A young woman once came to me for a consultation after doctors had prescribed her contraceptives for acne. At the time she was living with her boyfriend and they were not planning children. So taking the pills was doubly “convenient” — no acne and no pregnancy.
This case is not unique. Many women come to my hormonal yoga classes with a disrupted cycle or secondary amenorrhoea after taking contraceptives.
By suppressing ovulation, such drugs create the effect of “false” periods. Restoring the natural cycle after coming off them takes a year or more on average. Sometimes, as in the tale of the two apples, restorative therapy with yet more hormones is proposed.
Of course, taking hormonal medication can be vitally necessary. With some diagnoses it is the only way to preserve health. But there are cases where the body can be treated more humanely.
Let us digress for a moment and recall that the Universe is made of two forces: yin and yang, the creating and the destroying. We are “here and now” in order to know the world and to know ourselves through the world, through the play of these two forces. Awareness comes through gaining experience and comparing states — “better or worse”, “lighter or darker” — which gives us our direction of travel.
Perhaps only once you have felt in full how hormones manipulate the body and the cycle — and with them the chemistry of the brain and the emotions — turning women into a kind of “bio-robot”, will you want to return to your “factory settings”, clearing your inner and outer space of toxins and negative thoughts.
For me, having lived through just such a hormonal breakdown some years ago, the way out was the birth of YogaHormonal hormonal yoga. This method helped me, and later many other women, avoid taking synthetic hormones and the other unpleasant procedures that come with treatment.
So how do you recover after taking contraceptives?
- Consult a doctor to choose a means of contraception — perhaps less convenient, but without harm to the body.
- Adjust your diet, focusing on cleansing and supporting the liver, which has been metabolising and excreting the synthetic hormones. You need food rich in folic acid, B, C and E vitamins, trace elements and fibre. Add more dark greens, sesame seeds, seaweed, almonds, quinoa and chia seeds to your diet.
- Take natural preparations to stimulate ovulation and normalise the cycle.
- Support the quality of your cervical mucus, which thins under the influence of contraceptives, by taking evening primrose oil and L-arginine.
- To improve blood circulation and switch on the body’s own reserves, take up the practice of YogaHormonal hormonal yoga. Two to three months of regular practice can bring considerable positive change.
Be patient. Give your body time to settle into its own rhythm. Give it a chance.
Photo: thewayfaress/instagram.com
