VAGINAL STEAMING INSTRUCTIONS
VAGINAL STEAMING, YONI STEAMING, AND PELVIC HERBAL STEAMING.
( New to Vaginal Steaming and want to learn more? Read this first…)
SAFETY FIRST:
Overall pelvic or vaginal steaming is a non-invasive, very safe, and effective modality. There are a few contraindications that are very important to be educated around, and the herbs you use make all the difference.
There are a handful of situations where it is not dangerous to steam, but it can inflame certain gynecological issues causing you discomfort. Steaming could potentially cause certain birth controls (Essure, arm implant or patch, tubal coagulation) to not work, it could potentially reverse uterine ablation or uterine embolization, and it can be very dangerous if done while bleeding or if you are prone to intermittent bleeding.
*IMPORTANT*
- Never steam with any sign of fresh blood.
- Never steam while on your period.
- Do not steam If you have two periods a month, are prone to spontaneous bleeding, or intermittent bleeding.
- Do not steam if there is a chance of pregnancy.
- Do not steam post-surgery (c-section, hysterectomy, fibroid surgery, etc.) for at least 6 weeks so the incision can heal.
If there is any sign of fresh blood or you are prone to spontaneous bleeding, two periods a month or intermittent bleeding, steaming can induce heavy bleeding. If you are pregnant it can induce a miscarriage.
SOFT CONTRAINDICATIONS:
If you have any sort of infection accompanied by a “burning sensation” or a “burning itch” you most likely have excess heat in your body and steaming will inflame your discomfort. It is up to you whether to try but you most likely will benefit from seeing a naturopath, acupuncturist, or herbal practitioner to clear that up before trying to steam.
If you use birth control in the form of an arm implant or patch, have Essure coils in the fallopian tubes, or have had tubal coagulation (one form of having your tubes tied) steaming can potentially reverse the effects of your birth control causing it to not work properly. If you have the NuvaRing, take it out while steaming and then put it back in after.
If you have had uterine ablation or uterine embolization, steaming could potentially reverse the effects of the procedure.
If you have a situation where you are unsure, it’s best to seek a trained practitioner to guide you. Contact Abby for guidance or she can make a referral.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Make sure to stay hydrated to avoid any lightheadedness, headaches, and to support your body in the cleansing process just like if you were getting into a sauna.
Preparing The Herbs
The Gentle Blend needs more steeping to get the full medicinal properties out of the herbs.
Gentle Blend Instructions
1 ½ quarts / 6 cups water
Bring water to boiling
Turn down to low
Place in 2 tablespoons of dried herbs.
Leave the lid on, and let sit on low for 10 minutes.
Turn burner off
Steam session ready (may need to cool and extra 5 or 10 minutes with the burner off.)
Disinfecting, Cooling, and Cleansing Blend Instructions
1 ½ quarts / 6 cups water
Bring water to boiling
Add 2 tablespoons of dried herbs ( use 3 tablespoons for the Cooling Blend )
Leave the lid on and turn the burner off
Sit for 10 minutes.
Steam session ready
Steaming Without A Stool
You will stand on your knees with the pot between your legs, either resting your upper body forward on your bed, or on a pile of bolsters and pillows.
Place a hot pad on the ground for the pot.
Have pillows or towels for support under your knees.
Wrap a towel around the pot to avoid burning your legs.
Have blankets and or sheets to wrap around your waist.
Always test the temperature of steam first with your hand to make sure it’s not too hot.
From there make sure to position yourself over the steam slowly, to again make sure it’s not too hot.
The lid is left on to contain the medicinal properties of the plants, so do your best to keep the lid on until you're ready. If it’s too hot, let it cool with the lid on.
Cover/wrap your lower body with blankets and/or a sheet to contain the steam.
You can open your labia apart with your hand once, and from there get comfy and relax.
Once your comfortable the steam should last about 10 minutes.
Steaming With A Stool
Have blankets and/or a sheet prepared to wrap around your waist while sitting on the stool.
Once the herbs are prepared, place them on a hot pad underneath the stool.
Always test the temperature of steam first with your hand to make sure it’s not too hot.
From there make sure to position yourself over the steam slowly, to again make sure it’s not too hot.
The lid is left on to contain the medicinal properties of the plants, so do your best to keep the lid on until you're ready. If it’s too hot, let it cool with the lid on.
Cover/wrap your lower body with blankets and/or a sheet to contain the steam.
You can open your labia apart with your hand once, and from there get comfy and relax.
Once your comfortable the steam should last about 10 minutes.
If you’d like to use a single plate burner and steam for longer, it’s best to seek a trained practitioner for guidance to make sure you have not contraindications.
FAQ
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU STEAM?
When addressing any sort of imbalance or healing process, steam 3 times a month. You can steam either once a week (not counting the week of menstruation), or 3 days before and after your period. The choice is up to you regarding what is most convenient and easeful. If you steam multiple days in a row, herbs can be kept in the fridge in a muslin bag, sealed in a container, and reused once.
If everything with your cycle is just how you want it, once a month is a great practice for maintenance and preventative care.
AFTER STEAMING, WHAT IF YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF ITCHING OR BURNING SENSATION?
You either steamed too long, at too high of a temperature, used too many herbs or you need the herbal blend adjusted.
If you’re are using the disinfecting blend and any discolored malodorous discharge increases this is a good sign of cleansing and the itching is most likely due to the mucus irritating the skin as it exits. If this is the case you can use a peri bottle with plain water to rinse throughout the day to keep the mucus from sitting in the vaginal canal.
If you do not have malodorous and discolored discharge or it’s not increasing, you may need to shift to the cooling blend. The disinfecting blend is drying and you may need more moisturizing properties.
Email Abby with questions if you’re unsure.
CLEANSING SIGNS
Spotting, often brown or dark.
Increase in discharge that is malodorous, discolored, clumpy, etc.
Cramping.
Your next cycle may have more clots, or the blood may be darker or thicker.
Your next cycle may be shorter or longer.
It’s always best to be tracking your cycle prior to and throughout the practice of steaming to be aware of any changes. (For example, if your cycles become 27 days or less you’ll need to switch to the gentle herbs). Notice the difference in consistency, blood quality, and color, timing, PMS, etcetera.
BENEFITS AND SIDE EFFECTS
An ideal period happens every 28-30 days, with an average of 4 days of bleeding bright red blood. No clots, no spotting, no dark thick blood, no cramping. Steaming can help regulate your cycle, improve its efficiency, and free you of any pain and discomfort related to it.
Users have reported better sleep, decreased swelling in legs and feet, decreased abdominal bloating, slimmer waistline, increased libido, decrease in breast soreness, fewer headaches, fewer PMS symptoms, increased energy, lucid dreams, tingling feet, and increased lubrication.
However, some undesirable side effects might also occur.
Headaches and aching (not tingling) feet are signs that you are dehydrated or your circulation increased too much too fast. Drink lots of water.
Sometimes the cleansing of clumpy or discolored discharge can feel like an infection. This is a good cleansing sign that old mucus is exiting but it can be uncomfortable. You can use a peri bottle to rinse with water throughout the day to help clear the exiting discharge. Some infections are hot in nature and steaming can aggravate this sensation. You may need the cooling herbs or steaming may not be suited for you at this time.
The herpes virus is hot in nature, steaming may induce an outbreak. For herpes, the cooling herbs will be ideal unless you have short cycles that require the Gentle Blend. For some women steaming prevents outbreaks, while for others the heat is too much.
You may have the urge to urinate while steaming with the urethra being stimulated by the steam. This is normal. Empty your bladder and you are all good!
Cramping is often a sign of old residue loosening up to be cleansed, and the same goes for during your period. You may experience more cramping before symptoms reduce.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: PERIOD CARE 101
UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS
The first thing to know, is our periods are a monthly cleanse. It's the body’s natural detoxification process to keep us as women in optimum health. When the womb, or uterus, doesn't cleanse properly or fully each month, our womb can build up old residue that affects our overall health as women.
SYMPTOMS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
• Dark or brown blood at the beginning/end of your period
• Dark or thick blood
• Heavy periods
• Cramps or painful periods
• Clots
• Hormonal imbalances
• Bleeding more than 4 days
• Cycles shorten than 27 days
• Irregular cycles
• PMS
Each month the endometrial or uterine lining builds up in preparation for a fertilized egg to implant. If this does not happen, our uterus will shed this lining and start again. Our uterine arteries open and send blood into the uterus to flush out the unfertilized egg and lining. Our periods are not just tissue or blood accumulated in the uterus waiting to release. It's a flushing process.
The dark or brown blood at the beginning or end of your period is old residue from previous cycles. The dark thick blood and clots are signs of stagnation. The uterus will cramp in an effort to cleanse old residue or make up for stagnant circulation. The uterine arteries will flush more blood in an effort to clear old residue, the same goes for when things are stagnant. In turn, this makes your period long, heavy, and painful, which ultimately depletes you of nutrients, hydration, and energy - both emotionally and physically.
WHAT TO DO
REST AND STAY NOURISHED
Creating the blood needed to flush out the uterus, requires us to rest, stay hydrated, and stay nourished! Anything cold will stagnate blood flow. Keep warm, eat warm foods that are easy to digest, and steadily drink hot herbal tea to ease the process.
Get abdominal massage and bodywork for the hips, glutes, and low back. Get plenty of exercise in that first half of your cycle. This will all support healthy circulation in the pelvis, and therefore supports a healthy, pain-free cycle. Rest while you are bleeding, but plan ahead and weave these rituals of self-care into your life.
PERIOD PRODUCTS
To keep everything flowing at its best, it's important to be mindful of what products you are using for your period. Ultimately a tampon or sea sponge is a plug and will negatively affect the ability of the uterus to fully cleanse. We want to be able to flow freely not blocking the cervix (where the blood exits from the uterus) in any way. Period cups work great for some women, though for some women they cause cramping. Period underwear and pads are a great option as they uninhibit your body’s capacity to cleanse.
PLAN AHEAD
If we overextend ourselves while we are bleeding, our energy gets consumed elsewhere, and it compromises the efficiency of the cleanse. We may not be able to stay home from work or have child care, but don't add anything extra to your schedule and rest. Lay off exercise, lay off social events, do the bare minimum, and hibernate. You may even want to stock up on groceries, meal plans, or get take-out.
Planning ahead requires you to track your cycle. It requires you to get to know your body. Use an app on your phone, weave it into your calendar, or watch your period in relevance to the moon. It's common for women to sync with the full or new moon and this is where the term "moon cycle" comes from. It may take some time to sync into this rhythm but it will eventually become second nature, and your family and friends will adapt.
HONOR THE SACREDNESS
You will begin to cherish this time. It's important to have time dedicated to ourselves. It's important to be in tune with our bodies and have boundaries around our needs. It's important to have rituals. Many traditions honor this time as our moon time. They honor it as being a sacred or ceremonial time. We are more tender emotionally, we are more open energetically and intuitively. It's a potent time to drop within. The potency becomes lost if we are running around, and instead, feel irritable and run thin.
When we don't honor and respect this cycle it creates the standard stereotype that our periods are an awful burden. That they are painful, exhausting, and make us feel like a bitch. Our wombs are wise, and they talk loud when we are not listening.
Even though it may be uncomfortable to claim your boundaries around this time, know you're reclaiming something that is powerful. You're reclaiming something that roots in all traditions around the world. Claim this for all women, for your mothers, your grandmothers, and all the young girls making up the generations to come.
RECAP
• Keep warm.
• Stay Hydrated.
• Nourishment- eat healthily, eat often.
• Eat warm, easily digestible foods.
• Avoid cold - internal and external.
• Drink hot herbal tea.
• Rest! Conserve your energy.
• Track your cycle and plan ahead.
• Meal prep, shop ahead of time or get take-out.
• Clear schedule - do the bare minimum.
• Alone time.
• Get bodywork for the abdomen, glutes, hips, and exercise (a physical activity that is FUN and brings you JOY) for healthy pelvic circulation (not while bleeding).
• Use period panties, bleach-free organic or cloth pads, or a period cup if it doesn't cause cramping.
• Honor the sacredness.
• Make a ritual.
In honor of reclaiming your wombenhood.
Lots of love sister.
