By Jenine Ellis
Giving birth is a profound and deeply moving experience, and it affects your life on every level. No matter how much you prepare for your postpartum during your pregnancy, it can feel that once baby is born, you are a suddenly a different person – physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually.
Caring for your own wellbeing in the first six weeks postpartum is often put on the back burner while you learn to parent and care for your new bundle of joy. But there are a few simple practices that take little time and nourish and heal your body, allowing you to move into your new role balanced, healthy and healed.
We have all heard that nourishing, warming foods, gentle activity, sleep (when the baby sleeps), and lots of bonding time are the keys to postpartum recovery. But there is a peaceful, relaxing practice, an ancient ritual, that many indigenous cultures from every region of the globe have been using for centuries to help postpartum healing – Vaginal (or Yoni) Steaming.
Yoni Steaming is the practice of sitting or squatting over hot, herb-infused water. The steam surrounds the vulva and makes its way into the vagina bringing increased blood flow to the area which encourages healing. The addition of medicinal herbs to the steam also brings added benefits, including anti-microbial and anti-bacterial actions.
Modern gynecology practices have only been in use for a couple of generations, and their history is rooted in racism and misogyny. Male doctors used female slaves as guinea pigs to carry out their brutal, disfiguring experiments. Many brave women lost their fertility and often their lives for the gynecological treatments we know today. But before this, our uterus and vagina owners were cared for and treated by their village wise woman or midwives, who had immense knowledge in village medicine and herbal healing practices. As our communities became more industrialised, and we put our trust and faith in the modern medical profession, our traditional feminine healing methods were left behind and lost to the movement of time.
But by going back to the ancient practices through cultures who have not lost the knowledge of the village wise women, we can see that we have always known how to treat and heal our reproductive system. Thank goodness, that knowledge is still available to gather again and teach to future generations of vagina and uterus owners.
So how does it work? I hear you ask?
Herbs are brewed in a steam pot, which you squat or sit over, allowing the steam to bathe your vulva. Blankets are wrapped around your waist to create a lovely sweat lodge for your lower body. As you sit, for between 10 and 45 minutes (depending on the ailment and treatment), the steam brings healing heat to the womb. The use of specific herbs add layers of different healing benefits, depending on the health condition being treated. The combination of herbs work to nourish, tone, heal, bring in fresh oxygenated blood to the tissues, and promote cleansing. The water vapour carries the plants’ medicinal benefits, which are then absorbed into the tissues. They enter the bloodstream, and directly affect the reproductive system.
