5 Things You Should Know About Vaginal Steaming
(If You Have A Vagina)
I recently became an Acupuncture Steam Therapist certified by (the authority on Vaginal Steaming), Steamy Chick. This has been a long time coming! I have been interested in vaginal steaming since it was mentioned during herbal studies in Acupuncture school. I knew it was something I’d be learning more about so that I could offer it as an option to my patients.
There is so much unnecessary controversy when it comes to womb-having bodies. People always want to tell us what to do with our uteruses, vaginas and periods. As a person with a womb, this pisses me off! I feel that treatment options given to us tend to be in the theme of controlling, suppressing or cutting out. I find this to be really unacceptable. The history of gynecology in the US is pretty effed up. I won’t go into it but feel free to google it yourself to understand why we need to question it and consider natural options when we can, within reason. Vaginal Steaming gives us empowerment over the womb. It allows us to a self care ritual that is enjoyable, can help with imbalances and is also gentle to the body.
What is Vaginal Steaming?
Also known as Yoni Steaming, is essentially, sitting over a pot of steaming herbs in order to allow the steam and oils from the herbs to permeate the tissues of the the labia and vagina that encourages a natural cleansing or detoxing of the area.
Here are 5 Things You Should Know About Vaginal Steaming
Photo By Chanel Matsunami Govreau, Model Blaine Morris
Vaginal steaming shows up in SO MANY cultures. Here is a list according to Steamy Chick: South Korea, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Turkey, Latvia, Sweden, Italy, Germany Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Palau, Papau New Guinea, Hawaii.
Vaginal Steaming is a ritual that helps you be better connected to a part of your body that society teaches us to ignore.
It FEELS GOOD. It is a gentle and safe way to take care of yourself, while feeling relaxed and freaking luxurious.
It has been known to help with: maintaining general vaginal health and wellness, painful periods, frequent or reoccurring infections, dryness, missing periods, long cycles, endometriosis, polyps, cysts or fibroids, PMS, PMDD, and fertility.
The most common use of vaginal steaming across cultures is for postpartum care and recovery.
If this is the first time you’re hearing about it, I hope you’re as excited about it as I was when I first heard of it!
If you’d like to book a Vaginal Steam session please read more about it here. Not in NYC? Steamy Chick has a practitioner listing of certified and well trained steam therapists all over the world. Want to learn more about vaginal steaming? Sign up for a certification with Steamy Chick.
*A few things to note about vaginal steaming. No steaming on your period or during pregnancy. Steam with caution and under a certified practitioner when it comes to infections, IUD’s, short cycles or break through bleeding situations. Steaming can cause your nextplannon birth control to fail.
You might also be interested in reading about Vaginal steaming misconceptions and success stories
Learn more in my pre-recorded class.
By Emily Grace Siy, L.Ac.