Rajonivruti (Menopause) - Ayurvedic point of view

Abstract

Men and women reach old age with different prospects for older age. Aging is a real challenge for women. Life span of every individual is divided into three Avastha (stages) as Bala, Madhya and Vriddha in our classics. Kapha, Pitta and Vata Dosha dominate Bala, Madhya and Vriddhawastha respectively. This phase of life is more vulnerable for women, as along with aging, she suffers from inevitable scars of menopause. With increasing life expectancy, women spend one third of her lifetime under postmenopausal period. Menopause is a natural process in which menstruation definitively ceases, signalling the end of a woman’s reproductive life and it’s a natural process, not an illness, but a variety of disturbing symptoms can appear during this transition. Menopause usually occurs around the average age of 45. In women, reproductive period is controlled by Pitta Dosha. In Vriddhawastha, where Rajonivritti is a major event, Vata is the leading Dosha. In modern context, estrogen governs the reproductive period and its deficiency manifests as menopause. Hence, change in level of hormones marks puberty and menopause, where as in Ayurvedic classics change in status of Dosha and Dhatu marks onset of Raja and Rajonivritti. Rajonivritti is a marker of aging in women.