It is now the month of April, and on the 21st we have our National Vulva Awareness day .
In the light of this, and everything that we live through in this community - let's get to know our lovely vulvas a bit better, while inviting in some intention with it.
I spoke briefly about this in the last episode of the Pelvic Power Podcast, which you can listen to here.
In this space we don't just "do" things, we make into something more fun, a little bit more healing. Such as, instead of just doing your pelvic exercises you received from your pelvic pt - how can you learn more about your body by feeling into the movement? How can you learn more about your breath? What can you learn about your pain?
So we're taking that with us into our monthly vulvar checks!
Why do we do monthly vulvar checks?
If you've been around awhile you know that this is something I continue to talk about, because it is super important - no matter if you live with a vulvar condition such as Lichen Sclerosus or not. Everyone with a vulva should know what theirs looks like!
We do this for: Knowledge: knowing your anatomy is super important (and HOT) To break the stigma: we are taught that our genitals is something dirty, and that you should stay away from them (how does this create a healthy relationship with your body?) Empowerment: knowing you anatomy is also you taking back some of your power that you may have felt like you've lost Self-love: the way that you feel about that part of your body is super important when it comes to intimacy with others Awareness: being aware of what your "normal" looks like so that if you see something suspicious you bring that with you to your doctor
How do you do it?
Grab a mirror, get into a position where you can see your vulva - standing with one foot resting on a stool, squatting, slouching in bed with a bunch of pillows - make sure you have good lighting - you can also use a flashlight.
And then you use your sight and your touch (make sure you wash your hands) to feel around your vulvar. Look around the clitoris, the clitoral hood, labia minora and labia majora, the perineum.
Now, the thing is - many of us (myself included used to feel this way) may feel that this part of our body isn't something we want to "befriend". Perhaps you feel so much shame and disgust towards your vulva that just this part is hard enough for you, then take the time you need to get to this point - where you can actually just look at your vulva.
But, if you feel brave (and I know you are) - use your touch to move things around, "pop the hood" to have a look etc. while looking at your vulva in the mirror. There is nothing shameful in touching any part of yourself, no matter if it is in a sexual way or not. It's quite the opposite - it's powerful to get to know your body in this way.
I try to look at every part that I do for my physical body, I am also supporting my healing on other levels of my being.
And instead of just popping a leg up, have a look and moving on with your day, I suggest you start to invite in more intention into your monthly vulvar checks:
Before doing the checks centre yourself, land in your body. Do you have a healing practice you can do before hand? Breathwork, meditation, dancing. Try to get more into your body.
If you live with Lichen Sclerosus, why not take this time to also moisturize your vulva? Because I know many of us 👀 often are a bit too lazy (sorry) to do this.
Check in with your breathing. I've heard me talk about breathing with your pelvic floor before, and if you live with overactive pelvic floor dysfunction, chances are that you are probably "holding onto" your pelvic floor while doing your vulvar checks, you are finding it hard to relax. Place a finger on your perineum and take three breaths. What are you noticing? Is the pelvic floor moving with the breath? No? (it's okay if it's not, if you've been tensing your pelvic floor for a long time, this might be a hard thing to grasp). Is there anyway you can invite in more softness, more ease into your pelvic floor? Sometimes the sense of relaxing your pelvic floor (or any part of your body can be hard), so try and tense your pelvic floor first. Take and inhale, and as you exhale - think perineum to crown (or that you're sucking up a blueberry with your vagina), and with your next exhale see if you can let the engagement go. Again, this takes practice.
I know the stress around looking at your vulva. Do you ever get thoughts like "It doesn't look like it does in porn" "Is my labia to small/big?" "Is my vulva ugly?" Yep, me too. So it might be hard to start, but take it one step at a time, and once a month I invite you to do this little practice above - invite in more healing into your checks and see what you learn about your body, about yourself, that may perhaps support you mentally, emotionally, and energetically. And remember, you are beautiful - and so is your vulva.
Feel free to pop any thoughts in the comments down below 🤍