Female health and sexuality

As a TCM student, I paid much attention to the problems of the female health. Such as infertility, menstrual disorders and the menopause. It is well-known that TCM helps women to become a mother by increasing the succesful rates for the IVf with as much as 60%. Which is very much...

Also, a TCM therapist can use acupuncture and herbs for improving the regularity of the menstruation,helping against the pain and making the whole period smoothly. I used to help several teenagers whose period wouldn't come for months, causing pains, irritation and lack of concentration at school.

At the moment, quite many of my patients are ladies who suffered from the menopause and: slept badly, were tensed, unhappy, had hot flushes and much sweating all the time. Sometimes they dould take artificial hormones but even this didn't help them properly. Several sessions of acupucnture and visceral massage, with a support of the Chinese herbs, can do miracles for such patients.

Another theme coming quite often is that of the female sexuality, in other words: lack of libido, lack of sexual energy. Does it have any connection to the female health?

Some women have quite a low level of estrogen in their blood from the very beginning of their life as women. They found themselves lucky when they are heavy pregnant or breast-feeding: then they have a legitimate reason not wish any sex with their partners. Otherwise, they have to either accept the invitation without any own interest in it, either have quarrels at home. There is always a third option: the husband finds somebody else for sharing his passion. In this case, a family can live a long life... without sex at all.

Some women lose their interest in sex after having children, as a result of a working pressure or a sickness. And one of the most sadly known reasons sounds as follows: 'You are bad, you did bad, you've hurt me,  I have to punish you... no sex for a week, a month, two months...'

Women think that they punish their partners, but they punish themselves. Because the sexual energy stops flowing after such 'games'.  First a woman can be totally into her kids, her house, her business... And then, she can notice that her period gets very heavy, doesn't come regularly, is more painful... One day she goes to the doctor and hears that she has something not so nice in her womb or tubes... She needs an operation. And then... her urge in sex is completely gone: so much pain, fears, and she is still hurt: it was her partner who has caused all of this. Even if she doesn't say it loudly, unconsciously she can blame him.

Why do I write this? Because I know that emotional problems very much can influence the female sexuality and then - female health.

Once I read a book about some tribe in the Far-East of Russia. A shaman wwas singing a song:
  ' First the woman's breast is needed for a lover to play with,
after that, it is needed for nursing a child,
an older lady doesn't need a breast...'

Right now, I thnik: how cruel are these words. And how we schould pay attention to this idea: if a woman decides that 'she doesn't need her breast for a lover to play with' - because she is a little bit older and her children are big... then,. she can loose it. And her womb, too: I know many women who did.

We always have a choice: to be a woman, before all another roles, or just to sink into the social roles and don't enjoy our sacral sexuality. As a matter of fact, TCM can increase your hormonal level and even help you to express your sexuality much better. But the problems in your head an be only solved by yourself. If you want it back, ther is (almost) always the way!

Healthy life... what does it mean?

Because of my work as a TCM therapist, I have yo ask people about their life-style. Many of them proudly tell me that they 'eat very healthy, do lots of sport, never get cold'. My question is: why do all these people seek a treatment if they live so healthy?

Our TCM teacher, Dr. Li Jie once told us that, compared with the old times when people mostly suffered and died from 'hot and cold deseases', now it happens from the stress and impurity.

Stress is something what you probably can understand. It's a heavy reaction on problems and especially a habit of keeping the ill thoughts about it on your head for a very long time. Such thoughts would poison your system and spoil your happiness with their bitterness. But also too much joy can be a stress. It is well known that people can die from a very big unexpected joy. I heard that this happens because we borrow the energy for expressing such a joy from our future. If there no enefgy left, the life ends.

The impurity: what did Dr. Li mean? He said: 'Monodern people wash and clean themselves from top till toes very good, but inside, they pollute themselves with chemicals, artificial food, hormones etc. And they don't cleanse their blody from inside'.

Some people are busy with detoxing. The same people who tends to eat healthy. they would detox their intestines, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system. And it can work good for them. But one thing I noticed with such people: as a very eager and passionate houswife who cleans her house day and night but never fill it with love and warmth of her heart, these persons also don't feed themselves, they only detox.

To feed yourself doesn't mean giving yourself food. It means: giving attention, warmth, really feeling your body and appreciating it.

Once I received a message from a guy who tries to follow a spititual path in his life. He asked me if it was allowed to take one spoonful of honey with a herbal tea while detoxing. 'Why not?' I asked him.
'But... honey is food. When I do fasting, I have to avoid food...' (I have to explain: this guy is very merciless for himself and his body as well, he also works too much, still doesn't have much money because he gives excellent massages almost for free, has serious helth problems and doesn't have a partner). Again, I asked him: why do you have to avoid food? His answer was: 'If I eat, food draws too much attention to my body and takes away my energy which I need to reach the enlightness'.

What can I say? I know the guy for a long time and I see where his ideas have brought him. He tries to avoid food, sex and all the kinds of pleasures on the Earth, trying to get enlighted. The history tells about some people who were able to reach the state of samadhi. But... how can you reach it if you are hungry, angry, unhappy and hate yourself???

That's why I try to tell the most eager followers of the 'healthy path': learn how to celebrate the life, give attention to your body AND to your soul, and please don't do any extremal things if you don't have enought energy and can't maintain your energy level for some time. Be kind to yourself. Small steps are the most useful ones!