Second Spring
perimenopause and menopausal support
A Chinese Medicine Perspective
This ancient medicine’s earliest text from the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor describes the stages of life for men and women. Each stage is divided into 8 for men and 7 for women. For women the aging process is complete at 49, where as men age more slowly completing their aging process at 64.
“At 49 the conceptions vessel is depleted, the great penetrating vessel wanes and fertility is exhausted, menstruation ceases, the body becomes old and she can no longer have children”
The menopause or the end of menstruation is a part of aging, a sign rather than a problem itself, one that is physically challenging and emotionally difficult. Acceptance and kindness to ourselves during this transition is often missing as well as the appropriate energetic support to balance symptoms.
The Three Golden Opportunities
As a women, there are three life transitions that are linked to the menstrual renewal and release cycle. Menstruation, Postpartum and Menopause. We generally have a view in the modern world to carry on regardless and ignore and suppress these incredible phases of life with medication and hormones as the women’s experience does not meet the world she lives in.
What’s refreshing is how Chinese medicine places all phases of a woman’s menstrual life of great importance. Each stage is a golden opportunities to balance the health and life of a women.
Entering Winter
Like many women, ignoring ourselves and our menstrual health is exceedingly common, putting the needs of others before ourselves, leaves us frazzled, overworked and overstimulated. This extreme behaviour tends to be idolised in our modern society.
The lack of quiet restoration during the first week of a monthly cycle or the deep rest needed during the first month of postpartum can eventually lead to an overwhelm of symptoms during the perimenopause and the menopause itself.
This transition asks us to enter into winter, grieve the loss of your fertile abundance, accept our aging and slow down to receive restorative rest, to make good of our golden opportunity.
Second Spring
Spring always arrives after Winter, the power of release and restore during this transitions allows for the tendrils of new life and hope to emerge. The second chapter is one of liberation, often it’s the first time for women to let go of the responsibilities to others and allow for capturing our inner essence and mild eccentricity and where have the opportunity to turn procreation to creation.
Each woman has the opportunity to tap into the well of potent potential awakening latent creativity and getting in touch with a sense of spirituality, each adding depth to her vitality and health.
Perimenopausal Symptoms
Just some of many
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The menopause transition is a roller coster of delicate emotions arising. A women’s experience is full of judgement, criticism from many aspects of life. Old parts of ourself that have been swept under the carpet rise up during this time. Anxiety and Depression are common during this transition.
Five Element Acupuncture is extremely effective for imbalances in mental health. It’s common for many of us to experience time of anxiousness or low mood, perhaps a mix of the both.
There often other emotions such as fear, grief, anger, worry and sadness at the heart of anxiety or depression, my aim is to find the root cause of why this emotional block is current and help releasing them whilst giving you tools that to support you emotional health.
These blocks commonly affect your physical health, so not only do you feel better in yourself old ailments will also leaving you feeling much better in your body too.
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Hot flushes and night sweats can last long into post menopause. Having fluctuations of hormones, or imbalance of yin and yang energy as well as any latent, repressed or emotional blocks, such as anger, grief, or the inability to slow down and put yourself first can make these unbearable hot flashes, redness of the face gather momentumn.
This leads to uncomfortable surges of heat and sweats that arrive multiple times a day, to constant hot and cold, feeling drenched during the night, disturbing the sleep and waking every few hours.
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Intermittent or constant, migraines and headaches can be debilitating and show signs of deficiency and blocked energy, the lack of kidney energy that depletes over the course of women’s seventh life cycle as well as latent, repressed emotions such as anger and resentment make for imbalances in energy leading to unpleasant headaches and migraines
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Emotional blockages form when resisting what is, becomes a regular way of coping with uncomfortable life circumstances. Whether you are suffering from unprocessed grief, resentment, irritability or shame and guilt, continued denial, avoidance or dismissal of your reality will accumulate blockage within your body and spirit.
Five Element Acupuncture, clears blocked energy in mind body and spirit, allowing for you to clear and allow the flow of emotions
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Are very common, as the body asks for more and more rest.
Finding ways to restore and repeat with breathwork, acupuncture, movements that support nourishing rest to bring balance back to energy levels
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I can help relieve aches and pains received from an injury, held tension or wear and tear with Acupuncture. I am able to support the physical flow of the body whilst also helping relieve any held emotions trapped in the muscular skeletal system.
By treating you holistically we hope to relieve aches and pains at the root cause.
What to Expect in an Acupuncture Appointment?
On your initial appointment, I will take a full history of your physical or emotional health complaint and find out more about you and the systems of your body such as your sleep, digestion and your monthly cycle. This appointment is 90 minutes allowing plenty of time for your consultation and treatment.
Pulses
After your consultation, you will be invited to get comfortable lying down on the coach whilst I’ll listen to your pulses to discern the quality, balance and strength of your energy whilst noting their flow and any blockages. I will take readings of your pulse throughout and at the end of your appointment.
How Acupuncture Works
In each appointment, I will use super fine needles at particular points on the body, which are related to your element that is in need of rebalancing, to either clear or tonify your energy to be in flow.
I often describe energy as water that’s either blocked like a damn in the river or deficient like a trickle from a hose pipe. Flowing water is what’s always needed to create flourishing life.
Each point can be thought of as a gate that is opened to allow energy to flow. When are energy is flowing fully it creates a connection to mind body and spirit. From this place of embodiment we are at ease and joyful content.
*Read more on my FAQ’s regarding Acupuncture at the bottom of the page.
Modalities Used In Your Appointment
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Is used in almost all appointments, it has an immediate and effective shift in your energetics by clearing any blocks and supporting underlying deficiencies. A mix of differing modalities can be used such as fine needles and moxibustion, cupping, guasha or manual bodywork therapy. Which are clearly explained before proceeding.
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Within an appointment it’s common to tackle issues as they arise. I actively listen to you, so you can be heard in a safe non-judgemental space.
I use intuitive coaching techniques and invite an open dialogue, with specific questioning for you to gain clarity into why or how things have come to be, this provides a deeper sense of what your core values are, your behavioural traits, limiting beliefs and your elemental vices and virtues are too.
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Our face reflects our true spirit. It displays our personal history, our tendency towards behavioural patterns and our personality traits. They express past traumas, emotional blockages and health conditions as well as your unique talents and abilities, your underlying strengths and a deeper insight into your true nature.
By witnessing you and your lived experiences from your features and markings of your face, old wounds and traumas that have been immovable from our conditioned past begin the process of healing.
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Breathing is essential and free energy for mind and body. Observations of disordered, restricted of held breathing are shared to you during your appointment. I will guide you with breathwork techniques to regulate and support the organ of receiving and releasing whilst encouraging you with your own practice to support your energetic flow.
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At times I will also share channel led movements, that coincide with breathwork to help open blocked energy channels or depleted energetic organs, enhancing the free flow of your energetic body.
These along with any breathwork practice are yours to use outside of your appointment that enrich the quality of your being, whilst also putting you in touch with your intuitive bodily wisdom.
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It’s common for me to leave you with some gentle enquiry or practice to bring into your everyday at home, reinforcing our appointment and deepening your connection to your energetic body-mind.