Did you know that are you should have pain free periods with no side effects such as PMS? We all have been conditioned to believe that period symptoms are normal. 

Well they are not. 

A Normal Period is…

It starts and ends without any of the following: 

• No pain 
• No brown blood (Blood should be a bright color from start to finish, brown blood indicts old blood)  
• No cramping
• No bloating 
• No breast pain/discomfort
• No emotional shifts 
• No headaches 

Your monthly cycle shows you the state of your health. If you have some or all of the above symptoms, your body is sending you a message. You either have a structural blockage or misalignment, hormonal imbalance, or a vitamin, mineral, and/or nutrient deficiency. All things that can be fix with the proper care and time. 

I personally have suffered from extremely painful periods (pain level above a 10) from the age 14 to my mid twenties. I was able to heal the extreme pain with acupuncture and diet. Currently, I manage my period and I’m mostly pain-free using the 4 prevention tips below. When I do find myself with a slightly painful period (2 to 3 pain level), I have usually been slacking on my self care. And it is a reminder to get back to taking care of my reproductive health. 

Is your uterus in alignment? Your uterus is held up by muscles and ligaments. Then can become weaken or loosen due to various reasons: trauma, surgery, emotions, pregnancy, state of your health or age. Your uterus can fall forward, downward, backwards or be off to one side. A misaligned uterus will have a lack of proper energy, blood and lymphatic flow. Thus, it will affect your period, your fertility and your overall health. Book a session with a Mayan Abdominal Therapist who can help you get your uterus back into place. 

2. Avoid COLD

Extremely Limit:  cold foods, cold drinks, sitting on cold surfaces or walking on cold floors. When cold enters your body it creates congestion, this leads to stagnation of blood and energy and results in pain. Cold contracts muscles and prevents blood and your body’s warm to permeate the area. Think of a frozen pipe or water hose in both situations the expansion of the ice don’t allow water to flow, and over time it can cause serious problems. The same is happening in your body, cold stays in your body and disturbs your natural flow. This will cause menstrual pain, hence why heat feels so good.  

Use tampons? You may want reconsider that choice. Tampons can increase your menstrual cramps. You want your period to flow, out of your body. Tampons inhibit your natural outward flow of your menstrual blood. It causes blood to get backed up and stagnate. This contributes to your discomfort and/or pain. Also tampons dry out your vagina of the self lubricating and self cleaning fluids that are needed to keep you balance and free of infections. A majority of tampons are filled with toxins, that are getting directly absorbed in your bloodstream. And they leave mirco fibers (toxic) behind in your vagina. Overall, even organic tampons are not recommended. Especially if you suffer from menstrual cramps, it is so important to allow your menstrual blood to flow freely. 

Next blog post will be about safe menstrual pads…

When there is a stagnation of qi it can lead to a blood congestion. Cramping with blood clots?  This means you have blood stagnation. Blood congestion can also be the result of IUDs, surgeries, or birth control pills.

Things you can do to get your liver qi moving: 

Exercise– moving your body will get your lymphatic system circulating, and helps to release your emotions. Great for mental clarity and overall health. 

Diet– especially a week before your period. Eat less to no sugar, no processed foods, drink more water. Include more cruciferous veggies into your diet, leafy greens, and clean meats- no chemicals or added hormones. 

Stick your tongue out in a mirror? Is it a pale red or light pink? If so, you may be anemic or have what we call blood deficient. You will want to include more iron rich foods in your diet. And if you can stomach it, eat some grass fed liver. 

Limit caffeine and alcohol. You can also include teas such as milk thistle to support the liver. 

Everyone woman has an individual story about their period journey. And it changes as we do. You may want to consider seeing a natural healthcare provider to help you look into other factors that could be affecting your menstrual pain like your thyroid  and digestive health that could need supplementation. 

A great to jump start your lifestyle change is to do a 10 day cleanse. Get in the habit of eating healthy, and cut out foods that are not contributing to your wellbeing. 

Want to do a cleanse? Email me hello@pelviswellnessmethod.com and we can set up your free consultation. 

There is also vaginal steaming for preventative care…Check out more information on that here. 

For more specific information on how I can help you with your period send me your information HERE. 

And if you are not local to Los Angeles, no worries. We can work via online. Connect with me HERE. 

Big Love on your Healing Journey!

xo Carine

According to Chinese Medicine the summer is associated with the heart. Love in all of its expressions joy, compassion, forgiveness, happiness, trust, pleasure, acceptance, pure intelligence, gratitude, laughter and abundance.  All the feelings we all seek and appreciate in our lives. The summer is also associated with the fire element, an expansive energy. During these summer months is is important to be surrounded by loved ones, and do the things that make you happy. Enjoy life!

It’s the time of LOVE. A wonderful season to heal past betrayals, sexual traumas, broken hearts and all other forms of heart pain. Get some esoteric acupuncture heart opening treatments to help you receive the abundance of energy that is available during the summer months. These treatments can be gateways for you to initiate your spiritual healing through chakra balancing and sacred geometry. Sessions can align you with your higher self, and reconnect you with your heart.

It is also a time to open your heart to your fears. The opposite of the summer is winter, which is the season of the kidneys. They are associated with fear, the other end to the polarity of love.

Right now during these summer months your heart energy is thriving. Nature can be a powerful ally, use it to benefit you. It can be quite scary opening up your heart to your fears. And there is no better time then the present.

What I have learn about fear: is the things that you are afraid of, are areas in your life where you thrive. Which is why the fear is placed there, a self imposed block. Once you become conscious of your fears, and start to place your intentions on healing. You will realized that your fear is no longer needed.

Trauma can cause fear. And for a time that fear is needed to protect you, but over time it can become a block that cripples your life. And the remedy is love. Fear can’t live where love lives. And it starts with you, loving the crap out of your fears. And once you overcome them, you realize that your fears are one of your many gifts you can offer the world.

And I write this from my own personal experience of living in fear. As a child I had dreams of falling off a boat and drowning. Year after year I had the same dream. I loved and feared the water, at 8 years old during day camp I did almost drowned in a lake. This led to anxiety anytime I had to be in a body of water that my feet didn’t touch the bottom. It took me years to get in a body of water. At 20 I was able to swim in shallow water, and was able to swim in the ocean for the first time. Each year that passed I told myself I would get over my fears and learn how to swim. It wasn’t until December of 2016 that I dragged myself to a pool and joined a master’s swim team.

During the winter months, I literally drove into my fear of water. My fear of survival. And my fear of death. By the spring time, I was no longer afraid of water. I actually LOVE it, and I am a great swimmer.

Overcoming this fear has tickled into other aspects of my life. Now, when I’m afraid of something, I go right into it. And when I come out the other side I’m totally in love with it.

And the summer is the perfect time to overcome some of your fears, you can use to energy of love that is all around you to support you.

Book your heart opening session today.

And or email me your questions at info@carinecamara.com or call me at 925 310 5317.

With lots of Love,

Carine

I love getting compliments on my skin. It makes me so proud. Because I know how long it has taken me to have clear skin- over 20 years. Yes. I am 36. And my skin started breaking out when I was 14. I tried thousands of dollars worth of products to treat my skin. And nothing worked. Until I changed my diet.

I learned:

Our skin is our biggest organ of our body. It detoxes everything we put in it and on it. If the foods you are eating are creating inflammation, your body will use your skin as an outlet. Creating rashes, hives, eczema, psoriasis, and acne.

When I changed my diet when I was 20.  I first started with cutting out sugar and processed foods. Then over the years I shifted my diet away from the inflammatory foods. For me that is gluten, dairy and spicy foods. Now I know changing your diet can seem challenging at first.

Focus on the results- clear skin, healthier body, more energy.  You look good hence you feel good.

Common inflammatory foods/ drinks are: caffeine, alcohol, sugar, peanuts, nightshades- tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant, as well as eggs, soy.

You may not have reaction to all of the mentioned foods. To figure that out which ones, you would need to do an elimination diet. And you want more information on that. Please leave a comment below and I’ll be in contact.

Foods you can include in your diet are ones that have high in antioxidants.

• Wild blueberries.- all berries. strawberries, blackberries, raspberries
• Pineapples
• Oats
• Spinach
• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Beets

These are all high in antioxidants. But guess what all plant based foods- fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, seeds are filled with them.

Externally, you should avoid products that contain any chemicals or toxins. Move towards products that are natural- and you can read every ingredient. The less ingredients the better.

My products now are very simple and are all plant-based. Everything I put on my skin is edible. It would taste gross, but it can be eaten.

Simplicity is key.

If I had a cold, Mama would make me a bowl of soup filled with ginger, garlic, and hot peppers. It would scorch my mouth and throat, but by the morning I was fine. I was hardly sick as a child, and I never had the flu growing up.

My mother took me a Chinese Herbalist in the heart of Chinatown in New York City for my menstrual cramps when was 14. The scent and the herbs fascinated me. This older Chinese man silently felt my pulse, looked at my tongue and gave me a bag of herbs. I had dual thoughts of that experience being very odd and very cool as a young teenager.

I feel blessed to have a mother that introduced me to the world of holistic healing that has shaped my life. When I was a child I wanted to be a medicine woman, and I became one: an African- American urban medicine woman. By the time I was 20, I made the decision to live a completely holistic natural lifestyle.

What did that look like?

I cut off my chemically relaxed hair. I went natural. I became a vegetarian. I started reading all the labels of everything I was putting in and on my body. All my body products, makeup, household detergents became natural and non-toxic. I became obsessed with nutrition and health.

By the time I decided to go get my Master’s in Chinese Medicine when I was 25, my family was not the least bit surprised. Holistic medicine is who I am.

My holistic world is filled with plant-based foods, yoga, herbs, essential oils, acupuncture, massage, energy work, spirituality, mindfulness, astrology, and crystals.  It comes natural to me. It is so ingrained in who I am.

And yet, I have fallen in love with the facial expressions of people, when I say I am an acupuncturist. Eyes widen and they exclaim words of awe, wonder, and curiosity. The conversation swiftly moves into the art of acupuncture and the wonderful ways it can transform their lives! Education is key. I love teaching people about how they can empower their health.

I write this to say, it is important to be yourself no matter what happens in life.

Stay true to your heart.  

“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Mohandas Gandhi 

Much Love,

Carine

Are you in Chronic Pain? Do you find yourself surviving on pain medications? Have you tried various therapies? Have you tried acupuncture? If you haven’t, you should strongly consider it, and here are 5 reasons why:

1. Acupuncture promotes the movement of blood.

   Our blood is our life force, it contains everything that our body needs to heal- oxygen, nutrients we absorb from food, immune substances, hormones, pain-killers and anti-inflammatories. Our blood flow decreases with age, and can be negativity affected by injuries, diseases or trauma. Ensuring proper blood flow is vital to promoting and maintaining health. Acupuncture has shown to increase circulation and vasodilation in certain areas.

2. Acupuncture releases your body’s natural pain-killers.

   When acupuncture needles are placed in the body, a signal is sent through the nervous system to the brain to release pain-killing chemicals-endorphins.

3. Acupuncture stimulates our body’s natural healing mechanisms.

   When a needle is inserted in the body, it creates a “micro-trauma”. This creates a systemic immune response. Your body starts to heal by activating your nervous, endocrine and immune systems. After the needles are removed, the “micro- lesions” continue to stimulate the body until it heals. The healing process can last anywhere from 1-3 days after your session.

4. Acupuncture relaxes shorten muscles.

   The insertion of acupuncture needles releases pressure in the muscles, and joint structures promoting more blood flow.

5. Acupuncture reduces stress and relaxes your body.

   Acupuncture stimulates the release of oxytocin- a hormone that regulates the parasympathetic nervous system.

When you receive acupuncture for chronic pain here are some of the side effects of treatments:

• deeper sleep
• more energy
• a fortified immune system
• a stronger digestive system

Looking for a reprieve from your pain, consider acupuncture.

Have questions about your specific health concerns, please email me at info@carinecamara.com.