In celebration of International Women’s month, we have reached out to Sophie Benge, a highly respected 25-year veteran in the international wellness industry as consultant, author, journalist and founder.
Passionate about helping and guiding women to connect more closely with their innate feminine energy, Sophie offers retreats, workshops and online courses, designed to cultivate living a life with greater flow and happiness. She also offers Meditation in Touch and developed a unique massage treatment exclusively for women, as well as collaborates with international wellness brands such as Four Seasons, Andronis and Nobis Hotels.
Her expertise extends to concept creation and planning as well as copywriting for international hospitality and wellness brands including Mandarin Oriental, Lanserhof, Chiva-Som, Zulal – and Cirque du Soleil. A seasoned traveler, she has explored and researched wellness traditions across every continent, bringing deep cultural insight into her work.
As an author, she has written ‘Tropical Spa’ and ‘Healing Sources’ focus on indigenous wellness cultures of Asia and Central Europe.
Sophie is also the founder of ‘hungarymud’, a brand supplying healing mud to spas, product companies and at retail, offering a face mask for radiant skin.
A sought-after speaker at international wellness events, Sophie is often quoted in the media as a leading voice in women’s wellness.
Sophie shares her insights on women’s wellness, reflecting on the current state of gender equality and its impact on well-being. She offers thought-provoking perspectives and actionable solutions to help women reconnect with their authentic feminine essence—unlocking a ripple effect of benefits that extend into every aspect of life.
Sophie Benge, Consultant, author, journalist and founder
Women’s Wellness, this International Women’s Day: My Thoughts by Sophie Benge
As our media spotlights this year’s IWD on March 8th, I’ve mixed feelings. After its 100 years of valiant history to garner global action for gender equality and champion women’s rights and achievements, there could be more to celebrate.
It should NOT be that still 70% of people living in poverty are women, that just 22% of world leaders are female and that one in three of us experience physical or sexual assault – and, where in the case of South Sudan, most perpetrators go unpunished.*
It’s equally shocking that just this year South Carolina, USA, proposes a bill to imprison women for ‘activity’ that results in miscarriage.**
But … a positive spin on inequality appears in our industry as programmes and retreats solely for women’s wellbeing . While most focus on nutrition, stress, exercise, sleep and hormones – particularly around menopause (a word that still, for many, hides behind ‘midlife wellness’!), I’m offering a different slant.
Despite balancing these above issues, we women often feel something still isn’t quite right. We feel scattered. Ponder these:
- Being is less valuable than doing
- Feelings are less reliable than logic
- Giving is better than receiving
- Structure is a lot safer than trust
- Striving makes me worthwhile.
If these chime, I suggest we overvalue the masculine side of ourselves and even if subconsciously, we deem our innate feminine nature as ‘less than’. We need balance.
In our world where we’re largely disconnected from nature, each other, even ourselves and where we suffer from intergenerational trauma from a long system of patriarchy – that IWD rightly highlights – our wellbeing suffers … even if we can’t quite figure out ‘why’.
But we have the solutions, they’re already in us. No outsourcing required! When we connect with our authentic feminine selves, we see a ripple of benefits:
- We heal from past hurts
- We trust in life’s path
- We show up more compassionately
- We magnetise into our lives more of what we desire, with less effort
- We attract more intimacy and …
- Grow our conscious awareness
Sophie Benge
Life flows better and we feel happier – as if by osmosis. The magic lies within – it’s just a question of activating it. The route is not hard when …
- We move from head to heart
- We become more embodied
- We listen to our internal felt sensations, our intuition
- We prioritise our senses and dial up our sensual aliveness
- We create with our hands
- We spend time in nature and with each other
- We pause to do absolutely nothing ….
Then … the magic happens. I’ve seen the transformations many times. It’s my work and my passion: to guide women to reacquaint with our true feminine nature for happiness and healing.
This IWD I hope you ‘come home to you.’ And find some peace in these dizzying times.
For more on Sophie Benge, please visit sophiebenge.com
*https://www.womenforwomen.org/
**https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/bills/240.htm
