Ayurveda for a Smooth Menopausal Transition
Updated: Oct 4
Mount Sanai states that Perimenopause may start in certain women in their 30s, but typically it commences in women between the ages of 40 and 44. According to the same source, American women typically experience menopause around the age of 51, but it can happen anywhere from 40 to the early 60s. Regardless of what part of the process you're in, it's important to use menses as a vital sign of overall health and wellbeing, physically and mentally.
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Ayurveda for a Smooth Menopausal Transition
This means women may spend from their 30’s to their 60’s in some phase of the perimenopausal transition. YOWZA—that’s a big chunk of life. How we enter the initial phase of the perimenopausal transition is significant. In other words, we want a balanced cycle out of the gate, so that as changes begin to manifest, they are softer, not severe, and not a syndrome marked by years or decades of suffering. We want to do is to optimize the cycle now.
Your menstrual cycle influences how you feel in your body, mind, and emotions throughout your entire life.
Ayurveda helps bring your reproductive system back into balance, which can bring balance back to your entire life – sounds nice, right?
"Let's step back and clarify two terms. Perimenopause is the transition that concludes with menopause. What is menopause? Menopause is official when it's been twelves months since one's last cycle. It is at this point that we've graduated from "menopause university". As an alumna, I find that keeping a sense of humor goes a long way." --Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Ayurveda for a Smooth Perimenopausal Transition
The Ayurvedic Approach to Menstrual Health
Rather than treating individual symptoms, Ayurveda treats the whole person. In Ayurveda, menstrual health is a window into your overall well-being. The goal is not to control and suppress your symptoms, but to use them as guideposts pointing to the root cause of your dosha imbalances.
Your menstrual cycle influences how you feel in your body, mind, and emotions throughout your entire life. Ayurveda helps bring your reproductive system back into balance, which can bring balance back to your entire life – sounds nice, right?
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The Doshas and Your “Moon” Cycle
In the Ayurvedic tradition, as well as many others, the menstrual cycle and the doshas follow the moon through its roughly 29.5-day cycle. This is where the term “moon cycle” comes from.
Our human rhythms are tied to the greater movements of the universe. As we move through our menstrual cycle, the energy of the moon and the doshas ebb and flow within us.
· Beginning of Cycle: After a period of physical and psychological cleansing, Kapha rises in the body and we are settled, grounded, and content.
· Ovulation: In a healthy body, ovulation will begin as the energy of the full moon draws the egg from the ovaries. Pitta rises in the body, engorging the blood tissue in preparation for fertilization.
· Menstruation: If a person does not become pregnant, the period should begin at the new moon. A sudden rise in Vata sparks the menstrual flow – the start of a new cleansing process.
What happens to our whole being (mind and body) when we suppress the monthly natural cleansing?
With Ayurveda, we want to reduce or eliminate symptoms by rebalancing Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas. We want to nourish the female reproductive system and the whole being, through a 5,000-year-old, tried and true tradition of caring for women.
The Doshas and Ayurvedic Stage of Life
According to Ayurveda, there are three stages to life. Each stage of life is colored by each of the doshas-Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
The first stage is Kapha and occurs from conception to around the pre-teen years, in other words, childhood. The second stage is governed by Pitta and spans from teen years (start of the menstrual cycle for females) up until menopause. The third stage is governed by Vata up to our last breath and it's at this stage that Ayurveda for a smooth perimenopausal transition is key.
The shift from one stage to the next is not immediate, it is a slow transition and with one foot in the stage before, and the other into the next stage until the transition is completed.
“As a graduate of menopause university (well, that’s what I call it for myself), I want to share Ayurveda with women, to ease and support their perimenopausal transition. I want every person to know there’s a 5000-year-old system of knowledge of how to regain and maintain balance. What we want and need during this expanse of time-from menarche to menopause, is to feel our best mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Life transitions don’t have to be synonymous with suffering, syndromes, and diseases. Where we can alleviate or eliminate suffering and increase vitality and balance, let’s do it.”
--Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Ayurveda and Menstruation: The Perimenopausal Transition
The end of the menstrual cycle is a natural part of the aging process. Perimenopause is the beginning of a new cycle: the transition into menopause. It often begins between ages 40-45 but can start for some women as early as their thirties.
In Ayurveda, the perimenopausal transition is a shift from a Pitta to a Vata-dominated stage of life. While you may still get your period, the winds of Vata are rising – and change is underfoot.
Estrogen levels surge throughout the final reproductive years. These hormonal changes can disrupt the bioenergetic field as the body finds its new equilibrium – sparking lighter (or heavier) periods, lower libido, fatigue, and body aches. You may feel more anxious, stressed, reactive, or simply “off.”
It’s hard to over-emphasize just how important it is to balance your cycle through the transition into menopause. Perimenopause can begin as early as your mid-thirties, which means you spend a lot of your life in the final stages of your reproductive cycle. Don’t you want to feel your best for it?
Instead of easing into the later stages of life, most of us live Pitta-driven lives well into menopause. We slam through the decades with intensity, finally hitting a wall when our suffering becomes inescapable.
When we understand the Ayurvedic stages of life and how to balance Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas, we can support the energetic changes underway.
Related Reading: Ayurvedic Doshas and Their Impact on Your Life | The Dance of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
Possible Signs of Perimenopause
Every woman experience perimenopause in their own way and signs and symptoms vary.
Moon cycles changes: cycles may get further apart or closer together
Night (sometimes drenching) sweats
Mood changes (“I don’t feel like myself anymore”)
Body feels stiffer (“I feel older than I should.”)
Increase in urination
PMS-ish symptoms
Bone loss
Change in cholesterol levels
If this looks familiar, please keep reading.
Related Resources: Ayurveda and Menstruation – Creating a Healthy Flow How to Cool Pitta and Reduce Body Heat with Ayurveda Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day
"How to Keep Your Cool" is an invitation to transform your menstrual cycle... and while you're at it, transform your life. From menses to menopause, you deserve to keep your cool. This guide will show you how.
“Oh my gosh this is an amazing book! The WORLD NEEDS THIS!!!”
--Dr. Melissa Persons, Minnesota
A healthy cycle is one we don't know we're getting apart from it arrives on time and there is a balanced flow for our dosha type. If you feel like you're in some part of your moon cycle most of the month, have clots, heavy flow, migraines, PMS, or other symptoms, consider the possibility it does not have to be that way. Through a comprehensive Ayurveda consultation, balance may be restored.
There is a saying, "the mind is more in the body than the body is in the mind." The Saumya 3 Step Process helps to shift us from fight-flight-freeze mode, to rest-restore-relax mode. Give it try for forty days and note what you observe. The more grounded and relaxed we are, the smoother life flows.
"The breath is the connection between the mind and body, so by training the breath, we become calm, focused, and grounded, we slow down the aging process by decreasing stress. These practices are so simple and easy to have as part of our daily life. We actually feel and look younger."
- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
There is a saying, "The mind is more in the body, than the body is in the mind." The Saumya 3 step meditation process shifts us from fight-flight-freeze mode, to rest-restore-relax mode. Give it a try for forty days and observe the changes. The more grounded and relaxed we are, the smoother life flows.
1. Learn Diaphragmatic Breathing and Change Your Life. When we re-learn to breath diaphragmatically, we move from the flight-fight-freeze mode, to rest, restore, relaxation mode from where we want and need to abide.
2. Daily Guided Practices: 11 minutes in the morning and in the evening, as anchors of your daily Ayurveda routine.
3. Ayurveda Daily Routines: --Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day
"Choose a couple of practices from the routines that provide you with the greatest support. Perform them while applying our two minute meditation technique and your mundane tasks, just transformed into a mellifluous meditation. This is meditation applied to daily life." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Explore more subtle body yoga practices: Ayurveda Breathwork Pranayama
“After six months with no period and increasing concern, I am happy to report that my periods are completely regular. With just two months of Veena’s treatment, they are almost symptomless except for mild cramping. I am feeling very good and well balanced overall. My skin has improved as well. I am looking forward to doing the cleanse with you this spring. “ – A.K., Minnesota
“I sought support from Veena related to irregular menstruation, skin issues, and overall stagnation. After a comprehensive assessment, Veena provided an intuitive yet simple plan that included recommendations for gentle changes to diet, daily routine, and a few herbal supplements.
The changes were profound. I had not had my period for six months and after four weeks of following Veena's suggestions, my period returned and has been regular since. Veena's approach works with available resources to make sure that change happens on a deeper level than medication can reach. I am so grateful for her help and would recommend her services!”
-Anna, St. Paul, Minnesota
“Veena has been a dream to work with! I came to her with a number of concerns around my digestion, skin, and menstrual cycle, and she has helped me find so much improvement in all areas and more!” – Meg McNeil, Boulder, Colorado
"I was struggling with mental and physical symptoms, including my cycle, that my doctor had no answer for. I thought I was going crazy and just making symptoms up. With Veena’s guidance, herbs, and diet changes, I soon realized that my symptoms were very real. After making the changes, I made small victories along the way and became better with each appointment. Now, almost 6 months later, I am a completely different person. I still have some things to work on, but with Veena's help – I know I'll be able to take control of my health." - Maria Fumagalli, San Diego, California
Psst! Our clients say it best – so read and watch more of our client's stories.
Ayurveda for a Smooth Menopausal Transition
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We all want to be heard, understood, and cared for as whole beings, not a set of isolated symptoms. True health is more than the absence of disease, which is why Western medicine so often leaves us feeling hopeless and unseen.
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MEET VEENA: YOUR AYURVEDIC GUIDE
Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
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