What Is Pelvic Steaming? Reboot

"Um, you want me to steam my, what?!"  I would be a wealthy woman if I had a nickel for every time I heard those words uttered in the course of my career, whether you call it yoni steaming, vaginal steaming, perineal steaming, or pelvic steaming, the act of sitting over a steaming herbal solution offers a powerhouse of gynecological support.

Join me this week as we revisit what pelvic steaming is, what it does and why you may want to consider it as a gentle means of supporting your reproductive health.  

Hi, I'm Adrienne Irizarry. I'm an eastern medicine practitioner who is passionate about women's health and helping women to live their best lives. 

My goal is to put you in the driver's seat of your menstrual health offering period solutions for a symptom-free life. 

Transcript

Adrienne: 0:00

um, you want me to steam my. I would be a wealthy woman if I had a nickel for every time I heard those words uttered in the course of my career, whether you call it Yi steaming, vaginal steaming, perennial steaming, or pelvic steaming, the act of sitting over a steaming herbal solution offers a powerhouse of gynecological support. Join me this week as we revisit what pelvic steaming is. what it does and why you may want to consider it as a gentle means of supporting your reproductive health. Hi, I'm Adrienne Irizarry. I'm an eastern medicine practitioner who is passionate about women's health and helping women to live their best lives. My goal is to put you in the driver's seat of your menstrual health offering period solutions for a symptom-free life. Statements made in this program are for educational purposes only, and not intended as a substitution for medical consultation or advice. We do not claim to diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases. This podcast is inclusive and welcomes all gender identities. The focus of the program is on biological function, and we will use the term women throughout, but it is referencing physiological and social challenges for biology. Not identity. Come as you are. I am happy you're here and welcome all performances of identity. I hope you find something helpful in this show. welcome back to another episode of the Reproductive Rebel Podcast. I want to talk about what I do best, which is peri steam hydrotherapy. So what is peri steam hydrotherapy? You probably have heard terms like vaginal steaming, yoni, steaming, perennial steaming, pelvic, steaming, the steam. I've heard a bunch of different terms. for this particular practice, I tend to use pelvic steaming because it's the most inclusive. I work with anybody. if you have a pelvic floor, there is work that we can do. A lot of times I will talk about it, from the perspective of people who are assigned as female at birth. but I do work with male and female anatomy, in my practice, because there is a little bit of something for everybody. So regardless of what you use for a title, I find that Yi steaming is only known in certain circles. vaginal steaming has gotten a big, rise due to the, the awareness that steamy chick has brought around the practice. I tend to use pelvic steaming, but I may use them interchangeably as we talk. So what is pelvic steaming? pelvic steaming is an ancient modality that's been used in countries all over the world for gentle gynecological support. you can find it. in the historical record, literally on every continent. And yes, that even means in Western culture. if you look back in the Victorian era, this was something that was still used in Western culture, and really lost its popularity with the rise of western gynecological care, and the fall of midwifery, which has now come roaring back to the forefront, which I think is really beautiful. we're seeing a transition. there was a move away from midwifery and, herbal medicine. Care and and really like women being wisdom keepers in terms of how to care for the body. A lot of times it was the wise women in the village that, had the herbal remedies and knew how to care for birthing bodies and passed that information down generationally. and that really has been lost over time. There are still some cultures, around the world today that you can find that kind of intergenerational folk tradition, which is beautiful. you can see it in parts of Mexico, the Caribbean, Africa, Asian countries, India. here in the west, this is a new concept, and when people talk about pelvic steaming or vaginal steaming, they get this picture in their brain of something invasive because everything about the western gynecological model is invasive. The tools go in, the tools go out, the fingers go in, the fingers come back out again, like it's. you have to have body autonomy and it's really hard to feel like you're in your power when you're in STIRS in a gynecologist's office. So I know that when people talk about this practice, the first thing that comes to their brain because of our Western model, is that there has to be a tool that goes into my body, and that's not the case. That's actually one of the really beautiful parts of pelvic steaming. It is not Stanley Steamer with a tool that HA is inserted into your vagina. It is not like that. It is the practice of sitting on a stool in a chair that has a hole, and you have a popped of steaming water with herbal solution in it. You can get a lot of benefit just from using steam without any herbs in it. because the medium is just as important as, the actual herbal choices that are made in the practice. and the herbs are chosen based on your body constitution, what it is that it needs, what it might need, a little more of what we need to maybe eliminate an excess of. So the herbal choice is really important as well. And this is something that I find people who try to DIY and they're like, oh, I just threw some herbs that were in my garden into the pod and I gave it a try, and the hell was itchy after and I'm not sure why. things like that. It's. This is the kind of tool that puts your body autonomy and your power back in your hands. However, it is definitely recommended to do with a certified practitioner to figure out how warm it needs to be, how long you need to sit, what type of herbs do you need, are you infection prone? What kinds of things can this modality do to prevent infection, because it definitely doesn't cause them. So anyway, pelvic steaming is a modality that's been used all over the world historically. It has been used the most often for postpartum recovery. That is where you'll see it most universally. all around the world, to help heal after birth. It helps the fun height come back down into the pelvic bowl. It helps to decrease, hypertension. It helps with fluid that accumulates in the body after birth. It helps, create a sterile, warm. Higher circulation environment in order for healing to happen if there is any pelvic trauma, stitches, tearing, anything like that. so there is a lot of benefits to using this practice for postpartum, but, in certain parts of the world, that's the scope of what it is used for. in other parts of the world, like Korea, China, India, these places actually bring it into clinical practice and use a synergy between eastern traditions and western traditions for the good of the client. And one of the things that, you walk into Korea, Korean ob gyn area, and this is something they will do, which is really awesome. And most of the, research that has come out of this practice you will find in Korean PubMed. But anyway, I digress a little bit. I get really excited about this particular topic and I decided to do an unscripted podcast today about this topic because I could just talk about it for hours. this tradition has been known as fian. So if you're looking forward in the literature, formation is one of the terms that's used. and it could either be a wet tradition or a dry tradition. So the dry tradition is also known as vaginal smoking or MOA horse. it is used for very specific Constitution types. it is, it involves the burning of dry herbs and the client sits over those herbs while they're smoking. Most often Moxa is used in this process. there, when I was originally introduced to it, they referred to it, as toilet xa. but you can actually use it in a very similar application. so the wet tradition is what we know as pelvic steaming. It is used most universally for a variety of constitution types. It envo involves boiling water and herbs in order to make a tea like solution. And the client sits over the steam for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes depending on what the body needs. And that's something that when you work with a certified practitioner, They can help you based on symptoms that are showing up in your life, the way that your cycle is working. symptoms you're seeing after transitioning, whatever the case, based on what your body is showing for patterns, they can identify what it is that you need for herbal support in that solution. What does steaming address? Steaming addresses all kinds of things like circulation challenges. It is a really great medium to use for infections. It is great for fertility support, so anybody who is even thinking about, even if a baby is three years out on your horizon and is not currently in your plan, I would absolutely advocate for starting to do steaming now because laying the groundwork for a healthy body with improved circulation and all of these things before you try to conceive, will actually increase your chances for a healthy, successful conception without. without all the roadblocks that a lot of people face. a l we have a staggering statistic in, the United States in terms of fertility challenges, like the vast number of people are experiencing them and they experience them for a variety of reasons. Like we have a culture that is very birth control focused. And when you are focused on birth control as a means of, and I'm using air quotes, treatment for menstrual irregularity and other types of issues, you're actually disrupting a healthy process in a body. So you are interrupting healthy hormone communication. You are only allowing a withdrawal bleed. It is not actually regulating anything. So when you have been on this medication for a prolonged period of time, it leeches certain really important minerals and nutrients that you need to be in an abundant place for fertility to be optimal. And so the longer you're on something like this, the longer it takes to replenish your system in order to prepare for a healthy pregnancy. Because really when you think about it, the goal is not just to get pregnant, it's to carry a healthy baby to term, to have the most perfect little human in your arms at the end of this journey. And when we don't prepare our. as much for a pregnancy as we do for our wedding. For example, like a lot of people spend over a year planning for their wedding, but they just, by the time they make the decision that they are ready to have a baby, they were ready to have the baby yesterday. they're like, okay, I'm ready to be pregnant now. And then after six months of trying, they're frustrated because they're like, oh, this wasn't as easy as I expected it to be. And we have that understanding for a lot of reasons. the, this birth control effect. Okay? There's a lot of people in the population that are on hormonal birth control and they think that if they go off the birth control one cycle and then they start trying that they can conceive. Some people can, but the vast majority of people can't. And it's for this mineral nutrient reason. It's the fact that for a lot of people, they're still having a withdrawal bleed pattern for several months after they get off of birth control and other reasons. the other thing is we often tend to benchmark off of six months of unprotected sex with, with no pregnancy resulting well, what factors are we not considering here? Were they on birth control ahead of time? They went off of the pill one month and now they've been trying for six months. if. Three or four of those months were withdrawal bleeds. You haven't even been ovulating yet, right? So there's a lot of reasons that, that, that color, that infertility diagnosis or end up fi people finding themselves in these infertility programs. And one of the beautiful parts about pelvic steaming is this is a way that you can support your body and prepare your body and nourish your body in preparation of a potential pregnancy later on down the road. So menstrual irregularity, that's a probably the number one thing that people come to me for. I'm having clots, I'm having cramps. I, my period is all over the place. It's, it's either too short or some months, it's 24 days. Some months it's 33 days. I don't know why this is happening. all of those kinds of things. The pain is a big one. Clots are a big one. and when we're able to use pelvic steaming to increase circulation, to provide certain tools that the body is literally hungry for, to warm that area, because heat is a big part of it, circulation is a big part of it. when we're able to use steam to be able to help all of these things, we're able to regulate the healthy hormone communication in the body and eliminate some of the roadblocks that cause issues. It's wonderful for helping with pelvic floor healing, whether there's been surgery, there's been trauma from birth, anything like that. It is beautiful for heal for pelvic floor healing. and one that a lot of people don't think about is emotional and physical release. So one of, there are two really important acupuncture points on the peroneum, and one of them has a lot to do with the emotional body. And when you're stimulating circulation and warming and bringing chi to that area, we're able to unlock and process a lot of emotions that we hold there. And so a lot of times women, because our room space is the seat of our identity, we hold and bottle a lot of emotions there, and it can, it shows up in physical ways. menstrual irregularities, fibroids, all of those kinds of things. And steaming helps us to release the emotional piece and the physical symptoms that may be showing up as a result of that. And that's really important. So steaming is powerful, both dealing with the physiological symptoms that show up, but also the emotional ones as well. So why does pelvic steaming work? Okay. I was the why kid growing up, I needed to know why everything happened. As a practitioner, I approach my work with my clients the exact same way. I want them to understand why things are happening because then you feel like you are in the driver's seat of your boss. You are empowered. You are, you have the knowledge and you can make some meaningful choices about what to do with your body from an educated place. And so yeah, that's my philosophy as a practitioner. So why does STEAM work the way that it does? STEAM is powerful because it increases circulation in the entire body from the pelvic floor. it helps to speed healing after birth. It thins and softens anything that. if there's been a loss of efficiency in the cycle itself, it helps to move anything that may be left behind by period's birth, all of those types of things. it is really beautiful for recovery after miscarriage. helping to make sure that there isn't anything left behind that could potentially cause an infection. you can use steaming to help with people who are starting to see symptoms of an infection after the birthing process, whether it is pregnancy loss prior to full term or a full term pregnancy. But your vaginal canal is made up of a lot of porous cells, which supports the absorption of these, herbal properties and they're delivered by steam. So the medium, the steam itself is equally as important for stimulating circulation as the herbs themselves are. There is a lifting, tightening, toning effect. So if people are struggling with, prolapse, it does help with that. It's like anybody who's working with a pelvic pt, it acts like a warmup before exercise. So if you steam and then you do your exercises with your pelvic pt, it helps you with the circulation. You need the muscle control. You need to really get the, be the biggest benefit out of the exercises. there are two, and I mentioned this before, but there are two really important acupuncture points on the perennial. and I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone sticking any needles in my per I know that there are acupuncturists that have to do that as part of school. And, whew. It's a big roadblock for me in terms of acupuncture school. This is why I do sound therapy, but, I don't have enough Mars in my chart to stick needles in people, particularly in this location, but, Being able to realize the benefits because these two points are powerhouses for the Remi and the domi, which are the, extraordinary vessels that run down the very center of your body. They stimulate blood flow and chi, and have really big health impacts on the body. They help declare heat. They help declare dampness, which is important for dealing with cysts and infections. it helps to calm the spirit for emotional healing after abuse, birth trauma, cesarean, we all have different narratives that bring us to where we are in our lives. And unfortunately for a lot of women, and I apologize if any of this topic is triggering for anyone who is listening, but unfortunately there are a lot of us and I am in that, that group as well, who have experienced some form of something happening against their will without consent. And I am so sorry for any of you listening who are in that category. My heart goes out to you. I see you. I'm standing in solidarity with you. And this practice is really powerful for working through some of that, for being able to release some of that, to heal from all of that and to reclaim your power. uses for pelvic steaming. so I alluded at the beginning that you can use it for all kinds of things. one of the things that I. that I often will talk about, and I know that I have in a previous podcast about what a normal healthy cycle looks like. But if you haven't listened to that episode, you should go back and check it out. but standard healthy cycles, okay, this is what they look like. They arrive every 28 to 30 days, okay? Before that tells a story. After that tells a story. Y the lunar cycle is 29 and a half days. So your period should arrive somewhere between cycle day 28 and cycle day 30. Anything outside of that, we need to see what's going on. men sees that last only four to five days. Okay. Chinese medicine says four to six is normal. In all of the time I've been doing this work, I have only seen like two normalize at a six day window. In general, it's four to five days, and it's supposed to have a nice bell curve to its cadence. It'll start light to medium. It will get heavy on day two, it will start to come down. Three into that medium to medium light zone light on day four and cruise to the finish line like that is the soft bell curve that your period is supposed to take. If you are coming into day one of your cycle and it is like the floodgates of hell opened and it's whoosh and it feels like there's no control and you bleed super hard for two days and then it just fizzles off to nothing. That is an imbalance that needs to be looked at. If you are finding that it takes forever for your period to ramp up, either brown beforehand or you feel like you got a wicked slow start and it just slowly starts to increase, it takes almost a whole day to ramp up to an actual flow. That's a pattern that needs to be investigated. Okay. your period when it starts, it should commit your day. One of your cycle is the first day of fresh red blood. Only when you have a committed flow. It doesn't have to be heavy flow, but it has to be steady and like enough that you have a panty liner at least, if not more. so that is day one. You want to have fresh red blood only through the entire process. No clots, no brown, no black, no stringy, nothing weird. Okay? No cramps, no PMs or P M D symptoms. Any emotional symptoms ahead of your cycle starting is a flag that your body is waving, saying, please help me out. I'm dealing with an imbalance and I need more tools. Okay? Any emotions And I, and I. I emphasize that point because our culture normalizes the emotional stuff and makes it seem like if you are batshit crazy prior to your period, that's normal because PMs is normal. No, it pre-menstrual syndrome, meaning you are dealing with an imbalance in your body. You, it is normal to feel a little tired going into it. Your body's ramping up to do a big process. It is normal for your low belly to feel heavy because you have a whole bunch of blood volume just before you let down. It is normal for your abdomen to feel full. However, bloated is not. Okay. We normalize it. And I will never forget when I first started cycling, there was a commercial on TV and I'm totally dating myself, so you'll be able to guess how old I am. But there was a commercial on TV for my doll, and this woman throws herself down on the couch and is like trying to button her pants and she's leaning backwards on the couch and she's trying to get the button buttoned. And the voiceover on the commercial is like my doll. He, you mixes so that you fit back into your pants again. And bloating is not an issue during your period. And then I remember the blue box at the end of the commercial, right? This is 20 years ago, folks, I remember this commercial vividly because it was one of the first times. In the first few months after I had started menstruating, that I noticed a commercial like that cuz it was speaking to me cuz it was an experience that I was finally having, right? That made an impression on me as a 13 year old girl. Okay? oh my gosh, it's more than 20 years old now thinking about the fact that I was 13, but I digress. So it all these years later, I still vividly remember that commercial. But the thing is they were selling a product based on normalizing symptoms that are not normal. Are they common? A hundred percent. There are so many people that experience these symptoms. It is common. but it is not normal. It is your body's way of saying, Hey, I am struggling with some stagnation and I need some support. Pelvic steaming helps with that circulation. One of the things that I always love with people that first start steaming with me is it is like the first cycle maybe too, that they're like, oh my gosh, I wasn't bloated this month. It was amazing. And it's yes, because when you are not quote unquote stuck, you don't get bloated and your circulation improves. And you are not bloated. it's really powerful what Steam can do in terms of creating a healthy menstrual cycle. Okay. And I know some people are listening to this and like laughing because it sounds like I'm promising a unicorn. And believe me, when I first started this work, I was the biggest skeptic because I was ha I was cycling every 18 days. I was mind numbingly exhausted from all of that bleeding. I literally was bleeding more than I wasn't bleeding. I was bleeding for almost two weeks. Every time I bled, I had wicked pain. Like I, endometriosis was part of my experience and I had pains of bowel movements. I had pain during my period. I had pain before my period started. I had pain after my period, like when I first. Bound this work. I had literally all of the imbalances that I currently screened for, and I thought that a 28 day symptom-free cycle sounded like a unicorn. And I laughed, biggest skeptic out there, and I was like, you know what? I will believe it when I see it. And then at 33 years of age, I had my first symptom free 28 day cycle. With no pain. And I was like, holy crap, this can actually happen. And it was so life-changing for me because I had pads stuffed in every suitcase you could possibly imagine. my husband and I laugh now cuz when we go into some of the suitcases and stuff to pack for trips, my husband's oh, found more pads. You stuck in the little zipper pocket over here in this thing. And because I haven't needed things like that for years. And I had them in every backpack, every purse, every hidden zipper pocket. I had them in jackets, I had them in suitcases. I had them stuffed everywhere. I kept a bag. Of menstrual supplies in the glove box of my car. When I started dating my husband, I put one in the glove box of his car and he goes, are you serious right now, And I'm like, yes, I'm dead serious. And then after he had been with me for a little while, he saw why. And like I just could not be caught away from anywhere without paper products because I just, I never knew when it was gonna come and when it did it, like it just came out of nowhere really hard, really heavy, really fast. And, and I really, really struggled with it for years. And so now it's a joke because I've been so many years now without any of those problems that whenever I find like an old pad or whatever, like stuffed in a corner somewhere, I'm like, oh, that's funny because I honestly never thought that I would ever have the cycle that I have now. And I so many women in my practice experience the same thing. it's really incredible because I had to plan trips around my bleeds. I had, at one point before, I was as savvy as I am now about Mest Health. I even tried to have an I U D put in because I had to travel for work and I was bleeding so much. I was just hoping that the marina was gonna make it stop so that I could actually travel. It was a requirement of my job and not realizing at the time that I was bleeding every time I traveled because I had spleen sheet efficiency really bad. And it was a triggering event for me. So every time I traveled I would bleed. there was a reason for that. I now know that, but I didn't at the time. And so travel, vacations, parties going swimming, like literally everything had to be plant and loose stools. Oh my gosh. Period. Poops, man. Like I know there are some of you out there listening to this, nodding going, yes, that is a real thing. And needing to be near a bathroom in order to deal with that before the bleed started. Like it. I started tracking my basal temperature because I never knew when my period was gonna start and my temperature would drop down to 97.2, and I knew that blood would be there within 12 hours and I had to start doing that because it was so unpredictable and I had so many like premenstrual symptoms, but I had them kind of all the time because I was exhausted and trying to work like a man and push hard through everything and keep up with the cor corporate gauntlet of expectations that it was just. I look back at it now, and I'm pretty sure I was insane for trying to keep up with all of it, but I, gosh, I knows I tried but at the detriment of my body, and this is what steaming can be used for. Steaming can be used to heal after long-term damage like that. my whole bleeding life from the time I started my period at 12 until I was in my thirties, was unpredictable, irregular, painful, heavy. Life altering, and then once I found steaming, all of that changed. I felt like I reclaimed my vitality. I felt like I reclaimed my power, my body autonomy, my life. It was incredible. And steaming can be used regardless of what you are born with for body parts. so steaming for people who are born as men, for example, is helpful with erectile dysfunction because erectile dysfunction has a lot to do with circulation. It is great for fertility support because they also have these two really important acupuncture points on their peroneum as well. and we can use this to help couples who are trying to conceive. hemorrhoids are a big one. hemorrhoids. Oh and no pen intended there. Hemorrhoids, anal fissures, anal fistulas. it is really beneficial for all of those things. So take all of that, obviously, minus the erectile I issues. but now let's talk about bleeding bodies. So disman and a amen. Irregular periods and absent periods, long cycles, short cycles. Cramping's a big one. how it shows up, tells a story, whether it's localized or it's dull ache if you're getting it in your back or in your abdomen. brown blood and black blood infections. Okay, so this is a, this is one that I absolutely love to talk about. Maybe I should do a whole episode about it. but infections is a big one. So one of the misconceptions that's out there in our culture when people look at anything that is written about vaginal steaming or pelvic steaming, is that. it can create infections. no, not exactly. It's actually a really powerful agent for addressing infections because when you use antimicrobial antibacterial and antiviral herbs direct at the source with very specific heat and duration guidelines over a very specific protocol, you are actually helping to drain the heat and dampness that's causing the problem. Remember that acupuncture point I was telling you about? now you're also providing these antibi antibiotic, antimicrobial antifungal properties direct to the source. So your vaginal ecology is actually the extension of your gut health. If you're having these issues and their recurrent issues, looking at your gut health is really important. fast forward, how do we deal with these types of infections? We go and get antibiotics, so we had the antibiotic. It obliterates all of the good and the bad flora. Then you end up back in the doctor's office more times than not within a few weeks because you have another infection and it's even worse than before. And the reason for that is now there's no one left to defend the kingdom. You have killed all of the things that usually protect your body inside your body. Now you are also killing the things that are outside your body, and there's none of the good guys to repopulate and defend the kingdom. Everything has been killed and you have to repopulate everything. Invaders can totally be a factor again. also it has to do with taking down the heat in the system as well. So again, th that's a conversation for another day. However, it is really important to note that infections like uti, yeah. UTIs, bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, hpv cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer are all within the realm of steam, being able to address it. STEAM can be used for P C O S, endometriosis cysts, okay? There is an epidemic level of women who are dealing with these things. I am walking proof that endometriosis symptoms can be managed with diet, lifestyle, and pelvic steaming. Pelvic steaming is an incredibly important piece in that equation. Miscarriage recovery. Women, if you have lost a baby, I see you and I am. My heart goes out to you because I have had recurrent miscarriages myself. It is part of why I do this work. Okay. and I get choked up talking about it because there's so many of us that suffer in silence with these losses and with the grief feeling like an island. And like even with the most supportive partner in the entire world, like we are totally alone in this process and you're not alone. So steaming is wonderful, not only for the physical recovery after miscarriage, but it is also really important for the emotional recovery afterwards as. okay, you are in postpartum for the number of weeks that you were pregnant. You have to honor that time, heal appropriately, rest, get the right kinds of things into your system in order to be ready to try again. If that's what you decide to do it. That's not what everyone decides to do. But if you recover well and you recover properly, you are setting yourself up for success in the future. Unexplained infertility is another big reason why I do this work. Western Medicine puts a lot of things together under the quote unquote unexplained infertility umbrella. And one of the things that I think is absolutely beautiful about Chinese medicine is the fact that there are several different diagnoses that fall underneath. So that Y kid piece that I was talking about in the beginning, like this really speaks to that for me. and why I decided to work in this way. Because I needed to know why it was happening, why I was having challenges, why I wanted to have a baby with the love of my life and my body just would not hold the pregnancy. We were getting pregnant. I've had seven miscarriages, like we were getting pregnant, but we weren't holding it. So when you go to a reproductive endocrinologist and they go, your levels are fine, his levels are fine. I have no idea why you're not getting pregnant, but I can do IVF with ixy. It's hold on a second. You are only looking at the getting me pregnant part. That's not the issue. The issue is I can't stay pregnant. Why is that? And they didn't have an answer for me. Here, take a progesterone suppository. Okay, great. But that didn't solve the problem either. And so it's taken years of me working in this field doing research to support my clients that I've learned the why in my own equation. But I use. Knowledge as power to help other people not go through what I've been through, because I wouldn't wish that experience upon anybody. fertility is supposed to be like one of these things that, we're told that you could get pregnant all the time and that it's really easy to get pregnant and all these things. And then nine times outta 10 when people are actually in a healthy, loving relationship and want to get pregnant, they are mystified by actually how hard it is. And the thing is in any given month, we only have a chance, a 33% chance max with everything being perfect and the stars aligned in all of these things in order to actually get pregnant. And so we wanna optimize those parameters, that criteria the health of our body, the health of our partner's body in order to reap that 30% success. So when people start trying and they've had a few months and they're like, oh, I can't believe I haven't gotten pregnant yet. it's not a hundred percent guarantee every month. if you do the things at the certain time, like it's going to happen. Like for some people it does, but for a vast majority of people it doesn't. And so this is why it is so important to make sure that the landscape, your, their physical body constitution is as healthy as possible when you start trying postpartum recovery. I alluded to this earlier on in the show that postpartum recovery is one of the most universally used. reasons for pelvic steaming. and like I talk about, I have a course called Empowered Fertility that talks about the right per, creating the right parameters for both the male and female partners in their relationship. I anticipate that there will be a course coming out at some point about post, about labor preparation and postpartum, but, it's really important to recover after. You have three really big moments in your life to hit the reset button on your health. One is when you first start your period at Menarchy. one is in postpartum. So anytime you are postpartum, it is an opportunity to hit a reset button on your health and longstanding medical issues you may have been having and all of those things because you were literally rebuilding the foundation of your building, at postpartum and then again at menopause. capitalize on this incredible superpower that your body has to realign itself to heal itself, to start a new, scar tissue is another big area that this is successful for. So if you've had laparoscopies, cesarean, any sort of abdominal surgery, like an appendectomy, anything like that, steaming helps to break apart scar. some people have cramping because they have scar tissue from abdominal procedures and things like that. Steaming is really beneficial for that. it helps to ease the menopause transition. for the large number of women who are coming into perimenopause right now, your transition, if you were between 35 and 49, you really should check out my coming into second spring. course it was, It's being offered as a replay on a live event that I did. But it, it has so much good information in terms of, all right, so at 35, this is what happens in your body at 42, this is what happens in your body at 49. this is what you can expect because we don't talk about this topic nearly enough. And it's unfortunate because this is where we become really symptomatic again, where, we can see hot flashes, we can see night sweats, we start to see vaginal atrophy, personal dryness, UTIs when we didn't ha ever have any before things like this. We don't talk nearly enough about it. And Steam is really beautiful in terms of helping to support the body and address why those types of symptoms start happening during that transition. It helps people to sleep at night with insomnia that comes during that timeframe, decreasing hot flashes and night sweats. Like it's so supportive. During all of these life phase transitions as well as with trauma. healing from trauma, whether you still have the physical symptoms or you have the emotional scars at this point, it is so helpful, in that healing process, the releasing process, the evolving and becoming that next. version of yourself. because, it becomes part of our fabric, but it doesn't have to dominate our lives. And so this helps us in that healing journey, because steaming has this incredible way of grounding our body in a very visceral way. And as women, where we live in our head a lot, we're the. we're thinkers, we're doers, we're planners, we're, that type of thing. And for a lot of women, especially when they're trying to be intimate with a partner, it's really hard to get out of your head and into your body. and that can be a big roadblock in terms of intimacy being a pleasurable experience. being able to get in the mood, being able to have your personal moisture, actually respond. I have some clients that I talk to about the fact that the mind is willing, but you're looking down there going, girlfriend, get yourself together. Why do I feel like I have two bodies here? steaming is really helpful in terms of that embodied experience and really being able to pull you out of your head and into your body. Not to mention. awesome in terms of helping with foreplay. For the vast majority of us, we struggle with orgasm because we don't have enough blood flow to the pelvic floor. Whether that is not long enough foreplay, not enough stimulation, struggles with circulation in general. There's a whole long list of reasons why, you know, women in general really struggle to orgasm and, steaming is beautiful for that. You steam just before you try to be intimate with your partner. It does have the foreplay process for you. It stimulates blood flow, makes everything nice and warm and sensitive. And then when you're engaging with your partner, everything feels better. I've had clients who are like, I haven't been able to ever orgasm when I've been with my partner, and I feel a lot of shame around that. And then they start steaming and they're like, oh my gosh, I had my first orgasm and it was amazing. Or I have some people who are like, yeah, my orgasms are okay. They were relatively consistent, but now they're experiencing cervical orgasms and they didn't even know they existed. Like it, it really enhances the function of all of the things that happen in our pelvic floor, in, an episode that. that I did, we were talking about the sump pump effect of the pelvic floor and how important that is in terms of getting fluids up out of your extremities and things like that. Steaming helps make that happen all more efficiently. so anyway, I could go on and on about steaming, but I wanna dispel a few misconceptions around steaming. one misconception that drives me bonkers is steam caused me to get a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis. Okay. I alluded to this one before. It is common to notice some clumpy yeasty discharge after a steam session if you have a history with these kinds of infections. But steam cannot introduce mucus into the canal. it just can't. Think of it, think of steaming, like when you have a cold and you're in the shower and you get into the shower in order for the heat and the steam to drain all that junk in your head so that you can actually blow your nose and breathe again. It's like that, the vaginal canal, because you're designed to push out. A baby has all kinds of folds and stuff, and mucus and bacteria and stuff can like linger in there. And when you're steam. it helps to aid with ridding the body within from the infection, not only because of the properties of the herbs that you use during an infection, but it creates a non hospitable place for a bacteria to thrive and drains all of that damp, mucusy kaka that's in there. so that it can't proliferate. And, but this is why you have to do it with a certified practitioner because you, the whole idea with this is to not create hospitable conditions for bacteria to thrive. but it is very effective at breaking an infection cycle. this is actually something that naysayers to this practice will try to belabor that, oh, this causes infections, it causes, other types of problems. The vagina, oh, this is my favorite one. The vagina is a self-cleaning oven. It does not need any intervention. I challenge that statement because if the vagina was as effective as a self-cleaning oven as it needs to be, then how do we get these infections in the first place? So I leave you with that thought. sometimes because of our environment, because of stress, because of our diet, because of all of the things that disrupt our system, the body needs a little support to clear the debris off the highway so that the body can do what it knows it how to do. And yeah. Can it take care of itself? Sure. As long as there isn't anything inhibiting it from doing that. So this is why the self-cleaning oven comment drives me bananas. And I've even heard obs and there are articles out there where doctor doctors make statements like that, and it's very misleading because. They would never have to prescribe antibiotics if that was 110% true. Does the functionality work that way? Yes, but our bodies are also designed to make healthy cells over and over again, and yet cancer exists because of things that disrupt that normal, healthy cellular division. I'm gonna leave that alone, because I could get mad about that all day. okay. So another thing that I hear often is steaming caused my cramps to get worse. The truth is that you may increase a little bit of cramping in the early stage of the journey, and a lot of times that is seen in people who use things like tampons and sea sponges that block the downward uterine flow. Okay. When your period is letting down, you are not supposed to plug it. you are only absorbing the flushing mechanism with a tampon or a C sponge. Okay? You, the, your body is bleeding to flush the unused endometrial lining for the month to start anew for the next month. When you use a plug product, you are blocking the exit of that lining, leaving the uterus. That is where a lot of cramping comes from. I have clients that are like, oh, I am a habitual tampon ware, blah, blah, blah, and I'll tell them, even if you don't try this steaming thing, just try. Not using a tampon, even a cup, and I know cups are controversial with some people, I'm an advocate for a cup because there are times that you just need some leak free protection. How, and that's why people don't want to go without their tampons. But the difference is the cup is like a catcher, smt, and it sits underneath the cervix to catch instead of being right up against the cervix blocking the exit. Okay? Not everybody agrees with me with that. There are some eastern practitioners that are like, nothing is supposed to go up and in because all of the energy is down and out. I think that balance is what. People able to adopt things into their lifestyle. I personally use cups and I think they're wonderful. they are a great alternative and help to reduce cramping in people who have been habitual tampon users. And I used to be, okay, so I'm not saying this from this magical place where I never used birth control and I never used a tampon. No. I've been through all of this stuff. I had a heart attack on birth control. Like I tried to have a marina put in so that I could travel like people. I don't live in a magic bubble anywhere. when I am saying however, is that we are grossly misinformed as a public. Some of the things that are offered to us and what the repercussions are of using those products. And the whole point of this program is to raise awareness about those things so you can make informed choices about what is gonna be in your best interest. So steaming, making the cramping worse really has to do more with the fact that there is stuff your body tried to expel that it wasn't able to expel, and now you've increased circulation and the power behind that flushing mechanism. And now it's trying to get all this junk out. when you observe proper period care, and I do have a mini course if you're interested, it's like maybe an hour of content. It's super short. But the whole idea is teaching you what proper period care looks like. and if you're observing proper period, care cramps are generally not a thing. misconception number three. I tried steaming and it didn't work for me. So sometimes this statement is made when a person doesn't understand what they are looking for signs of improvement. That is really important. Sometimes this statement is made when they are trying a one size fits all herbal approach, meaning they get it off of a website or they get it off of Etsy and it's a generic blend of something, and they're expecting magic to happen with a generalized blend of something. Okay? The success of this modality comes from the right heat, the right duration, and the right herbs for the right bodies. Period. This is not a one size fits all kind of practice because everybody's body constitution requires different types of support. Just like everybody has a different story because of their personal experiences, their life experiences, their work experiences, their cultural experiences. All of those things make them who they are. all of those same types of things influence your body's constitution. What were your parents like? What were your grandparents like? How well did they take care of themselves? Did your mom get pregnant when she was still sick with mold toxicity? Did she, like All of those things affect our fabric and The success of this practice, this steaming practice really hinges upon the right heat, the right duration, and the right herbs for the right bodies. And the best way to do that is working with a certified practitioner. So misconception number four, and I hear this one a lot, doctors do not recommend pelvic steaming. Okay? This is not all true. all doctors that advi advise against his practice, eh, that's not true. I have doctors that refer to me. So I can tell you for a fact that is not true. There are some very loud proponents in the social space right now that poo this practice, and there's reasons for that. They don't have enough information about it. They're not taught about it in school. Doctors can be legally liable if they recommend something that causes harm to someone. So if they don't know anything about the practice, they are always going to err on the side of caution because they can get sued. So one of the things that makes me crazy about when people Google vaginal steaming is some of the loudest naysayers and We'll see if I get any lash back from this, but some of the loudest naysayers against this practice are people who do not understand how it works. and if you are one of those people and you are listening to this, please feel free to reach out to me. I am totally open to having a controversial conversation on this podcast about this issue because here's the thing, if this is done with a certified person who knows what they're doing, who knows what they're looking for, there is no harm that can come from this as long as it is being done correctly. Now, if you have somebody who is too hot too long using their own blend of herbs that they bought off of Etsy, that is a totally different situation and it really puts pelvic steaming in a very bad light, and that stuff makes me crazy. I have spent my entire career trying to elevate the level of this modality because it has such powerful healing benefits for so many people. And this whole, my doctor doesn't recommend it. I understand that it's coming from a place of, they haven't been educated about how this practice works and the benefits of it, and honestly, I welcome anyone who may be listening, who is a practitioner who wants to learn more about it. I would love to have a Zoom call with you, sit down with you, explain how it works, why it works. You know what I've seen? Yes. All of my data from my personal practice is anecdotal. I will back it up with as many medical journal articles as I possibly can. Because here's the other thing. If it doesn't exist in the literature, it's because of who's asking the questions and what questions are being asked. Okay? If we look at the fact that less than 5% of the NIH budget is actually focused on women's health related anything, then we don't have enough money and enough people asking enough questions. This particular topic is not even going to rise to the surface. It doesn't mean that it is not a viable practice that has been benefiting women for centuries. Steaming is not part of the medical school curriculum. and a lot of times doctors don't have very basic knowledge of this practice unless they've tried it or they have independently reached out for more information. I have had beautiful conversations with medical professionals, MDs, integrative medical Professionals, OB GYNs. I have OB gyn that refers to me, which is such a beautiful synergy between what they have for tools in their toolkit and what I have for tools in my toolkit Together, we're working for the ultimate good of the client that we are. We are. We are using the synergy of both of our training and both of our toolkits to help people feel better. that is a win-win. Any way you look at it, there is a growing awareness in the Western medical community and the more doctors that are being exposed to it, I'm, I am very. Like I said, proactive and open about having conversations with people about the successes I've seen for all of the various things that I work with people on. And I welcome those conversations because the more that the Western medical community is educated and spun up on this, the more that it becomes another tool in their toolkit to be able to help people with. So misconception number five, steaming can't have an effect on hormones. The truth is that hormone receptors line, the inner cavity of the vaginal canal, the inner lining of the uterus and the ovaries. There are triggers in the vaginal canal, the cervix, and the uterine walls that communicate with the pituitary gland in the brain. So increasing circulation and getting out of the way of the body so that there aren't things disrupting it absolutely will increase the healthy hormone communication between the hypothalamus, pituitary and the ovarian. cycle. Okay. It is really important. The body always wants to reach towards homeostasis. So if we eliminate the circulation, nutrition, and energetic roadblocks that stand in the way of our hormones, it will just know what it needs to do. And the whole goal of this practice is we're going to get the crab out of the way that stands in the way of homeostasis and let the body know what, let the body do what it knows how to do best, because it is brilliant. Our bodies are brilliant, and we're just not taught to trust in the their wisdom. And so part of the educational process that I do with people is to empower you so that you know what your body needs. And eventually, once you know how to do the steaming thing, you know what your body's telling you. You know how to look for warning signs, you know how to read your period, like all that stuff. Then you're in like this maintenance place where now steaming as part of your lifestyle, you can use it through all of your life transitions. You can, steam very little and maintain your healthy menstrual cycle. You can change the way that you're steaming in order to support, trying to conceive you change it again if you're trying to, recover after baby. if you're headed into menopause, you're looking at it from a different lens. But literally what you are working towards is just being able to steam a little and maintain your results and it's totally possible. So thank you so much for sticking with me for an entire solid hour with no breaks. listening to me talk about this practice that I am so passionate about. I have seen the quality of so many people's lives transformed by pelvic steaming that there is no naysayer or Medical Journal article that could convince me that this practice isn't in the highest and best good of anyone who engages with it. The key is making sure that you are working with a practitioner that can give you the guidance that your individual body. So I'm going to stop there. Again, I could talk about this all day long, every day, all day because I love what I do. I love this work. I'm really excited cuz this year I'm going to actually start training peri steam hydrotherapist so that there are more practitioners like me out there in the world being able to share this body wisdom and body literacy with people because. We desperately need to put our power back in our own hands, and education is really the biggest way to do it, and I am a firm believer in that. And so I'm really excited, to be able to start teaching Perine hydrotherapist this year. something I've been dreaming about for a while, and the time is now, especially given what's going on in our country right now. Body literacy, body wisdom, and self-care practices are needed more now than ever. if you have any feedback about this or if this lit your fire and you wanna know about learning how to become a peri steam hydrotherapist, or if you're interested, in the show notes, I will put, links to all of those courses that I mentioned. And, if you are a medical professional and you want to speak with me directly, I totally welcome that. Please feel to feel free to reach out to me. We'll schedule a time to do a Zoom call. We'll talk through what this is, how it works. We can talk about it in a slightly more clinical way. But, I am really looking to elevate the level of this profession because it really does deserve a seat at the table in terms of being able to change the reproductive health for women everywhere. thank you for joining me for another episode of Reproductive Rebel Reproductive. Rebel is recorded by certified per steam hydrotherapist, herbalist, sound healer, and Chinese nutritional therapist, Adrian IRI of Moon Essence L L c. If you are interested in setting up an appointment with Adrian for one-on-one support, ordering from our store or checking out our course offerings, visit our website at Moon essence dot. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get insider information on upcoming events and offerings. Join the conversation like us and follow Moon Essence me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Your voices make this program possible. Thank you all for your continued support.