Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Yoni Care!



As some of you may know, herbs and yoni's are two of my favorite topics! This Sunday I will be able to discuss the combo with a bunch of cool ladies at Gravel & Gold at my Yoni Care workshop!
Check out the details..
http://gravelandgold.com/events/yoni-care-workshop/

Herbalism and feminism have a strong connection for me. Aside from the practical and magical aspects of using plants as medicine, the practice of herbalism ties me back to a long ancestry of women who were deeply connected to the earth around them. Much of this knowledge of plants, animals and our own bodies have been lost, in my case, in just one generation of immigration.  The older ladies in my family who still live in Slovenia are powerhouses of herbal lore. They don't think of themselves as herbalists, to them knowing plant medicine is common sense.
Which brings me to yoni's. Instead of buying into ideas and products that are trying to make us believe our yoni should smell like pina coloda, let's educate ourselves and promote real yoni health and happiness.
It is so unfortunate that such a dynamic place on our bodies is so dark, scary and mysterious to us. I mean really, the yoni is where it's at! There seems to be a lot of fear around many places that are dark, deep and moist, the soil under our feet being one of those places. Many of the teenagers and kids I've worked with found the idea of digging in the dirt revolting, and eating food that came from that dirt, disgusting. The idea of 'dirtiness' has powerful implications which divide us from our earth and from our bodies.

Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Healing for Women is an amazing resource. Fat and the Moon's Yoni Duster is inspired from her recipe. 

Yoni Duster

An amazing moisture absorbing, healing powder when dealing with yeast infections and other bacterial infections. Dust on with a brush you ONLY use for your yoni. This powder is talc free, and I use arrowroot starch because cornstarch can feed the infection.

1 cup organic arrowroot starch
1/2 cup white cosmetic grade clay
2 TBLS organic black walnut hull powder
2 TBLS organic myrrh powder
1 TBLS ORGANIC goldenseal powder (this herb is threatened, so only source from organic and ethical suppliers. If you can't find it organic, omit from recipe)

Lube!

2 TBLS organic flax seeds
1 cup water (distilled is great to cut back on bacteria lurking in the tap)

Boil seeds in water and stir constantly until it gets at goopy like and to your texture preference. Strain immediately. Sometimes I add a couple drops of grapefruit seed extract as a very mild preservative, and/ or a little aloe vera gel if dryness and itchiness are issues.

Treat your yoni's right!