Autumn Equinox

I have suddenly realized that I love to talk, and I also love to write, and just as suddenly it occurred to me that I have lots to say - particularly about Menopause.  How appropriate during this "Menopause Awareness Month" that I would finally have this realization.  I have been "blocked" at blogging  I know this is the best tool I have for sharing - this new way of thinking has really opened me up.  I will start blogging more - maybe every week day. Often...anyway.

It does not have to be so scary.  Promise!!!

I have been at this business of MoonMaid Botanicals some 20 years now.  Amazing to consider to me.  My work has brought me in touch with hundreds, maybe thousands of women who are all experiencing some sort of "discomfort" related to menopause.  As the years have gone on, I have heard from and worked with more and more younger women experiencing "discomfort" which seems related to hormone imbalance, hence PMS, infertility, fibroids and cysts.  In the last few years I have been working with more and more men who are experiencing what seems to be "feminization" of sorts, as they are growing breasts and experiencing breast lumps and cancer.  Throughout all of this, I have noted that the obesity epidemic, to me, seems somehow directly connected to hormone imbalance.  Don't many of our young people look like they have "middle age spread?"

I connect many of the "chemicals" that we should avoid, that are making us sick, to hormone imbalance.  Many of those chemicals, for instance, are "estrogenic" upon entering the human body.  These are called "xeno-estrogens."  They are everywhere in our world, not matter how clean and pristine your life.  It certainly helps to be choosy, careful about what you use, what you eat, what you drink.  The mere fact that growth hormones in our meat, pesticides on our fruits and vegetables, gas fumes, drug residue in water from urine (both human and animal), and off gassing of plastics are ALL estrogenic substances in the human body, gives one pause.  So many toxins, and not just any toxin, estrogen, chemical estrogen.  If these estrogens are making women "sick" with menopause etc........what are they doing to men, children, pets?  A little daunting to think about.

I did a show with Big Blend Radio on Sunday, and we talked about plastics.  This crazy mother and daughter team of Lisa and Nancy have me on monthly and we always find something to "go on" about. Listen to the show.  We chatted about two things related to plastic, the movie Plastic Paradise that exposes so much about plastic.  You must see it.  Info here  We also chatted about an innovative guy who made an island out of plastic bottles and lives on it in the Gulf of Mexico.  Check him out here.  Pretty amazing.  We also talked about wild yam, and how it is a main ingredient in my products ProMeno Women's Wild Yam Cream and Vital "V" Wild Yam Salve.  These are my products for menopause.  They have helped a lot of you gals!!

                                                                                                          

   

Oh, and nettles.  My other best remedy for your menopausal symptoms.  Find instructions here.

Joe Cross of the movie Fat Sick and Nearly Dead offered some great advice about eating healthy in this short video I came across.  I think you will find it inspiring.  20 minutes or so.  Enjoy here

Autumn Equinox

And I did have a lovely fire last evening for the Equinox.  It was lovely and warm.  First chilly night and was well appreciated.
Enjoy your evening.  I'll be back here soon.
Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals

Menopause Awareness Month

September, as I mentioned previously, is Menopause Awareness month.  I find that I am aware.  It seems I am, at last,  menopausal.  I don't have many symptoms really - why would I - I make something for that!!! Right?  What I really do notice, is the lack of my monthly flow.  I never found it problematic.  It was a monthly "ritual" that I had come to appreciate, not dread.   I loved my monthly "red."  I am also aware that I have been on this land for 11 years now.  11 Years!!!  Wow.

Cabin in the Woods

I am so grateful that I found herbs as a "lifestyle" long ago, long before I realized that so many women would depend on an herbal remedy through the transition called Menopause.  Little did I know I would be the one to create an herbal alternative.  Wild Yam and Vitex are strong allies for me, that is for sure.

Not only do I use them in my products, I have them growing all around me.  Vitex or Chaste Berry in my garden beds.  Wild yam grows itself in the woodland gardens throughout the property.  I am blessed to be here as I enter the Winter of my life.  I am blessed to have so many green guardians surrounding me.   As they protect me, it is my intention to protect them as well as encouraging their growth.  This botanical sanctuary in the Smoky Mountains is rich with medicinels that include endangered species.  It is my intention to cultivate ginseng, wild yam, and goldenseal in the natural woodland beds.

Wild Yam

I have been noticing lots of reds...not quite Fall colors - the "fruits" of things seem to be red, in many cases.   I have been thinking about red.  Missing the red of my menstrual flow.  Honoring the "me" that is now a fully menopausal woman, missing the "red" in her life.

MoonMaid has been around for 20 years.  Imagine that!!  More on that in another blog post.  Enjoy that big full moon out there.  It's a beauty.
Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals

September is "Menopause Awareness Month"

And aware we should be.  Not in the way most women are, however.  As I have been saying for years, menopause is a life transition to be embraced, not an "illness to be loathed and feared."

Throughout the month I plan to dig deep into my files and resources and bring tips related to menopause.  Herbs, symptoms, recommendations, procedures and any other tidbits I can find to share.

Wild Yam @ the Botanical Sanctuary

One of my favorites, of course, is wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), the main ingredient in ProMeno Women's Wild Yam Cream, Vital "V" Wild Yam Salve, and ProAndro Men's Wild Yam Cream.  These are my herbal alternatives to bio-identical hormone products.  

Here is a link to an article I wrote when I first started MoonMaid Botanicals called Menopause Herbally.  I discuss a bit about the how and why of MoonMaid. It was the horror of Premarin that inspired the first seed.  From there my desire grew to help women transition through menopause without drugs or surgery.   I trust you will find it informative.

On September on my podcast "Women of A Certain Age and...." I will host Dr. Tirso del Junco, Jr. of the IFAS, The Institute For Female Alternative Surgery.  This doctor has a strong belief that hysterectomy is performed far too often and feels as passionatly as I do that it is extremely to keep your uterus whenever possible.  I hope you will listen to this extremely valuable information
Mark your calenders for Monday, September 15 @ 7 PM EDT