If you are having menstrual difficulties or a weak pelvic floor, vaginal steaming might be the answer for you.
Although it sounds like a new health trend, it is not.
In fact, it has been practiced throughout time in most parts of the world as women’s medicine.
Today, I’ll share with you the how-to and some special instructions, using the Ayurveda framework, so you can also benefit from this wonderful healing practice.
YONI SVEDANA
Vaginal or Yoni steaming is a traditional practice for women of all ages.
Yoni means womb or “that which is filled”; the cosmos, our internal intimate cosmos. It includes the vulva, vagina, and uterus.
Svedana is in Ayurveda the sweating therapy or the application of heat or hot herbs to induce sweating.
Yoni Svedana is then an internal steaming practice where you basically sit your vulva just above a steaming hot pot of herbs, flowers, and spices that ideally are chosen carefully to pacify the aggravated dosha.
The healing properties of the herbs are moved with the hot steam and are absorbed by the mucosa of the vagina wall and reach the small opening of the cervix to be absorbed by the uterus.
WHEN TO DO IT & BENEFITS
If you are suffering from any of the below conditions, Yoni steaming might be perfect for you.
However, make sure you check with a certified Ayurvedic consultant or practitioner before you do it to create a tailored treatment plan geared towards your specific health goals.
- Painful periods
- Scanty periods
- Cramps
- Irregular/short cycles
- Fertility issues
- During menopause
- Weak pelvic floor
- Constipation
- Painful urination
- Lower back pain
- Frequently needing to use the bathroom
Vaginal steaming is an amazing way to give yourself some love, enhance fertility, balance hormones, regulate the flow and frequency of your period, and reduce cramps.
V-Steams improve sexual health too! They boost libido and lubrication, fertility, and maintain a healthy odor.
They can also help remove blockages and eliminate fibroids and endometrial tissue, discomfort, pelvic organ prolapse, constipation, and stress in that area. They are wonderful to cleanse and detoxify this intimate area.
In addition, they can improve circulation, facilitate muscle relaxation, and lessen any feeling of stagnation in body and soul.
Therapeutic sweating is specially recommended for Vata constitution. This healing strategy is designed to apply heat directly to an affected area to soften and liquify the aggravated dosha and remove it from the body.
WHEN NOT TO DO IT
There are certain times when V-Steams are not recommended:
- If you have your period.
- If you are pregnant
- During or after ovulation when trying to conceive
- When you have a history of spontaneous bleeding.
- If you have inflammation issues.
- If you normally have heavy periods.
- During a miscarriage, if bleeding still continues.
- During an infection outbreak/burning/itching
- If you have the IUD or birth control arm implant
Oh! If you have genital piercings, remove them before starting the steam.
If you are Pitta aggravated, first consult with your Ayurvedic practitioner to ensure this is a good healing strategy for YOU.
V-STEAM FOR YOUR DOSHA
The following are the recommended herbs, flower, and spice kit for each dosha:
VATA
Herbs: Angelica, Elecampane, Ginger
Flowers: Chamomile, Orange blossom
Spices: Anise, Basil, Cardamom
PITTA
Herbs: Chamomile, Chaparral, Cilantro, Lemongrass
Flowers: Blackberry, Lavender, Rose
Spices: Fennel, Dill, Mint
KAPHA
Herbs: Bayberry, Calamus, Eucalyptus, Camphor, Holy basil
Flowers: Hibiscus
Spices: Bay leaves, Black pepper, Turmeric
INSTRUCTIONS
- Get the herbs, flowers, and spices that best balance your dosha and put them inside a tea bag.
- Add them to a pan with fresh, clean water and boil the infusion for a few minutes.
- Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Check the temperature is warm and comfortable. Don’t do it when it feels hot or burning.
- Set a Yoni Steam Seat — I like this one.
- If you don’t have a special seat, simply pour the infusion on a bowl specifically used for this purpose, place a towel around it.
- Remove your underwear and sit on top of the infusion.
- Place a blanket around your waist to ensure no steam escapes.
- Wear some socks, play nice, soothing music, light a sweet incense (sandalwood, rose, lavender), and make this time, YOUR time.
- Visualize absorbing all the healing, nurturing, cleansing effects of the herbs and letting them get in your sacred Yoni cosmos by inhaling. Exhale, all that doesn’t serve you anymore. You could read too!
- Feel the warm vapor inside for about 15 minutes.
- Bring your hands to your lower abdomen with gratitude and self-love.
- Then, throw the water in the toilet, get dressed, and have a nice cup of fennel (Vata), chamomile (Pitta), or cinnamon (Kapha) tea.
Ideally, after a Yoni steaming, you rest, drink tons of water, and stay nice and warm.
Vaginal steaming will make you feel relaxed and grounded. It will help dissipate Vata dosha, which will also result in better circulation.
HOW OFTEN TO DO IT?
The frequency of Yoni steaming will look different for every woman/
However, if you are trying to regulate your period, you can align your body to the moon cycle by steaming on the new moon, the full moon, the waning moon and the waxing moon.
If you are working towards getting pregnant, do not steam during your fertile days, or after you ovulate, as the warmth of the steam can interfere with implantation. The best time is after your period to help get hormones and circulation to the pelvis.
Always discuss with your Ayurvedic practitioner what a Vaginal steaming plan would look like for you.
Hope this helps!!
Monica xx
