One of my patients told me she started to have menopausal hot flushes in the summer two years ago. It especially felt very hot in the soles of her feet. She took every chance to stand on the tiled floor barefoot, or soak her feet in cold water, drink ice water or eat ice-cream. She enjoyed the momentary delights. At the end of that summer, she got a cold and started to cough. Her hot flushes did not get any better because of what she did. On the contrary, it became worse, especially when she was tired. Moreover, she suffered from the worsened menopause hot flushes, the cold and the cough.

This lesson taught us that too much cold will damage the Qi (vital energy) of our stomach and lungs, and cause deficiency of Qi, which would produce phlegm. The internal cold (from having cold food and beverages) and the external cold gave her a bad cold and cough in the autumn, which lasted over three months, and the cough with phlegm lasted over one year!

In summer, people are supposed to dissipate the heat in the body by sweating, having too much ice water or cold food does not help the body get rid of heat, and it may even cause damage to the stomach Qi, produce phlegm and lead to cough. When you catch a cold or when you are run down, the cold, phlegm and the cough would affect Qi of lungs. So, using different methods to maintain and nourish Qi (vital energy) in different seasons during menopause period could relieve the symptoms and help you get through menopause smoothly and quickly.

Generally speaking, women have 35 years’ worth of menstruation. For all these years, we have been dealing with puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, labor term, lactation period. When we come to our 50’s, menopause will signal us the battle we had with blood is going to end.

Menopause is the term when our Qi (Vital Energy) stops generating estrogen and eggs, so that women no longer have to go through menstruation, pregnancy, labor or lactation. During the change, women have to take good care of Qi (Vital Energy), otherwise, Qi will accelerate the speed of decrepitude and even may cause some pathological changes. However, if Qi (Vital Energy) has been taken good care of, it will bring a “second spring” to your life, which will make you more beautiful and attractive. Because of the maturing experience during the years, we gain inner beauty. The inner beauty is based on our wisdom and experience, it is the best make-up for women.

Menopause refers to the “change of age period” in Chinese language. Why do women have to go through such a change and how do the changes occur? According to traditional Chinese medicine, vital Qi is the origin and root of life. The initial vital Qi we have is from our parents’ pre-natal energy, it is rooted in the kidney and stored in the Dan Tian (under the navel, inside of the stomach), it reaches all parts of the body through the main and collateral channels, and it accelerate the functions of all organs. Therefore, Qi is the foundation and origin of people’s life and activity. The prenatal Qi comes from the energy of the kidney, and postnatal energy comes from spleen and stomach, which is generated by our food intake, and they maintain the Qi of our life together. Like birth, aging, sickness and death, menopause is another order of nature. During the ageing process, Qi becomes weakened, so when women are not able to generate estrogen and eggs, menopause has come.

Now we know that our life needs to be maintained, nourished and accelerated by vital Qi, therefore, it is very important to protect, nourish and strengthen Qi during menopause.

How to take care of our menopause:

1. Strengthen Qi by following the seasons

   The nature and universe, the weather and the natural phenomenon like wind, cold, heat of summer, dampness, dryness, fire (heat), they are all influencing our small universe–our body. We need to follow the change of four seasons to strengthen our Qi (vital energy). For instance, getting tanned under the sun gives you a trendy bronze skin color and Vitamin D, but it might give you dehydration, which would damage Qi in the body, even may cause skin cancer.

2. Listen to your body

   Do take rest before you feel exhausted.

   Do eat before you feel starving.

   Do drink water before you feel thirsty.

   Do go to bed before you feel sleepy.

   These “extremes” can damage our Qi and may cause deficiency of vital energy, which will lead to some kinds of discomfort and conditions, especially during the menopause period.

3. Look after the “seven emotions” and protect Qi(Vital Energy)

   According to traditional Chinese medicine, “seven emotions” refers to excitement, anger, anxiety, sadness, worry, fear and shock. They are the common emotions of each human being, however, having excessive of any of the emotions can damage energy and consume Qi, so that our organs might be damaged. According to traditional Chinese medicine, too much excitement is harmful to heart, too much anger and anxiety is harmful to liver, too much worry and thinking is harmful to spleen and stomach, too much sadness is harmful to lungs, too much fear and shock is harmful to kidney. On the other hand, if the “five organs” are not healthy, it would influence our “seven emotions”. During menopause, any negative emotion would aggravate the symptoms of menopause, which would prolong the time of menopause.

4. Benefit Qi by good diet

   Having a balanced and healthy diet is essential for menopause period, eat less but more regularly to keep the level of blood sugar. Do not eat and drink too much at one time. Eat healthier and lighter food. Cut back smoking, drinking and spicy food. Be careful about loosing weight by keeping yourself on a diet, you might lose your vital energy as well.

5. Promote the circulation of Qi by exercise

   Exercises can greatly help with the relief of menopause symptoms. Doing appropriate amount of exercise can promote the circulation of Qi and prevent stagnation, which would lead to development of certain conditions. Such exercises as, walking, practicing Qi Gong and Tai Chi, Yoga, dancing and etc would be beneficial. The proper exercise for women who are undergoing menopause should be the appropriate amount, relaxing and not intense.

Qi Gong Tip:

Raise the muscle of anus

Method:

Raise the muscle of anus by contracting the surrounding muscles, visualize the raising of the anus into the abdomen (Dan Tian), then relax the muscles. Raise and relax, raise and relax, this repetitive activity can be done at any time and at any pace as you please.

Effect:

1. It could benefit the health of prostate and vagina by promoting blood circulation and store the Qi.
2. It can prevent and help relieve constipation.
3. It can prevent some pathological changes of the colon by accelerating the movement of the colon.
4. Doing this exercise also helps to maintain the quality of sexual life.
5. It could prevent and help with incontinence.
6. A Chinese article stated that it can make you live longer.

Note: Please check out more traditional health tips on our Facebook (Health and Wellbeing at Traditional Qi).

Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.

Written by Angela Zhu, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi instructor.

Translated by Janet Zheng

© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011

Enjoy this article?