If, you're like me and suffer from mild to severe menstrual pain this post is for you. Since my first cycle I have always had the worst cramps anyone could ever imagine. To describe what it feels like I would say the sensation feels similar to someone that is wringing out your uterus like a wet towel, some describe the pain as if there's a re-enactment of world war two inside your uterus. Some days the pain is barrable and other days it is debilitating. Over the many years of searching for an answer on how to mitigate the cramps naturally I have stumbled across many wholistic approaches which have helped me drastically. *Menstrual Massage* Is one of the first techniques that I came across in my search of helping the severity of my cramps. The circular motions help stimulate blood flow while deceasing bloating and activating the mind body connection, I had experimented with adding heat and certain essential oils to see if the combination of different therapies would create a different outcome. Heat helps dilate the blood vessels which increases the blood flow, the essential oils that I would use are a mixture of Japanese mint oil, rose oil, lavender oil and frankincense, depending on the day and how I was feeling I would use different combinations which would produce different outcomes. Aromatherapy is another amazing technique that I had used to help bring myself into present moment awareness and would help me tune into my body and the way I was feeling. The massage techniques that I use are slow and steady circular motions which direct the flow of blood downward and out, as a woman starts her cycle the uterus can grow up to 10x the size in order to allow the shedding process to take place, assisting the body with the purging of the old lining will decrease the duration of your period and speed up your heavy flow days. *Herbal Remedies* Massage techniques are great however if your body is lacking the right nutrition during your cycle to produce the right hormones then your PMS (pre-menstrual symptoms) will stay the same or in some cases worsen. A few amazing herbal remedies that I have found that have helped me with my menstrual pain are ~~EstroSense by WomanSense~~ which is a plant based vegan capsule filled with hormone balancing herbs such as milk thistle (liver and kidney detoxification), turmeric (a natural anti-inflammatory) green tea extract (a natural detoxifying agent) rosemary extract (improves memory, full of vitamins and minerals) and a few other natural plant based ingredients. If you haven't already talked to a Naturopath about a more wholistic approach on combating your PMS and menstrual symptoms, I highly suggest taking a look at the options available. *Yoga and Movement therapy*
You may already know of the amazing benefits Yoga can provide, not only for maintaining mobility but also mindfulness. It can also provide many benefits to reducing menstraul cramps, regulating mood swings and assisting symptoms of PMS. The poses that I have found most beneficial for helping regulate your cycle are: -Goddess Pose, this pose helps open up the hips and stimulates downward flow of menstrual blood. -Child's Pose, helps to relax the lower back while simultaneously putting pressure on the uterus (this pose makes me feel safe and allows my whole body to relax). -Spinal Twists, allows the body to stimulate a type of "wringing" sensation in the body, it helps release tension throughout the spine and in the hips and also helps stimulate blood flow to the uterus. -Frog Pose, this pose is like child's pose but helps open up the inner thighs which can cause an inner tugging of the legs causing SI (sacral iliac) joint pain. -Cat-Cow, allows the spine to increase mobility and is also a great exercise to stimulate the natural contractions of the uterus while also regulating breathing. -Assisted Corpse Pose, place a rolled towel or pillow under your legs and one under your head, control your breathing with a 4-4-4 regulated system 4 second breaths in, 4 second breaths out, hold for 4 seconds as you're about to breathe in again. Feel you body fall into the floor with each breath, feel the tension release and just enjoy the sensation. *Diva cups, Luna cups or cotton menstural pads* Did you know that Tampons can cause menstrual cramps, nausea and even TSS (toxic shock syndrome) due to them being washed in a chemical compound that also has been shown to leave traces of asbestos, the type of asbestos that causes lung cancers and other types of health conditions? Moon cups are an amazing alternative to tampons as they do not have any toxic compounds in them that can cause later in life health conditions. They are good for up to 8 hours of protection and they are easy on the environment! You can also look into a type of free bleeding which means no diva cup and no cotton reusable pads, if you prefer to keep it all natural. The best way to find out what therapies work best for you is to do your own research and to test by trial and error or if you have to funds to access a well educated naturopath this is something I would recommend. Hopefully this post was helpful and I wish for you better cycles to come! posted on 05/14/2023 at 2:00pm
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