Does your vagina seem pissed at you?
I’ve had so many clients coming with a specific pelvic health challenge that they want to address, only to discover that everything is connected.
It’s not simply a matter of going straight to the site of the discomfort, numbness or tension, or visiting the osteopath more frequently – there are a whole host of other factors to consider when we want to return to a place of radiant pelvic wellness.
Here’s a bit of a picture of what can be involved and how broad the scope is.
Maybe some of these 26 factors could be influencing your pelvic wellness….
GENERAL HEALTH
aspects that may impact pelvic wellness
- Stress and the state of your nervous system
- Quality of your nutrition and diet
- Quality and frequency of exercise (are you doing the kind of exercise that is RIGHT for you?)
- Gut health (intestines are really close to the uterus)
- Levels of inflammation in your body
- Hormonal imbalances
- General Posture and Alignment (do you sit all day? is your posture terrible?)
PAST EXPERIENCES
that may impact pelvic wellness
- Traumatic Birth / highly medicalised birth
- C-Section Birth
- Episiotemy / Natural tearing
- Abortion
- ANY surgery (hysterectomy / bowel surgery / endometriosis surgery / LEEP / Cervical conization)
- Rough / unwanted sex
- Injuries / falls
- Rape / Sexual Abuse / Sexual Trauma
(Not just their effects on the body in terms of scar tissue and adhesions, but also their emotional impact and the potential for trauma)
LIFE TRANSITIONS
that may impact pelvic wellness
(How your body may have handled these experiences)
- Pregnancy
- Childbirth
- Menopause
POTENTIAL CULTURAL FACTORS / CONDITIONING
that may impact pelvic wellness
- Sexual shame
- Lack of sex education / anatomy education (for you and sexual partners)
- Body image issues
- The effects of unhealthy porn use culturally
- Disappointing first (or subsequent) sexual experiences
- Difficulty creating or maintaining boundaries
- A general sense of disconnection from the pelvic region
This list is by no means exhaustive, there are so many factors that relate to the wellbeing of our pelvic region. It’s all so fascinating! The deeper I dive into this world of pelvic health the more I see how it’s all connected…
I hope this doesn’t create a sense of overwhelm or just another list of ‘shoulds’ in your mind – my intention is not to tell you a bunch of things that need to be fixed, but more to show a broad approach to pelvic wellbeing and give you some ideas for different aspects to consider or explore.
If you’d like to become closer friends with your pelvis and your amazing vagina, a Yoni Mapping Therapy session could be a great place to start. Find a Practitioner near you!
