In Ayurveda, women are held in high esteem because they contain the primordial feminine power that makes creation possible in the first place. Every woman matures from a young girl to an adult woman and goes through important phases in her life, such as puberty and later the menopause.
These central transitional phases play a major role in Ayurveda, as the hormonal shifts have an influence on the doshas and personal needs, which every woman should be aware of in order to be able to adjust her life accordingly. Incidentally, it is not only women who experience the menopause. Men also experience hormonal changes in old age due to a drop in testosterone levels, which is known as andropause.
From the age of 40, women slowly begin to experience hormonal changes with a gradual decline in sex hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone. The premenopause describes the period between the first irregular menstrual cycles and the last menstruation and lasts on average around 7 years. The menopause is the time of the last menstrual period during the perimenopause; the postmenopause is when the last menstruation was 12 months ago and also lasts another 7 years. All in all, this is a very long period in which change takes place gradually, which every woman experiences very differently. A woman’s behavior in the years leading up to the menopause has a major influence: diet, lifestyle and stress play a key role in whether this transitional period can be gentle or whether more severe symptoms occur.
In addition to the physical changes caused by the change in hormones, a realignment also takes place on a mental level. During the fertile period, women are in the Pitta phase of their lives, which is characterized by creative energy. During the menopause, the Vata phase begins, in which mental issues and spiritual orientation come more to the fore.
To be able to accept this phase calmly and not constantly expect the same level of performance from yourself, it is important to come to terms with the different qualities in the respective phase of life and accept them for yourself. This is not so easy in an extremely performance-oriented society, where a certain appearance, inexhaustible vitality, high expectations of different role models and pregnancies are suggested as normal and desirable even at well over 40.
Ayurvedic support for the new phase of life
There are no specific descriptions or therapeutic approaches for the menopause in the ancient scriptures, as in some cultures the menopause occurs without any symptoms at all or is at least not as superficially present as in Western cultures. The pronounced symptoms that many women experience today are more the result of the modern, often very stressful lifestyle, an unfavorable diet and also the social imprint that menopause must be a difficult time.
It is therefore not primarily the hormonal changes that lead to symptoms such as hot flushes, depression, insomnia and weight fluctuations, but the permanent overstimulation of the body, which is then overwhelmed by the natural transition into the new phase of life. Pre-existing symptoms such as irritability, dry skin or joint problems are then more noticeable due to the increase in vata and pitta dosha and can develop into manifest illnesses.
In order to prevent these complaints, it is therefore advisable to give the body the opportunity to regulate itself again and again at a younger age by adopting a suitable lifestyle that is adapted to personal needs. Regular detox cures are also very helpful in ridding the body of metabolic waste products. On our blog you will find numerous articles with valuable tips for every constitution and depending on the season.
But what can you do if you are already in the middle of the menopause and suffering from various symptoms?
The basis for this is a balanced, nutritious diet that is freshly prepared, light and easily digestible. Mild spices such as cumin, coriander, fennel, cinnamon and saffron are ideal. You should be cautious with coffee, alcohol, very acidic foods, hot spices, food that is difficult to digest and raw vegetables. Cooling foods such as cucumber, melon and coconut water are a real blessing, especially in summer, when a lot of heat has built up in the body.
Overall, you will certainly notice that you need less food as the agni (digestive fire) becomes weaker. You should therefore eat less food, but it should be of the highest quality. In addition to a healthy diet, exercise and breathing are wonderful ways to have a balancing effect on the doshas and the hormone system. Hormone yoga, which regulates and stimulates the endocrine glands through certain pranayama exercises and targeted asanas, is particularly recommended and goes back to its founder Dinah Rodriguez. The Brazilian has designed 30-minute exercise sequences which, if practiced regularly, can counteract hormonal imbalances and alleviate symptoms.
In addition, Ayurveda recommends daily meditation to calm the mind and regularly make use of the beauty of silence with its regulating and harmonizing influence on all mental and physical functions. The technique of transcendental meditation is particularly suitable for this, the positive effects of which have been well documented by almost 700 scientific studies and which can also be optimally integrated into our hectic everyday lives thanks to its effortlessness and efficiency.
After a session of exercise, most people find it much easier to get into silence in order to meditate. In general, the morning is a very good time for meditation because the mind is still free and not burdened by everyday life. If you have no previous experience of this, try sitting in silence for five minutes and observing your inhalation and exhalation. It is perfectly okay if thoughts arise during this time. The aim of meditation is not to have no more thoughts, but to train your awareness to let thoughts go without judgment and to experience a state without thoughts in the healing silence – transcendence. A second meditation in the evening allows the impressions of the day to subside and at the same time provides new energy and freshness for the evening.
A gentle Ayurvedic oil treatment also helps to maintain physical and mental balance. Abhyanga means “to anoint with oil” and refers to a particularly gentle, careful and systematic oil treatment of the entire body with stroking movements, which has a nourishing effect on the skin, removes toxins, has a hormonal and emotional balancing effect, strengthens the nervous system and improves the quality of sleep. It can be performed in the morning to prepare for the day or in the early evening to wind down and calm the body, but not after sunset, as the metabolism then reduces in line with the time of day and the natural detoxification functions are reduced accordingly.
If you manage to incorporate the four pillars of nutrition, exercise, relaxation and sleep into your daily routine according to your needs, you have already done a great deal for your well-being and hormonal balance.
The important year before
Especially in the year before the onset of the female menopause, Ayurveda recommends detoxifying the body sustainably to prevent menopausal symptoms from arising in the first place; either with Maharishi Panchakarma, the systematic Ayurvedic deep detoxification, which is specially tailored by a doctor to the upcoming hormonal change; and/or with individual detoxification recommendations, also prescribed by a doctor, which help you to avoid menopausal symptoms from the outset.
Ayurvedic herbs for the menopause
In addition to the basic measures mentioned above, which should not only be taken into account during the menopause, there are of course numerous effective herbs that can also be used to support women’s health. Here you will find a small selection:
Shatavari
Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) is a plant that is traditionally considered an important remedy in Ayurvedic medicine. Translated, shatavari means “the woman who has a hundred men” and is particularly valued for its positive effects on the female reproductive system due to its many health benefits for women. Shatavari contains phytoestrogens, plant compounds that can balance estrogen levels in the body. This can help to alleviate hormonal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and irregular menstruation and balance the vata and pitta dosha. Due to its weight gaining quality (heavy and cooling effect), women with a Kapha excess should use Shatavari sparingly.
Ashoka
Ashoka is a valuable Ayurvedic herb that offers numerous benefits for menopausal women. Thanks to its hormone-regulating, anti-inflammatory and mood-enhancing properties, ashoka can help to alleviate the typical symptoms of the menopause and promote general well-being.
The bark of the ashoka tree is used, which is ground into powder or processed into a medicinal wine (arishta) and has a cooling and astringent effect on the body. Ashoka is therefore particularly used for pronounced Pitta complaints, such as hot flushes, heavy bleeding, endometriosis and shortened cycles.
Sariva
Sariva (Hemidesmus indicus), also known as Indian sarsaparilla, is a plant valued in Ayurvedic medicine for its cooling, detoxifying and blood-purifying properties. It is traditionally used to treat skin conditions, improve digestion and support general wellbeing.
Sariva also has a natural cooling property that helps to reduce hot flushes and excessive sweating.
To do this, you can mix 1 tablespoon of the powder with a liter of water and leave it overnight as a cold extract. The next day, simmer the liquid gently for 20 minutes, pour into a thermos flask and drink throughout the day.
Golden Transition I and II
In addition to individual herbs, Maharishi Ayurveda also offers complex preparations that are precisely matched to each other, whereby the individual ingredients interact synergistically and reinforce each other in their effect.
For the menopause, the combination of the complex remedies Golden Transition I and Golden Transition II is recommended, which provide the body with Vata- and Pitta-balancing herbs, minerals, iron, amla, licorice and myrrh, which have a hormonal and emotional balancing effect and can alleviate complaints such as mood swings and hot flushes. Ask your Ayurvedic doctor for his or her opinion on whether one or both preparations are ideal for you and how long you should take them, or whether there are other recommendations that will help you to make the menopause a time in your life that is worth living and free of symptoms.
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