Yoga for Women

Yoga for Menopause

Yoga for PMS

Prenatal Yoga

- Vivian

Re: Parsley & Late Periods

I actually tried the parsley method a few months back. I read extensively and figured "why not?". At the point that I attempted it, I had started getting mild cramps and breast swelling (a sign of my period approaching) so I figured it might speed up the process. I didn't have cheesecloth so I simply picked a palm-full of fresh parsley from my herb garden, gave it a good wash and carefully bunched it into my vagina. I left it there for quite some time (several hours), and I repeated the process about 3 or 4 times, making sure to carefully remove every bit of parsley when I finished.

It didn't work at all. In fact my period came two weeks after this (I'm rarely late!)...maybe if I had tried this method past the time when my period was due it would have worked? I'm not sure if I'd try it again, but perhaps! One of my mother's friends swears by it, so maybe it was just a bad time for my body.

- Vivian

Product Review: cloth menstrual pads

Since the seventh grade, I’ve used mainstream pads but I was never pleased with how they felt. I find them really uncomfortable, especially in the summer when it’s hot outside. The bottom line, it feels like having a piece of plastic rubbing against and sticking to my skin. I hate it.

Last year I found out about cotton cloth pads and have been using them since then. They’re great for so many reasons.

- You wash and reuse them so they’re great for the environment.
- They’re safe for your body. They do not have toxic dyes or chemicals (like bleach) or fragrances that many mainstream disposable maxi pads contain.
- Cotton feels great and lets your skin breathe.
- Using them saves you money overtime.

You may have to pay more than you would normally pay when buying regular pads, but in the long run you’ll save money. Calculate how much you spend on pads in a month, and multiply that by 12 months to see how much you spend in a year. On average, 1 pre-made cloth pad will cost around $10. If you by 4, that’s only $40. How much could you save in a year if you used reusable cloth pads instead?

If you’re savvy with a needle or sewing machine, you can make your own cloth pads. Just go to any store that sells fabric and follow these directions
This is just a site that I found in less than 30 seconds. There are many sites that can help you make cloth pads. I’ve made my own and they’re great. If you’d rather buy one, there are many places that sell them. Here are a few options:
- lunapads
- wholefoods
- etsy
- hyenacart

Once you've tried them, you’ll never want to wear plastic again!

- Alice

Parsley & Late Periods

Apparently parsley can stimulate menstruation if your period's late. Check out this site to find out how. There are also links at the top of the page for herbal fertility, contraception and abortion. We're not sure how effective these methods are but it's definitely worth reading.

- Alice

Re: Product Review: Lelo Nea Vibrator

I too own a Nea (I purchased mine for $95) and absolutely agree on every point made in the product review below.

Some extra notes:
1. Nea is great to use with a partner. It is small enough not to be disconcerting, but it is definitely an added bonus to already fun activities.
2. It is so quiet! The buzzing is really subtle.
3. It has several functions (speeds/pulsing patterns) that can be a lot of fun.

P.S. Lelo is the company that makes Nea & they have a pretty wide variety of neat toys!

- Vivian

Product Review: Lelo Nea Vibrator

I came across this little gizmo in a sex shop in downtown Montreal. Surprised by the price ($130) I put it back on the shelf, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it! After a few months of research I decided that I had to have it. Luckily, I found it for a relatively reasonable price on the internet (brand new of course), and after owning it for almost a year, this is why I love it:

It is a clitoral stimulating vibrator, which is ideal if you're not into penetrating toys.

It features a built-in rechargeable battery so you won’t have to constantly buy those oddly sized and expensive batteries that most vibrating toys use.

The curved design fits well over your body.

The attractive design makes it inconspicuous, so you can leave it on your desk or night table without it being obvious that it’s a sex toy.

It has several speeds that you can adjust even in the dark since the buttons light up.

It is very easy to clean. A damp cloth with a bit of soap will do it.

Pressing and holding the two buttons down simultaneously locks them, so you won’t have to worry about your purse vibrating while you’re out in public or travelling, etc.

Cons
It is a little pricey. But it is definitely an investment that pays for itself (especially with the rechargeable feature).

Overall, I am very pleased with this product and would recommend it to anyone looking for a durable, convenient, inconspicuous, powerful and pretty way to make masturbation easier and more fun!

- Alice

A sexuality workshop in book form

The Clitoral Truth: the Secret World at Your Fingertips, by Rebecca Chalker.

Chalker offers an in-depth exploration devoted solely to women's genital anatomy and sexual response. Her highly informative tour of the clitoris is a sexuality workshop in book form. Female readers-straight, lesbian, and bisexual-will learn new routes to sexual pleasure and new ways to enhance their sexual response. Here are personal accounts, an in-depth survey of female sexuality resources, and the bold illustrations of San Francisco artist Fish.
- womensbookstore.com

This book is available at
1) Toronto Public Library
www.tpl.toronto.on.ca

2) The Toronto women's bookstore
www.womensbookstore.com

- Alice

Cool resource

http://www.glbtq.com/

- Vivian

Depo Provera

At 16 I was paranoid as shit about pregnancy...so much so that condoms alone just didn't cut. So off I went to my family doctor to try to get some alternatives/options. The first one she gave me was Depo Provera and it seemed like a pretty sweet deal to my relatively uninformed 16 year old self. I mean, just one little needle every 3 months and that was that! My insurance covered it so each injection cost me less than $5. I must say, I felt a little sketched out when my doctor told me I'd probably stop getting my period but if no periods meant no babies I figured "Okay let's do this!!!". And I did. And dear god, I really wish she'd warned me about the side effects. Perhaps it was the fact that I was 16, but I simply was not aware that hormonal birth control = headaches, depression, total loss of sex drive and severe lethargy. Seriously, it was weird how much my entire system was affected. I had the shots a few more times after that, until I finally realized, DUH. The wonderous Depo Provera = why I've felt like I've spent the past half-year practically comatose. So I quit it and it was unbelievable how much better I felt about everything within just a few (3? 4?) months. I later found out that Depo Provera's side effects stretch far beyond what I experienced and may include things from hairloss to "abnormal skin spots" to bone mineral loss. Who wants that, really?

So, obviously Depo (and hormonal birth control in general) just wasn't for me. I suppose the moral of the story isn't so much "Stay away! It's evil!" but more so "Make sure you're well informed about everything to do with the BC of your choice. Ask questions! Use Google! Be prepared!".

- Vivian

Gardasil...required vaccine?

Immigration authorities add Gardasil to list of required vaccines

We're not arguing that Gardisil is necessarily evil... but to have it forced upon an individual (especially one who may be in a desperate situation and thus likely to submit to this) brings about issues of consent as well as many others outlined in the article. The link at the end of the article provides more information on consent etc.

- Alice

Article

Why is my period taboo?

- Alice

To wear a shirt or to go topless, that is the question...

Topless in Toronto: how my breasts terrorized the neighbourhood


- Alice

3

One of the reasons we began WASH was to try to get people interested in talking/thinking about their bodies. Witnessing countless individuals' (from university students to people with children) sheer disbelief/amazement/outrage on numerous occasions upon finding out that women enjoy not one, not two, but three holes in their genital area was enough for us to try to start some sort of intervention. And this what we hope WASH will become - a way for people to engage in asking and answering questions, to discuss difficult topics, and to reach new levels of comfort and self-appreciation. For people to feel understood, and to understand others as well as themselves a little better...this is important! The precise number of "holes" a woman possesses can be (and evidently often is) written off as a petty technicality. But it isn't petty! For us, this little lacuna in the realm of what should be general knowledge created enough of a spark to push us to do something. Let's see where this goes!

So, for the record:
1) Urethra
2) Vagina
3) Anus
(Grab a mirror and take a look!)

- Vivian

Cervix love

A friend referred me to this website and it's REALLY REALLY COOL. I'm super tempted to get myself a headlamp and a speculum and have my very own cervical adventures for a month! But really, if you're at all interested in fertility...click!

:)

- Vivian

We haven't read it but...

Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation by Jayme Waxman

"Masturbation is like tuning a radio—you don’t know what frequencies you’ll enjoy until you play with the knobs. Masturbation has a complicated stigma attached to it; everybody is doing it, but not everybody talks about it. Some were told that touching oneself would cause cute kittens to die, some were told masturbation led blindness. Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation is here to debunk those masturbation myths, and reinforce the truth.

Masturbation is a totally natural and normal way for women to connect with and find pleasure in their bodies.

Fun, informative, and illustrated, Getting Off provides women with a wealth of masturbation knowledge—its history, the mechanics of it, the joys of sexy toys—plus clear, concise tips on getting off."

- Vivian

Who will fill birth control pill prescriptions?

This post on feministing.com is about pharmacists in the the US who have refused to fill birth control pill prescriptions on the basis of personal objections. I'm not trying to push contraceptive pill use, but the thought that someone could refuse to supply those few* who have access to "the pill" and wish to use it is unsettling.

*referring to those who live in large cities and "rich" nations.

- Alice

Take care down there!

Take Care Down There!

These short videos are kind of cute and informative, although Mr. Mustache is a little creepy. Also, I don't think that it should be called planned parenthood anymore... but it's a start.

:)

- Alice