How I Use Vaginal Steaming to Ease My Endometriosis Symptoms
I share some very personal information in this post. You have been warned!
I have endometriosis. 2 large endometrioma’s, which are also called chocolate cysts, sit near each ovary, a classic sign of severe endometriosis. This took a while for me to accept. After multiple intravaginal ultrasounds and an MRI, which verified the extent of the endometrioma’s in my womb, I had to accept it. It was not a nice process and it has been a difficult journey for me, over the past years. This post is meant to empathize with others (you are not alone if you are feeling sad and lost) and share what has helped me.
When I was first told about this I was devastated. I’ve gone into this more in my post (How I learned to stop hating my period). I had a fire in me to learn how to alleviate the symptoms I was experiencing and in effect heal myself. This is not meant to be a replacement for the advice of your doctor. Any treatment you take on should be done with the right intent and education. Yet, when my doctor told me there was nothing I could do, except take painkillers and if it gets unbearable have surgery, I refused to accept it. This is how I came upon vaginal steaming.
During my research of ways to help with what I was experiencing, I learned more about it (vaginal steaming), so I decided to try it on my own. Some of the results were truly surprising.
On my site, I call it pelvic steaming or yoni steaming, as a way to recognize that not all people identify with having a vagina, and steaming is beneficial for many people. Whatever you choose to call it, it has had monumental effects on my health and I want to share that. It is important to understand what herbs you are using and in what dosage to get the effects you are trying to achieve, the steam alone, without herbs is still very nourishing to the tissue but it may not be right for some people. This is why education is important.
Now, you are probably wondering about those symptoms. My main problems were irregular periods, ovulation pain, painful sex and a change in my odor. I went from having a relatively normal period to having it for 2 weeks straight once, very alarming! And with intermittent and sporadic spotting for months. Sex, which I had never had a problem with pain wise before, became very uncomfortable, no matter where I was in my cycle, and I started getting ovulation pain which I had never experienced before in my life. I didn’t even know it was a thing, until I started looking into why I was having this pain on the days I ovulate. I learned so much about my body and systems during this time and was experiencing an intense emotional upheaval.
Learning about your body’s natural cycles provides a lot of information that can help you. Body awareness is the first step to treating the symptoms and the causes!
I also went through a crisis of faith about my spiritual beliefs, as I started to question my body and the energetic work I had been doing. My self-esteem took a plunge as did my sex drive. What is especially interesting about this, is some women, when they start to awake parts of themselves through energetic work, womb awakening, kundalini yoga or awakenings, divine feminine teachings etc. will experience some sort of womb dis-ease. I believe this is because of the healing layers being pulled back combined with the spiritual work within the divine feminine start to reveal the deeper wounds we carry as women. In any healing journey, when we work through one layer, another layer sits beneath that, moving into different levels of intergenerational trauma within our lineage and as a species. This is just my opinion, but I raise it as a lesson I have begun to learn throughout this journey. That doesn’t mean it will happen to everyone.
Connecting with the divine feminine offers deep insights into healing.
STEAMING FOR THE FIRST TIME
Now, the first time I steamed, I gathered a few herbs and sat in my bathtub, using the ledge to sit on. It wasn’t the best set-up, it was uncomfortable, but it worked. As soon as I sat over the steam, my whole body sighed, and I broke out crying.
It was like my womb, my yoni, my whole body, and spirit broke down as I finally acknowledged the need to show myself better care. I sobbed for the full time, letting it all come out, and journaled what arose with each emotion that overwhelmed me. A lot came up during this short steam, revelations about what I was holding in and the ways I was shaming and judging myself. In later steams, trauma from childhood resurfaced as well.
This first experience catalyzed a desire to understand this practice even more and make it a regular ritual in my life. As I learned more about the herbs and their specific uses, I tailored my blend for my symptoms. As I went through my vaginal steaming certification I learned how to steam for the right duration, with the right herbs and how often. I began to see some serious results, outside of the emotional and spiritual side that were truly affirming for me how deep the wounds were that brought these endometrioma’s on. This includes how I had diminished and resisted taking care of my womb during menstruation, pushing myself and denying my need for rest.
THE BENEFITS CONTINUED
My periods started to regulate, the sporadic spotting stopped, I have not had a 2-week bleed since I started steaming, in fact my menstruation is back to 4 days, every time. Pain during sex also stopped, like all my internal organs had begun to unwind, and let down their guard. I still have occasional ovulation pain, but when I do, I steam and it is always relieved. I listen to my body and show it that I care, and that I will not dismiss it any longer. All it takes it 10 minutes to boil the herbs, and 10 minutes over the steam, and the pain subsides, my body relaxes. It astonishes me how fast it works!
The herbs I use are for short menstrual cycles and irregular bleeding. This is important, as if you use the wrong herbs, you could have the opposite effect, such as more, intense bleeding for longer time. I sit over the steam for only 10 minutes, as again, the duration has an effect on the results.
Another learning which has become so essential to my self care is treating this practice as a ritual. I smell the herbs as I boil them, thanking them for their gifts of healing and insight. When I am crouched over the steam in child’s pose, I imagine bringing the steam deeply inward and feel it enveloping my yoni, ovaries and cervix. When I am finished and the water has cooled, I go out into my yard and give it back as an offering to Mother Earth, thanking her. It depends on the person, but I have found this elevates the practice and is in alignment with my beliefs about respecting the plants that we use as medicine and as gifts.
If you are struggling through similar symptoms or more, I urge you to not only take the advice of your doctor and follow the treatment that you need to, but to also consider the connection with your body and how that plays a role in this condition. You are worth the time, love and care it takes, and I believe that regardless of which practice you use for that, it is a fundamental part of health and wellbeing.
You owe it to yourself, you deserve it.