As for the unknown regarding hormones and HRT more research is coming. more and more is being investigated as women were of no interest for seince till recently, and of course still more to look for and to find. I advise to listen to Huberman's podcast he is a researcher and explain the newest research regarding hormones and much more. There is a new study about The Pill effects he talks about.
Thank you again for your thoughts and your opening questions!
I also think that the broad use of hormones in our times is a big question and that this use raises a lot of questions where we still have no real answers. Hormones are potent players in many areas (cosmetics, food production, fertility control… ) In any case the estrogen dominance in our environment is something we have to deal with. And maybe the high rate of HRT, IVV and the high level of breast cancer is already an ‘answer’ to this existing imbalance.
Another topic is the stress level, which maybe can also be seen as an expression of a hormonal excess situation? Why the stress level is that high in our times, is also a question I ponder about. In a sense I understand it perfectly well, in another sense it’s quite astonishing because looking at the actual life situation of many of us, we have to admit, that we still live in a quite safe and comfortable lifetime. It appears to me that there is often a big gap between a sensed and an actual security situation.
I do believe that hormonal imbalances affect our essence in a very broad and complex way. And I do think that we can learn very much from the ancient Chinese and the extraordinary vessels to find back into a ‘Handlungsspielraum’ (scope of action). The perception of a personal scope of action might be a keypoint in dealing with the complex interconnected environment we are living in.
I sometimes find it quite challenging to get the essence of the old wisdom translated into our times and circumstances. It might be the big challenge for us as shiatsu practitioners to find this bridge. Somehow this wisdom is and was always here and around us, but it often sinks under a loud complex noise of many different and fast changing demands of these times.
What do we have essentialy to keep in mind to not get lost in compexity :)?
Thank you so much for your interesting thoughts and feedback. And I agree with you re estrogen dominance in our environment and its potential consequences..And yes, stress, it's a different kind of stress than in the past... but perhaps stress from over activity I feel.. Over stimulation of Yang? I like the word "scope of action" and don't think we have a similar word in English. And how can we keep a simple beginners mind?...
Hi Suzanne, I enjoyed pondering these questions with you. And like you I don’t know the answers! BUT it is refreshing and balanced to have a range of different views put out there regarding how to navigate our female cycles. There is so much about HRT in the media at the moment and that is enlightening for us women and so helpful for some but it’s also so helpful to have tools and positive view points around navigating menopause and indeed all our cycles naturally. How can we support ourselves and our energies in line with the cycles of nature. We may find (and it’s yet to be shown) that if we can nurture ourselves more consistently through our lifetime and regulate our energies and cycles well (giving time to the Yin as much as the Yang) that we may very well move through these transitions more smoothly and with less troubling symptoms. Finding our power in each stage will surely help too.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree that there is so much emphasis on HRT without looking enough at other options. My next series of blogs here will in fact be on the menopause. I am going to be focusing on the gifts of this time!..I agree that if we can support ourselves in line with the cycles of nature and give as much time to the Yin as the Yang already that may well make a big difference. Indeed, that is the topic of my zoom tonight! How to keep the Yin as we begin moving into Yang....Nourishing ourselves is important.. and as you know, shiatsu and massage or other forms of bodywork, and doing yoga, Qi Gong, meditation etc all help too!....
Thanks for sharing this Oda. Great to know..
Thanks for your feedback.. It's always helpful to know how people receive the information!.. Are you still doing shiatsu?....
As for the unknown regarding hormones and HRT more research is coming. more and more is being investigated as women were of no interest for seince till recently, and of course still more to look for and to find. I advise to listen to Huberman's podcast he is a researcher and explain the newest research regarding hormones and much more. There is a new study about The Pill effects he talks about.
Yes, and still fascinated with this work :)
Great!... good to hear....
Dear Suzanne,
Thank you again for your thoughts and your opening questions!
I also think that the broad use of hormones in our times is a big question and that this use raises a lot of questions where we still have no real answers. Hormones are potent players in many areas (cosmetics, food production, fertility control… ) In any case the estrogen dominance in our environment is something we have to deal with. And maybe the high rate of HRT, IVV and the high level of breast cancer is already an ‘answer’ to this existing imbalance.
Another topic is the stress level, which maybe can also be seen as an expression of a hormonal excess situation? Why the stress level is that high in our times, is also a question I ponder about. In a sense I understand it perfectly well, in another sense it’s quite astonishing because looking at the actual life situation of many of us, we have to admit, that we still live in a quite safe and comfortable lifetime. It appears to me that there is often a big gap between a sensed and an actual security situation.
I do believe that hormonal imbalances affect our essence in a very broad and complex way. And I do think that we can learn very much from the ancient Chinese and the extraordinary vessels to find back into a ‘Handlungsspielraum’ (scope of action). The perception of a personal scope of action might be a keypoint in dealing with the complex interconnected environment we are living in.
I sometimes find it quite challenging to get the essence of the old wisdom translated into our times and circumstances. It might be the big challenge for us as shiatsu practitioners to find this bridge. Somehow this wisdom is and was always here and around us, but it often sinks under a loud complex noise of many different and fast changing demands of these times.
What do we have essentialy to keep in mind to not get lost in compexity :)?
Best greetings
Catherine
Thank you so much for your interesting thoughts and feedback. And I agree with you re estrogen dominance in our environment and its potential consequences..And yes, stress, it's a different kind of stress than in the past... but perhaps stress from over activity I feel.. Over stimulation of Yang? I like the word "scope of action" and don't think we have a similar word in English. And how can we keep a simple beginners mind?...
Hi Susanna,
I am still following you here in West Wales. A really great article …so much wisdom.
Anna Jones
Hi Suzanne, I enjoyed pondering these questions with you. And like you I don’t know the answers! BUT it is refreshing and balanced to have a range of different views put out there regarding how to navigate our female cycles. There is so much about HRT in the media at the moment and that is enlightening for us women and so helpful for some but it’s also so helpful to have tools and positive view points around navigating menopause and indeed all our cycles naturally. How can we support ourselves and our energies in line with the cycles of nature. We may find (and it’s yet to be shown) that if we can nurture ourselves more consistently through our lifetime and regulate our energies and cycles well (giving time to the Yin as much as the Yang) that we may very well move through these transitions more smoothly and with less troubling symptoms. Finding our power in each stage will surely help too.
Thanks for your feedback. I agree that there is so much emphasis on HRT without looking enough at other options. My next series of blogs here will in fact be on the menopause. I am going to be focusing on the gifts of this time!..I agree that if we can support ourselves in line with the cycles of nature and give as much time to the Yin as the Yang already that may well make a big difference. Indeed, that is the topic of my zoom tonight! How to keep the Yin as we begin moving into Yang....Nourishing ourselves is important.. and as you know, shiatsu and massage or other forms of bodywork, and doing yoga, Qi Gong, meditation etc all help too!....