The Sabbath of Women

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In the nineteenth century menstruation was viewed by physicians as one more sign of the inferiority and weakness of the female. However, there is usually at least a glimmer of truth in any ideology, and the physicians of the Victorian era were not completely wrong when they emphasized the importance of menstruation in women’s overall health; of the relationship between the womb and the psyche; of the wisdom of rest during the period. We have tended to reject all of this because it reminds us of the time when the lives of women were more controlled by men, and because it smacks of old arguments that kept women tied to the home and powerless in the outside world. We have also, quite rightly, rejected the idea that the natural processes of being female are a sickness. But to say that something is not a sickness, and to ignore it altogether–these are not necessarily one and the same thing. By ignoring menstruation, in reaction to the ideas of the Victorian era, perhaps we have lost touch entirely with a lingering thread of awareness of its value in women’s lives.

 

 



Spanish Dancer

In traditional Chinese medicine, there is a concept of the female life cycle called the Four Gateways. The first gateway occurs at menarche (the onset of menstruation); the second, at marriage (which to the Chinese really meant the onset of an active sex life); the third, in pregnancy; and the fourth, at menopause. During any of these gateway phases, a woman’s health is both more vulnerable and also more accessible to positive change. Her health can alter for good or ill at these times, depending on how well she cares for herself and on the quality of any medical care she receives.



 

Le violon rouge
 

No longer in emotional flux caused by cyclical hormones, after menopause you may well find yourself to be someone you like better, someone who is more stable emotionally, more understanding, more patient, and more kind. The biological and psychological freedom found post-menopause can also unleash creativity and allow for fuller self-actualization. Old fears and issues drop away and a sense of adventure about life can surge to the fore of your psyche. It can be a very good time to be a woman.