 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
Avant-Gardening:
Insights by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
A Woman's Beauty
by Robin Rice,
Shaman & Author
Wisdom Walks
In Circles
Margret Lewis,
Shamanic Practitioner
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
Juliet's Marketing Wisdom
by Juliet Austin, MA Marketing Coach, Author & Consultant
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
News Briefs
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
Lose Weight Permanently: Stop the Endless Cycle of Dieting
Rena Greenberg,
Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming & Hypnotherapist
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Healing & Alternative Health: |
|
|
Dry Vagina
|
|
|
by Susun Weed |
|
|
An excerpt from New Menopausal Years, the Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90 by Susun Weed
Available at www.ashtreepublishing.com
“You have been wet and fertile at the will and whim of your body for most of your years, great- granddaughter,” murmurs Grandmother Growth. “But you have Changed. You grow moist with readiness for play now only when you truly desire it, not at reproduction's dictates. Have no fear that your springs have run dry. If you consciously call up your flood of pleasure, it will answer. This is one of my greatest gifts to you, young Crone. No longer will you be accessible to those who do not inspire love and trust in you. The great portals of life, your womb, your vagina, now serve only you, now open only at your bidding.”
Step 1: Collect Information
We are given two contradictory pictures of post-menopausal sex. On one hand, we're to look forward to freedom from conception worries, resulting in more spontaneous, relaxed, joyful sex filled with multiple orgasms. On the other hand, we're to expect dried-up, atrophied vaginas and dyspareunia (painful intercourse).
Thinning and drying of the vaginal tissues in the post-menopausal years is often first noticed during sexual activity when the expected lubrication is slight or absent. Is this normal?
Yes; almost all post-menopausal women will experience a lessening of sexual lubrication. No, you don't have to give up your sexual self. Crones know there are many ways to ecstasy besides intercourse, and many ways to be slippery when we want to be.
Step 2: Engage the Energy
Homeopathic remedies include:
• Bryonia: root chakra overheated and dry, dry vagina, dry stools/constipation
• Lycopodium: lack of root stability, vagina very dry, self-confidence withered, skin dry
• Belladonna: vagina painfully dry and too sensitive to tolerate touch
This yoga posture sounds simple, but requires concentration. Squeeze the anal/pelvic floor muscles firmly while inhaling; hold. Breathe out, holding the root lock and add a chin lock. Hold for two seconds. Visualize the nectar of the universe flowing down your spine and between your legs. Relax as you inhale.
Slowly, slowly. Give yourself plenty of time to warm up before inserting anything into your vagina.
Step 3: Nourish and Tonify
Eat more fat, especially foods rich in essential fatty acids, such as flax seeds. Most women find 2-3 tablespoonsful/30-45 mg of freshly ground flax seed daily enough to create a noticeable difference in a few weeks.
Comfrey root sitz bath (two quarts/liters of the infusion) is an old favorite for keeping vaginal tissues flexible, strong, and soft. Sitz for 5–10 minutes several times a week.
Drink more water, not more tea or coffee or juice or soda . . . water. Or boil a small handful of rice in two cups/500 ml of water to make a thin broth regarded as an ideal internal moistener for women with dry vaginal tissues or dry mouths. Drink freely.
As part of your love play, chew on a small piece of dong quai root.
Pause for the soothing cooling touch of chickweed tincture, 25–40 drops in water, several times a day for 2–4 weeks, and see if your hot, dry vaginal tissues don't smile moistly.
Increase lubrication and the thickness of your vaginal walls by starting your day with: 25 drops of motherwort tincture or 1 tablespoon/15 ml freshly ground flax seeds. Look for results within a month.
Acidophilus capsules inserted vaginally help prevent yeast infections and create copious amounts of lubrication. Insert one (or two) about 4–6 hours before lovemaking.
Comfrey ointment is the ally of choice when skin needs flexible strength. Rub in the morning and night and use as a lubricant for love play. The vulva will be noticeably plumper and moister within three weeks.
If you have access to slippery elm, try this soothing vaginal gel. Slowly heat 2 tablespoons/30 ml slippery elm powder in a cup/250 ml of water, stirring until thick. Cool (you can even chill it) before spreading over and inside the vulva and vagina. This gel lubricates, heals, and nourishes.
Exercise, exercise. Every part of your body will age more gracefully if you work it out regularly. That goes for your vagina and vulva, too. Weekly orgasm is the recommended exercise, but daily pelvic floor exercises tonify the vaginal tissues.
Step 4: Stimulate/Sedate
Avoid the problem! Try sex without intercourse.
Ointment made from wild yam is said to restore youthful moistness and elasticity to post- menopausal vaginal tissues.
You are more likely to be troubled by vaginal dryness and the loss of lubrication if your adrenals have been exhausted by overuse of coffee, alcohol, and white sugar; severe stress, or steroid/cortisone drugs.
Herbalist Rina Nissim suggests applying the essential oil of Salvia sclarea to vaginal tissues that have lost their elasticity. Dilute with olive oil; pure essential oils can be fierce on sensitive mucous surfaces.
Step 5a: Use Supplements
Daily doses of 100–600 IU of vitamin E for 4–6 weeks can help you increase vaginal lubrication. You may need to continue with your daily dose for months to maintain your juiciness. Experiment to find the lowest effective dose for you.
Astroglide™ is favored by those who like to have slippery fun.
Step 5b: Use Drugs
Polycarbophil, the active ingredient in Replens™ pulls water into vaginal cells to restore and maintain healthy lubrication. It also increases alkalinity in the vagina, reducing vaginal infections.
Estrogen creams really do revitalize vaginal tissue. But may increase risk of endometrial cancer more than oral estrogen. Occasional, rather than regular, use minimizes risk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Susun Weed,
Healer
|
 |
Susun S. Weed has no official diplomas of any kind; she left high school in her junior year to pursue studies in mathematics and artificial intelligence at UCLA and she left college in her junior year to pursue life.
Susun began studying herbal medicine in 1965 when she was living in Manhattan while pregnant with her daughter, Justine Adelaide Swede.
She wrote her first book -- Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (now in its 29th printing)-- in 1985 and published it as the first title of Ash Tree Publishing in 1986.
It was followed by Healing Wise (1989), Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way (1992), and Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (1996).
In addition to her writing, Ms Weed trains apprentices, oversees the work of more than 300 correspondence course students, coordinates the activities of the Wise Woman Center, and is a High Priestess of Dianic Wicca, a member of the Sisterhood of the Shields, and a Peace Elder.
Susun Weed is a contributor to the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women's Studies, peer- reviewed journals, and popular magazines, including a regular column in Sagewoman.
Her worldwide teaching schedule encompasses herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, psychology of healing, ecoherbalism, nutrition, and women's health issues and her venues include medical schools, hospital wellness centers, breast cancer centers, midwifery schools, naturopathic colleges, and shamanic training centers, as well as many conferences.
Susun appears on many television and radio shows, including National Public Radio and NBC News.
This article is an excerpt from "Healing Wise" by Susun Weed, who graciously granted us permission to bring you this reprint.
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
www.susunweed.com
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
