Over the years I find myself surprised at the number of women in my life, both personally and professionally, who are struggling with fertility issues. Fertility first came to my attention years ago while I was a student at CSNN (Canadian School of Natural Nutrition). Learning that infertility among women is a growing concern was a little startling, being a woman myself.
Interestingly, as the years went by, the concept of fertility kept creeping into my life – not in the way of me personally having babies, but it was showing up in the various professional training that I was attracted to. I began to see that although my own fertility was not at the forefront of my life, that this was going to be a part of my medicine to share with others. Nutrition, my Moon Mother work, and Yoni Steaming all have their ties to fertility. For this particular blog, I would like to share how yoni steaming can play a role in a woman’s journey – when fertility is showing up as a challenge rather than a gift.
I want to begin with absolutely no disillusionment. This is far too sensitive of a topic for me to make false promises. I want to be as realistic and as integral with you as I can. Infertility is a very complex topic that can have many variables contributing to the imbalance, including some genetic or anatomy abnormalities that simply are what they are.
There are women who believe that they have conceived and carried their baby to term as a direct result of yoni steaming, sometimes after having experienced miscarriages prior. Also, I know of women who have used yoni steaming for infertility and have not been able to conceive. We are all so unique and we each bring to the table our own anatomy, energy and experiences.
What I would like to do is to present to you the potential of how yoni steaming works and then you can decide if it is something that you want to carry forward into your personal journey.
I have learned from my teacher, Keli Garza of Steamy Chick, that women with unexplained fertility issues often have a lot of stagnation in their uterus and may have other irregularities to their menstrual cycle, for example, experiencing long or short cycles.
Stagnation in the uterus tends to show up as brown blood during menstruation. This brown blood can show up at the very start of the period or we may see that we finish our menstruation with a day or two (or more) of this brown discharge/blood. Some women have such stagnation that their entire menstruation can be experienced as brown or even black menses.
Another common sign of stagnation is uterine cramping during menstruation. When we experience a lot of cramping during our period it is generally a sign that the uterus may be trying to push old blood (stagnation) out by contracting.
We all know or have heard that as women we cycle with the moon. This means that every 28-31 days we should be menstruating. If our cycle is irregular, then it is either showing up as long or short. A short menstrual cycle is 27 days or less. A long menstrual cycle is when the period comes anytime after say, cycle day 31. Now, while only getting your period every 45 days may be appealing to some, it is not the norm of menstruating with the moon cycle! The word ‘menstruation’ and ‘menses’ is actually derived from the Greek word ‘mene’ meaning moon. Pretty cool, right!
So how does steaming play into these nuances of the menstrual cycle? I will begin with stagnation. Yoni steaming for stagnation is a place where steaming really gets to shine. The steam permeates the yoni space and encourages circulation. From my own experience, I will share that steaming on certain opportune days of the cycle helps the uterus to release old stagnation that she has been holding onto. You can literally see this coming out – sometimes directly after a steam and sometimes in the next menstrual cycle. (Caution – steaming is contraindicated while you are menstruating – do not steam if you are on your period!) If stagnation is extreme and the uterine walls are caked with old blood, it is very hard for a fertilized egg to implant and thus for the woman to conceive.
We can also work with certain herbs to encourage the cycle to re-synch with the moon; to lengthen or shorten the cycle, depending on the woman. This may have a positive effect on ovulation as well as an overall positive effect on your wellbeing.
When I talk to women about beginning a yoni steam regime for fertility, I encourage them to look at it as a starting place on their fertility journey. Why not try introducing a beneficial self-care practice into your life that is soothing, calming and that generally has positive effects on your feminine cycle – before going to the next step of the more demanding and expensive process of IVF.
If you would like to talk more about using yoni steaming for fertility, I invite you to book a free 15-minute zoom call with me to discuss your situation and see if steaming mayessings to you as you remember your strength, beauty, and inner light.
Meriah Theresa