Our wombs. For many women, our relationship with our womb is perfunctory. We go through the motions of learning about our bodies in school, with cringe worthy, awkward learning in a school environment using textbooks and plastic models of our body parts if we were lucky.

And then we experience menarche – the beginning of menstruation. Usually at this point its more awkward conversation with our Mums about what to expect and how to “deal with” bleeding every month for the next 40-50 years of our life.

From here, we move through our teens, our twenties, thirties and beyond, many of us into Motherhood, some of us experiencing fertility and menstrual disharmony, until we reach peri-menopause and finally menopause. Intelligent educated, accomplished women, living our best lives.

Yet, something is missing. Something special.

At what point through the journey of life as a woman, are we connected into the sacred honour that it is to have a womb? The gift that it is, to have a whole micro universe inside our bodies, a clever, sophisticated, creation that communicates with our brains via hormones to enable our ovulation and conception. A special portal between the physical and the spiritual, the only place on Earth that new life can grow, be sustained and flourish. A vessel that allows us to bleed and birth, to experience the inner seasons of hormonal fluctuations that enrich our very experience of life?

For a lot us, this turning point of learning about our wombs, connecting in deeply with her, learning how to tune in to what she needs, how to care for, nourish and honour her, sadly never arrives.

Until now.

It is our right as women to know our bodies. Every woman. To truly understand the inner workings of our wombs and how its innate fluctuations and seasons naturally grant us amazing capabilities and wisdom to enrich our lives as women.

This is called the practice of Womb Medicine a sacred, ancient art and science that is making a much needed come back in our modern day world. Chinese medicine refers to the womb as “Zi Gong” which translates to “Palace of the Child”. The ancients acknowledged that our wombs are worthy of palatial reference and reverence. And now its time for the modern world to acknowledge this too.

Womb Medicine is a part of a total health picture. There is a piece of the puzzle missing if we don’t include womb health care. In the Western world, we consider our wellness on so many levels – we’re eating well, moving our bodies, drinking our herbal tea and meditating. Taking care of our wombs is just as important. Being innately connected to our physical vessels. Reclaiming our power through education about our bodies, through respect and awe for our cycles, our wombs, our cervix’s, our vaginas, our ovaries. Health means tuning IN to all of our bodies big and small signs throughout our monthly cycles as vital clues as to what is happening for us hormonally…can we really be healthy if our endocrine system isn’t humming and being nourished? The time of being disempowered is over. Disconnection from our bodies is out, embodied living is in.

It’s time for an awakening and womb wisdom to be front and centre.

Committing to a Womb Medicine practice can help us in so many ways. It puts the power back into our hands to heal ourselves. Women journey deep, life changing experiences through the womb space.

Maybe we’ve experienced pregnancy loss that our wombs and hearts are still in deep pain over.

Maybe we have had just one too many days where we can’t get out of bed due to our severe endometrial pain.

Maybe the worry about being not able to conceive with PCOS haunts us daily.

Maybe we have suffered abuse at the hands of others that our sacred women’s palace still heals from.

A Womb Medicine practice is stepping into faith that we CAN heal ourselves.

We have CHOICES. We can do things daily in our homes and in our lives to amplify our health, heal our wombs and live vibrant lives.

Here are 5 things we can do to step to cultivate a nourishing and nurtuting Womb Medicine practice:

Connect in

The first step always, is awareness. It is very likely we have lived 20, 30, 40 years without ever acknowledging our wombs. The first time we do is a very special occasion. Find a space in your home that feels super comfy and cosy. It may be lying down on your bed or sitting up on cushions in your meditation spot. Place your left hand on your heart and your right hand on your womb. Breath in. Breath out. Imagine your heart opening and expanding and breath intentionally into your womb and simply tune in to what feelings, sensations, emotions, images surface. We carry emotion in our wombs so this part may very well be emotional. And that’s ok. Be present with it all, breathe through it and continue to tune in to your womb’s wisdom. She has been longing to connect with you since day 1.
Journal it out

When we commit to deep diving into our wombs, we allow her to tell us what’s present for her. This could be pain, loss, trauma, joy, hope, optimism. Whatever it is, once it surfaces, it will be present in our conscience. To assist with processing whatever comes up, journaling it out is a great option. Once you have written the words, read them out loud. When we speak these truths it can help us to heal as we release them from our bodies.
Track your cycle

The epitome of Womb Medicine is having a deep relationship with our cycles. Download a cycle tracker or invest in a paper menstrual cycle journal and track your cycle. This helps to know when we will bleed, ovulate, have potentially conceived, what are hormones are up to and so much more. With this data, patterns and rhythms that will show after a few months of cycle tracking, we can make adjustments to our lives to fully show up for ourselves as women, with our wombs guiding the way.
Adjust your lifestyle

Did you know that when we menstruate, we don’t have the hormonal capacity to thrive doing intense exercise? Or that when we ovulate, our hormones provide us extra confidence and insight to complete projects and presentations at work with aplomb?

Some basic guidelines for the 4 phases of your cycle:

Menstruation: As our wombs shed their lining, it’s a physical and energetic cleanse of old, stagnant lining and emotion and with that can come PMS and fatigue. It is the perfect time to organise our calendars to carve out some time to rest. To recline on the couch in a blanket, tea and a good book. To say no to social invitations. To nap and meditate and journal.

Follicular phase: With menstruation over, our hormones start to build up to their crescendo. We start feeling more energetic, more social. This is the perfect time to calendar in social catch ups, ramp up work on important projects, hit up that intense weights session and make key decisions.

Ovulation: The crescendo, the main event of our menstrual cycle. Our hormones are peaking and we feel optimal levels of energy, focus, motivation, confidence. This is the perfect time to schedule work deadlines, conduct your presentation with soaring confidence and run 10k.

Luteal: Our hormone levels are starting to fall. This is the time a lot of us experience PMS. Use this time wisely to head to bed early, stay in and cook, eat warm, nourishing meals, say no thanks to late nights out partying and yes to delicious Yin yoga classes.

Our wombs are our greatest calendar assistant!
Self-massage

Placing our own hands on our wombs to connect in and massage her tissues and fascia is a powerful practice. Our cells have memories and we hold emotion, memories and trauma in our womb cells. Massage can help to shift and move the stagnation unaddressed emotion in this area creates. It flushes our cells with blood and Qi to move, nourish and heal our cells. Womb massage helps us have less painful periods, can assist with fertility and ease endometriosis pain.

Women experiencing optimal health, fertility and menstrual harmony through Womb Medicine is the missing link to the holistic framework of women’s health. It’s time for a come back. All hail Womb Medicine.

“Heal the womb, heal the woman….heal the world”

Kimberley Peters

Kimberley is our resident Womb Healer. She dives deep into her work with passion, sensitivity and empathy, walking with women on their fertility and menstrual health journeys. She understands that to ready our bodies for healing, conception and pregnancy, we need to connect into our womb wisdom and nurture our heart to womb connection. Kimberley practices Reproductive Health Massage & Bodywork in Hampton, Melbourne.

Yours in wellness,
Your Tea