When I first attended a womb retreat, it didn’t make sense to me. As a chronically stressed out lawyer the idea of slowing down, embracing my cycle, or practices like womb steaming were nonsensical. I wanted real solutions. I didn’t understand that the root cause wasn’t an unhealthy body, but an unhealthy system that was dysregulating my body.
In a world where systems are designed in the masculine, being healthy looked like restrictive dieting, over exercising and discipline, whereas the feminine is cyclical and in flow. And it’s not just “woowoo.” When you consider the fact that most medical research only included men until the early 90’s, you begin to understand the root of this imbalance, and why so many women are turning elsewhere for healthcare. While it could seem like cortisol face or lymphatic drainage are nothing more than social media trends, they’ve risen in popularity because there’s a need. And for women, it starts with the nervous system.
The importance of nervous system regulation
“A dysregulated nervous system doesn’t always look like anxiety or panic,” says Dr. Mariana Riveros, a functional medicine doctor at SHA Wellness. “Often, it hides in plain sight, disguised as gut issues, hormonal imbalances, chronic fatigue, skin flare-ups, or even autoimmune conditions. That’s because the nervous system isn’t just in the brain, it’s in the body. It communicates with your gut, your adrenals, your ovaries, your immune cells.”
According to Dr. Riveros, women are often turning to holistic medicine for hormonal health, because it works in tandem with the nervous system. Instead of treating ailments, like hypothyroidism, infertility or PCOS with medication, practitioners will take a step back and look at quality of sleep, stress levels, and diet. Oftentimes, the root cause is an overactive sympathetic nervous system, which leads to dysregulation, depletion of nutrients and an imbalance in hormonal health.
“When the nervous system is stuck in survival mode, fight, flight, freeze, your digestion slows down, because your body doesn’t prioritise breaking down food when it thinks you’re in danger,” she says. “This can lead to bloating, IBS symptoms, food sensitivities, or that constant discomfort in your belly you can’t quite name.”
Here’s the challenging part. The cure? It’s not a pill, a day at the spa (althought we love those), or even a month-long retreat. It’s a lifestyle change that allows you to slow down and be present consistently. The best way to regulate a nervous system is quality sleep, limiting screen times, and healing the gut through foods rich in pre and probiotics.
Dr. Riveros recommends products like Seed, Milamend, and Cymbiotokia’s Liver Health+ to help your body rebalance and replenish. Other practices like breathwork, infrared saunas and spending time in nature can also help your body activate its parasympathetic response.
Seed
Milamend
Heat Healer
