In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that a woman* cycles through life every 7 years. The Kidney Jing, responsible for our puberty and eventual menopause, peaks at age 7 and continues to give us cycles of life until our moon days are over. In practice, this means various rituals including medicinal herbal and acupuncture treatments specific to cyclic stages of the ever-evolving woman. 

Unfortunately, much of societal demands today for working moms don’t support or celebrate the daily, monthly, yearly, demands of the female body. Our bodies are trained to send us micro-signals every day to reconnect, rebalance, or reset any identified disharmony, but too often we’re taught to “power through”. We schedule meetings during lunchtime, hide our period pain from our colleagues, and work late into the evening after the kids go to bed.

The demands of everyday life have forced us into a way of discounting our physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing. It’s obvious that this modern archetype does not promote the wellness of women, nor does it empower women to be the nurturing women they naturally are. 

Here at ORA, we want to bring to light a few Traditional Chinese Medicinal practices that celebrate and honor all women. 

• Nourish your Kidney Jing: in TCM food therapy, each organ has a specific color. For the Kidney, the color is black, so black foods such as black sesame, black beans, wild rice, black mulberries are all considered ingredients that can support the kidney’s vitality and can also prevent premature aging.
• For all the new moms out there, sit this one out. Postpartum self-care in TCM is a critical time to nourish your new body. After 8 full moons of growing a tiny human, the 9th moon is entirely for you, or otherwise known as the Sitting Moon in Chinese culture. It’s to sit, drink soup, and rest in bed. Focus on rebuilding your Qi, restoring your energy, and protecting your Kidney Jing. For more recipes and postpartum TCM selfcare, click here.
• Eat on time, at the same time everyday: most of the time it’s not just what you eat, but when you eat it. Ask yourself this, Are you nourishing yourself everyday? At the same time? The stomach and spleen are two critical organs in Chinese medicine physiology, most susceptible to imbalance which will lead to other long term health ailments. Alleviate any possible digestive stress by making sure you (and the family) are able to eat at the same time. Incorporate our Best Digest Tea to bring some meal-time ease.
• Cooking with mom: in Chinese tradition, cooking together and eating together at least once a week is very important. We give tremendous amounts of respect to the Mothers and Grandmothers in our lives, As a sign of respect, helping mom out in the kitchen is an important task. So don’t be afraid to make this a weekly ritual with the kids and family! 
• Celebrate your monthly moon with a foot bath: reconnect and honor your monthly cycle with ORA’s custom bath salts (coming soon!) or a warming ginger foot bath. The TCM approach to menstrual cramping is preventative self-care. Rub your feet with this DIY cinnamon foot scrub (recipe available) and place your feet in a warm-hot warm with 3-4 inches of sliced ginger. Do this for 3 days prior to your first day of flow.