Feminine Energy & Feminine Healing Through a Scientific Lens

Before I share what I’ve learned about the scientific aspects of feminine energy and feminine healing, I want to make a note that I’m not sharing this information because I believe that we need science to convince us of what we already know inside to be true. I’m sharing it because I find it fascinating, and perhaps you will as well. I also find this type of information useful as a resource to share with individuals who value a scientific explanation.

There are some important distinctions between men and women: physiologically, mentally, spiritually. This is a wondrous and beautiful thing, because we are designed to complement each other and collaborate. All of life is symbiotic; we are not designed to be self sufficient islands.

When we try to resist and deny these differences, it can actually do a lot of disservice to all of us, leading us down paths of greater misunderstanding, disconnection and lack of fulfillment.

One of the main important physiological differences between men and women is found in our hormonal makeup. Healthy men on average have about 20 times more testosterone than women, and healthy women have on average about 20 times more estrogen than men. Basically we can think of testosterone as masculine energy, and estrogen (as well as progesterone) as feminine energy.

Men need high testosterone and relative low female hormones to be healthy and happy. Women need high estrogen and progesterone and relative low testosterone to be healthy and happy. When our hormones become imbalanced, it causes a lot of health problems and unhappiness in both men and women.

Because of their dramatically higher levels of testosterone, this also means that men are better equipped to handle stress. When men experience a stressful event, their testosterone goes up. When women experience stress, especially consistently, the result is that their female hormones actually decline.

High testosterone is associated with confidence, independence, discipline (including emotional discipline), goal orientation, problem solving, single focus, ambition, helping others and being of service.

High estrogen and progesterone are associated with trust, dependence, collaboration, relating, sharing, vulnerability, joy, pleasure, feeling relaxed, nurturing and sharing feelings.

The most interesting part of the research around this topic is that our behavior actually stimulates the production of different hormones.

Running masculine energy, or engaging in masculine activities will actually raise our testosterone. Activities and behaviors such as problem solving, challenging ourselves, disciplining ourselves, focusing, giving to and helping others (with the exception of nurturing children), taking on a lot of responsibilities, being goal oriented, achievement, striving, competing, and self-improvement. These are all an expression of masculine energy. This is when we are running a masculine operating system, which stimulates the production of testosterone.

Running feminine energy, or engaging in feminine behaviors will raise our estrogen and progesterone. Behaviors and experiences such as connecting with others, sharing our feelings, feeling safe and supported, collaborating with others, relying on others, asking for help, romance, enjoyment, beauty, creativity, relaxation and rest. These are expressions of the feminine. Running our feminine operating system will stimulate the production of the female hormones.

Our modern culture has encouraged women to adopt a masculine operating system. In turn, we have also encouraged men to embody more feminine energy than is natural for the male system. There is nothing wrong with being in touch with both sides, but the important thing to realize is that we need to cultivate optimal equilibrium for our particular physiology.

We are seeing a dramatic rise in hormonal imbalance in both men and women. This is why we have seen the feminine energy and feminine healing movements. As women have lost touch with their feminine energy, their well being and fulfillment has been greatly impacted.

Both men and women have become disempowered because they have been taught to reject their native designs as masculine and feminine beings with dramatically different needs and abilities.

Women are designed to be sheltered and cared for by men so they can create, take care of children and offer their feminine gifts. When they are exposed to a lot of stress and too much responsibility, their bodies move into survival mode which will destroy their health and fertility.

Today we see higher rates of cortisol in women than in men, because they are more sensitive to stress and they don’t have the masculine resiliency to handle our modern lifestyle that now expects women to step into masculine roles. A woman’s system takes female hormones and turns them into cortisol in response to stress, leading to hormonal imbalances.

As men have been taught to disown their masculinity, or have simply not been shown how to be men, they have become more passive, irresponsible, directionless, lacking in ambition, emotionally reactive, angry, needy and prone to addiction. They have lost their capacity to protect and provide for women. These are all signs of lowered testosterone, and men like this will experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and meaninglessness.

It’s not an easy time to be human and it’s certainly not an easy time to be a woman in this society. It’s important to understand why we may be struggling, and take steps towards removing the shame we may be carrying as a result of feeling inadequate or flawed in some way.

I have written more about the topic of feminine healing here.

You can download my free guide to feminine healing & restoration here