PCOS: What I Did To Balance My Hormones

Plus Healthier Hormones Free Call with Claudia Welch and Cate Stillman

Since the email about my story with PCOS I have been getting messages from you asking for help and advice. Many of you also want to know exactly what I did to overcome it.

In today’s article I will share both the resources that helped me a lot and my step by step healing process.

I know that many women struggle with their periods (before, during, after). It is difficult for me to believe that nature would intentionally make us struggle. I hope that you as a woman will find a way to  understand and support your body and eventually rip the benefits of the monthly cycle both physically and through the depth of insights that become available.claudiawelch

A MUST  for any woman who wants healthier hormones:

For anyone who is serious about improving hormonal health, make sure to sign up for the FREE CALL: Ayurveda for Women: Free Call with Dr. Claudia Welch + Cate Stillman Jan. 23 . Dr Claudia Welch was a huge healing force for me. Her book gave me more insights than any doctor I spoke with. I can’t recommend it enough. Every woman should own this book.

My Story

When reading it remember that my body and yours are unique so what worked for me is not guaranteed to work for you. The reasons for my imbalance might be different than they are for yours so evaluate my advice through the prism of your current situation.

A little background:
I was diagnosed with PCOS about 6 months after stopping birth control pills. In my doctor’s eyes the only solution was to put me back on birth control to regulate the cycle. I had several ultra sounds to confirm the diagnosis and the size of cysts. All showed cysts in both ovaries. I had no periods for about 9 month and then another year of irregular periods before it evened out. Balancing hormones takes patience to say the least.

Here is what I did and continue to do to help my body come back into balance and stay there:

  • Acupuncture – I did it every week sometimes twice a week for a year and doing now once in a while for an upkeep. I would rather spend money on this than fertility treatments later on.
  • Visualization – visualizing my body as being feminine, soft, fertile was one of the crucial steps. It was a matter of forming a new identity, identity of a woman with healthy hormones
  • Rest and yoga nidra – stress, being in a rush, running around, feeling pressured are not your friends when it comes to balancing hormones. Calming down the nervous system should be the focus of your healing efforts. For me yoga nidra was a relaxation of choice, for some of my clients a warm bath, deep breathing, walks in nature served that purpose. Choose something that you can do consistently to maintain a restful rejuvenated state. Sometime this step will involve re-evaluating your lifestyle and your work. Remember, you set your priorities. I prioritized my health over teacher 20 yoga classes per week. It was a difficult choice to stop teaching so much but looking back I am happy that I chose myself.
  • Stopped juice fasting – before meeting Dr Lad, I used to do 2 days a week on green juice. My frame of mind was that more is better, the greener the better. My juices were very concentrated with no cucumbers or fruit and with way too much kale. Too much of anything will create an imbalance. My Ayurvedic practitioner asked me to stop juice fasting and keep it down to 1 juice per day  before lunch. I think this step helped me to feel more grounded and avoid blood sugar imbalances which often occur with pcos.
  • Stopped over exercising – another more is better trap. A lot of women get obsessed with working out. I was a perfect example with taking bootcamps, doing 45 mins of cardio in top of that and then teaching several yoga classes per day. I wrote about my view on exercise, overeating and self-abuse here. There are some pictures too:). Right now I do daily yoga, walk a lot and do 25-45 min work outs 5 times per week.
  • Was consistent with herbs – herbs take longer than western medicine. It is easy to give up after a month thinking that they don’t have any effect. Be patient. Give it time. I kept taking Ayurvedic and Chinese herbs for over a year.
  • Gained weight – I know many of you won’t like this one. I hated the thought of it. It took me a very long time to become comfortable with it. But there is ok doubt it was necessary for me at that stage. If the body is depleted it won’t have energy to focus on reproduction. Women who over exercise, overdo cleanses and are below 12% body weight are at risk of creating hormonal imbalances. You can still be lean and healthy, I’m not inviting you to eat like a pig. In some cases too much extra weight will have a negative impact on hormones as well. It is a matter if finding your healthy weight.
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