A Woman’s Cycle: Balancing Hormones with Acupuncture

A woman’s menstrual cycle is a complex and beautiful thing, but something that many of us could stand to know more about. Choosing to learn more about our body’s wisdom and natural cycle helps us to understand it more completely, and thus feel more empowered to make choices that help us feel balanced and in the flow. As an Acupuncturist, I meet many women seeking more ways to find balance and health. There are plenty of natural choices you can make on a daily basis to ensure you continue to feel vibrant, joyful, and healthy, no matter what time of the month it may be. Chinese Medicine looks closely at the various phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle to understand the inter-connected nature of yin/yang, and how acupuncture and Chinese herbs can encourage the healthy transformation of Yin/Yang occurring with each cycle. This article is a guide as to how Chinese Medicine views the menstrual cycle, and how Acupuncture can balance a woman’s Qi/Energy, Blood, Yin, and Yang, can help her find her natural rhythm once again.

From day’s 1-14, a woman is in the Yin half of her cycle, leading up to ovulation, the fertile time. Day 1 is the first day of menstruation, and approximately Day 1-5 or 1-7 of this Yin phase is when a woman has a healthy menstrual blood flow to shed the uterine lining that is no longer needed, because no egg has been fertilized. The start of a woman’s menstruation is often associated with the new moon.

Of course, not every woman has an exact 28 day cycle, our cycle’s vary depending on many different factors, but I speak in terms of the menstrual cycle in four parts of seven days each, for the sake of this article. The following image is helpful for understanding the process I’m talking about.

Week two begins the proliferation phase, when the lining of her uterus builds up once again to create a welcoming space for a potentially fertilized egg. This phase is considered very Yin, because it involves the uterus filling up with blood and being nourished by these fluids.

The Yin phase is an excellent time to nourish Yin and Blood through Acupuncture so that they are full and abundant and ovulation can occur. Additionally, one can observe the estrogenic hormones during this Yin phase, and recognize the correlation between estrogenic-phase hormones and Yin/Blood phase. Estrogen levels must be reached for ovulation to occur, and Acupuncture accomplishes this by treating Yin and Blood.

Right around day 14 marks the fullest part of Yin phase, when the uterus is nourished and protected; this time coincides with a woman’s ovulation, her fertile time. Ovulation is the time when Yin transforms into Yang, as demonstrated by the mature egg being released from its follicle. The egg travels down the fallopian tubes to the uterus where it has the potential to implant in the uterus and be fertilized. Chinese Medicine views this time as dominated by the movement of Qi and blood, and Acupuncture treatment focuses on encouraging this natural movement occurring in the woman.

Now we have entered phase 2 of the cycle: the Yang phase, which is dominated by progestogenic hormones. Progesterone helps warm and dry the fluid in the uterus to make the most welcoming place to facilitate an embryo’s development. A woman’s basal body temperature is slightly higher, which makes sense, since Yang is associated with warmth, sun, light, and dryness, as opposed to Yin’s cool, moist, dark, nature. Yang must be strong for the uterus to be warm and welcoming to the embryo, and to encourage its healthy development.

This phase now represents the fullness of Yang, and is often associated with a Full Moon. If the egg is not fertilized, we witness yet another transformation of Yang back into Yin, as the uterine lining begins to shed again, and another healthy menstrual flow begins.

Chinese medicine looks at this cycle in terms of Yin and Yang, Qi and Blood, to encourage a balanced transformation of all of them throughout this healthy process. As an Acupuncturist also look at each woman’s individual constitution which contributes to create her own unique cycle. I seek to understand her unique presentation and tak it into account with each Acupuncture treatment, in order to achieve balance in body, mind, and spirit. Utilized in this way, Acupuncture can help to balance a woman’s cycle, relieve PMS symptoms, and help increase fertility, as well as improve overall health and well being.