FUNCTIONAL PMS: A GATEWAY TO TRANSFORMATION
Perhaps you're reading this because you are among the many menstruating women who feel hijacked by hormones for 2 days to 2 weeks out of the month. Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) vary from person to person and can include irritability, depression, lethargy, tiredness, food cravings, acne, bloating, rage, brain fog and more. Often, it looks like an exacerbation of any other issues that you experience throughout the month, ie. your migraines get worse, your irritable bowels become more irritable, etc. Read on to explore this part of the menstrual cycle, to examine the role these symptoms might play, and to understand how acupuncture can help decode and reduce PMS.
WE VARY THROUGHOUT THE MONTH
The menstrual cycle, much like moon phases and seasons, has variation throughout— generating, building, flourishing, breaking down— each movement leading into the next, each having a different tone. The end of the cycle, or premenstrual phase, is marked by a drop in the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Naturally, this feels much different than the points in the cycle when those hormones are more abundant. Energetically, this phase is more yin (think quiet, dark, passive) in relation to the yang first half of the cycle in which energy, creativity, and vitality are flourishing.
ACKNOWLEDGING OUR SHADOW
This yin phase of the cycle is a brush with our shadow side on a monthly basis; our soul, our body, and our mind without embellishment. That which is in us throughout the month is laid bare in this time… the symptoms that are either non-existent at other times or much less severe suddenly take over and call out for attention. The manifestations of PMS are signposts for the imbalances in our system and ignoring them or looking for a quick fix in any form will only delay the process of shifting the energy.
A SACRED TIME
The premenstrual phase is an amazing opportunity for transformation on a monthly basis. Acknowledging the sacredness of this time and approaching it with compassion and reverence sets the tone for shifts to take place. This can look like slowing down and taking more time out for ourselves. A meditation ritual in which we actively sink into our bodies and ask what we need makes space for suppressed aspects to speak. This is how we can begin to decode the symptoms and listen deeply to their stories.
A CONDUIT OF TRANSFORMATION
A large part of the work is discerning what is underneath our symptoms. Fortunately, acupuncture has a sophisticated system to decode the manifestations of our body and emotions, one in which the highly individualized cross-section of your symptoms often make perfect sense. Within Chinese medicine, of which acupuncture is one branch, the capacity for fine-tuned individualized treatment is as infinite as individuals. One person’s pre-menstrual depression may be the result of a spleen imbalance and someone else’s can be attributed to the lung, or someone’s headaches might be linked to frustration (qi stagnation) while another’s has a feeling of overwhelm and apathy (qi deficiency.) This is just a couple of examples, but the idea is that there is enormous capacity for depth with acupuncture, making it a perfect tool for bringing about the kind of transformation our bodies are calling out for with PMS.
IN TREATMENT
In the philosophy and practice of Chinese medicine we can begin to unravel and re-harmonize. The act of making an acupuncture appointment is a powerful first step of beginning to heal. You are bowing to the sacredness and saying that you are willing to slow down and listen to your body. Then, the exchange between patient and practitioner— the deep listening, discerning of a treatment plan, and the quiet that happens when the needles are inserted, begins the process of transformation. In time, you will see your symptoms shift, and more likely, your life shift because the symptoms have been given a voice and obstructions are cleared as you listen to the promptings of your deepest self.