menstrual care tips with tcm
TCM mentions three golden opportunities to radically improve your health: menstruation, birth/postpartum, and menopause, suggesting that the way you care for yourself during these transitions shapes how you will feel in future.
Set yourself up to thrive during your menstrual cycle and beyond with these self-care recommendations.
fertility-forward living
If you’re thinking about conceiving in the near future or want to live a fertility-forward lifestyle in hopes of having a family later on in life, now is always a great time to start preparing your body for having a baby. Ultimately, preserving our fertility means cultivating whole-body health, balancing our menstrual cycles, and optimizing follicle development, ovulation, and implantation.
Read on for a few tried-and-true recommendations on how to begin your fertility journey.
navigating sad
Depression and SAD are common in Northern latitudes. The Canadian Psychological Association reported that 15% of Canadians experience mild forms of SAD and around 2-3% experience SAD severely. In 2022, 7.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older experienced a major depressive episode in the past year.
Here are a few battle-tested strategies to combat the winter blues.
enduring winter
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the watery winter season is attributed to the the kidneys, which are the source of Yin and Yang and house our willpower. In this season of storage and conservation, where we protect our precious resources - mainly our Yang, the warmth of the body - in preparation for the rest of the year.
Read through a few TCM-inspired strategies to help you endure the cold season and keep warm this winter.
leaning into fall
Late summer marks a subtle transition from the extroverted spring/summer months to a more quiet, internal, contemplative energy that characterizes the colder seasons. As we enter the fall, we acknowledge the work we’ve put in during the active seasons, and slow down to take stock and harvest the fruits of our labour. As light hours diminish, we find ourselves seeking the warmth and comfort of our homes and families once again to regroup, recalibrate, and replenish.
Attune to the late summer and ease your way into autumn with reflection prompts and 5 tips to nourish your Earth element.
thawing the freeze response
One of the often unacknowledged responses of the sympathetic nervous system is the “freeze” response in the presence of a real or perceived threat. Many of us go days, months, perhaps even years going in and out of the freeze response, complicating chronic illness and/or depression and making it challenging to care for ourselves, be effective in our work, and show up in community.
So, how do we thaw the freeze response?
spring into wellness
Spring is a time of renewal and growth, a season that mirrors our own potential for transformation. As the world around us awakens, so too can we awaken to our full potential.
Read through a few TCM-inspired strategies to help you cultivate wellness in the spring time.
