Women’s cycles of Blood
From adolescence, pregnancy to the menopause and maturessence
You might think that adolescence, pregnancy and the menopause are completely different phases of a woman’s life and you are right. However many of the symptoms which you may experience during these phases are similar. One of these is hot flushes, blushing easily, faintness and nausea.
I recently posted a couple of videos on hot flushes in pregnancy and the menopause.
Nausea is fairly common in the first trimester of pregnancy, although some women experience nausea all the way through their pregnancies. Even if women don’t experience nausea, they may feel quite emotional, easily get upset and feel exhausted. They may also feel faint if they change position.
In the menopause, not all women experience hot flushes but for some women they can last for months or even years and feel emotionally unstable. They can prevent women from sleeping which in turn affects their whole well-being. During adolescence many girls blush easily and feel emotionally unstable and faint. I blushed easily during my adolescence, so much so that I didn’t always like to say things if I felt they were controversial. Possibly worse for me was fainting. If I had to stand up for long periods, especially in school assemblies, or if I had to stand in a queue for something, I would feel quite faint and dizzy. On a few occasions I actually did faint and fall over. I also found it extremely difficult to sleep and often felt exhausted.
This was one of the main reasons I was drawn to shiatsu. I had extremely painful periods as well as the blushing, faintness and tiredness. Shiatsu gradually made a difference. I began studying shiatsu when I was only 22, but my periods slowly became less intense and I conceived my daughter Rosa easily at 29. I did not experience much nausea but I was also pleasantly surprised that after birth, I slept better, even with a young baby, than before. Over the years my periods continued to be less painful and I experienced the perimenopause as a fairly gently transition. I only experienced three hot flushes and felt lighter and more present.
These three times in a woman’s life are times of reproductive change which are directed by hormones and so it is not surprising that some of the symptoms are similar. TCM also sees the similarities although they didn’t understand the role of hormones. However they did understand the importance of Blood, which they considered to be a nourishing energy. I find it fascinating that their perspective on it is still valid today because points and techniques based on their understanding are supporting women today.
The ancient Chinese recognised that the changes during these times are profound. They saw them as offering opportunities for transformation, but also times when unhelpful patterns and ways of being can be created. Before adolescence our Blood has been nourishing us to grow, but at a certain time we have enough blood to give it to support potential new life. Our periods begin. This involves a change in the direction of Blood. The main Vessel which regulates Blood is the Penetrating Vessel and we can work points on it to support if. One of the core organs of the Penetrating Vessel, apart from our Heart and our brain are our Kidneys. Kidneys store our Essence, an energy which our growth and development. We inherit Essence at our conception and gradually use it during our life. During adolescence it is strong and so we can use it to create new life along with our Blood. We have to learn to redirect our blood, which we have been using to nourish ourselves into Blood which gathers in our womb each month to support new life but if there is no new life then we release this blood each month. This release offers an opportunity to clear out our body. And the cycle begins again.
During pregnancy, the blood needs to gather to support a baby and so again our body needs to make changes. During the menopause it needs to be redirected to support us again. We become the ‘baby’ who needs nourishing. At this stage of our life our health and wellbeing depends not only on the quality of the Essence which we inherited at the moment of our conception, but also how we have lived our life until that moment. Have we supported ourselves to have strong Blood, with good diet and lifestyle. Have we honoured our energy and our cyclical nature or have we pushed through, determined to meet external demands and neglected our inner rhythms. If we have nourished ourselves then the transition is more gentle, if we have to change our lifestyle dramatically, the transition will be more dramatic.
I have a video on my YouTube channel about the Cycles of Blood during a woman’s life.
I also have some other blogs on pregnancy and the menopause here on my Substack.
If you would like me to explain more, please ask.