do not discuss politics or religion. We keep our focus on our self-healing and our growth.  The women in the FierceOver50 Gathering have all worked hard at life. That’s our common ground. We have had different jobs, occupations, and daily commitments. That’s our common ground.

Just as I encourage you, through the FierceOver50 Gathering, to create a richly evolving life in which you become who you are meant to be, I am doing the same. At 73, I have a  life to live and the FierceOver50 Gathering is one very important part of that life. I love to work in my native prairie garden, travel, visit my kids and grandkids, cook nutritious meals, and participate with my spiritual community. 

The FierceOver50 Gathering is my passion, my service, and I am devoted to it. Yet each of us must commit to our dearest desires and create boundaries as well. The FierceOver50 Gathering is a great joy in my life and here’s to you finding and devoting yourself to yours!

Please see my list of certifications and teachers above in this page. 

E-mail me at annmerle@annmerle.com and put “FierceOver50 Gathering Membership Inquiry” in the subject line.