After struggling with incredibly painful periods most of my life, I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis over six years ago. While I was relieved to finally have a name for the pain, I wasn’t keen on the choices of treatment offered to me by the doctors.
I decided to take another path and dove head first into the world of alternative health & wellness. I was drawn to holistic teachings in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since they addressed body, mind and spirit as a whole.
Endometriosis is not limited to the reproductive organs. It’s systemic and needs to be addressed that way. While there’s no known cause for endometriosis, there’s evidence to suggest that there’s a link with a weakened immune system. If you strengthen your immune system, you’ll feel better overall.
I’ve gathered the following six tips to help you find natural relief from endometriosis. These have come from my own experience and exploration over the past six years and from the success I’ve seen with other endo sisters in my health coaching practice.
#1.) Adjust Your Diet
The food that you put into your body makes a big difference in how you feel. Add in fruits and vegetables and steer clear of inflammatory and processed foods.
When it comes to food, everyone’s different. It’s all about figuring out what works for you. Listen to your body. It knows best.
To help get you started, I have a course called the Endo Diet Jump-start. It provides guidance on building awareness of your body’s natural signs and signals when it comes to the food you put in your body, along with guidelines on what to add in and avoid.
Enroll in the Endo Diet Jump-start here.
#2.) Strengthen Your Digestion
A key part of why diet is important is found within the amazing workings of your digestive tract. That’s where nearly 80% of your immune system is. When you strengthen your digestion your body has a better chance at healing itself.
One way to help strengthen your digestion is to drink fresh organic celery juice on an empty stomach in the morning. (I learned about this from the book Medical Medium).
The celery strengthens your stomach acid, which is a big part of breaking down your food and absorbing vitamins and minerals from them. Also, don’t forget to chew your food!
#3.) Promote Deep Sleep
Deep sleep is when your body is able to truly rest and regenerate. It’s when it builds up energy for the day ahead. If you don’t get enough deep sleep then your body’s constantly trying to catch up.
The ability to fall into that deep sleep stage shows up in your body’s natural circadian rhythms, which is governed by two main hormones: cortisol and melatonin. These hormones are influenced by light.
To help keep your rhythms in line, expose your eyes to sunlight in the morning and avoid bright lights and any screens (computer, phone, TV) in the last 90 minutes of your day.
To take advantage of the most healing deep sleep it’s best to get to bed by 10pm.
For more tips to help you get your best sleep check out my free guide with 21 natural sleep remedies.
#4.) Support Your Liver
Your liver is where estrogen is detoxified. This is important with endometriosis, which is fed by excess estrogen. Add in liver supporting foods like celery, cucumbers, leafy greens, cilantro, parsley, carrots, beets, limes and lemons.
One easy way to support your liver each day is to add a slice of lemon to your morning water.
Also pay attention to what you put on your skin. Your skin absorbs everything! One of your liver’s many functions is to detoxify. You don’t want to add to the mix with chemicals in your beauty products.
I’m a fan of 100% Pure. Their products live up to the name: no yucky chemicals inside. Check out 100% Pure here.
#5.) Manage Stress
Stress is a key player in the proper functioning of your endocrine and nervous systems. Many with endo have more sensitive nervous systems, since it tends to be alert with pain. Be mindful of your body’s stress response and do what you can to avoid chronically stressful situations.
While you can’t always control the stress in your life, you can control how you respond to it. Use your breath as your guide. When things feel out of control or overwhelming pause and take a series of long deep breaths. This can help to instantly calm things down.
Meditation, light exercise and time out in nature also help me to manage stress.
#6.) Express Yourself Creatively
It can be hard living with an invisible chronic illness when others around you don’t understand. It’s easy to suppress the emotions that come up. You don’t want to talk about it all the time.
Emotions are energy. It’s important to allow them to flow through, else they gather and cause further blocks in your system.
Creative expression helps with that. It provides an outlet and serves as a distraction from the pain. Creativity stimulates energy flow in your pelvic space and helps to release stagnation.
On the Positive Side?
Please know that it’s possible to feel better with endometriosis. The six tips above are a great place to start. Remember that it takes time for your body to heal.
It’s a journey. Take it a day at a time and know that the choices you make each day add up.
