The humble yet amazing Castor oil pack has been a wonderful blessing in my own experience of treating Endometriosis and a practice that I highly recommend to anyone who has the condition or experiences horrible period pain each month. If you don't know my story about Endometriosis you can read all about it in this post here
Now there are many benefits to Castor oil including its ability to do the following..
- Break up scar tissue
- Reduce inflammation
- Improve circulation
- Decrease pelvic congestion
- Enhance detoxification
If you have Endometriosis or experience painful periods then castor oil packs can help to break up scar tissue resulting from chronic inflammation. It also helps to reduce inflammation and promote pelvic circulation. Often painful periods can be due to stagnation and constriction within the uterus due to stagnant blood and lymphatic fluid. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective any blockage of energy within the body can cause pain which is why we want to get the blood and lymph moving and circulating properly within the pelvic cavity. When there is congestion, a build up of waste and toxins can occur and this is how castor oil can help as it can help to stimulate the lymphatic system in order to decrease this congestion as well as enhance detoxification to remove build up.
So how do you make a castor oil pack?
It's super simple!
Step 1 - Fill a glass jar with organic castor oil. You can get the castor oil from your local health food store or online.
Step 2 - Soak a long piece of muslin or flannel (about the length of your forearm) into the castor oil until completley soaked.
Step 3 - Place the soaked muslin or flannel over your womb area, directly onto your skin. (note: it's a good idea to lay on a towel to avoid oil spills)
Step 4 - Put a plastic bag over the flannel and then pop a heat pack or hot water bottle over the top
Step 5 - Lay down with the castor oil pack on your abdomen for 30min and let the castor oil soak in
Step 6 - Place the soaked muslin or flannel back into the jar and pop the lid on until next time
You can perform this daily from days 7-14. Don't do castor oils packs when you have your period or if you suspect you could be pregnant. Most women notice a huge improvement within three months so if you can commit to doing them at least 1-2 per week during days 7-14 then you will be on your way to relieving menstrual pain via decreasing inflammation, pelvic stagnation, poor blood flow, lymphatic congestion and toxic build up.
Want to know more about how you can relieve period pain and treat Endometriosis? Grab my masterclass 'The Endo Solution' here!