Menopause - An Eastern perspective

When we talk about western terms from an eastern perspective, it helps to have a little background on Chinese culture, specifically Chinese characters. Three very important characters are Dao, Yin and Yang. They lead us to a good quality of life and guide us to reach those qualities. To understand the concepts of Dao, the path, the way, we need to look at the character Dao. It consists of the concept of motion, motion means movement, and inherent in movement is change. Our own unique understanding of this character gives its true meaning to us. It is said that to live in accordance with the Dao is to live in accordance with nature, that is, what is natural. Inherent in nature also is the concept of change; day to night, spring to summer, fall to winter, birth to death, young to old, and also menopause. This is where the concept of yin and yang come into play.

Traditionally the characters for yin and yang were more complex; yin suggested the dark side of a mountain, clouds, rain, sunset, night; yang was the sunny side, sunrise, heat rising, day. The importances of these two characters are the representation of polar opposites and the interplay between them. In Chinese medicine, yang is motion, heat, male, expanding, etc.; yin is cool, contracting, female, introspective, etc.

With this background we can now start our conversation about menopause, a natural transition in life. Menopause is not a disease but a time in which a women transitions from one phase of life to the next. Menopause is the complete cessation of menstruation. There is a period of about 2-5 years before this takes place during which time a woman makes the transition from a reproductive stage to a non-reproductive stage. The change from the ability to bear children, to no longer have that ability, is a major shift in a women's life and is a time of delicate balance. This transition can be something that goes fairly smooth or an event that may feel like a disease. As winter approaches some of us will fully accept the change of season, put away our summer clothes, take out the scarf and hat, go to bed a little earlier, eat more warming foods and make a smooth transition. Others, however, will go into the cold still not dressed properly, continue to eat summer foods, resist going to bed a little earlier and find themselves battling the change.

Living according to the Dao is about living a balanced life and accepting the changes that face us. When we are out of balance, whether physically or emotionally, we will experience disharmony in our bodies and any change we face will be difficult. Each one of us has inherent qualities that need to be nurtured. For women it is very important to acknowledge that quality and nurture it during her time of transition. This can be seen as a way of nourishing your yin. When outside influences such as family issues, financial demands, etc. creates emotional stress and blocks the ability for that acknowledgement, balance is thrown off and disharmony results.

In Chinese medicine the body, mind and spirit are very much interrelated. The liver represents not only an organ with physiological function, but also an organ responsible for the smooth flow of emotions. When actual disease affects the liver, our emotions become unbalanced, when our emotions become unbalanced, so does our body. Stress, anxiety, depression may bind up liver qi (energy) giving rise to stagnation and heat in the body.

Menopause is a time when yin is declining, leaving an excess of yang (heat). In normal circumstances, the body will rebalance itself with minimal side effects. However, due to the delicate nature of this transition, it is common for a woman to enter into this time of life not fully prepared for the change. This leads to an imbalance between yin and yang. When yin is deficient, we have physiological changes as the result of empty heat in the body, such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness, and irritability. It is also not unusual to have had some declining of yang also leaving you with cold hands and feet in the middle of all of this.

The beauty of Chinese medicine is its ability to treat the whole person, body, mind and spirit. These physiological changes give us insight to what is happening to the person at many levels. Typical treatment will not only address the signs of heat mentioned above by using herbs or acupuncture points that nourish yin and clear heat, but also address the emotional aspect by 'smoothing the liver' and 'nourishing the heart'.

This gives a brief insight on menopause from the world of Eastern medicine and philosophy. There are of course more factors and considerations in Eastern and Western terms.