Chinese medicine

LIVE WELL LIVE LONG

By Jo Darling, Founder of Menopoised

PRESERVING YOUR HEALTH AS YOU AGE

Chinese medicine is one of the oldest and most used medicine in the world. Ancient texts, thousands of years old describe ill health from the viewpoint that the mind and body are in a state of disease. All practices within Chinese medicine, whether herbs or acupuncture, qi gong or gu sha, focus on assisting rebalance and the restoration of ‘ease’; believing that the mind and body are always looking for ways to find their way back to good health. Modern physiology takes a similar view that humans are self-regulating, adjusting to conditions, both internal and external, to survive – otherwise known as homeostasis.

HOMEOSTASIS AND MENOPAUSE

Why is self-regulation important in perimenopause? Well, it’s a change in conditions that need to be adapted to. And the issues women experience around perimenopause are because of these changes. For example, the decrease in oestrogen caused by the natural decline in eggs as we age can cause a myriad of issues during perimenopause. Obviously, there’s more to our finely tuned orchestra of hormones than just oestrogen but, with over 300 different jobs to do in around 400 places in the body, it has a far-reaching effect. As our mind and body experience this decrease in oestrogen it takes time to adapt. The issues (or symptoms) we experience are our bodies letting us know they’re experiencing dis-ease and need help getting back to ‘ease’ or balance. Even if you’re experiencing menopause because of medical intervention, it’s still important to understand how to preserve your health and rebalance.

CHINESE MEDICINE’S VIEW OF AGEING

From a Chinese medicine perspective, a practitioner takes all these aspects of dis-ease to create a diagnosis (an underlying pattern that pulls all the issues together) that supports the body to find balance. Treatment doesn’t seek to defy the ageing process, more to acknowledge there has been change. After all, humans weren’t designed to have children throughout their whole lifetime. Chinese medicine describes humans as being derived from a substance called ‘Jing’. It’s a precious commodity that is, for the most part, handed down to us by our ancestors, used up through life and eventually when it runs out, we die. In Chinese culture ageing is part of life, growing old is the prize and dying is a kind of rebirth, not to be feared. This might account for such a positive perspective on the ageing process!

LIVE WELL, LIVE LONG!

So how do we menopause well naturally? The Chinese medicine principles of Yang Sheng, or how to nourish life, set out principles for living well, naturally. It describes practices that help us conserve our Jing and prolong its availability. By preserving our Jing we are helping our body stay well as we age and go through peri/menopause. It’s never too early or too late to start! Here are a few of my favourite Jing preserving ideas; 1. Add a handful of goji berries to your day. Pocket rockets of Jing. Packed with vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant), B vitamins and plentiful in important minerals for peri/menopause. Long famed as a great boon for longevity. 2. Black Spruce essential oil. Dilute the oil with a carrier oil to around 10%. Place the oil in the centre of your palms, gently run your hands together and inhale. Place your warmed hands over your lower back (sacrum area). Lie down, close your eyes and relax for 5 minutes. 3. Start your day with 5 minutes of mindful, slow breathing. Either relax on your back with your hands on your belly or stand relaxed with your hands by your side facing forwards. Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose for longer than you breathe out.