If we can learn to listen to our bodies and tune into the cycles of nature, honoring them rather than dismissing them as illness, we can make simple changes to restore balance.
As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I am trained to refer to the natural world as a reflection of how best to balance the body, the mind, and the spirit. Women grow and move through a series of cycles, much like the annual seasons. While these shifts are natural, the transition from one to another often results in imbalances, which lead to symptoms that manifest physically and emotionally.
Too often, women are told that our emotions and life experiences are signs of illness, especially during times of natural transition like menarche, post-partum, peri-menopause and menopause.
If we can learn to listen to our bodies and tune into these cycles, honoring them rather than dismissing them as illness, we can make simple changes to restore balance. In indigenous cultures, the cycles of women’s lives were honored with ceremony and reverence. Women from all generations came together to share wisdom and experience and help each other make the journey. Community and connection were an integral part of every woman’s life.
This is the truth from which Ground and Sky is forged.