Related to hormonal imbalance in women, traditional Chinese medicine states that our energetic body is governed by two principles, yin and yang energy.
This energy can be likened to feminine and masculine energies, respectively.
The balance between these two determine the overall flow of a person’s natural state of well being. We aim to keep this balance.
Our physical bodies are directly interwoven between yin and yang, and an imbalance between one will affect the other and results in physical ailments and eventually disease.
Women’s bodies are governed more predominately by yin energy and men more predominately by yang energy, although both are vital for the balance for both males and females.
The endocrine system is a messenger delivery system that regulates the internal balance we feel with regards to our emotions, motivations and keeping our organs in healthy working order.
The endocrine system is the physical representation of the energetic balance of yin and yang in our body.
When we have an imbalanced yin our ability for self-nourishment and relaxation is negatively impacted, and if we have an imbalance of yang our ability to be motivated, engaged and self-confident are negatively affected.
What Causes Hormonal Imbalance in Women?
The modern work environment of increasingly sophisticated technology and constant engagement is nothing if not a yang environment.
Woman are finding themselves in ever increasing roles in hierarchical and fast-paced jobs, and so are interacting with a lot of yang energy on a daily basis. This has helped women take more control over their lives but the price is an even greater need for yin energy to balance themselves.
The increased demand upon women to perform yang related activities very often leads them into high stress situations and the need to be constantly vigilant.
This predictably has a negative effect on balance, which negatively affects their menstrual cycles, their mood and their ability to metabolize nutrients from food.
The demands of work activities, and the new culture of remote work — which is the invasion of the office into the home environment — thus creates a vicious cycle of relentless yang energy at the detriment of yin.
Translated into endocrine system language, stress-related hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are not being balanced by restorative ones such as estrogen.
Symptoms of a imbalances caused by excessive yang energy include restlessness, disrupted eating patterns and metabolism which causes weight gain, irritability, painful menstrual cramps, and even insomnia.
When yang hormones are experienced disproportionally not only does the physical body pay the price but one’s psychological state begins to show signs of dis-ease.
Women can do great and inspiring things, but they need to first feel great about themselves and their surrounding physical and psychological environment.
With depleted yin energy their capacity to nourish themselves leads to sensations of emotional isolation and chronic fatigue, and not only does she suffer but those around her will suffer.
So a society of over-worked women isn’t good for anyone, least of all for her own wellness, and when she’s suffering her ability to help and nourish others is significantly reduced.
How to treat hormonal imbalance in women
Sometimes the best thing to do during stressful and overstimulating situations is to simply do nothing.
Women who are unable to stop working and enjoy an hour or two of just lying in bed or on the couch, away from their phones, emails and work demands, will have a much more difficult time allowing their bodies to rejuvenate themselves naturally.
While it may seem unproductive and a waste of time to the yang side of her brain, for the yin side there is nothing better than allowing rushes of energy to dissipate.
A yoga or meditation practice is one of the best ways to nourish yin energy in both males and females, as it gives time for our bodies to rest while allowing our minds the space to allow pressures of day to day life to resolve themselves without extra mental efforts.
Coffee is a stimulating drink and so energizes our yang, so decaffeinated teas go a long way towards allowing the body to rest.
The Woman’s Tonic by Medicinal Foods is a unique formula designed to nourish yin energy by combining all-natural and organic herbs used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. This yin-centric combination of herbs are ground into powder and can be stewed as a tea or put into a juiced smoothie.
White Peony
One of the most beneficial ingredients in the Woman’s Tonic is White Peony. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the energetic seat of a woman’s blood circulation is the womb, and White Peony is a flower that is used to nourish the womb and balance blood flow within.
Women with painful cramps during menstruation, and excessive or irregular blood flow, are often prescribed White Peony because it contains a compound called paeoniflorin that helps break down excessive testosterone and converts it into estrogen in the ovaries.
The reduced amount of testosterone in the ovaries greatly improves the efficiency and regularity of ovulation.
Longan Fruit
Another important ingredient that regulates female blood circulation is the fruit of the Longan tree.
Longan is famous for its reputation for enhancing the radiant glow and beauty of a woman, in part because of its ability to nourish and repair blood cells and tissue, and also because it helps with female libido and sex drive. It is one of the three “beauty berries” in Chinese herbal tradition.
Lycium
Popularly known as goji berry, Lycium is the second sister of “beauty berries” and also nourishes the female reproductive tract.
It is often used to treat women with reproductive disorders and menopausal symptoms, such as tightness and soreness. It works as an antioxidant and stimulates blood production, immune functioning and reproductive secretion.
Schisandra
To complete the three “beauty berry” sisters in the Women’s Tonic formula is Schisandra, an all-around fantastic herbal remedial. It contains all five flavor profiles in a single berry and thus contains a diverse array of therapeutic qualities.
It has a beautifying effect on the skin, is anti-inflammatory, relaxes the liver functioning, producing a calming effect on the mind for clarity, and also improves female libido and sexual drive.
Yin energy can become lost in the fray in the face of our modern work culture and thus should have an even more important role in taking care of our yin and yang subtle energies.
The Woman’s Tonic is specifically designed to address hormonal imbalance in women by re-balancing the yin feminine energy and is a rare formula.
It combines difficult to acquire and ancient herbs proven to revitalize a woman’s need for deep, purifying rest and relaxation.
