Are you feeling flustered because your body and mind no longer feel the same? The climacteric is not simply an inconvenience that comes with getting older. It is a natural process where the most fundamental life energy of our body, essence, gradually declines after passing its maturity. Donguibogam explains that when a woman reaches 'seven times seven, forty-nine years of age,' the conception vessel and Taichong pulse weaken, and the reproductive energy called tiangui begins to deplete.
Imagine if the rivers of life flowing inside our body are the conception vessel and the Taichong pulse; the source of those rivers is tiangui. When the water at this source gradually decreases, the rivers weaken and the surrounding land begins to dry up. As sufficient qi and blood fail to circulate throughout the entire body, uncomfortable signals start appearing here and there.
In particular, as the qi of the kidney weakens, the balance between water and fire easily breaks down, because the kidney serves as the root and source of life for our body. When the yin qi, the cool and stabilizing energy of the kidney, becomes deficient, the yang qi, the hot and active energy of the heart, relatively loses its restraint and surges upward. Just as steam spurts upward from a boiling kettle, symptoms such as facial flushing, where the face burns red, or night sweats, where heat rises at night preventing sleep, appear.
Furthermore, when qi and blood become deficient, the five viscera and six bowels cannot fully perform their functions. The liver in particular regulates emotions and oversees qi circulation; when qi and blood stagnate or become deficient, liver qi stagnation develops, making emotional fluctuations severe and symptoms like feeling depressed and irritable easy to arise. When the qi of the heart also weakens, the mind becomes anxious, leading to insomnia where one cannot fall asleep.
Donguibogam did not view these changes simply as an illness. It understood them as the body’s wise transition process, emphasizing the replenishment of depleted essence along with qi and blood, and restoring the balance of yin and yang. It tells us that by restoring the disrupted balance, we can pass through the climacteric more comfortably and wisely. Do not struggle alone; let us listen to the voices our bodies send and care for them together.
