Feminine Immune System Care through the lens of Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine
Many of you have heard me teach about the value of resting while menstruating as a way to protect our health and especially the quality of our qi and blood in Chinese Medicine and agni & dhatus in Ayurveda.
What I haven’t discussed in a larger setting is the importance of managing sweating and cold prior to menses starts.
Sweating in CM and Ayurveda is used therapeutically in many circumstances, such as at the start of a cold. In Chinese Med, it’s said to help release the exterior or the protective outer layer of the body to help flush out any pathogen. However, if there is no pathogen needing to be flushed out and sweating is done at a time where the deep reserves (or interior) of a person is depleted then it leaves the body wide open for pathogens to enter and move deep. This usually results in more pronounced symptoms that are more difficult to shake.
Our society has so little support or education for the natural flow of feminine energy that shifts throughout her cycle. The idea that a woman would do the same workout everyday is very yang or solar/masculine in nature and not aligned with the rhythms of the female body and yet that kind of consistency is often praised or seen as goal worthy.
For menstruating women, when we exercise to the point of great sweating right before menses or are exposed to cold & wind right before bleeding, we are moving into risky territory, either leaving our immune system more vulnerable or potentially setting ourselves up to greater fatigue or pain with mense. Even though the loss of blood has yet to begin, the body is still starting to collect its energy more deeply inward and the more we can allow that inward or more yin flow, the more we can tap into the wisdom and strength that comes with it.
It’s only in more recent years that I’ve come to appreciate the heightened intuitive clarity that comes with menstruating, and it’s so much easier to listen to when we are able to be quiet and comfortable. Much of that comes from the way we set ourselves up for this special time of the month before it arrives.
So in this time where keeping our immune systems strong is top of mind, I hope you’ll add this piece of rest and warmth before and during menses to your monthly awareness.
For the men reading, I hope you’ll support the women in your life in feeling at ease in shifting their daily rhythm in this way.
While one might think that women would always feel relieved to hear this guidance (yay rest!), I often find it’s so different from what we’ve been taught to expect (or perhaps demand) from our bodies that it requires a psychological shift that can be quite challenging.
If you’re feeling that, you are not alone. Give yourself time to adjust. Often the health benefits that come with the shift help make the transition easier. And of course, reach out to women who have already lived this wisdom in their own bodies for 1 on 1 support.