What does circulation have to do with ovulation? Well, ALOT actually.
Us period obsessed folks bang on alot about how important hormonal balance (and whole body balance) is for healthy ovulation and periods. But there is a whole other aspect to this, BLOOD FLOW & CIRCULATION.
This my friends is how our vital hormones get transported to the ovary to stimualte it to begin growing follicles, one of which will release an egg with ovualtion. And it's not just hormones getting delivered to the ovaries but also vital nutrients needed for healthy ovarian function. The quality of our ovulation can impact our cycle length and the health of our periods. So yup this is something to care about.
Our blood vessels are the rivers through which our hormones move and flow throughout the body to get to their destinations and carry out their jobs.
Poor blood flow = poor hormonal flow = poor ovulation.
Redcued blood flow to the reproductive system is A Very Real Thing and has been shown to correlate with reduced fertility and can also be a factor in long cycles with delayed ovualtion. And in our society today where desk jobs and sitting for hours at a time is the norm, our blood flow is being chronically reduced from our precious lil ovaries who are desparately craving this nourishment.
So, how do we increase the blood flow to our ovaries and entire reproductive system? I may be biased, but one of my favourite ways is my old mate acupuncture, this divine medicine works WONDERS for encouraging blood flow specifically to the ovaries, fallopian tubes and uterus. Like little traffic controllers we can direct the blood and Qi where we want it to go and send those messages loud and clear.
I spend the majority of my days placing tiny acupuncture needles at specifically chosen points to encourage Qi and Blood flow to the reproductive system to help tonify, nourish and regulate the system as a whole, for a whole matter of reasons whether it's stimulating ovulation in cases of amenorrhoea (no periods), helping the body adjust and respond to IVF medications, encouraging an embryo to implant or dealing with other conditions like PCOS and endometriosis. These little magic wands are some of my favourite tools in my belt.
My next go to is self abdominal massage focusing on the lower abdomen and ovaries. A few days ago I was in day 13 of my cycle and wanted to ovulate soon as my previous cycle ovulation was around the day 18 mark. I wanted to see if I could bring this on earlier and encourage this process by you guess it, increasing circulation and blood flow.
So I did some self massage that night focusing on encouraging ovarian circulation and did it until my abdomen felt really warm (good sign of blood flow!). The next morning (Day 14) my temperature had spiked and has stayed consistently high since then confirming that was indeed ovulation! Did I feel magical? Hell yes. Was it purely the massage that triggered this process? We can't say for certian but it sure helped! Now what kind of massage did I actually do? What kick-ass ovulation-inducing moves did I pull? It's all very *intuitive*, I simply place my hands on my lower abdomen beneath my belly button and start by tuning in to how it feels underneath my hands. Is it warm? Cold? Blocked? Free? And then move to the areas that feel like they need some movement and massage in circular motions with either my index and middle finger or whole hand. Play around with this process and see what feels good to you!
The next important point that is an absolute necessity for healthy blood flow to the reproductive system is MOVEMENT. You gotta move! Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle is important for so many different reasons and reproductive health is sure one of them. Now it doesn’t have to be anything crazy intense, I’m not talking about slogging it for hours at the gym everyday. I’m talking about getting some movement in everyday in one form or another and avoiding sitting for hours on end (I’m looking at you desk jobs!).
If you do have a job that requires you to be in one position all day (ie. at a desk, or maybe you’re a street mime), then yes, I will be boring and say ‘get up and go for a walk (even just to the toilet) once an hour’. I KNOW its cringey and predictable, but hey, it’s simple, and it works. We know blood flow gets reduced from the reproductive system when we are sitting, so lets do what we can to negate this. Humans are designed to move! A lot! Lets see how much we can replicate what nature intended in our modern world.
So there you have it. Now we know that our blood flow is VITAL for healthy ovarian function, healthy periods and a healthy reproductive system overall and we have some easy ways to help support this natural process!
Any questions? Let me know below!
Lauren xx