Why Shania Twain says menopause was a ‘very good thing’ for her

Shania Twain is embracing life's changes and her prerogative to have a little fun.

In a recent profile with the New York Post, the Canadian country singer reflected on the cycles of her own life, which she says has included menopause. According to the signer who is currently doing her “Queen of Me” tour, turning 58 last month and going through menopause has helped her to embrace being in her own skin.

The singer explained that more recently, her decision to embrace her body translated into her posing nude for the cover art “Queen of Me.” The album is Twain’s sixth studio album and was released earlier this year.

“Well, I’m the opposite from being an exhibitionist,” Twain explained of her decision to pose in the buff for the album's cover art. “But I like to feel sexy, and I like to enjoy my body more now than ever. I used to hate my body. So when my body was young and, I guess, maybe one wouldn’t be afraid of exhibiting it, I was hiding it a lot.”

The “Honey, I’m Home” singer explained that her decision to pose nude largely stemmed from wanting to own how she looks and feels now as a woman in her 50s.

“I think I needed to capture where I am right now because it’s a moment that I want to remember,” she explained. “So I just had to be brave about it, to own it. And I felt really good that I felt like, ‘Yeah, I’m OK with that.’ I need to be able to look at myself in the mirror every day. I’m perfectly the way I should be. This is the way I should be at my age. I’m fine with it. And I’m not afraid of it anymore. It’s all good.”

Twain went on to share that her new, broader perspective about her body came as she learned to welcome a big milestone: menopause. The experience, she says, brought on “quick” lessons about how to view herself and her physical insecurities.

“I think menopause was a very good thing for me because there were a lot more things changing in everything about me physically that I had to very quickly come to terms with,” she continued. “Menopause taught me to quickly say, ‘You know, it may only get worse. So, just love yourself now. Just get over your insecurities — they’re standing in your way. And fear is standing in your way.’”

“I always sing about being fearless and all of that,” she added. “I go there when I write. But I’m not living it the way I’m writing it. And I want to live the way I write. I’m more fierce than I ever was because I really demanded it about myself.”

Twain’s comments about her relationship with her body have come quite a way since her appearance earlier this year on TODAY.

Speaking to Hoda Kotb, the singer confided that she struggled with her nude photo shoot ahead of her “Queen of Me” release because she didn’t “really love” her body.

“It was really scary. I don’t really love my body,” she said on TODAY. “I don’t love looking at myself in the mirror with the lights on or looking in the mirror at all at my body. So I said, I’m going to face that fear. I’m going to go into that photo shoot.”

The singer noted that, in hindsight, she felt positive about her decision to shed her clothes for the album.

“I’m so glad I did that,” she explained to Hoda. “Once I flipped that switch and dove into it ... I committed 100%, and I wasn’t thinking about what anybody thought. I didn’t think about who was in the room. This is about me. This is my moment to really embrace myself in vulnerable moments.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com