Woman Heal Thyself: An Ancient Healing System for Contemporary Women by Jeanne Elizabeth Blum is the topic for my first book review because of its great potential to help women and because I have found it so helpful that I use the system each month.
The ancient healing system referred to in the subtitle is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and specifically a set of acupressure/acupuncture points known as the Forbidden Pregnancy Points. Pressing these points on a pregnant woman can disturb or even terminate the pregnancy. However, Blum discovered that if a woman massages them during her menstrual period, she can bring her energy system into balance and, in the following month, enjoy the elimination of a whole gamut of PMS and menstrual symptoms.
I first read this book almost two years ago. For several months, in addition to the menstrual cramps I have always had, I was also suffering from angry moods and breast soreness in the week or two before my period. After following the instructions in the book and working my acupressure points for about twenty minutes a day, the very next month I had no breast soreness at all and very little negative emotion. The cramps were also less severe.
Blum cured herself of much more severe symptoms, including a very heavy menstrual flow and endometriosis. Her clients have also employed the system to ease menopause symptoms, reverse early menopause, and to promote fertility.
Blum presents different options: you can massage three different sets of acupressure points (27 points total), one set per day for the length of your period, or you can do one simpler set of ten points and repeat it each day of your period. While I originally began with the more complex program, hoping for maximum benefits, I have recently achieved similar success with the simpler set. I switched in order to memorize the simpler set, thus eliminating the need to lug the book with me if I am travelling. I admit that, from the beginning, I have almost never had the patience to work each point for the recommended 2-5 minutes, which is probably why I have not completely eliminated the cramps, although they are less severe.
Besides the practical “how-to” of the Forbidden Pregnancy Points, much of the book is devoted to the theory of TCM and how to apply it to thinking about your particular health issues. The basic idea is that the acupressure points are located along twelve main channels of energy, called meridians, each governing a corresponding organ. Organs are classified as (and occur paired together as) yin or yang, and the organ pairs are each associated with one of the five elements: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. For example, kidney and bladder are both organs of the water element, kidney the yin and bladder the yang. Energy flows from one meridian to the next according to a cycle of the elements. Blum says, “If you want to grow a tree, water it; if you need to burn a fire, put wood on it; for good soil, add ashes; from rich earth comes metal; to carry water, use a metal container.” In other words, from water you get wood, from wood, fire; from fire, earth; from earth, metal; from metal, water, thus completing the cycle. This is the “birthing cycle,” the direction energy should flow in the body. If instead you have an energy imbalance, you enter the reverse “destructive cycle” where earth destroys fire, fire destroys wood, wood soaks up water (“destroying” it) etc. It is fascinating reading, but it gets more complicated and is, I think, too difficult for the amateur to apply. The important thing to remember is that energy imbalances, in time, manifest as physical health problems.
But where do these energy imbalances come from? Blum emphasizes that negative emotional experiences and thought patterns create energy imbalances, especially if we experienced them from a young age. If we were abused, or even simply discouraged from expressing emotions, those emotions lodge in our bodies, disturbing the healthy energy flow, eventually creating physical disease or addictions. The chapter “emotions and the body” is full of stories of people’s emotional experiences, how each affects organ energy flows, and what characteristics result from the corresponding incorrect energy flow.
The strongest parts of the book (in addition to the “how-to”) were Blum’s discussions of discovering how to use the Forbidden Pregnancy Points, of healing her own serious physical problems stemming from her traumatic childhood, and of healing clients with various issues. Also interesting were discussions of common problems such as depression, anxiety, and compulsive behavior. There is a theoretically useful section on “Diagnostic Reference for Ailments A-Z”, listing the acupressure points to work for a large variety of physical, emotional and mental problems. The problem is that, when referring to points not along the same energy meridian as, and nearby, Forbidden Pregnancy Points, the diagrams in the book are insufficient; one would have to look elsewhere to be able to accurately locate the points on their body. The final section of the book presents additional tools for healing, which I believe vary in their utility. For example, in the chapter on diet and fasting, Blum relays diet recommendations she was given for her kidney problems; I am skeptical that this would be a healthy diet for everyone.
Overall, Woman Heal Thyself gives us a concrete monthly practice for balance and relief from menstrual problems, as well as a way to address and heal deeper issues that plague us.
