In honor of World Menopause Day, let's take another look at menopause through Chinese medicine and yin and yang balance. The phase of menopause in a women’s life is often very taboo, many people speak of it as if a woman is losing all access to her sexuality, and even key aspects of herself. The nightmare stories passed around of hot flashes, night sweating, mood swings, libido changes. While these experiences may not be common to all women, for those who do face them, they shouldn’t have to endure them with the fear or dread that is often discussed.
In Chinese Medicine we look at everything in accordance to a balance of yin and yang. The relationship between yin and yang is always fluid, moving with an ebb and flow to match the experiences of life. If we take the experience of shifting into the menopausal stage of life, we can see that the yin and yang ‘levels’ have shifted and often need support. We can even see the mirroring of yin and yang in the hormonal changes of estrogen and testosterone levels.
When we are taught about menopause through the lens of Chinese Medicine teachings, there is a hyper focus on what we call yin deficiency, in simple terms this can be summed up as a lack of fluids, hence the vaginal dryness as a key symptom for many woman during menopause. But what about yin’s counterpart- yang? The yang is affected too, but because yin is associated to feminine, and yang is masculine in its most stripped down form, we forget they both deserve attention.
If we think about the yang aspect as it relates to menopause, we can attribute that more to energy levels, libido, and overall embodiment in life. The desire to transition into this new phase, past child-bearing years, and into the new opportunities for a woman to step into. In spiritual and mystic circles this phase is referred to as the Crone years, derived from the word cronus which means time. This period is seen as an opportunity for a woman to take the wisdom she has learned with her time before menopause, to step into another version of herself. This change is normal and its part of the complex biological shifts in the hormonal cycle, so how can women gracefully move through menopause without fear, dread or losing the essence of what it means to be a women?
When we set out to create a product for menopausal women, we wanted to focus on the most common symptom that many women feel shame over, vaginal dryness.
Vaginal dryness not only affects a women’s confidence in herself but also her sexuality. Being menopausal or post menopausal should not mean you never have sex again, quite the contrary. Our Meno-Wash is just that, the vaginal dryness antidote, it is made with herbs that support the yin and yang aspect of the hormonal changes through a topical application. We certainly recommend an internal formula, such as a Far East Summit tincture, to target the internal aspects so if you are experiences intense symptoms you can help support your body holistically.
If you are not sure which internal product would work for you, send us a DM, we can give you some suggestions. For a more in-depth Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment plan, reach out to an acupuncturist in your area or send us a message to connect you to one.
In honor of World Menopause Day, use code WMD24 for 15% off Meno-Wash at checkout. Valid until midnight.