I want to talk a little bit about ‘down there.’ And let’s not beat around the bush with this. By ‘down there’ I am referring to my vagina.
It’s something that has given me a lot of grief over the years. It’s also the body part that I feel the most shame around. Here’s a share: there was a period (no pun intended) in my life where I legitimately thought it was broken – or that I might be asexual – and I invested in some expensive supplements to try and solve the problem.
Spoiler: there was no problem. Just me being uneducated and confused by my own body.

For most of my life, I kind of thought my vagina was out to get me. I mean, I really thought that it must hate me. For several years, I was getting frequent bladder infections (if you’ve ever had one, I know you feel my pain); after my first PAP test ever, the results came back irregular (cancer haunted my dreams) and I had to go to colposcopy three different times in 2 years (this eventually led to a biopsy, which is as much as it sounds); and don’t even get me started on those frigging pull-ups training pants I had to wear to girl guide camp… in grade 7 (yes, I am talking about bed wetting, and the problem runs in my family).

After years of vaginal grief, I finally made my way to the hospital where they stuck a tube up my urethra, filled my bladder with water, and proceeded to watch me pee. Once the embarrassment was over, the verdict came through: I needed to start pelvic floor physio (which until then I didn’t even realize was a thing).

Am I alone in feeling completely cut off from my nether regions?

I recently attended a voice intensive in Toronto where we were encouraged to breathe deeper than I felt comfortable breathing. A lot of the work we did was with imagery, and one of the images we were asked to play with was imagining breathing into our pelvic floor. That meant acknowledging it was there, and that was hard for me.

I did it anyway, and something crazy started to happen.

As I started getting curious, and really started to pay attention to what was going on for me under the belt, a number of my pelvic problems started to go away. Maybe all it ever needed was attention. Maybe all the vaginal bullshit was just my body screaming at me like a little kid: ‘I’m here!! Please notice me.’

I apologize if this is a little crass, but it’s a topic I’ve been wanting to talk about for awhile.

For me, getting fresh means treating all parts of my body with kindness, forgiveness… and a little bit of curiosity. Why are you behaving the way you are? I think getting intimate with ourselves and really digging deep into our sensational (sense-based) experience is an important part of staying fresh and staying engaged with the world.

What does getting fresh mean to you?

The reason I ask is because I recently discovered a product called RepHresh Vaginal Gel. The purpose of this product is to balance your vaginal pH. I didn’t know what that meant either (and I’m going to share their info in a second), but basically the purpose of the product is to make your vaginal area feel amazing. I can definitely get behind that.

What is Vaginal pH?

The following quote was taken from LiveScience.com:

“The pH of the vagina is quite acidic, between 3.5 to 4.5 on the pH scale (7 is neutral). That’s about as acidic as beer or tomatoes.”

When does a pH imbalance occur?

Some of the culprits (no surprises here) are after your period, and after sex.

During menstruation, the blood has a pH of 7.4 (so of course vaginal pH will become elevated during this time). Then there’s those bloody tampons (pun intended). Because they retain the menstrual blood, tampons easily contribute to imbalances… especially if they’re left in for too long.

Sex! The pH of semen is 7.1 to 8. Yep…

Then if you’ve ever sprayed your nether regions with perfume (or something like that), you may have irritated the area.

Other hormone fluctuations – like menopause and pregnancy – can also contribute to an imbalance.

All of these triggers can make the pH rise higher than 4.5, which can lead to discomfort, itchiness, and other unpleasant side effects.

Obviously you can’t avoid all of these things (they’re sort of part of life), and most of the time our bodies can rectify themselves, but sometimes our bodies could use a little extra TLC.

RepHresh Vaginal Gel is meant to be administered once every 3 days – or when a pH imbalance is most likely to occur. The product has been clinically shown to maintain healthy vaginal pH, and helps to reduce the risk of vaginal issues – like discomfort and even odor – for three days after application.

You can learn more about RepHresh products by visiting their website: www.rephresh.com

RepHresh is the clinically tested, #1 trusted brand that empowers women to take control of their vaginal health. RepHresh Vaginal Gel is clinically shown to maintain healthy vaginal pH, helping eliminate feminine odor and discomfort. A single application can maintain vaginal pH in the normal range for 72 hours. RepHresh Pro-B Feminine Probiotic Supplement is clinically shown to balance yeast and bacteria to maintain feminine health.* Just one capsule per day helps maintain vaginal flora in a normal, healthy range.* Click here to learn more. 

I received free product and payment for this sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.

How do you find balance when it comes to taking time for yourself and caring for your health?

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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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