One solution is to fight menopause with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), bio-identical or not. For different reasons, some women cannot tolerate HRT and come to our clinic for help. A great majority of them find relief with a combination of acupuncture and herbs combined with some dietary changes and exercise. I think that a change in perspective may also help. Instead of calling it menopause, I like the Chinese "second spring". It sounds more optimistic; more upbeat.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) women have two spring seasons.
The first spring is the season for growth, and it starts with menstruation at puberty. The first spring carries us all the way to menopause. Through all the life changing experiences that will transform us into the mature human beings, preparing us for our second spring.
The Chinese author Titian Ni says that the second spring is "the time of renewal of spirit, a time of healing and forgiveness".
In TCM the human life is divided into seven cycles. Each cycle has seven years for women, and eight years for for men.
For women, by the age of seven the first cycle is finished and our teeth, hair and digestive system are developed. At age fourteen the first spring arrives bringing menstruation, development of breasts and the capability to conceive. It is said in TCM that at this time the Kidney Essence ( the root of vitality) flourishes and the body has abundant Blood. At twenty-one our bodies reach maturity, and some Chinese sources consider this the right time to conceive because Kidney Essence is at its peak. Age twenty-eight brings the maturity of emotions in sync with the maturity of the body, and some Chinese sources consider this the best time to conceive. By age thirty-five things slowly start going down hill. At forty-two skin, hair and bones start to change as Kidney Essence continues to decline. When we rich forty-nine the child-bearing years are coming to an end, closing the door of one period in our lives and starting our second spring. I am being nice with my choices of words from the classic Chinese text, which original I have included below.
Second spring in TCM means that the Blood that once flowed out of our bodies now is being used as extra nourishment for our internal organs, including the Heart. The Heart governs the Shen (Mind/Spirit). Well nourished hearts mean wiser minds.
