Lesson 2
Menopause by Design
What makes the Ayurvedic approach to menopause different?
An introduction to key concepts so you understand why the recommendations work so well.
Actions Steps
Watch Video 1 Here
Watch Video 2 Here
Include short decompression rituals throughout your day
Make a list of activities that help you shift out of stress and into “Rest & Digest” mode. Within this, create 3 categories:
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- 1 minute – quick breather
- 10 minute – decompression ritual
- 1 hour or more – deep dives for depositing energy into your energy bank
Every day: Use the 1 min & 10 min practices
Every week: Do one deep dive longer practice
Examples of activities that might help you shift from action mode, to rest & digest mode:
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- rub oil on your feet or head
- meditation
- do a yoga stretch
- go for a walk
- follow a tai chi or qi gong video
- give (and receive!) a cuddle
- take a bath
- work on an art project or craft
- do alternate nostril breathing
- lie with your legs up the wall
- have sex
- do yin yoga
- exercise to the point you clear your mind from stress
- smell an essential oil
- do puzzle or wordgame
- hit or shout into a pillow
- hold a marma pressure point on the head, face, feet, hands
- do a tapping sequence
- do a set of 30 squats
- put on your favorite song & have a dance party
Read about increasing Ojas
Ojas: The refined nutritive essence
Basics about Ojas
- Ojas is the most refined nutrient essence in the body
- It is the essence of all the body’s tissues
- It is a fluid
- it is responsible for health, vigor, energy in body & mind
- It gives you your vitality, bodily strength, an immunity
- It does not get easily vitiated – its normal physiology only gets disturbed with long exposure to factors escalating disease progression
- So, if it is disturbed, it is a priority
Qualities of Ojas
- oily
- steadying
- heavy
- soft, cool, calm,
- clear whitish yellow, color of ghee, luminescent (plus a little reddish)
- moving and liquid in nature
- gives bright lustre
- sweet to taste
- gives strength
- clearing
- relaxing
Locations
- Primary location: the heart (8 drops). The ojas that resides in the heart controls and nourishes the mind. You must understand: in Ayurveda the heart is the seat of the mind. The heart is indispensable for healthy mental and physical functions
- Secondary location: 2 handfuls inseparably infused throughout body
Functions of Ojas
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- balanced muscular growth
- protects the heart
- gives immunity & resilience
- clarity and peace of mind, satisfaction, ease
- mental and physical power to carry out any task without getting defeated by the obstacles
- deep commanding voice and glorious skin lustre
- proper and utmost efficiency in the sense and action organs
- gives good memory
- fertility- it forms the most refined cells and embryo
Signs of strong Ojas
- the functions listed above are strong
- fertility- formation of most refined cells
Signs of decreased Ojas
- person is easily stressed, fretting, worried
- fearful/anxious
- constant worry
- highly sensitive in thoughts or sensory organs, even with pain
- less power in muscles
- dryness, roughness
- bad complexion
- low feeling or depressed
- emaciation
Stages of depleted Ojas
- Ojo visramsa
- joint pain and loss of strength in joints
- fatigue
- increased Vata, Pitta, Kapha
- lack of normal physiological functioning
- Oja vyapath
- stiff & heavy feeling in body
- edema, specifically due to increased Vata
- skin discoloration
- increased degree of fatigue
- improper sensory organ function
- overly sleepy or excess sleep
- Ojo kshaya
- loss of consciousness
- loss of muscle mass
- confusion or delusion
- irrelevant excessive speaking
- loss of life
The quality of Ojas is affected by body’s ability to produce other healthy tissues:
- One of the primary ways ojas is formed is from Shukra dhatu, so the quality of Shukra dhatu (semen, ovum and sexual fluids) is a big part of the quality of ojas
- If Agni (digestion power) is strong, good quality tissues are formed, then good quality & amount of ojas can be formed
- Rasa dhatu (fluid tissue first formed from digestion incl. lymph) nourishes the whole chain of tissue formation, so its quality will affect ojas
- Overnouishment of fat tissue (Medas dhatu) will obstruct nutrient flow to other tissues, and finally Ojas
- Vata –
- Prana Vata controls respiration, carries prana & oxygen supply. If ojas is depleted, often see clear effect on respiration
- Apana Vata manages excretion. The body’s ability to excrete plays highly into the quality of organ function & good production of ojas
- Mamsa dhatu – muscle. Good quality muscle helps control and nourish the fat tissue. Regular exercise helps ojas. Overdoing it depletes ojas.
What to do if your Ojas is depleted


Menopause Manifesto
- cultivating her wisdom,
- feeling great in her body,
- knowing her strengths,
- composting her history
- embracing her beautiful, imperfect self
- integrating her shadows,
- contributing to change the world around her,
- being sensual beyond expectations,
- invoking change like never before,
- feeling incredible in her physical body and confident she’s positioning herself for health in the decades to come,
- reigniting her creative obsessions and
- hearing a positive, rather than punishing, inner voice
I am a leader in the menopause revolution, shedding the taboos attached to menopause that increase the doubt and anxiety already activated by our physical changes
