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Nancy Sutton's
“Poise, Strength, Endurance... Yoga.” Redding, CA 96001 (530) 246-7256
FYI: Holidays we observe by closing our studio are: New Year's Day, Memorial Day Weekend, 4th & 5th of July , Labor Day Weekend, Evening classes on Oct 31st, Thanksgiving weekend, and two-weeks at Christmas . Summer Schedule began on June 1st! ...Fall classes begin Sept 1st! |
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MENOPAUSE: IT'S ABOUT BALANCE
The medical community is evolving its understanding of menopause. Following the abrupt, early halt to the HRT portion of the Women's Health Initiative last July, due to findings that Hormone Replacement Therapy's risks outweighed its benefits, headlines now read "Menopause is not a disease, but a normal part of life." Hormone "replacement" therapy (HRT) has become simply hormone "therapy" (HT) in recognition of the fact that replacing estrogen is not natural and brings dangerous side-effects, rather than the fountain of youth once touted. Shocking and novel as these concepts may be to today's medical community, they are nothing new to Maharishi Ayurveda, a consciousness-based natural medical system from ancient India. For over 5000 years, Ayurveda has acknowledged menopause as a natural transition, not a mistake of Mother Nature's that requires hormone replacement therapy. Maharishi Ayurveda reassures us that menopause can be health-promoting, spiritually-transforming and free of troublesome symptoms. Experts today are affirming this positive view of menopause, stating that it is not natural to get weak bones, heart disease and rapid aging after menopause. Rather, osteoporosis, heart disease and other chronic health problems develop over a lifetime, resulting largely from poor diet, stress and lack of physical exercise. And hormone replacement therapy (HRT,) once heavily promoted as the medical solution to these problems, is no longer recommended for their treatment or prevention. Menopause: A "Balance Deficiency" What is recommended for the prevention of major health problems after menopause is a healthy lifestyle. And, according to Ayurveda, healthy living is also the best way to ease symptoms of the menopause transition itself. How balanced, or overall healthy you and your lifestyle are when you reach menopause largely determines how smooth your transition will be. If you are "burning the candle at both ends" in your 30's and early 40's, you are more likely to have mood swings, sleep problems and troublesome hot flashes when your hormones start to change. Whereas if you are have healthy lifestyle habits and are managing your stress effectively, you are likely to breeze through menopause without any major problems. Health problems at menopause represent imbalances in the body that were already growing in the body and are unmasked by the stress of shifting hormones. Menopause symptoms are Nature's wake-up call to let you know you need to start paying more attention to your health. Age forty-five to fifty-five is a critical decade, according to Ayurveda. It provides the foundation on which your later health is laid. Just like putting money in your IRA, timely investing in your health can dramatically increase your "yield" of healthy years at midlife and beyond. Particularly if you have not been taking care of yourself in your 30's and 40's, making lifestyle changes now is critical to ensuring that you age gracefully without the burden of chronic health problems. What You Can Do Now to Get "In Balance" While eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise provides the foundation of good health for everyone, each woman's menopause experience is unique. Symptoms vary from woman to woman. Knowing precisely how your body is out of balance can guide you in selecting the key lifestyle changes you should make to relieve your symptoms. Ayurveda describes that the type of symptoms you have depends upon which bodily principle or dosha is "out of balance" in your mind/body system. There are three bodily principles: movement and flow (vata or airy), heat and metabolism (pitta or firey), and bodily substance (kapha or earthy.) And there are three basic types of imbalances relating to each of the three doshas. Easing your menopause transition can be as simple as "reading" your dosha symptoms and taking measures to get your doshas back in balance. Take the "Your Menopause Quiz" below to find out your imbalance type and for practical, personalized tips to help you get back in balance. Your Hormonal "Backup System" Ayurveda describes that your hormonal changes at menopause will be smooth and easy if three factors are in place. • Your mind/body system (consisting of three doshas) is in "balance." • Your diet is wholesome and rich in phytoestrogens. • Your body is "clean" and uncluttered inside so your hormones and body can "talk" effectively. Did you know that your ovaries and adrenal glands continue to produce estrogens and "pre-estrogens" after menopause, providing your body with its own hormonal backup system? Ayurveda describes that this hormonal production after menopause will be optimal if your mind and body are "in balance," providing just the right amount of estrogen to prevent hot flashes and keep your bones, skin, brain, colon and arteries healthy without increasing the risk of breast or uterine cancer. Balancing your doshas, as discussed above, is the first approach to ensuring optimal hormone production after menopause, but Ayurvedic herbs can also help. Indian asparagus root (shatavari; asparagus racemosus), thick-leaved lavender (chorak; angelica glauca- related to the Chinese female tonic Dong Quai,) licorice root, sandalwood, pearl, red coral, rose and others are used by skilled practitioners in balanced, synergistic combinations to help relieve hot flashes, libido problems, irritability, mood swings and other menopausal symptoms. Hormonal Help from Plants--It's Not Just Soy! Diet also plays a key role in balancing hormones during and after menopause. It is well known that Japanese women rarely experience hot flashes, probably because their diet contains large amounts of soy, a food rich in certain plant estrogens called "isoflavones." Soy products are not the only source of plant estrogens, however. Another equally healthful source of phytoestrogens are "lignans," compounds found in a variety of whole foods including grains and cereals, dried beans and lentils, flaxseed, sunflower seeds and peanuts, vegetables such as asparagus, sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic and broccoli and fruits such as pears, plums and strawberries. Common herbs and spices such as thyme oregano, nutmeg, turmeric and licorice also have estrogenic properties. It turns out that if you simply eat a varied diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dried beans you will be ingesting a rich phytoestrogen feast in your daily cuisine! Variety and moderation are important because just as too much estrogen is unhealthy after menopause, too much phytoestrogen may also be dangerous. This danger can be avoided by getting your phytoestrogens naturally from a variety of whole foods, rather than from supplements or concentrated tablets. When You Can't Stop Flashing, Get The "Lead" Out! More serious symptoms, such as frequent hot flashes, continual sleep disturbance, and moderate to severe mood swings, are signs of deeper imbalances that, if left untreated, will persist to set the stage for later disease. For these more troublesome symptoms to manifest, the tissues of your body–your bones, muscles, fat, organs, skin, and blood–must be disturbed in some way. Ayurveda describes that stubborn symptoms are usually due to the buildup of wastes and toxins, referred to as "ama," in your body's tissues. For example, hot flashes that won't go away despite herbs, diet, exercise, and perhaps even HRT usually represent a problem with ama. One of my Ayurvedic mentors explained it this way: When your body's channels are clogged with wastes, the heat from metabolism builds up in your tissues. Hot flashes result from sudden surges in blood flow as the body tries to clear the channels and dissipate the heat buildup quickly. A similar phenomenon occurs when you have a heater set on high in an overheated room with all the windows and doors closed. To cool down the room, first you must turn down the heater (see Tips for P-Type above) but you also need to throw open the windows and doors (as in removing the ama) so the heat can flow out. We can understand this analogy medically in terms of hormone receptors. No matter how much estrogen or phytoestrogen you have floating through your bloodstream, it does you no good unless it connects with your body's estrogen receptors, the tiny "keyholes" on your cells. Estrogen and phytoestrogens fit these keyholes like minuscule keys and through them gain entry into your cells. When the receptors are clogged with debris or "ama," your hormones cannot get into your cells to do their work. Then bothersome menopause symptoms may persist despite a variety of attempted therapies. In this case, a traditional Ayurvedic detoxification program referred to as Maharishi Rejuvenation Therapy (MRT), or "panchakarma," may be needed to clear the body's channels and gain relief. This internal cleansing approach is also the treatment of choice for more serious problems such as osteoporosis and high cholesterol. A study published in a recent issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine confirmed that this ancient technology of herbalized oil massage, heat treatments and mild internal cleansing therapies does indeed reduce toxins in the body. Hormone disrupting PCB's and pesticides such as DDT were reduced by approximately 50% after just 5 days of treatment. Other studies have shown overall reduction in health symptoms, a rise in "good cholesterol," and reduction in free radicals from MRT. In my clinical experience, MRT can be very transforming, eliminating symptoms while at the same time dramatically reducing stress and fatigue. After a week of treatment, my patients not only report feeling much better, they radiate health and youthfulness and many experience a profound sense of well-being and inner peace. It's Not Too Late The important point to remember at midlife is that health problems don’t pop out of nowhere when your estrogen levels start to fluctuate and fall off. Rather it is the cumulative effects of damaging lifestyle habits--late nights, fast food, eating on the run, lots of stress, too little exercise--over decades that set in motion chronic disease and aging well before menopause. Your symptoms are simply telling you just how out of balance you are. The good news is that with a few basic lifestyle changes, and the healing power of Maharishi Ayurveda when needed, underlying imbalances can be resolved, paving the way for a smooth menopause transition and great health in the years to come. Your Menopause: A QUIZ Do you have any of the following menopausal symptoms? To understand how to apply Ayurvedic principles to improve your health at menopause and beyond, you must first identify which dosha imbalance lies at the root of your symptoms. The first step will be to take the quiz below. Begin by putting a check by each of the symptoms below that applies to you. VATA IMBALANCE _____Vaginal dryness _____Anxiety _____Mood swings _____Dry skin _____Constipation _____Hot flashes _____Feeling cold or cooler than normal when not flashing _____Forgetfulness _____Crying spells _____Tension headache _____Irregular Cycles _____Urinary urgency or frequency _____Heart Palpitations _____Fluctuating blood pressure _____Insomnia _____Joint or muscle aches _____TOTAL PITTA IMBALANCE _____Hot flashes _____Feeling warmer than usual when not flashing _____Heavy Bleeding _____More days of heavy flow than usual _____Migraine headaches _____Anger or irritability _____Increased bowel movements or loose stools _____Skin rash or acne _____Unpleasant Body Odor _____Urinary tract infections _____Night sweats or sweating during the day _____TOTAL KAPHA IMBALANCE _____Excessive weight gain _____Fluid retention _____Breast swelling or fullness _____Abdominal heaviness _____Stiffness in the body _____Lethargy _____Feeling lazy or lack of motivation _____Elevated cholesterol _____Yeast infections _____TOTAL Understanding Your Results Add up the checks you made for each dosha. Whichever dosha received the highest score is the dosha you are most in need of balancing. After tallying your score, follow the two key recommendations listed below for your respective dosha imbalance. See Dr. Lonsdorf's new book, A Woman's Best Medicine for Menopause: Your Personal Guide to Radiant Good Health Using Maharishi Ayurveda (McGraw-Hill, June 2002,) for deeper understanding and a complete, personalized natural health program for your menopause. If your score was highest for vata, your vata dosha is mainly responsible for your menopause symptoms. Follow the two key recommendations for vata-balancing listed below. If your score was highest for pitta, your pitta dosha is mainly responsible for your menopause symptoms. Follow the two key recommendations for pitta-balancing listed below. If your score was highest for kapha, your kapha dosha is mainly responsible for your menopause symptoms. Follow the two key recommendations for kapha-balancing listed below. VATA: TWO KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BALANCING YOUR VATA Key #1: Establish a Regular Daily Routine. Keeping your vata balanced is key to calming your mind and emotions, good digestion and elimination, good sleep, and slowing the aging process. Vata dosha governs your nervous system and all of your bodily rhythms. "High maintenance" women who by nature are sensitive to their environment tend to vata imbalance. Keeping a regular routine of an early bedtime and regular meal times helps to keep you feeling balanced and even by aligning your biorhythms into a harmonious and coordinated flow. In Ayurvedic terms, regularity balances your vata. A variety of scientific studies attest to the fact that regularity your mealtimes, bedtime, and waking time dramatically influence the inner rhythms of our hormones, blood pressure and even body temperature (i.e. important for hot flash reduction!) Establishing regularity in your sleeping and eating can help ease wild swings in hormones during the perimenopausal phase, as well as relieving anxiety, insomnia, cravings, irregular bleeding patterns, memory problems, constipation and bloating. Key #2: Eat Mainly Warm, Cooked, Wholesome Foods. Besides eating your meals on time according to a regular schedule, the most vata balancing principle of diet is to favor warm, cooked foods. Vata is cold and rough. To balance vata, you need to increase warm, moist and even unctuous foods. Reserve salads and raw vegetables for small servings “on the side,” carefully avoid stimulants such as caffeine, and also cold drinks, iced desserts, and other cold foods. While hot drinks and spicy foods can trigger hot flashes directly, too many cold foods and drinks can lead to gas, bloating, weight gain, constipation, anxiety, and joint aches and pains. PITTA: TWO KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BALANCING YOUR PITTA Key #1: Eat and Drink A Cooling Diet Keeping in mind the popular saying, “you are what you eat,” and the ancient Ayurvedic principle of similarity, “like increases like,” you might guess that consuming a lot of hot drinks and hot, spicy foods would increase your inner heat and trigger hot flashes. That is certainly is the experience of many women. In Ayurveda, foods and drinks that increase heat in the body are referred to as pitta aggravating, and those that reduce heat are referred to as pitta pacifying. If you scored high on the pitta scale in quiz above, your diet should be pitta-pacifying, or heat-reducing. In the Vedic approach, there are two basic kinds of heat. First, there is thermal heat, the kind that feels warm to the touch like hot tea or a hot casserole. Hot liquids, such as tea, coffee, and soups can trigger hot flashes instantaneously due to their heat increasing effects and should be avoided if hot flashes are a problem. Secondly, there is chemical heat, the kind that is created by caustic substances, such as acids or alkalis. If acid were to spill onto the skin, the resulting burn could be as serious, or even more, than a burn from fire. A pitta-pacifying diet emphasizes foods that are innately cooling to the body, not just thermally, but also chemically. These foods help to eliminate the unhealthy buildup of excess acids and other toxic byproducts of metabolism. Juicy, sweet, and alkaline vegetables and fruits are best. Favor zucchini, cucumber, yellow squash, broccoli, asparagus and green leafy vegetables; all melons, pears, sweet grapes, plums, apples, mango, and coconut; as well as spices with gentle diuretic and cooling effects, such as coriander, fennel and cilantro. Avoid chemically heating, inflammation-promoting foods like tomatoes, salsa sauce, vinegar-containing foods, hot and spicy condiments, alcohol, caffeine, sugary desserts, fried foods and sour fruits. Also avoid aged cheeses, yogurt, and meat. To help put out any "fires" that may still spring up, be sure to drink plenty of fresh, pure water every day! Key #2: Chill Out Mentally As with all the doshas, pitta can be seen at work both in the physical body and at the level of the mind and emotions. When balanced, pitta creates mental clarity, a focused mind, and energy to accomplish what you need to do. But unbalanced pitta can create frustration, impatience, irritability and anger. Many women find that being mentally and emotionally “ on-edge” is a set-up for increased hot flashes, and can trigger flashes directly. Habitual or chronic anger aggravates pitta, and vice versa. When we find ourselves stuck in anger or irritability, we can expect there is an ongoing imbalance in pitta. Women who are prone to pitta imbalance tend to be highly ambitious and perfectionistic. The first rule for mentally and emotionally balancing pitta is to keep your goals and ambitions in balance. Don’t expect too much too quickly and set yourself up for frustration, disappointment and anger. Practice careful time management to avoid working under pressure. Be sure to schedule in time to relax. Learn to bite off only as much as you can chew and say no to an overload of either work or social activities, wherever you have any control. And above all, maintain your regularity of routine—especially mealtimes. Skipping or delaying your meals is an immediate trigger for irritability and hot flashes in a pitta type women. KAPHA: TWO KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BALANCING YOUR KAPHA Key #1: Arise early every morning. According to MAV, the 24 hour day is broken down into six four-hour periods, each ruled by an alternating dosha in a repeated cycle. The time you awaken in the morning, depending on which particular dosha rules that time period, can make a big difference in your day. From 2 to 6 AM is vata time, with qualities that are light, quick, moving. By 6 to 10 AM, it is kapha time, associated with the qualities dull, heavy, and sluggish. Ayurveda tells us that the quality associated with the start of an action affects the quality of whole action. This can be summarized in the aphorism, well-begun is half done, and means that if you start your day during vata time, you’ll be more alert—light, quick and moving—for the entire day. If you start between 6 to 10 AM, your day will have the quality of kapha—heavy, dull and sluggish. This tip can help you to have more energy and be more productive in your day. The longer you sleep in during kapha time, the longer kapha accumulates, making your eyes puffy, your sinuses congested, your joints stiff, your thinking foggy. If you don’t get out of bed until 9 AM, the urge to reach for your morning coffee is hard to resist. To overcome this tendency and get yourself up earlier in vata time, go to bed earlier the night before. Fall asleep no later than 10 PM. Then, getting up at 6 or 7 at the latest will be easy, and you’ll see it make a difference in what you get done during the day! Key #2: Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. Women prone to kapha imbalance tend to be motherly and generous, but constitutionally heavy and prone to weight gain. This is because kapha dosha is slow moving and tends to sluggishness and inertia. Therefore, exercise and staying active is of paramount importance. The latest research on fitness and health indicates that as little as 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a day can give you the many health benefits of exercise, including shedding excess weight and fluid, reducing stiffness and sluggishness, improving your mood, memory, complexion and energy, and lowering your risk of most diseases. As a kapha type, you are prone to sluggish fat and sugar metabolism and overweight (what modern science calls the "metabolic syndrome,") and may well find that you need more than 30 minutes of daily exercise to feel great and lose weight quickly. You will also make quicker progress by avoiding the "high glycemic" foods such as refined sugar, sweets, white flour, pasta and potatoes, which are especially fat-promoting if you have a kapha imbalance. |
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