You are made of Essence. In Chinese Medicine, they call it Jing. And for females, Jing cycles in years of seven.
So, what is Jing? Dr. Lia Andrews describes it as “concentrated creative power that is passed to us from our ancestors and parents through the egg and sperm; through our DNA. Our Jing acts as our reserves of energy and is related to our hormonal and reproductive functioning. The quantity and quality of our Jing dictates our ability to manifest in this world.”
Each cycle of 7 is a sort of gateway where we have opportunities to potentially enhance vitality or wreak havoc on our constitutions. At each 7-year bridge, there’s an acceleration in our maturation and many changes occur. In addition to this, we have what’s called the “Three Golden Opportunities” that greatly influence our health. They are Menstruation, Postpartum and Peri-Menopause. You can read more about them here. How we perceive, experience and embody these “opportunities” reflects not only our reproductive wellness, but also our overall vitality.
These cycles are the key to understanding our relationship with our changing physiology throughout our lives. Let’s take a look at each 7-year cycle.
Birth to 6: You are the manifestation of ancestral inheritance. Do you know your birth story? How was your development? How was your health, digestion, immunity? Were you breastfed? Were you loved and cared for? What are some of the stories around your early years?
CYCLE ONE: Age 7-13 - How is your foundation? This is your Wood phase, the place of your roots. Your kidneys are starting to strengthen and is slowly building up to abundance. Do you feel secure? Do you feel a sense of self? Were you taught about boundaries and creating sacred space? What health practices were passed onto you?
CYCLE TWO: Age 14-20 - Fire Phase; Menarche. This phase is characterized by emotive experimentation and connections. At what age did you first bleed? Were there feelings or emotions around that? Was there a conversation about what is happening? Were you taught about your body and your fertility? What were your menstrual care practices?
CYCLE THREE: Age 21-27 - Height of physical development. The Earth phase. Do you have a sense of secured sense of self? Were you abundant in nourishing relationships? What were you most attached to? Did you explore your sexuality? Did you practice self cultivation? How was your hormonal health? Were you taught shadow work? Where is your power?
CYCLE FOUR: Age 28-34 - Full maturity. Peak of Vitality. Are you in full bloom? Do you have children? How was your postpartum experiences? Is your body strong? Are you flourishing?
CYCLE FIVE: Age 35-41 - Rejuvenation. The early prep for menopause. At 5x7, our hormone production (qi & blood) starts to shift. Earth cycles into Metal. This cycle is about reflection and refinement. What is, and what is not working for you? We can work to slow the change even more by adjusting our lifestyle to more reservation vs activity; more nourishment vs depletion. What was your mother’s and grandmother’s experience into menopause?
CYCLE SIX: Age 42-48 - Continue to prepare for the pause of menses and Detoxification. Life reveals itself to you as we near the end of our reproductive cycles. Metal energy is still strong as it pushes you to examine your wounds and traumas so that you can move forward with grace. How do you feel? Do you feel depleted from overexertion and taxation over the years, or do you feel vital and stable from strong rejuvenation rituals and practices?
CYCLE SEVEN: Age 49-55 - Water Phase. Crone. Wisdom Keeper. Our work here focuses on honoring the end of our reproductive cycles. The blood that was sent down to your womb every month, now gets redirected up to your heart to nourish your spirit. What are your feelings surrounding this ending? How are you experiencing the change and transition? Are you turning to tonics? Do you practice longevity exercises? How are you sleeping? Shifting mindset; the gift of death.
CYCLE EIGHT & BEYOND: The Rebirth - Second Spring. What do you want to cultivate in the second half of your life? What do you want to birth? Are you ready for expansion? Obligations shift from out to in. Do you still honor your menstrual cycle and create a ritual around the full or new moons?
What cycle are you in?
In health,
Kris of The Way of Yin
Movement as medicine, cleansing as rebirth, and flow as liberation: these are the sacred gifts of Spring. February holds the delicate threshold between stillness and movement, between the deep Yin of winter and the rising Yang of Spring. Can you feel it? The shift in the air, the faint call to stretch, to grow, to shed? How is this transition echoing within your body? What whispers of change is it sharing with you as the seasons turn?