More than 80 percent of women suffer from period pain every month. Cramps, bloating, and nausea can make it difficult to go about your daily life.
Over-the-counter medications can help, but these aren’t right for everyone. Luckily, natural PMS treatment can work just as well or better than medications. Natural PMS treatments work with your body to increase your comfort during menstruation.
When you have your period, your body produces a higher amount of a substance called prostaglandin to help expel your uterine lining. Increased levels of prostaglandins are associated with many PMS and period symptoms.
Ayurvedic medicine has a host of natural remedies for PMS cramps. These treatments can help lower prostaglandins and relieve physical and emotional symptoms associated with your period.
These natural remedies for PMS use both internal and external factors. There are teas you can drink and spices you can ingest as well as activities you can do and ways to work with your body instead of against it.
According to Ayurvedic thinking, painful PMS symptoms and periods aren’t normal or healthy. PMS symptoms indicate a Vata imbalance. Vata is one of three primary doshas, or elemental combinations, in Ayurveda. Vata is the dosha that combines the air and ether elements.
Every person has their own unique blend of these three doshas, and when your natural energetic state is altered, you experience negative symptoms.
PMS symptoms are viewed as Vata interacting negatively with the two other primary doshas, Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (earth and water). Symptoms like anger and acne come from Vata pushing up against Pitta. Bloating and lethargy come from Kapha and Vata interacting inharmoniously.
There are multiple natural treatments for PMS and mood swings in the Ayurvedic tradition. Whether you’re having physical or emotional issues, there is a way to correct the dosha imbalance that is causing them.
Panchakarma is a treatment that detoxes, purifies, and rejuvenates the body. The process takes several days and is meant to restore your body’s natural ability to cleanse and heal itself.
There are five treatments that occur during panchakarma. They’re based on the original five treatments, but a few of them have been adjusted for modern times. The five treatments are:
Most panchakarma treatments happen under the supervision of an Ayurvedic healer over the course of a week. Undertaking panchakarma a few times a year can help keep your dosha in balance throughout the seasons.
Ayurvedic massage is a great treatment to bring your doshas back into alliance and detoxify your body. This type of massage combines herbs and oils with pressure point massage.
Ayurvedic massage focuses a lot of attention on the skin and circulatory system, massaging the oil into your pores so that your skin can absorb it. The massage will also direct energy through your body, moving energy to cleanse your energy lines.
Unlike a Swedish massage, there won’t be as much pressure and kneading in an Ayurvedic massage. The focus will stay on energy cleansing strokes and more surface movements to rebalance your doshas.
Shirodhara is a treatment focused on your third-eye chakra in your forehead. A healer will pour a liquid, usually an oil, slowly over your third-eye chakra. The liquid should be about the same temperature as your body, and the Ayurvedic healer will usually combine this with a head or scalp massage.
Shirodhara calms your central nervous system and brings you restfulness and tranquility. This is one of many Ayurvedic natural remedies for PMS mood swings. Your healer will customize the oil, and any added herbs, to treat your specific imbalances and symptoms.
Herbs are an important element of all of these Ayurvedic PMS treatments. They can be used to enhance another treatment, or you might use them on their own to help ease your symptoms. These are six herbs commonly used to treat PMS symptoms.
Asoka comes from a Himalayan evergreen tree. The tree bark is a pain reliever and can help normalize menstrual flow with naturally occurring phytoestrogens.
In Ayurvedic treatment, women can mix two to three milliliters of asoka bark with water, fruit juice, or even cow’s milk to relieve PMS pains.
The common name for kumari is aloe vera. The kumari plant is useful to induce periods or ease constipation. The plant has dozens of medicinal uses, both topical and internal. As a natural PMS remedy, the kumari is ingested.
In Ayurveda practice, kumari is mixed with other herbals into a tablet that can help bring on an irregular period. The flower is also good for resolving Vata/Pitta imbalances that can cause constipation.
Shatavari comes from the asparagus family and is useful in correcting excess Pitta doshas. The best way to take it is in a powder form mixed with an Anupam like ghee or milk to help carry it into the body’s systems.
This herb supports digestive and reproductive health, as well as acting as an anti-inflammatory. However, if you have excess Kapha, you should avoid it as it can increase Kapha.
Trikatu is an herbal blend known as the Power Trinity. It contains long pepper, black pepper, and ginger and supports a good balance between Vata and Kapha.
The primary use for trikatu is to support digestive health and as a pain reliever, so it’s a good choice for PMS symptoms that include an upset stomach or bowel issues and cramping.
Lodhra powder is good for treating hormonal acne that comes along with PMS. It’s also useful as a uterine tonic when you ingest it, helping ease heavy flows and cramping.
Brahmi can help lower your stress and help you sleep. Bringing your stress level down and improving your sleep quality are two ways to decrease PMS symptoms naturally and easily.
There is no single natural PMS treatment. Every woman has a different period experience with a variety of symptoms. There are many natural PMS treatments that cover these symptoms. Try combining any of these seven treatments to find relief for your period pains.
If you’re still having a difficult period, there may be some underlying health issue. Call us today to make an appointment with an Ayurveda practitioner who can help treat you.