Breathwork for Hormonal Health with WOMB
Have you ever given any thought to the way that you breathe?
If you didn’t catch it earlier this month, here’s a link to my article on black witches 🧙🏾♀️
As promised, here is the book review for this month’s read: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman.
You’ll have to forgive me, but this month’s book club meet up won’t be happening. I’m currently in the midst of moving to a new flat and I’m all over the place! 🫠
Breathwork for Hormonal Health with WOMB
Have you ever given any thought to the way that you breathe?
Last week I attended a workshop, hosted by WOMB, that completely changed my perspective on breathwork and how it can help regulate our bodies.
Founded by the lovely Sinnead, WOMB is a Cardiff-based community interest company focusing on menstrual and maternity wellbeing. Their vision is a cycle informed culture for a matri-centric universe. How amazing is that?
What I love about WOMB is how intentional and community centred their approach is to menstrual and maternal health. I had the pleasure of volunteering for the WOMB festival this summer in Cardiff, and it was the perfect respite from working on my dissertation.
I was delighted to find a communal space with women that I’ve been able to learn from and who have the same vision that I do. If it wasn’t already obvious, I am deeply passionate about women’s reproductive rights and healthcare.
The workshop was led by Harriette, who is a very talented breathwork practitioner and women’s breathwork coach. She mentioned a fact that I can’t quite seem to get out of my head. About 82% of people will have some kind of breathing dysfunction. Who knew?
As I wasn’t able to be there in person, I joined the workshop via zoom. After making a scalding cup of ginger tea, wrapping myself in some blankets, pen and notebook at the ready, I settled down for the hour and a half long workshop. Sinnead and Harriette began by suggesting we take a moment to bring awareness to our bodies and to centre ourselves.
Following a stressful week of house hunting, I was struck that this was the first time, in five days, that I had taken a moment to check in with myself. It feels jarring that my body automatically reverts to a constant state of “go mode”, unless I’m consciously making an effort to slow down. Ah, the woes of living in a capitalist society that measures our worth as humans by how productive we are.
I thought after moving from New York I’d learned to relax… at least a little bit. But, it seems my cozy, small town uni life failed to release me from the rise and grind mentality. Now that I live in London, intentional rest has come back to the forefront of my mind. Hence, the breathwork.
Firstly, we learned a bit about hormones. I had no idea that we have over fifty hormones in the body? Sure, I was aware of the main ones that filter through the health influencer side of social media. Most recent buzzwords being, “CORTISOL! BAD!” But it’s so much more complex than that.
Harriette animatedly explained how hormones such as Oxytocin, Cortisol, Insulin, Oestrogen, Progesterone, Melatonin, Testosterone, and Pregnenolone, to name a few, affect the body and why breathing can regulate your hormones.
According to this study, breathing exercises have been proven to decrease the levels of stress hormones in our bodies. By simply paying attention to how we breathe, we’re able to regulate our nervous systems. This is especially important for women, because our hormone levels fluctuate significantly over the course of our 21-35 (depending on the person) day cycles.
There have also been studies that prove yoga and breathwork have an impact on our reproductive hormones (oestrogen and testosterone), which can potentially influence hormonal regulation. In my personal experience (I am not a scientist or healthcare professional but a woman with a hormonal imbalance), yoga and meditation have had incredible effects on my mental well-being and nervous system regulation.
After a few minutes I already felt calmer and we hadn’t even gotten to the breath work yet! Although I was on zoom, I could feel the safety and comfort that Sinnead and Harriette emanated through the screen. This made sharing our experiences much more comfortable.
With some meditation music softly playing in the background, we settled in for the breathing exercises that would help during each phase of our menstrual cycle. After consciously slowing down with some diaphragmatic breathing, the first exercise was for our luteal phase. If I’m not mistaken, it was in for 6, hold for 4, out for 6, hold for 4 and repeat.
After a few minutes, I began to feel my worries melt away. With each breath count I was returning back to my body. The quiet that replaced the constant stream of worrying, completely soothed my inner state. It brought me such a prolonged sense of peace that I’ve continued the practice every single day since.
The next exercise was for our ovulation phase. It was a breath in for 8, hold for 4, out for 8, hold for 4, and repeat. As I was in my luteal phase, I found it harder to do. Harriette gently explained that we actually breathe differently depending on which phase we are in during our cycles.
We also learned about the extended exhale which supports melatonin production. This exercise almost put me right to sleep. As we breathed in, then breathed out for a longer count, I felt my body preparing for a long sleep. And you know what? I slept like a baby that night.
The workshop ended with an emotional and physical check in. We took some time to reflect on the experience and how each breathing exercise impacted us. As always, I was enthusiastic to share that in the span of half an hour, my mental state had completely shifted.
I left the session feeling an immense sense of gratitude, not only for Sinnead and Harriette, but for my body. It felt empowering, as though I’ve learned a secret life hack. I can’t help but feel that such an accessible way to regulate our hormones should be mandatory information for all of us.
As women we must advocate for ourselves because who else will? We live in a society where minimal research has been done for our reproductive health and people still flinch when you say the word “menstruation”. Our bodies don’t run on a 24 hour clock, so an awareness of our hormone cycles can help us find harmony within.
October’s resource & reading recommendations
The Woman Destroyed by Simone De Beauvoir
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Sister of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery by Bell Hooks (free pdf!)
Love that and so grateful you were able to join us!