Post by Susun Weed
Menopause is not a ‘pathology’, but a passage to power. Like puberty, menopause is a natural – and healthy – change. Wise ladies the world more than herald menopause as a well being-promoting event. They see hot flashes as ‘power surges’ and menopause as an intense spiritual journey. Most remedies – such as ERT, HRT, isoflavone, and progesterone creams – disrupt this method and can do severe harm to a woman’s wellness.MENOPAUSE IS ENLIGHTENMENT
The energy aspects of menopause are of unique interest to me.
As a long-time student of yoga, I was struck by the a lot of similarities between menopausal symptoms and the properly-recognized esoteric objective of “awakening of the kundalini.” Although the concepts presented in this section may possibly seem strange or challenging to comprehend, they include powerful messages about menopause, which lie at the heart of the Wise Woman approach.
Kundalini [is] the root [of] all spiritual experiences… Kundalini is a unique kind of energy recognized in many cultures, such as Tibetan, Indian, Sumerian, Chinese, Irish, Aztec, and Greek. Kundalini is stated to be hot, quickly, effective, and significant. It exists within the earth, within all life, and inside every person.
Psychoanalyst Carl G. Jung known as kundalini anima. Kundalini is typically represented as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, but women’s mystery stories locate it in the uterus – or the area exactly where the uterus was, if a hysterectomy has occurred. In the course of both puberty and menopause, a woman’s kundalini is hard to control and might trigger a wonderful number of symptoms.
East Indian yogis spend lifetimes learning to activate, or wake up, their kundalini. This is also called “achieving enlightenment”. When they succeed, a surge of super-heated energy goes up the spine, throughout the nerves, dilating blood vessels, and fueling itself with hormones. As kundalini continues to travel up the spine, it modifications the functioning of the endocrine, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Not just in yogis, but in any woman who allows herself to turn out to be aware of it. Menopause is a type of enlightenment. Hot flashes are kundalini training sessions.
TAKING HORMONES? THESE HERBS ARE FOR YOU
Far more and a lot more American ladies are making use of herbal remedies to help them with menopausal problems. Those who do take ERT (estrogen replacement) or HRT (hormone replacement) might be surprised to discover that herbal medicine has a lot to offer them as properly.
Herbs for females on ERT/HRT include those that alleviate side-effects as nicely as those that counter difficulties caused by the hormones.
Herbal Helpers Counter Side-Effects
Water retention is the symptom most typically cited for dissatisfaction with hormone replacement. Herbal tinctures and tea, such as dandelion or cleavers, and ordinary foods can not only relieve the distress, they will go to the root of the difficulty and help avoid recurrences.
Dandelion root tincture (Taraxacum officinale) strengthens the liver and helps it approach out the excess hormones you are taking. When the liver works properly, the kidneys work much better, and tissues no longer bloat. A dose is 10-20 drops in numerous ounces of water or juice two-three three times a day. If you have any digestion issues, take your dandelion prior to meals otherwise, anytime is fine. You can safely take dandelion day-to-day for months or years if you require or want to.
Cleavers herb tincture (Galium molluga) tells the lymphatic tissues to get moving. Relief from edema is typically rapid when 20-30 drops are taken in a number of ounces of water or juice. Repeat up to six times at hourly intervals if required. Cleavers is especially helpful for easing swollen, sore breasts.
Foods that relieve water retention consist of (in order of effectiveness): asparagus, nettles, corn (and corn silk tea), grapes, cucumbers, watermelon (and watermelon seed tea), parsley, celery, black tea, and green tea.
Headaches are the second most frequent side-effect of hormone use. Unfortunately, they are widespread amongst menopausal females not taking hormones, too. Herbs that aid relieve headache with out a drug-like action – such as dandelion, yellow dock, milk thistle, burdock, garden sage, skullcap, and St. John’s/Joan’s wort – are generally considered safe to take with hormones.
Chinese herbalists say headaches are caused by liver tension. My favorite liver-strengthening herbs are dandelion, yellow dock, milk thistle seed, and burdock. I use 1 at a time, a 15-25 drops of the tincture numerous times a day, for two weeks. If symptoms continue, I switch to a different herb.
A powerful tea of garden sage leaves (Salvia officinalis) offers immediate relief from headaches and assists avoid future ones. It also reduces night sweats. Tinctures of skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and St. Joan’s/John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) ease pain and relieve muscle spasms. Use five-20 drops of skullcap and a dropperful of St.J’s at the very 1st sign – no, the quite first thought – of a headache. Repeat the doses every single 5 minutes until discomfort free. Skullcap can be quite sedative, specially in huge doses.
Herbal Allies to Avoid Problems Triggered by Taking Hormones
Breast cancer risk is increased 20% in girls who use ERT for five or much more years. Use of HRT for 5 or far more years increases breast cancer risk by 40%. Each and every 5 years of continued use increases the risk. In addition, females who take ERT are far a lot more most likely to get uterine or endometrial cancers. All women on hormones improve their risks of lung and ovarian cancer, too. Nourishing herbs such as red clover, and foods such as beans and yogurt, provide easy methods to stay cancer-totally free.
Red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense), when dried and brewed into a strong infusion (one ounce herb steeped an a quart of boiling water for at least 4 hours) prevent cancer by delivering phytoestrogens that counter the cancer-promoting effects of oral hormones. Usual dose is 2-4 cups a day. The infusion tastes like black tea and can be flavored with mint if you like.
Because uncooked beans and unfermented soy contain anti-nutritional elements that might promote bone loss and dementia, soy “milk” and tofu are not suggested. Miso and tamari surely assist to stop breast cancer but soy isoflavones may possibly promote it.
Yogurt assists develop effective immunity. Girls who eat a quart of yogurt a week have 700% much less cancer than girls who eat no yogurt.
Dry eyes afflict far more than 9% of girls utilizing ERT and more than 7% of those on HRT. Risk increases by 70% for every year of continued use. And the longer a woman makes use of hormones, the greater her risk. Herbs such as oatstraw, chamomile, and chickweed can aid relieve and avoid this difficulty.
Oatstraw infusion (Avena sativa) cools and moistens your eyes from the inside out, builds strong bones too. Use one ounce of dried herb in a quart jar fill to the best with boiling water and cap tightly. Let steep 4 or more hours. Dose is 2-4 cups a day. Refrigerate soon after straining.
Cucumber slices ease dry eyes so do chamomile tea bags.
The ultimate ally for females with dry eyes is fresh chickweed (Stellaria media), applied as a poultice to the closed eyes. Leave on for five minutes, or until the plant material feels warm (it will heat up). Repeat as needed.
Stroke and heart attack are truly elevated by use of ERT/HRT, though modern medicine has long proclaimed the opposite. Every single main double-blind study completed to date has developed a bigger and bigger gap in between ERT/HRT’s supposed ability to assist cardiovascular wellness and its actual results. Defend your heart with nourishing and tonifying herbs and foods such as motherwort, hawthorn, and cherries.
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) tincture helps the heart. The Japanese claim it is their secret of longevity. A dose is 5-15 drops, twice a day. Motherwort also relieves hot flashes, calms tachycardiia, and eases anxiety. It is an all-in-1 remedy for menopausal girls.
Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha) flowers, leaves, and fruits are all employed to maintain heart well being and manage fluid create-up in heart tissues. A dose is 20- 30 drops of tincture 2-4 times a day, or a cup of tea with meals. This widespread shrub is regarded as 1 of the finest heart tonics in the globe.
Cherries are even far better than apples at keeping the physician away. Dried cherries and cherry juice, even tincture of cherries.
Much more than 3-quarters of the ladies in America more than the age of fifty have refused ERT/HRT. If you want to join them, taper off your dosage slowly, even though continuing to use nourishing and tonifying herbs such as dandelion, motherwort, red clover, oatstraw, and seaweed.