Do you agree that too much energy can be a bad thing? Too much energy, a side effect of hormonal swings, can be negative, due to menopause getting out of control. Conversely, if you think that an abundance of energy is a good thing, consider this — for some women, when the body’s energy collects in an organ, it gets congested there. Getting stuck is one reason menopausal women suffer so much discomfort during this time of their lives.
Yin Yang Balance for Menopause: The Korean Tradition of Sasang Medicine. / Gary Wagman, 2019. Published by Healing Arts Press, a division of Inner Traditions International. 374 p. including Index, Notes, Appendix, Bibliography. Illustrations in black and white.
Author Gary Wagman, a licensed acupuncturist, translated a treatise by a Korean doctor, Lee J-Ma, which informs this book. Wagman also wrote Your Yin Yang Body Type, published by Inner Traditions in 2014.
Whether menopause is the issue, or not…
Energy is what our physical body needs. Although in this book you’ll focus on menopause, Wagman’s recommendations for balancing energy can be applied generally. Once we’re informed about our body’s type, we can greatly ease distress. This relief gives us the edge we need to control energy that has gone haywire.
You’ll read why menopause is important to a woman’s body, the tips for controlling its affects on us, and remedies — both herbal and food intake — that soothe and protect your system.
Our bodily systems—circulation, respiration, digestive, excretory, etc.—usually function well together. But for some adult women, female hormones can intervene with the flow of energy and cause havoc. Both congestion and deficiency result. This condition is basically due to an imbalance of the hormones in control of bodily fluctuations in temperature.
An abundance of energy
An abundance of energy can stagnate and congest an organ. Congestion can cause pain, insomnia, depression, fibroids, bladder issues, muscle weakness and foggy brain. Because body types can vary, energy flow —the give and take of energy — is vital to health and well-being.
While we can accept this as true, just knowing it doesn’t make menopause any easier to withstand. But menopausal discomforts can be alleviated, according to Wagman.
In Yin Yang Balance for Menopause, Wagman discusses nine different conditions that can trouble a woman during her menopausal years. These are hot flashes, osteoporosis, depression, insomnia, urinary and bladder problems, uterine fibroids, frozen shoulder, libido changes, and brain fog.
Yin Yang Balance
As indicated in the words yin yang balance, author Wagman offers a way out of the misery that so many women endure. He says that in fact there are several tools at our disposal that can help lessen the occurrence and intensity of hot flashes, incidents of depression and insomnia, etc., etc., that torment many women.
Wagman examines the conditions of menopausal discomfort within both Western and Eastern medical contexts. He offers tips to avoid or reduce the discomfort. Among these tips are meditations and mantras, acupressure points, dietary, exercise, and herbal supplement suggestions.
Because he believes maladies have an emotional component, he urges readers to take a fresh look at menopause. Wagman says that his mentor, Lee Je-Ma, a Korean doctor of medicine, discovered that human beings can regain health through an enlightened attitude towards the mechanisms of the body.
What is Sasang medicine?
Lee Je-ma invented a theory of medicine called sasang medicine. Sasang means “four” and sees each human body as representing one of four physical shapes. These four physical shapes predispose a person to certain health conditions.
In other words – each body type naturally has some strong and some weak organs.
Sasang medicine sees four bodily organs–the lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys–as the most crucial when it comes to circulation of energy within. When a body’s physical shape predicts which bodily organs are naturally strong and which are weak, it is easy to anticipate the discomfort that can ensue in menopause.
Through questionnaires, you’ll discover your Yin or Yang body type. This is crucial because it’s at the heart of any remedy for menopausal distress. Learning what you are made of and which remedies to use helps you control feelings of panic when inconveniences happen.
Heat and the Energy of an Herb
The energy of an herb can raise or lower heat in the body. Or, it might neutralize the temperature. With the concept of Yin Yang, herbal energetics become more and more important when choosing the right remedy for a person’s discomfort.
A Yin remedy for brain fog might include essential oils of Lavender and Eucalyptus, while a Yang remedy is stated as Peppermint and Japanese catnip. For depression, watery-type herbs are recommended for the two Yang (fire-hot) body types described in the book. And for insomnia, roasted barley tea is good for the Yang body type-A, along with Goji berry, plus mantras and meditations. Yin types (cool to cold constitutions) need to relax and let go, allowing the liver to do its job. Thus, Chamomile and Valerian teas are suggested.
Yin Yang and Good Digestion
Further, your Yin or Yang body type is key to discovering your very own digestion requirements. It’s like having a customized diet plan that works! Author Wagman says that the right food choices can stimulate health and well-being, while poor choices conflict with your goals.
Not good, right? However, if you eat right for your Yin or Yang type, you’re helping yourself to digest well, and thus to a healthy life. Read more about the foods that are right for your body type in Your Yin Yang Body Type published by Inner Traditions Bear & Company.
My favorite action steps in these chapters are the illustrated acupressure points. Most of these points occur on our hands or feet. They’re no different from acupuncture points that a licensed acupuncturist uses during a medical appointment. Anyone can use acupressure points with their finger tips and get good results, if directions – which are quite easy – are followed! Instant pain relief is the outcome for your efforts!
With Yin Yang Balance for Menopause by Gary Wagman, I feel inspired to do some body-typing of my own. Whether menopause is the issue, or not. Because of his advice, I now get a sense of how much our bodies change through the years. And because energy moves us, change is inevitable. But we can respond positively. And, I believe getting connected to what’s happening to our bodies is the path to well-being.
Go online to Sasang Medicine to discover more about the author and his offerings which include physical exercise routines for the body type you are.
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