How to heal menstrual disorders with Ayurveda
Jul 12, 2023
Hi goddess, here's a breakdown of the most common menstrual disorders that I help my clients heal. Some women struggle with one or many. Understanding your menstrual cycle through the lens of Ayurveda can help you understand how to heal.
Amenorrhea absent & irregular periods
When a woman misses 3 or more cycles. Exhaustion, anxiety, dry skin, hair loss, weight loss, constipation and/or bloating. Stress- emotional and physical. Because of the high stress and cortisol flooding the body, there is not enough estrogen. Over exercising and undernourishment cause a woman to not have enough body fat to get her period. This is a vata imbalance in Ayurveda. There is not enough rasa dhatu. Think air & ether- literally being dried out. Travelling, eating raw and not slowing down are triggers.
Dysmenorrhea- menstrual cramps
While it is very common and, it is not normal. There does not have to be pain associated with menstruation. Cramps typically show up just before and the first days of menstruation. There are many possible causes: #1 Too much prostaglandins, hormones that cause the uterus to contract and even spasm. #2 A prolapsed or displaced uterus that isn't situated to allow the flow of blood to be released. #3 Tight Psoas muscles that press on the reproductive organs and restrict blood flow in the pelvis. #4 Pushing through blood clots. #5 Stagnation from not even movement/exercise/breath, like a desk job. These sharp contractions can move to the legs and back. This is caused by an imbalance with vata without enough apana vayu (downward movement of energy). Too much stress and inflammation shows up as a pitta imbalance. Dull, heavy, and congestion is a sign of a kapha imbalance.
Menorrhagia- heavy periods
This is defined as heavy or prolonged bleeding, needing to change your pad more than every 2 hours and for longer than 7 days. This causes exhaustion and sometimes iron deficiency. This is caused by the sex hormones to produce erratically. If there is too much estrogen (dominance), the lining of the endometrium keeps growing without progesterone (fertility hormone) to regulate it. This can also be because of no ovulation. When no egg releases, there is no progesterone therefore can't regulate estrogen, causing estrogen dominance. This is usually a pitta imbalance. There is too much heat in the blood. Too much anger, spicy foods, salt, alcohol, nicotine, and resentment can cause heavy bleeding. Too much push, force, heat, over-working, trying to prove and overriding the feminine cycle can cause this exhaustion and burnout.
PMS/PMDD- Premenstrual Syndrome & Premenstrual Disphoric Disorder shows up 2-12 days before menstruation and there is relief once you start bleeding. This is where the darker subconscious beliefs, emotions and patterns come to the surface to be healed. Anything that has been repressed or surpressed is easier to find and able to be released. If you can't slow down, ignore your feminine cycle and shove down your emotions, they will get trapped in the body. This is an imbalance of all the doshas and can show up as: irritibility, rage, acne, diarrhea, depression, salty cravings, breast tenderness, sadness, bloating, anxiety, headaches, emotional outbursts, sluggishness, and emotionally eating sugar. The classic PMS symptoms of mood swings are a pitta imbalance. The days to be aware of where estrogen drops are days 14-16 and 26-28. Taking it easy & doing emotional work on those days are key.
Uterine Fibroids- These are benign tumors inside of the uterus. They can vary in size up to a small apple. It is estimated 80% of women have them but most don't experience symptoms. Symptoms may include painful periods, heavy bleeding, frequent urination and painful sex. Environmental toxins, stress, lack of exercise and diet cause estrogen to be too high or low. This is a kapha imbalance because of the ama, toxins that causes growths. The fibroids can be dry and painful, making it a vata imbalance. They can also become inflamed and infected, showing up as a pitta imbalance.
PCOS- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a disorder where a woman's ovaries does not produce mature eggs. Because of insulin resistance, the body produces too much of the hormones, androgens which doesn't allow eggs to fully mature. Small cysts will begin to grow from the underdeveloped eggs. Symptoms may include: irregular or absent periods, depression, blood sugar imbalance, weight gain, facial hair, acne, cysts, infertility, and pelvic pain. By cleaning up your beliefs about your femininity, you can begin to turn this around. By getting to the root cause and making diet/lifestyle changes, a woman can change her relationship to stress and regulate her hormones and heal. By releasing extra kapha, you can flush out toxins.
Endometriosis- This occurs when endometrium tissue grows outside of the uterus onto the pelvic organs, bladder, ovaries, fallopian tubes and/or intestines. Some symptoms that can show up are painful periods, painful sex, heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, painful bowel movements, fatigue, exhaustion, leg/back pain and infertility. Sometimes it can be very extreme and cause vomitting/fainting. It can be hard to get a diagnosis and can leave women feeling alone and confused. The cause it not known but it does have the reputation as a "career-woman's disease" pushing themselves to the limits without pausing to rest. High levels of stress. Because there are growths, it is categorized as a kapha imbalance. Clearing ama with an ayurvedic cleanse is a good place to start.
Are you ready to live in tune with your feminine cycle?
I know how confusing it can be to have this pain and not know what to do or how to heal.
That's why I offer womb healing consultations to help you find what is out out of balance and heal it with Ayurveda, diet & lifestyle protocols.
The feminine wants to move slow, add rituals with ease and move at the pace of nature.
I can't wait to see how your life changes.
You are worth it to feel vital, alive and even orgasmic throughout the entire month of your cycle.
