VAGINAL STEAMING & HERBS
What is Vaginal Steaming?
Vaginal steaming is a practice that has been performed by women all throughout history in almost every part of the world to maintain health and wellness of the female reproductive system. It involves heating water or herbal tea, which is then placed in a bowl for the woman to sit or kneel over. By doing so, the steam travels up towards her vulva and allows the steam and herbs to work medicinally on her reproductive organs. It sounds a little strange if it's the first time you've heard about it, but it's basically like a spa day for your vagina - with the super awesome benefit of regulating your cycle and eliminating bothersome lady issues. Sweet!
Benefits of Vaginal Steaming
Lots of people are curious about whether vaginal steaming will help solve a host of various vaginal and uterine issues, ranging from things like painful or irregular periods and infections like BV and yeast, to fibroids and infertility. The number one benefit of vaginal steaming is that it regulates the female reproductive and hormone cycles, and by doing so, eliminates bothersome issues that women encounter, like the ones listed above... and more!
Other Positive Effects...
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Relaxation
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Deep Sleep
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Increased Vaginal Nectar (clear pleasant-smelling fertile mucus)
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Heightened Libido and Sexual Sensation
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Heightened Fertility
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Circulation Improvement
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Decreased PMS Symptom
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Water Retention Disbursement
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Emotional Balance
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Skin Beautification
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Tightened and Lifted Vaginal Canal
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Scar Softening
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Helps Prevention and Treatment of Ingrown Hairs
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Post-Birth Recovery
Vaginal Steam Herbs
I offer a variety of vaginal steam blends for various intentions. The blends I currently offer include:
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Balance - Maintenance Steam Blend
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Revive - Disinfectant Steam Blend
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Welcome - Pre-Conception Steam Blend
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Reconnect - Postpartum Steam Blend
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Each blend contains enough herbs for 18 steams, which is enough to last 3-4 cycles, depending on whether you choose to steam weekly or pre/post period. The exception is the postpartum blend, which contains enough herbs to steam once per day for 14 days.
Each steam blend purchase comes with instructions for when and how often to steam, including how to set up your steam in the comfort of your own home.
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All blends are $20 each and can be purchased in the Online Shop.
Postpartum vaginal steam herbs are offered as a gift to all of my homebirth midwifery and birth doula monitrice clients.
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You can also select postpartum vaginal steam herbs ass an add-on item with Placenta Encapsulation Services.
My personal experience with vaginal steaming...
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I became interested in and passionate about vaginal steaming after I experienced the benefits of it firsthand. Before giving birth to my daughter, my cycles had historically been long and irregular, with heavy bleeding and lots of cramping. I just thought it was normal - of course I feel exhausted and depleted during my period! Of course I have painful cramps and crazy PMS! Isn't this what a period is supposed to be like? Nope. But I didn't learn that until years later... Fast-forward to when Tyler and I were trying for baby #2, and after two very difficult losses, I became frustrated with my body for not growing another healthy baby. Conception and pregnancy were so easy with our first child, I wondered why my body wasn't working now and why I was experiencing crazy cycles between losing Penny and another miscarriage. I reached out to a friend (who's also an amazing midwife), and she introduced me to vaginal steaming.
Cue the clouds parting and the voices of angels singing down through rays of sunshine.
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Yep. It was that amazing. I admittedly have a history of rejecting trying new things if they sound too weird or strange, but at this point I was so desperate for a healthy baby I was happily willing to steam my vagina with alllll the herbs - or as Tyler called it, "the clam bake." So I did. My friend got me steaming with a custom blend of herbs and a personalized steam plan. Within three months, my cycles were consistently an average 29 days with only 4 days of light, thin, bright red bleeding. No cramps. No old, stagnant residue. No clots. No crazy PMS mood swings. And then... that beautiful '+' on the next pregnancy test that led to our healthy, double rainbow baby.
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More than successfully conceiving and carrying another healthy baby to term, I also learned a LOT about my body and my cycle from steaming. I learned what's actually normal and not normal during menstruation. I learned about the signs of a healthy cycle and the signs of fertility. I learned about how to take care of my womb during each phase of my cycle. Steaming became a relaxing ritual - a time to go inward for reflection and meditation. It just felt so nice and it was keeping me healthy! So, I decided to learn more about vaginal steaming. Since then, I've used steaming to keep my cycles regular, light and comfortable, I've used it to treat infections like yeast (yuck!), balance pH, to aid in my postpartum recovery, and I also used it to bring back and regulate my cycles at one year postpartum after my son's birth. I started sharing my experiences with friends and clients, who then also became interested in the ways that steaming could benefit them.
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As a Certified Vaginal Steam Facilitator, I am SO excited to offer Vaginal Steam Consultation and Personalized Herbal Preparation services to YOU! Our wombs are sacred. They are the epicenter of both history and creation, and they deserve to be honored. And a happy side effect of honoring and bringing balance to your womb is that in return, it brings balance to you.
Get in touch to get started with your personalized vaginal steam plan!