Your Environment Matters! Or how wearing dresses helped me get rid of hormonal issues

We are great at setting goals, we are good at creating a vision, but not many of us rely on actions and behavior change to bring forth what we desire. Rarely do we turn to examine our surroundings – the environment that we live in. In this particular situation I want to talk about the influence of the environment on our health.

Look at all areas of your life and analyze them for similarities of what is happening with your body. Our health often reflects our environment. Unconsciously, the state of your relationship, work, clutter at home, can all show up in your health.

Does your closet look like a bloated mess? Do you go have useless things stuck all around your house? Does thinking about your work make you feel constricted and tense, not in the flow?

I learned that creating an environment that is supporting of our wellness vision – ideal vision of health and wellbeing is one of the easiest and surest ways to help your body align and change from within. As most lessons mine was not the most pleasant one.

Five years ago I went off the pill after being 12 years on it. My body has forgotten how to regulate my cycle and I didn’t have my period for 9 months. My doctor wanted to put me back on the pill and to make things even more interesting I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovarian syndrome. PCOS is an endocrine disorder of uncertain etiology. It is thought to be one of the leading causes of female subfertility, resulting in irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, ovulation-related infertility; excessive amounts or effects of androgenic (masculinizing) hormones, resulting in acne and hirsutism; and insulin resistance, often associated with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol levels. Fun, ah?

For a year I was trying to get my periods back with Ayurveda, acupuncture, herbs, diet, and other alternative methods. I also did a lot of meditation and self-exploration to understand where the issue was stemming from. Our body holds the answers we just need to take time daily to listen and one day the answer will be very clear.

What came to me over the next few months was an understanding that I was pushing away the concept of ‘feminine’ out of my life almost in all areas. I didn’t feel feminine, I didn’t dress in my understanding of a feminine and graceful woman, I tried to be overly strong and pushed away help, my workouts were very high intensity and masculine. I had an attitude that I can push through and achieve anything if I try hard and long enough.

My way of living was the opposite of what I would imagine a feminine woman behave and live like. I saw my feminine ideal as a woman with little make up, in soft flowy clothes that were sexy but in a very subtle way. She moved gracefully, always had a soft smile on her lips and in her eyes, she never rushed, she ate slowly and savoring every piece. She welcomed help and was willing to help others believing in abundance sufficient for all. She was a mother and a woman before being a career girl and family was her priority. She took time to take care of her body, to dance, to explore her sexuality, and to spend quality time with close people. ‘Being’ was just important for her as ‘doing’. Her home was spacious, free of unnecessary things, minimalistic and with lots of light.

This vision was very far from where I was in reality. Creating a change came slowly but its effect was powerful.

Clearing up clutter made it easier to clean up clutter from my diet and appreciate simplicity. Dance-based graceful movement helped to reduce the stress response from high intensity boot camps. Eating slower made bloating less likely to appear. Focusing on social interactions and my feelings overtime made emotional stress-induced eating a thing of the past, which comes back only if I forget to connect with my vision on a regular basis. Wearing soft flattering dresses made me feel more like a woman.

My vision was an amazing guide and teacher to me, letting me know what needed to change and why. The result of changing my environment was astonishing: regular periods, no PMS, cysts gone, no cramps, no fatigue during the period, and a much better relationship with my body!

Your turn:

Look at all areas of your life and see if there is a pattern that emerges? Is there something similar between what you feel in your body and what your environment feels/looks like? Connect to the vision of a woman that you want to be and ask her to guide you in creating a supporting environment.

In the comments share how can you change your environment to help you create the change that you want to see in your body.