Cramps that stop the day, cycles that arrive when they like, or bleeding that has changed character.
What it looks like: Cramping severe enough to need a day off; Cycles shorter than 21 or longer than 35 days; Clots, or a flow that has changed noticeably; Spotting between cycles; Mood, skin and digestion tracking the cycle closely.
The menstrual cycle is governed by Apana Vata, the downward-moving current — so painful, scanty or irregular menstruation is read first as obstruction of that movement. Heavy bleeding with heat and irritability is a Pitta picture instead. They are opposite presentations and giving both the same treatment is why generic remedies disappoint.
Prishta Vasti and Matra Vasti restore the downward movement; Shareera Abhyangam through the month supports it. Yoni Prakshalanam may be added for local symptoms such as discharge — once a gynaecologist has ruled out or treated any infection. Therapy is timed against the cycle rather than run continuously — the classical texts are specific about which days are appropriate, and it makes a difference.
Typical course: Planned across two to three cycles.
When to see a doctor first, not us: Bleeding that soaks a pad an hour, bleeding after intercourse or after menopause, or severe pain with fever — see a gynaecologist without delay.
Assessed at Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe, a doctor-led Ayurveda hospital at Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131 — reachable from Sholinganallur, Medavakkam, OMR, Velachery, Pallikaranai and Tambaram. Open every day, 10 AM to 8 PM.
This page is for you if your periods have become hard to predict, painful enough to plan your month around, or different from what is normal for you: heavier, lighter, longer, or with spotting in between. It is for teenagers and their parents as much as for women whose cycle is changing in their forties. The first step is always to understand why, which sometimes means a gynaecologist’s opinion before anything else.
The texts divide the cycle into three phases: the bleeding days belong to Vata, the days after to Kapha as the lining rebuilds, and the days before the next period to Pitta. Cramping with scanty flow is read as a Vata picture, heavy flow with heat and irritability a Pitta one, and a slow, delayed period with bloating and lethargy a Kapha one.
The classical names follow the same logic. Kashtartava is painful menstruation, Asrigdara is excessive or prolonged bleeding, and Artava Kshaya is scanty or delayed periods. Each has its own line of treatment, and a woman can move between them over the years, which is why a remedy that suited you at twenty may be wrong for you at forty.
Before treating the cycle, the doctor wants to know what is driving it. Pregnancy, thyroid disease, raised prolactin, fibroids, polyps, endometriosis and adenomyosis can each change periods and need their own medical management, so the consultation asks whether these have been checked, and suggests tests or a gynaecology review where not.
Alongside that, Dr.V.Vaitheeshwari B.A.M.S., takes a full menstrual history, starting from your first period. Pulse, tongue, digestion, sleep and stress are examined as well.
Prishta Vasti, warm medicated oil held along the spine, is traditionally used for the back and pelvic ache that comes with painful periods. Matra Vasti, a small oil enema retained in the body, is used where the Vata picture is clear, with cramping, scanty flow and constipation around the period, and it is scheduled outside the bleeding days.
Shareera Abhyangam, a full-body oil massage, may be planned through the weeks between periods where the cycle is disturbed by stress, travel or broken sleep. Yoni Prakshalanam, a herbal wash done by a female therapist, is planned only after the doctor has examined you and found discharge or irritation that calls for it, and never during pregnancy.
Internal medicines are prescribed after consultation and differ sharply between presentations: warming and Vata-settling for cramps and scanty flow, cooling for heavy bleeding with heat. Heavy bleeding also brings a look at your iron, because treating the cycle while anaemia is left unchecked is only half the work.
The plan is laid out over two to three cycles, because one cycle cannot show a pattern. Therapy sessions sit in the days after bleeding has finished and before the next period is due, and internal medicines continue through the month.
After each period you come back with your diary for a short review: how long the cycle was, how heavy, how painful, and what you needed to take. The plan is adjusted cycle by cycle, and by the end of the second or third the doctor tells you plainly whether it is worth continuing or whether a gynaecology referral should come first.
Common gynaecological treatments include the combined pill or a progestogen to regulate the cycle, tranexamic acid for heavy bleeding, a hormonal coil and iron supplements. All of them can continue during an Ayurvedic plan, and we never ask you to stop medication prescribed by another doctor. If any of them changes, tell the doctor here.
Some situations need a gynaecologist before anything else: pain that has worsened year on year, pain during intercourse or outside your period, or periods that suddenly become much heavier. These can point to endometriosis, fibroids or changes in the lining of the womb, which need a scan and sometimes further tests.
The aim is to keep the downward-moving current unobstructed: regular meals, regular bowels, enough sleep and warmth around the period. Small habits count for most in the week before bleeding is due.
Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe — 12/597, Main Road, Nethaji Nagar Main Rd, Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131. Phone: +91 81229 39197.