Oxytocin Heals Women
Jun 07, 2026
I love the irony of Summer - it’s when we are “supposed to have the most fun, but its also a time of year when things can feel more intense because of all the light and the heat.
For women, the pitta energy of achievement and drive can leave us feeling depleted simply because the dopamine hit that comes from striving and reaching goals doesn’t actually support our long-term hormonal health.
Men are internally rewarded by dopamine (achievement hormone), and women are internally rewarded by oxytocin (connection hormone).
But in our patriarchal culture, where most medical research has been done on men, BOTH men and women are culturally conditioned to strive for dopamine-driven achievement. No wonder women are struggling in mid-life as never before!
However, as women move through the menopausal transition, this long-standing misalignment often comes into focus as unbearable symptoms and diagnosis.
What do we do now?
I suggest we lean into Ayurveda’s timeless wisdom to rebalance ourselves!
Here are some tips for cultivating oxytocin as an alternative to dopamine:
- Create longer blocks of time to connect with loved ones who you delight in spending time with (like me hanging out with my friend Nora in the picture above).
- Spend time in cool water - not to exercise but to experience joy, delight, and the pleasure of being in water.
- Reconnect with things you loved to do for fun as a child and do those things as often as you can.
- Snuggle with your pet, child, partner, or hug a tree.
- Eat with your hands (but please wash them first).
- Give or receive massages, even if it's just massaging feet or hands.
- Explore your relationship with time and repeat the mantra, “there is more than enough time for everything that is important to me” and watch how time shifts and priorities become clear.
- Work in a garden. Tend the earth and connect with growing plants.
It never ceases to amaze me how applying Ayurvedic principles that are over 5,000 years old to our modern lives can bring such peace, balance, and support.
Try one or two of these this week and please let me know what you experience. I encourage you to keep this list handy for the summer. It will support to maintain balance naturally within yourself as the season intensifies.
May you be deeply nourished during these unprecedented times of change and transformation. Namaste.
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