About Marketa

I founded MiniPause to create space for women to pause, reconnect with themselves and move through life with greater awareness, calm and self-compassion.

What began as a desire to support women through perimenopause and menopause has grown into something broader — a way to help women slow down, understand what is happening within them and make more conscious choices about how they respond to life, change and the demands around them.

My journey began with my own struggle with perimenopausal symptoms for years before discovering the term “perimenopause”, through Dr. Louise Newson’s work.

This revelation transformed my understanding and sparked my desire for open dialogue around women’s midlife transitions.

The loss of my parents led me to consciously choose joy and deepen connections with loved ones while appreciating each moment as precious.

My diverse professional background uniquely equips me to support women through MiniPause:

  • As an accountant graduate and a former team administrator of six years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Prague, and finance administrator at Vodafone’s Head Office in Sydney, I bring organisational clarity and structure to our MiniPause retreats.
  • My three-year study at the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in Prague, Czech Republic and Tianjin university, along with my Certificate IV in Remedial Massage and membership in the Australian Traditional Medicine Society since 2005, informs my holistic approach to women’s well-being.
  • Working with the Department for Education supporting children with learning and behavioural challenges has deepened my understanding of how to create inclusive, supportive environments where everyone feels valued.
  • Having lived and worked across Europe and Australia, including studying French for two years, I bring a global perspective to women’s experiences of midlife transitions.
  • My extensive volunteer experience as a fundraising committee member at my children’s school and as a team manager for various sports teams has honed my ability to build supportive communities.

I’m currently training to become a certified teacher of Qigong – an ancient practice of coordinated body movement, breath and meditation to promote physical, mental and spiritual well-being, that I have been practicing for over 25 years and uniquely complements our work at MiniPause.

When not hosting retreats, you’ll find me exploring nature, practising mindfulness, and connecting with kindred spirits.

I draw inspiration from thought-provoking films and non-fiction books – currently, I’m immersed in Pema Chödrön’s “Welcoming the Unwelcome,” which beautifully aligns with our philosophy at Minipause of embracing life’s transitions with courage and grace.

The Heart Behind MiniPause

MiniPause is about creating space to slow down, become present and reconnect with yourself.

Life can move quickly, and it is easy to fall into familiar patterns without noticing what is happening underneath them. Fear, self-judgement, sadness, anger, guilt and old beliefs can quietly shape the way we think, respond and relate to the people around us.

MiniPause creates an opportunity to pause long enough to notice those patterns with greater awareness and compassion. Not to judge what is there, but to understand it more deeply and begin choosing how we want to respond.

From Awareness to Conscious Choice

Awareness gives us options.

When we begin to recognise what is happening within us, we can become less reactive and more intentional. Instead of automatically responding from fear, hurt or old patterns, we can create space for a different choice.

That might mean meeting self-judgement with compassion, fear with courage, anger with curiosity or uncertainty with greater trust in ourselves.

The goal is not to become perfectly calm or positive all the time. It is to become more conscious of what we carry and how it influences the way we move through the world.

Healing Begins Within

I believe meaningful change often begins with looking inward.

The more we understand our own experiences, emotions and patterns, the greater our capacity to respond to ourselves and others with kindness, understanding and compassion.

This inner work can influence far more than the individual. The way we relate to ourselves affects our relationships, families, workplaces and communities. When we become more aware of what we are carrying, we also have a greater opportunity to choose what we continue to pass forward.

A More Conscious and Compassionate World

My vision for MiniPause reaches beyond a single retreat, meditation or wellbeing experience.

I believe a more peaceful world begins with more conscious human beings. When people learn to pause, understand themselves more deeply and recognise the fears or wounds influencing their behaviour, there is greater opportunity to choose compassion over judgement and connection over division.

Change does not always begin with something enormous. Sometimes it begins with one person becoming more aware of a thought, a reaction or an old pattern and choosing to respond differently.

Why the Pause Matters

Sometimes one conscious pause can change a thought. A thought can change a choice. A choice can change a relationship, and relationships can shape families and generations.

That is what MiniPause is ultimately about: creating the space for that pause to happen.

“A more peaceful world begins with more conscious human beings.”