It's happened to you or a friend. An emotional trigger or trauma completely messes up your period. It's late, or comes way too early, maybe cramping is the worse you've ever experienced or maybe your period completely disappeared since the emotional onset. Why does this happen? And more importantly, is there something you can do to get back to your cyclic harmony?
Your Heart, and by extension your breasts are intimately connected to your Womb. Your breasts act as a conduit of how you give and receive love. In Chinese Medicine, there's a channel called the Bao Mai (The Uterus Vessel) that connects your heart to your uterus; a direct link!! This explains the profound influence of mental-emotional triggers of the Heart and its effects on the Uterus. Basically, a broken heart can alter the connection of your Bao Mai! And, since we all process emotions differently, our experiences will be unique. Some of us respond with anger, some of us repress while others just sink deep in the grief.
There are many passages in ancient texts that talk about how different emotions affect our uteri.
For example, The "Simple Questions" in chapter 33 says:
"The Uterus Vessel pertains to the Heart and extends to the Uterus" and "When the period does not come it means the Uterus Vessel is obstructed".
Again, in "Simple Questions" chapter 44 says:
"Sadness leads to severance of the Uterus Channel: when this is severed Yang Qi is agitated in the Interior and the Heart causes menorrhagia".
The "Secret Record of the Orchid Room" says:
"Mental strain and stress weakens the Heart, Heart-Fire rises and the periods do not come".
Let's dig deeper, but first some definitions:
- Shen - Spirit
- Kidney Jing - The kidneys are home to our Jing; our essence (the most dense physical matter, similar to DNA). This is where are reserves are stored.
- Tian Gui - Menstrual Blood aka Heavenly Water
- Heart Yang - The warmth and movement potential of the Heart
Your heart houses Shen (your Spirit) and governs blood. It is said that the Heart Yang connects with the Kidney Jing in order to build (Tian Gui) menstrual blood, your heavenly water. So you can see that if something affects the energetics of your heart space, it cannot carry out its function of mutually binding with essence to build menstrual blood. Healthy menstruation, mental wellness and fertility are highly dependent on the state of your Heart (giving/receiving) as well as your Kidney Jing.
You often hear about how stress affects our health. Part of our health is our emotional well-being. So how can we cycle back into harmony once our periods are affected? Here's some strategies:
1) Acknowledge the Emotion: Talk to yourself via a journal or talk to someone else (a friend, a therapist)
2) Heart Breast/Womb Meditation: One hand over your Heart and the other over your Womb. Visualize the connection, focus on your breath sending love and free flow through the channel. Listening to music can help ease into the space.
3) Rely on your Rituals & Routines: The #1 thing you can do for your cycle harmony is to get back to normal routines and rituals. Your body, including your menstrual cycle thrives on rhythms. Start by monitoring your daily rhythms, the seasons, tracking your cycle and simply observing your states.
4) See your Acupuncturist & get on some herbs: Your acupuncturist has a way of seeing patterns. Because of this, they will know what can remedy the pattern; with acu-points, herbal formulas lifestyle and nutritional recommendation and more.
Caring for your Heart is Caring for Your Womb. Learn more about your cyclical nature by taking our self study e-course, Embodied Menstruation :: Menstrual Attunement.
Kris González is a Licensed Acupuncturist, herbalist, 養生 yǎng shēng (Nourishing Life Tradition) enthusiast, teacher, and founder of The Way of Yin – a profoundly inspiring educational hub that invites people to embark upon a journey of self-discovery, remembering the cycles, rhythms, and relationships that are foundational to our health. More information about Kris and her incredible resources can be found at https://www.thewayofyin.com.
