The Fertile Years Without a Uterus: Hysterectomy: What It Is, Why It's Done, and Who You Still Are

For many women, the word hysterectomy carries weight… physical, emotional, and symbolic. Whether it’s a decision made from necessity or through careful choice, this surgery can stir up deep questions about identity, function, and femininity.

Let’s bring some clarity and compassion to the conversation.

What Is a Hysterectomy?

A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. Depending on the reason and the individual’s health, the procedure may also include the removal of other reproductive organs:

• Partial (Supracervical) Hysterectomy: Uterus removed, cervix left in place

• Total Hysterectomy: Uterus and cervix removed

• Radical Hysterectomy: Uterus, cervix, part of the vagina, and surrounding tissues removed (often due to cancer)

• With or Without Oophorectomy: Ovaries may be removed (oophorectomy) or left intact

Why Do People Have a Hysterectomy?

There are many valid and medically supported reasons for this surgery, including:

• Fibroids causing pain or bleeding (the most common reason) 

• Endometriosis or adenomyosis

• Chronic pelvic pain

• Uterine prolapse

• Heavy or irregular bleeding unresponsive to treatment

• Certain types of gynecological cancer

Sometimes, it’s about reclaiming quality of life. Sometimes, it’s about saving it.

What Happens When the Ovaries Are Removed?

If ovaries are removed, hormone production drops off, this is called surgical menopause, and symptoms are often immediate and intense.

If ovaries are left intact, they may continue to cycle and produce hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), although hormonal patterns may change over time.

With or without a uterus, you are still a woman.

Your identity is not defined by a single organ.
Your womanhood isn’t erased with surgery.
You are still whole, still wise, still cycling in your own way.

For some, a hysterectomy is a profound relief.
For others, it’s layered with grief.
For most, it’s both.

You Are Not Less, You Are Rewritten

Let’s hold space for all the emotions that can come with this choice or necessity.

And let’s say it clearly, again:

You are still a woman.
You are still worthy.
You are still deeply connected to your body, your wisdom, and your story.

Pregnancy and the Pelvis — Holding, Expanding, and Supporting the Body's Center

Pregnancy is one of the most profound physical transitions a body can go through. Whether you’ve experienced it or not, understanding the anatomical changes in the pelvis can deepen your appreciation for the body’s wisdom, and help you support others or your own body through shifts.

The pelvis isn’t just a container, it’s a dynamic foundation of bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and fascia that respond to the incredible demands of growing and eventually birthing life.

What Physically Changes in Pregnancy

During pregnancy, the pelvic bones and joints adapt to make space and support a shifting center of gravity.

• The sacroiliac joints and pubic symphysis become more mobile due to the hormone relaxin, which softens connective tissues.

• This mobility can lead to pelvic girdle pain, pubic symphysis discomfort, or feelings of instability.

• The pelvic bowl tilts and adjusts posture, sometimes leading to low back strain or tight hip flexors.

• The growing uterus rises from the pelvis into the abdomen, placing new demands on the spine, hips, and pelvic floor.

The pelvis must balance strength and softness, holding steady while also preparing to open.

Pelvic Floor Muscles: Holding More Than We Think

The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles spanning the bottom of the pelvis, supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowel. These muscles are key players during pregnancy and birth:

• As the uterus grows, the pelvic floor bears increasing weight from above.

• Tension can build, especially if we're holding in discomfort, stress, or fear.

• For some, the muscles become tight and overactive, leading to pain or incontinence.

• For others, the muscles can become weakened, stretched, or imbalanced by pressure and postural changes.

The goal isn't just to strengthen, but to bring awareness, flexibility, and coordination to the pelvic floor.

How to Support the Pregnant Pelvis

Here are simple practices to support the pelvis throughout pregnancy. These aren’t full instructions… just invitations for the body:

• Daily breath awareness: Diaphragmatic breathing gently tones and relaxes the pelvic floor, and helps regulate pressure in the abdomen.

• Gentle pelvic tilts and rocking: Keep the pelvis mobile and relieve tension in the lower back and hips.

• Hands-on belly and pubic bone connection: Offer grounding and help the nervous system feel safe and supported.

• Awareness of posture in daily life: How you sit, stand, and walk affects how the pelvic floor bears weight — aim for gentle stacking of ribcage over pelvis.

• Left side-lying rest: Supports blood flow to the uterus and gives the pelvic joints a break.

These small actions, done with care and consistency, can help prevent pain, reduce tension, and support a smoother transition into birth and postpartum recovery.

This bowl we carry isn’t fixed… it’s responsive, adaptive, alive.

Let’s keep tending to it with curiosity, movement, and care.

The Creative Fire — Redefining Fertility Beyond Motherhood

There’s a fire that lives in us… steady, sometimes blazing, sometimes quietly glowing. In the fertile years of a woman’s life, this fire often burns bright. But too often, we’re taught to funnel it into one single purpose: motherhood.

Let’s take a wider view.

The fertile phase isn’t just about babies. It’s about becoming, building, blooming, bringing things into being. Whether you birth children or never choose to, this time of life holds immense creative power.

What if we honored all the ways you give life to the world?

The Mother Archetype as Creator, Not Just Caretaker

In archetypal traditions, the “Mother” isn’t only someone who births children, she’s the keeper of life, the nurturer of potential, the fertile one who brings dreams into form.

You might be mothering:

• A business or project

• A garden, a book, a movement

• Your inner child or healing

• Community, clients, or the Earth

You are still a Mother — even if you never raised a child.

Ayurveda & the Pitta Years: A Time to Build

In Ayurveda, this fertile stage (typically ages 20–45) is ruled by the dosha Pitta, the energy of transformation, heat, and action. It’s when we’re most naturally inclined to build careers, families, and visions.

But this energy also needs tending:

• Burnout is common in this phase, especially when we overdo or overgive.

• Creative fire needs rhythm, not just hustle.

• Cycles, including your menstrual cycle, can be your guide.

What If Fertility Wasn’t a Duty?

There’s a quiet grief many women carry — whether from pressure, infertility, loss, or simply the world’s narrow definition of womanhood.

You are more than your uterus.
You are not here to fulfill a role.
You are here to live in alignment with your truth, your timing, and your creative pulse.

A Simple Practice to Honor Your Creative Fire

Take a moment today to pause and ask:

What am I mothering right now?

Close your eyes.
Place your hands over your womb or low belly.
Breathe into that space, warm, alive, and wise.
Ask: What in me is asking to be nurtured?
Listen gently. Let whatever arises be enough.

Maybe it’s a poem. A new way of being. A boundary. A rest.

This is the work of the Mother, too.

Your fertile years are not defined by whether or not you give birth.

They are defined by how you bring life to your life.

Celebrate this season… for its passion, its power, and its possibility.

The First Period & the Maiden Years: What’s Actually Going On?

Your first period isn’t just a biological milestone… it’s a rite of passage that marks a shift in the body, the brain, and how we relate to ourselves over time. Whether it was met with celebration, confusion, or silence, it deserves to be understood, not just remembered.

Menarche (your first menstrual cycle) usually arrives somewhere between ages 9 and 15, with the average being around 12 years old. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s part of a longer transition called puberty, a process that typically lasts 2–4 years, reshaping everything from your hormones to your sense of identity.

What’s happening in the body?

• The brain begins communicating with the ovaries in a new hormonal rhythm.

• Estrogen rises, telling the uterus to build its inner lining.

• When pregnancy doesn’t happen, that lining sheds, that’s menstruation.

• Cycles at this stage are often irregular, and that’s a normal part of adjustment.

As these changes unfold, the pelvic bowl is also adapting. Ligaments soften, tissues begin to respond to cyclical patterns, and breath patterns may shift subtly with these internal changes. It’s a powerful reorganization that touches every system in the body.

 Ayurveda & the Maiden Years (Kapha Time of Life)

In Ayurveda, the early life phase, from childhood into young adulthood, is dominated by Kapha dosha, the energy of water and earth.

Kapha brings:

• Physical growth and structure

• Emotional sensitivity and receptivity

• A tendency to hold, physically and emotionally

The transition into menstruation carries this same energy of building and becoming. But when Kapha gets out of balance, it can look like lethargy, congestion, or emotional heaviness, things like sluggish digestion, dense emotions, or PMS symptoms may show up.

Grounded support at this time might include warm, gently spiced foods, movement like yoga or walking, even sport, and emotional outlets like journaling or conversation.

Common Questions During This Phase

Is it normal for cycles to be irregular at first?
Yes! It can take 1–3 years to settle into a consistent rhythm.

What’s the typical length of a cycle at this stage?
Cycles might range from 21–45 days early on. Periods can last 3–7 days.

Are cramps normal?
Mild cramps are common, but severe pain is a sign the body needs more support.

Can stress impact my period?
Absolutely. Stress, sleep, food, movement, and emotions all influence your cycle.

Is it okay to skip a period sometimes?
Once in a while, yes. But consistent or long gaps are worth discussing with a provider.

 One Supportive Practice (More in the Course)

A simple breathing practice like lengthening the exhale can calm the nervous system and help reduce cramps or anxiety. Breath is one of the first ways we can connect to our changing bodies — and one of the most effective. (We’ll go deeper into how in the full course.)

Why This Time Matters

The start of menstruation isn’t just the beginning of cycles, it’s the beginning of a lifelong relationship with your body’s rhythms. When we understand what’s happening (and how to support it), we can bring more ease, clarity, and compassion to the journey.

This post is part of a 4-part blog series walking through the life phases of the pelvis. Next up: the fertile years — where creativity, fertility, and personal power weave together. And if you want more guidance and grounded tools, stay tuned for the full course coming soon.

A Journey Through the Feminine Life Cycle

Our pelvis holds more than organs, muscles, or bones, it holds stories. Timelines. Transitions. It’s the quiet keeper of our deepest changes.

Across a woman’s lifetime, the pelvis is asked to adapt again and again, hormonally, structurally, and emotionally. From the spark of our first bleed to the power of our final one, the body whispers guidance through cycles.

Yet in a linear, over-scheduled world, we’re rarely taught how to listen.

 A Lifetime of Pelvic Change

Here’s a glimpse at the natural arc of the female pelvic lifespan:

• Ages 9–16: Menarche (first period) signals the start of hormonal cycling. The body begins building its rhythm.

• 20s–40s: The fertile years, a time of menstrual cycling, creativity, growth, and hormonal consistency (with many ups and downs).

• Late 30s–50s: Perimenopause begins, a multi-year shift where cycles change before they cease.

• ~50s and beyond: Menopause arrives (marked by 12 months without menstruation), and the pelvis transitions once again.

Each phase brings its own needs and gifts.

 Maiden, Mother, Crone: Archetypes as Inner Seasons

These archetypes aren’t roles to be forced into, they are energetic blueprints that show up in our biology and psyche, again and again.

• The Maiden: Awakening energy. Curiosity. The body starts cycling and changing. This phase thrives with movement, exploration, and connection to inner truth.

• The Mother: Not just the biological mother, this is the season of creation, of birthing projects, ideas, relationships, and yes, sometimes children. The pelvis is a cauldron of creativity and vitality here.

• The Crone: The wise woman. As cycles stop, clarity sharpens. This is a phase of integration and power, not decline. The pelvis becomes a grounded center, a well of ancestral and embodied knowing.

These archetypes also live within each menstrual cycle and each year’s seasonal rhythm, reminding us that we are never just in one phase, we are all of them, all the time.

 Ayurveda & of Living Cyclically

In Ayurveda, life is viewed through the doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, and each life phase is associated with a shift in these energies:

• Maiden (Kapha phase): Growth, lubrication, stability. Supportive for building strength and inner confidence.

• Mother (Pitta phase): Fire, transformation, drive. Creativity and intensity rise, so does the need for emotional and digestive balance.

• Crone (Vata phase): Air and ether increase. Dryness, sensitivity, and introspection emerge. Grounding becomes essential.

When we honor these shifts, rather than fight them, we support the body moment-to-moment and protect its long-term vitality.

Living cyclically is not just poetic, it’s physiological support. It’s nervous system regulation. It’s endocrine system love. It’s how we tend the soil of our future self.

One Gentle Practice for Lifelong Pelvic Support

If there’s one thing your pelvis craves through all these seasons, it’s pause. A regular moment of stillness to listen inward, to ask, Where am I in my cycle? In my energy? In my needs?

Even one minute a day of pelvic breath awareness or self-contact can shift your relationship to your body over time.

This is just the beginning.

In the coming weeks, I’ll share short posts exploring each phase in more depth, from the first bleed to menopause — with Ayurvedic tips, yoga and breathwork support, and how to rewrite our pelvic stories.

And if you’re ready to go deeper, the Sacred Pelvic Anatomy course is coming soon, a ritual-rich, anatomy-grounded journey into feminine wellness and embodied reclamation.

Let’s walk it together.

Your Menstrual Products Might Be Making Your Periods Miserable

Let’s Talk About What’s Going on or should I say in… and How to Find Relief

For something as natural and regular as a menstrual cycle, it's kind of wild how little we’re taught about the tools we use to manage it. Tampons, cups, discs, and pads are often introduced with more focus on convenience or cleanliness than on comfort, or long-term health.

But here’s something worth considering:
Your internal menstrual product might be making your cramps worse.

Wait… What Does That Mean?

Let’s break it down. When you use an internal product like a tampon, menstrual cup, or disc, you're placing something inside your vaginal canal that either absorbs or collects blood. Sounds simple, right?

But your body is incredibly smart. The uterus contracts during menstruation to expel its lining (this is what causes cramps). If it senses something blocking the outflow, like a tampon placed high up near the cervix or a firm cup, it may contract more strongly to “clear” the perceived obstruction.

For some, this might not make a difference.
But for others—especially if you already deal with painful periods, pelvic tension, or a sensitive cervix, this extra stimulation may translate into worsened cramps, bloating, or pelvic discomfort.

Is this real?

While large-scale studies are limited, the physiological theory is sound and supported by case reports and expert observations. Here’s why:

• The cervix and vagina have sensory nerves that communicate with the uterus.

• Internal pressure or suction from a product can stimulate those nerves.

• This may trigger stronger uterine contractions, or increase pain perception.

Some people notice relief from cramps simply by switching to external products like pads or period underwear or by choosing softer or differently shaped cups. Even changing and improving the application or the product, 

Signs Your Product Might Be Making Things Worse:

• Cramps that intensify shortly after inserting a tampon or cup

• Pelvic pressure or pain with internal products

• A sense of “fullness” or sensitivity in the cervix

• Discomfort during removal

• Period pain that improves when using external products

 Gentle Alternatives to Try

If you’re wondering whether your products are part of the problem, here are some supportive, body-respecting options to consider:

1. Change Your Position or Size

• If using a cup or disc, experiment with lower placement, tilted angles, or different sizes/firmness.

• Avoid inserting products too close to your cervix—especially if you have a low or high cervix, retroverted uterus, or pelvic floor tension.

2. Try External Products

• Organic pads, period underwear, or cloth pads can be gentle on the vulva and eliminate internal pressure altogether.

• Look for unscented, bleach-free, and dye-free options to minimize irritation.

3. Free Bleeding or Pad + Period Panty Combo

• On low-flow days, try free bleeding at home with a towel or mat underneath you.

• Use period underwear with a thin pad for extra protection while letting your body do its thing—no pressure, no blockage.

4. Restorative Movement + Breathwork

• Gentle movement like pelvic tilts, cat-cow, or supported child’s pose can help the uterus release more smoothly.

• Pair this with deep belly breathing to reduce muscle guarding and pain.

 Honor Your Unique Body

Your body is not “too sensitive.” If something doesn’t feel right, it’s worth listening. You don’t have to suffer through painful periods without question. Swapping your products or adjusting your routine could make a significant difference.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Some folks thrive with cups, others with cloth pads, and some mix it up depending on the day.

Yoga and Your Period: How Movement Can Soothe Menstrual Pain

Cramps, bloating, fatigue - once a month, half the population grits their teeth through discomfort and sometimes even disorienting pain during their period. And for many, the only solutions offered are over-the-counter medications or being prescribed hormonal birth control, with little to no discussion of other options.

Pain is often invalidated or normalized, leading to easy cop-outs and missed opportunities to understand what’s happening in our bodies — and to discover simple, empowering tools to support them.

Primary Dysmenorrhea Is Common, But Not Inevitable

Primary dysmenorrhea — the clinical term for painful periods without underlying conditions like endometriosis — affects between 45–95% of menstruating people, depending on the population studied. In many studies, around 20–25% report that the pain is severe enough to interfere with daily life, causing missed school or work, limited activity, and even emotional distress.

And if you'd rather not ingest painkillers or don’t want to rely on hormonal interventions, you may feel like there are no good options.

But what if your body could be part of its own medicine?

Movement for Menstrual Pain: What the Research Says

You may have heard that exercise or movement helps relieve cramps. That’s absolutely true. Movement increases circulation, helps reduce inflammation, and stimulates the release of endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers.

But when your cramps are really bad, the idea of getting out of bed can feel like climbing Everest.

So what if we set you up for success? What if a few gentle yoga poses, practiced regularly during the luteal phase (the 10–14 days between ovulation and bleeding), could reduce pain before your period even begins?

A 2011 Study Found Just That

A small but powerful clinical trial published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (Rakhshaee, 2011) found that practicing three yoga poses consistently in the luteal phase significantly reduced menstrual pain intensity and duration:

• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)

• Marjaryasana (Cat-Cow Pose)

• Matsyasana (Fish Pose)

These poses target key areas like the abdomen, pelvis, and lower spine, improving circulation to the uterus, reducing muscular tension, and activating the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous system.

 Bonus: Add More Comfort

For an even more supportive practice, consider incorporating:

• Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose) with a bolster under the spine and a warm compress on the belly

• Supported Balasana (Child’s Pose) over a cushion or bolster: a gentle rest that relieves low back and abdominal tension (you can lay your heating pad between your bolster and belly for added relief) 

• Pranayama (breathwork) in bed: deep, diaphragmatic breathing gently massages the internal organs and brings in fresh oxygen to the tissues

Why Yoga Is the Perfect Period Movement

Yoga isn't just movement: it's conscious movement paired with breath and nervous system regulation. That’s exactly what your body needs during menstruation.

Gentle yoga has been shown to:

• Reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels

• Decrease inflammation

• Improve pelvic circulation

• Enhance pain tolerance and mood through endorphin release

Even if you're not ready to unroll your mat, you can begin with breathwork in bed. Just five minutes of slow, deep breathing into the belly helps massage your internal organs, ease cramps, and increase blood flow to your uterus.

Other Gentle Ways to Move on Your Period

If you're not in the mood for a yoga practice, here are a few more low-effort ways to support your body during bleeding days:

• Go for a slow, mindful walk,even 10 minutes can help

•  Take a warm bath, it counts as movement for your circulatory and lymphatic systems!

•  Do a gentle hip-circling or pelvic rocking practice in bed, small, rhythmic movements nourish the pelvic bowl

When we meet our cycles with awareness and care, especially with consistent support in the days before we bleed, we build resilience and reduce suffering.

That Everest-like climb out of bed? Maybe it becomes a gentle molehill. Maybe you even make it to your mat for a nourishing menstrual practice.

Because your body isn't broken… it just might need a little more love, space, and gentle movement to come back into balance.

PCOS & the Pelvic Floor: Navigating Hormones, Tension & Healing with Compassion

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS, is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women and people with ovaries… yet it’s frequently misunderstood, underdiagnosed, and deeply frustrating to navigate.

With symptoms ranging from irregular cycles to acne, weight changes, fertility struggles, and emotional burnout, PCOS isn’t “just a period problem.” It’s a complex endocrine condition that often has ripple effects across your entire body, including your pelvic floor.

What Is PCOS?

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance involving excess androgens (like testosterone), irregular ovulation, and (often) multiple small ovarian follicles that don’t mature properly.

People with PCOS may experience:

• Irregular or missing periods

• Painful or heavy periods when they do come

• Acne or excess facial/body hair

• Thinning hair on the scalp

• Weight gain or insulin resistance

• Mood changes and fatigue

• Fertility challenges

Despite the name, you don’t need cysts on your ovaries to have PCOS, and the condition presents differently for everyone. Some symptoms start in the teens; others show up after stopping birth control or trying to conceive.

PCOS & The Pelvic Floor: A Hidden Link

So where does the pelvic floor come into all this?

The connection isn’t always obvious; but it’s real. PCOS can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction in a few key ways:

• Irregular cycles can lead to infrequent shedding of the uterine lining, which may cause painful cramping and tension when periods finally arrive, and the pelvic floor often tightens in response.

• Chronic inflammation associated with PCOS can create increased muscle sensitivity and guarding.

• Hormonal imbalances affect soft tissue tone and hydration, which can disrupt pelvic muscle balance.

• Body image struggles and the stress of chronic symptoms can increase tension and disconnection from the pelvic region.

Over time, this tension can show up as pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, constipation, urinary urgency, or simply a feeling of heaviness or disconnection in the pelvis.

Reclaiming Your Power Through Pelvic Floor Care

While pelvic floor work won’t cure PCOS, it can offer relief, grounding, and body-awareness; especially in a condition that often makes people feel powerless or betrayed by their own body.

Simple pelvic floor and nervous system practices can help:

• Soften the cycle of pain and tension

• Regulate stress (which can worsen hormone imbalance)

• Improve circulation and reduce inflammation in the pelvis

• Support digestive and bladder function

• Rebuild a compassionate connection to the body

This might include breathwork, restorative yoga, myofascial release, body literacy practices, or simply learning to notice how your body holds and responds to stress.

The Bigger Picture: Treatment & Support

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to PCOS. Treatments might include:

• Nutrition and movement support

• Supplements or medications 

• Acupuncture or herbal support

• Therapy for the emotional toll

But wherever your treatment path leads, pelvic floor awareness can be a vital piece of your self-care toolkit, especially if you're managing painful periods, intimacy issues, or chronic pelvic discomfort.

It isn't your fault 

The wellness world can sometimes be cruel to those with PCOS… implying that if you just fixed your diet, your energy, or your mindset, your body would behave. That’s not how it works.

PCOS is not your fault. You are not broken. You are not lazy. You are not too much or not enough.

Living with PCOS can be exhausting. It can wear on your confidence, your routines, and your sense of hope. But it can also be a chance to get curious, to learn what your body needs, and to build a relationship with it that’s rooted in respect — not shame.

The Role of Gentle Power

Healing doesn’t have to mean hustling, sometimes it means softening. Supporting your pelvic floor may sound small — but it’s a powerful act of self-trust and resilience.

You deserve to feel at home in your body, even on the hard days. You deserve knowledge, support, and care that sees the whole you.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a complex, often invisible condition that affects an estimated 1 in 10 women and people assigned female at birth. Yet despite how common it is, diagnosis is often delayed, sometimes for up to 10 years. That delay can come with deep emotional frustration and confusion, especially when you’re told it’s “just period pain” or that you’re overreacting.

But what many aren’t told is how endometriosis doesn’t just impact the reproductive organs — it can ripple throughout the body, especially into the pelvic floor.

What Is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disorder where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus — on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, bowels, or pelvic walls. Each month, this tissue responds to hormonal changes just like the uterine lining, swelling, bleeding, and causing pain, but it has nowhere to go.

That internal inflammation leads to scar tissue, nerve irritation, and chronic pain, not just during your period, but throughout your cycle.

Endo & the Pelvic Floor: The Pain-Tension-Pain Cycle

When the body experiences ongoing pain, it reacts with tension. We may start to clench muscles without realizing, especially in the pelvic floor, hips, and lower belly. This creates a loop:

Endometriosis causes pain → the body tenses in response → that tension increases inflammation and restricts blood flow → inflammation leads to more pain.

Over time, this loop can become chronic, exhausting, and hard to break.

How Movement, Breath, and Self-Care Help

Although no movement practice can cure endo, the right kinds of gentle movement can interrupt this cycle, offering relief and reconnection:

• Breathwork helps reset the nervous system, increase oxygen flow, and soften guarded muscles.

• Targeted yoga can lengthen tight muscles, restore mobility in the hips and pelvis, and improve circulation.

• Self-massage or abdominal massage can release fascial restrictions, calm the nervous system, and stimulate lymphatic flow.

• Movement, even small or supported, helps reduce inflammation by improving circulation and encouraging lymph drainage; which may decrease swelling and pain over time.

The key is gentle, consistent, and non-punishing. You're not trying to force your body into anything. You’re trying to listen, to soothe, and to reclaim space within.

It’s Not in Your Head… But It Can Weigh on Your Heart

Living with chronic pain doesn’t mean you’re broken, and it’s certainly not your fault. You didn’t “fail” to meditate enough, eat perfectly, or stretch every day.

Wellness culture can sometimes exploit the desperation that comes with mysterious or misdiagnosed pain. There’s no magical supplement or “one-size-fits-all” detox that will cure endometriosis. That doesn’t mean there’s no hope;  it means you deserve real care, not false promises.

Endometriosis Is Not a Punishment

It’s easy to internalize pain as a sign you’re doing something wrong. But let’s be clear:

Endometriosis is not a punishment.
You didn’t cause it by thinking the wrong thoughts.
Your pain is real, and you deserve support.

That support might include medical treatment, physical therapy, bodywork, herbal care, community, or talk therapy to help process the grief, anxiety, or rage that can come from chronic conditions.

There’s no shame in needing layers of support. In fact, it’s a sign of resilience; building a team, learning your body, and tending to your pain with compassion and curiosity.

If you have endometriosis, or think you might, know this: you’re not alone. Your pain is valid. And there are gentle, effective ways to care for your body — without blaming it.

Beyond “Normal” Cramps: Understanding Secondary Dysmenorrhea

Why Period Pain Isn’t Always Just “Part of Being a Woman”

For many menstruating people, pain is a monthly reality; but when it becomes debilitating, escalating, or unresponsive to typical care, it’s often something more than “just cramps.”

This deeper, more persistent pain has a name:
Secondary dysmenorrhea.

What Is Secondary Dysmenorrhea?

While primary dysmenorrhea refers to menstrual cramps not caused by another condition, secondary dysmenorrhea means the pain is a symptom of something else going on in the body.

It’s often linked to structural or inflammatory conditions like:

• Endometriosis – tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing inflammation and  paint.

• Fibroids – non-cancerous growths in or on the uterus that can cause heavy bleeding and intense cramping.

• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – a hormonal disorder that can cause irregular or absent periods, painful ovulation, and chronic pelvic discomfort due to inflammation, thickened endometrial lining, or hormonal imbalance.  

• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) – a bacterial infection of the reproductive organs that can lead to scarring and chronic pelvic pain.

How Common Is It?

These conditions are more widespread than many realize:

• Endometriosis affects roughly 1 in 10 women — yet many go years before receiving a diagnosis.

• Fibroids occur in up to 70–80% of women by age 50, though not all cause symptoms.

• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age, but many go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years, especially when not presenting with textbook symptoms.  

• PID affects over 1 million women in the U.S. annually and can cause lifelong impacts if untreated.

Despite these numbers, many people are told their pain is normal — or worse, imagined.

The Diagnostic Delay

One of the most painful parts of secondary dysmenorrhea? The delay in diagnosis.

• It can take 7–10 years to diagnose endometriosis.

• Fibroids are often discovered only after fertility challenges or persistent symptoms.

• PCOS is frequently overlooked, especially in those who don’t fit the stereotypical profile — many are misdiagnosed or told their symptoms are “just stress” or “lifestyle-related.”  

• PID symptoms may be dismissed or misdiagnosed, leading to irreversible reproductive damage.

In part, this is due to a lack of awareness in both patients and providers. But it’s also due to a cultural norm: tough it out, push through, stay silent.

The Wellness Trap

Many who don’t find answers in clinical spaces turn to the wellness world — and while self-care can be powerful, there’s also a dark side:

• Over-promising supplements, diets, or cleanses

• Shaming language that suggests pain is your fault for not being “positive enough” or not setting strong enough boundaries. 

• An emphasis on “fixing” your womb rather than understanding it

This kind of messaging can leave people feeling isolated, broken, or exploited, especially when they’re just looking for relief.

Reclaiming Power Through Knowledge

Here’s the truth:
Your pain is real. And you are not broken.

Secondary dysmenorrhea isn’t a personal failure — it’s a medical reality that deserves care and attention. And while full healing isn’t always linear, understanding what’s happening in your body can offer a new level of empowerment.

You can:

• Learn to recognize patterns and triggers

• Seek care from providers who specialize in pelvic health

• Support your body through evidence-based self-care practices

• Build a relationship with your cycle that includes listening, not just managing

Pain is a messenger, not a punishment. If your period pain feels bigger than it should, you’re not making it up, and you’re not alone.

You have a right to answers.
You have a right to support.
And you have a right to reclaim your body, one breath and one insight at a time.