Vibrant You

Ending Endometriosis and Period Pain: A Holistic Approach to Healing with Natalia Nekrasova

• Bindi Stables • Episode 46

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Text Bindi!

Natalia is a Nutritional Therapist and Mindset Coach specializing in endometriosis. She helps women balance their hormones and end endo pain holistically. She brings a wealth of knowledge in the health and wellbeing industry with functional medicine, nutritional therapy, and mindset coaching for an integrative mind-body approach to women’s health and chronic pain.

Whether you are a diagnosed ends warrior or simply someone experiencing chronic period pain, this episode is for you!

In this episode you'll learn:

  1. The hallmark signs and symptoms of endometriosis
  2. Western medicine vs functional medicine approaches to endo
  3. The #1 mistake women make in trying to heal from endo
  4. The top root causes behind endometriosis and how to rebalance the body
  5. Why endometriosis is NOT just a hormonal issue... (and what to look for instead!)
  6. The emotional and energetic roots of hormonal imbalances and period pain
  7. Natural approaches and therapies for endometriosis and period pain

Links:

Learn more and connect with Natalia:

  1. Get Natalia's free ebook "5 Reasons Your Endo Pain Still Persists. How to Heal It"
  2. Connect with Natalia on Instagram @natalia.nekrasova_
  3. Visit Natalia's website www.natway2health.co.uk 
  4. Book recommendation "Healing and Recovery" by David R. Hawkins

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

I’d love to connect with you on IG: www.instagram.com/bindistables

Visit my website for more resources and ways to work with me: www.bindistables.com

Bindi:

Welcome to the Vibrant you podcast. I'm your host, Bindi Stables, and here we talk all things wellness and vibrant living. You'll learn about integrative health, functional medicine, holistic biohacking and enjoy raw and real conversations on personal growth, mindset and motivation. Optimize your body and mind and become the happiest, the healthiest, most vibrant. You Enjoy the show. Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Vibrant you. I am here today with Natalia Nakrasava and I'm so excited that she's here. Natalia is a nutritional therapist and mindset coach specializing in endometriosis. She helps women to balance their hormones and end period pain and endopain holistically. She brings a whole wealth of knowledge in the health and well-being industry with functional medicine, nutritional therapy and mindset coaching, and really brings an integrative mind-body approach to women's health and chronic pain. So, whether you are diagnosed with endometriosis or you're simply someone experiencing chronic period pain, this episode is going to be so helpful for you. So thank you so much for being here, Natalia.

Natalia:

Hello and thank you for having me. That's amazing, thank you.

Bindi:

So excited you're here. Well, I would love to hear Natalia Tell us a bit of your story. How did you get to where you are today, doing the amazing work that you now do?

Natalia:

Yeah, sure. So for me it all started back in my teenage years when I was getting my period and it was getting very, very painful for me. But at the time it wasn't as much information out there, because we were talking about some years ago and there was internet out there, but it wasn't as big as it is now, let's say, and period pain was considered as normal at the time. So this is what I always thought okay, fine, it's normal. My mom was telling me it was normal. I saw other girls it's cool that we're going through this similar problem and you know, just get on with it. You know, stop crying and whatever, just get on with it. So I was obviously taking some pain killers for that.

Natalia:

But then in my 20s it started getting worse when I started getting pain between my periods and I started thinking, hang on a minute, that just can't be normal. And I was pretty much at the time overdosing on medication because I was taking pain killers and I was taking up to about 8-10 a day. So that's too much. That was like ruining my health completely. Little did I know what it was doing to me. So I was going to doctors but they were again like oh, just take ibuprofen, just take aspirin, just take paracetamol, and that was it until one day I just collapsed on my bed and I had to be called in. I had to go in for emergency service and they gave me a morphine. So I was like, oh, okay, that's a little bit better. So they found two quite big cysts in both of my ovaries and they scheduled me for surgery at the time, which took a bit of time to wait for. And then during the surgery, obviously they didn't completely remove the cyst, they just drained them because they didn't want to.

Natalia:

Whatever the procedures that they were doing at the time and this is when I was diagnosed with endometriosis I knew nothing about it. It wasn't. I never heard about it at the time. And when the doctor said, oh, you have endometriosis, my first response was end of what? Because that was a very long word for me, I couldn't even pronounce it. So he just told me very briefly. I still didn't understand what it was. So this is when I started doing research into it what was it all about? But still, I didn't really understand it, even though there was some information out there.

Natalia:

So the doctor told me that I had only two options to manage my pain at the time and he said it either would go on appeal or would start taking the hormonal injections. So first I said, okay, injections, you're doing it every three months, I may just go with that option. So I did that for probably about one and a half year until I was a private gynecologist and I explained to him a situation and he said to me do you want to have children in the future? And I said yes, why are you asking me? He said then you've got to stop these injections. And I couldn't understand why. Because he said, having those injections I didn't have any period. And he said you have to have your period in order to get pregnant, because otherwise it will completely break all the communication for you and it might be a chance you'll never be able to conceive. I got so scared so I just stopped them immediately.

Natalia:

But then I went back to the doctor because my pain was still there. Even after the surgery, after the cysts were removed, I still had horrendous pain. So the doctor said to me okay, you don't want to do injections, here's the pill for you. I tried that for a few months. That wasn't that long, but that was enough time for me to experience the horrendous side effects of the pill. I started putting weight on so much I was constantly tired, but I was still in pain. It didn't help me.

Natalia:

So, to cut long story short, so then at that time sorry, I didn't know anything about the natural health, about the natural approach. I was eating whatever I wanted. I was quite active there, I was exercising a lot, but I did not take care of my body Because I didn't know anything, because no one taught me about it. No one taught me how to think, no one taught me what to eat and how to eat, so I was just piling up. My mindset approach was oh, I'm exercising, I look quite good, so I can eat whatever I want. I never had a connection between the food and the way I was living and because my job was quite stressful, very long hours and so on and so forth, so I never connected the dots because, again, no one was teaching me about it.

Natalia:

So it wasn't until I started studying nutrition and only then I was thinking, oh, I can't actually do something about it. That's interesting. So that was the functional medicine approach when I was studying the nutrition and that opened my eyes. So I started experimenting on myself, and then I started seeing the results. My pains started reducing, and then I started feeling better. I was much more energized. I was like, oh, this is amazing. But my full healing didn't come into place until I started changing my mindset as well. That was my final trick to it, I would say. And then I thought you know what, if I can do it for myself, I can do it for others, I can teach. This information has to be shared. There's so much that we can do about it, naturally, and this is why, since then, it just became a passion, and this is what I do and why I do this.

Bindi:

L my goodness, wow, what a powerful story, natalia. I love to hear that. And amazing that you were kind of given this lifelong sentence to just pain, right, and you completely overcame that from the holistic approach when you were given just you're not sure if you'd be able to have kids with this birth control and all of these different things. It's just so powerful to hear and so hopeful to hear that you can create so much change. So I love to hear that. So for the woman listening, kind of as you shared, endometriosis is a bit of a mystery. It's a big word and it's an even bigger mystery of what it is, where it comes from, especially in Western medicine kind of model. So can you walk us through? Imagine a woman that has no idea what endometriosis is or if she might have it, what is endo and what are some of the key symptoms or signs that she might be facing to know if she does have endometriosis? L.

Natalia:

Sure. So endometriosis is a disease that is, in the Western world is still being perceived as just a gynecological disease. But it's not, let's be honest about it. So I will say it like this. So endometriosis is a whole body disease. That's what it is, and it's not just hormonal imbalances that we talk about here, whereas predominantly, again, it's about estrogen and progesterone. There is so much more involved in it.

Natalia:

You know, we're talking about the brain health here. We're talking about the immune system, because the thing is endometriosis, immune system plays a very big role here and we also say it's an immune system dysfunction, in a way that the immune system cells do not clear those endo-like lesions and adhesions. That's what are happening within the body and we're going and seeing like, why is this happening? All that should be done because for some women, even though the abnormal cells may start growing endo-like lesions, let's say as well, but the immune system cells would clear it for them, whereas for others they don't. So then there is a big factor of the nervous system that plays a very big role in endometriosis. Then there is a big underlying factor of the whole blocked lymphatic system and the acidic waste around the body, so the whole circulation system and the whole flow within it. Then we're talking, of course, about the gut health and liver health and so on and so forth. So all of that plays a very big role in endometriosis. But, to put it simply, the endometriosis is whole-body disease, where endometrial lesions, they just spread all around the body, so it's not only around, let's say, our uterus and ovaries and fallopian tubes. The lesions can be anywhere within the body and in some rare cases they were even found in the brain and the lungs and diaphragm and the liver. So it can be anywhere and more common cases we also see it could be around the bladder, it could be around the intestines and again, that's what I'm saying, those lesions can be anywhere. Plus, some women see the adhesions that start forming within the body when the organs start touching each other. So whether it's all down to endometriosis, I mean those adhesions, actually that's questionable. But we can say, yes, it could be happening as well because there is so much inflammation within the body going on. So then this growth start occurring within the body.

Natalia:

This is what's happening here, really, and the main symptoms that women present with. Usually it would be pain, and it's not just a period pain. This is why, again, we cannot say that endometriosis it's just a period pain, because it's not Really so. Many women experience chronic pain within the matriosis, so it can be pain on daily basis. Some women become even pretty much bedbound, which is really really bad.

Natalia:

And then there is fatigue, very big factor. That fatigue comes into play here, because when the body is very inflamed and everything is out of balance, and then of course all certain thoughts come into our mind and so on and so forth, there is this draining of energy that is happening and the body is going into this state of dysfunctional state let's put it this way when it's just literally so tired, it's so weak, and you go like I don't know what to do, I just can't function anymore. So then there is one of the main symptoms of endometriosis is the painful intercourse. So even though you know some women may have, let's say, period pain, but they are absolutely fine with the intercourse, again, this is not for everyone. This is one of the symptoms. That doesn't mean that everyone experiences the same symptoms, but this is what's been found, quite common symptoms.

Natalia:

And then infatility that is one of those. Infatility is a very interesting one. Again, I don't want to talk about statistics, because personally I don't believe in statistics. Again, it's all about the way you look at it. But infatility for me personally, when we talk about infatility in the matriosis, it's more like if there are any structural obstructions, so if in the matriosis it's on the way in a way, that's, for example, there are blockages and fallopian tubes or there are certain structural you know issues with, like, let's say, ovaries and womb and some probably are the organs around, so then I would say, yes, endometriosis plays a role in here.

Natalia:

But to put it completely down to endometriosis, I don't think it's right and it's a big topic probably on its own to have. But these are the main symptoms that I would say. So it would be pain, fatigue let's say infatility is a factor here and then pain on intercourse as well, and then there are so many other ones, even if it's period pain without having pain, even outside of the period. So some women have heavy periods. Sporting could be between the periods as well. So there are quite a lot of symptoms that may come within.

Bindi:

Yeah, that's so helpful. Thanks so much for sharing that. And of course it is so bio individual, like you said. Like one woman's endometrious symptoms could be totally different from the next person, which is why I think it seems to be such a mysterious disease in the Western medicine model, because people's symptoms are so different from person to person. But when we look at it through a functional lens it actually all starts to make a lot of sense as to why it's happening. So let's get into that. You shared briefly on what the typical Western medicine approach is the painkillers, the birth control, the surgery. Tell us a little bit more of what the Western approach is and some of the concerns or limitations of the Western approach.

Natalia:

So the Western approach is helpful as it can be, and I know many women find some help in that approach, but it tends to be very short term approach anyway, and Western approach is usually the approach that has been like first on the line Okay, so I have pain, let me go and I'm going to see doctor, because this is what we've been told to do all our lives, since the day we were born. Let's say or you have a little bit of cold or something else is happening with you, let's go and see doctor. So the doctor for us is someone who is inexperienced in everything. Unfortunately, this is not always the case when it comes to chronic conditions or specifically we're talking about endometriosis here. So the Western approach is a very extreme narrow approach, and when I say extreme narrow is because it's not been understood in Western medicine and it's still being considered as a just hormone and balacys. We only talk about estrogen and progesterone and this is why so many people are being put on the pill, because, again, women are being told that it will balance your hormones. But we know that the pill doesn't balance anything. It doesn't regulate anything within the body, doesn't balance anything within the body. It all it does? It just shuts the varying functions, certain brain function. It just shuts down the communication between brain and ovaries. It suppresses the immune system and then, when the woman comes off the pill, all those symptoms come back as well. And that's so easy because, like if we imagine, let's say, a stream of water coming through and then you just block it, like that flow, you block it. What happens there? There is a precious that building up. It's building up, building up because there is a suppression of it. So one day, when you take that berry off, there is like there is this explosion of that water comes out. And this is pretty much how I see what's happening with the hormones, for example, as well. This is like they've been suppressed for so long.

Natalia:

Because some women are taking medication, they are told to take it for years. Some of them are for about 10 and 10 more years being on the pill. And again, the unfortunate thing is that they are not being told about the side effects. So when they come off the pill, all those symptoms come back with the vengeance. This is what's happening and they go like oh my god, I don't know what's wrong with me, what's happening with me. It shouldn't be like that I mean doctors. Don't tell them. They just tell them go on the pill. This is gonna help you, and this is it. Pain killers. As we know, all of that medication has horrendous side effects again, some may experience in a much more horrible way some may experience in a lighter way, some may not experience.

Natalia:

It's going to be different for everyone, but generally speaking, the side effects are really, really bad. And then it comes with it, because when you start suppressing this immune system with the pill, then all sorts of things start happening within the body. Inflammation doesn't go anywhere. In fact, there is more inflammation start going on within the body. So then the women start having the issues with the gut. Then they go back to the doctor and good doctor says you have IBS. Hmm, okay, interesting, here is another pill for you. We're going to start suppressing your stomach acid. Oh, but that brings other issues into and it becomes like a chain reaction, like a pill for every single side effect of it. And then it gets to the point when women start taking so many pills bless their heart, because they're told to do so by the experts let's say, right, those experts. And then they get the final kind of thing. They go to the doctor and say look, I'm taking all these very strong pain killers. I am on the pill, I'm taking this, I'm still in pain. And quite often they are being told well, it's just in your head, but if you feel anxious and you know, so stressed, there's another pill for you which is antidepressants for you, and it becomes like again what do you do? Where do you go with all this, you know? And they just keep taking, and taking, and taking, because you believe that this is going to help, because this is what you've been told.

Natalia:

And then, of course, surgeries are another quite big factor, because I had a couple of those in my life, like he let him have more, but even those two that I had, little again did I know when that would be doing to my body. Because, again, the surgeries they are presented to women as a savior for endometriosis is going to help you so much. Again, depending on the type of the surgery, there are different types. So the excision surgery is considered as a gold standard, is the better type of surgery rather than ablation, for example. So, and then surgeons will say, oh, we cut out the disease and I'm like but you really don't. You cut out the effect of it, but the cause of it is still there. So it's just a matter of time when that effect is going to be back within the body.

Natalia:

But I just want to touch very quickly on one of the biggest side effects of the surgeries and this is because it's not been talked about and I think women should be informed about it. This is not to put anyone into fear, but it's still everyone's choice, what everyone does, because surgeries do work and they help women. But there are again side effects that women should be aware of. Rather than having like doctors can be suggesting surgeries every six months, every one year. This is a lot, that's a lot to go through. I mean, women are going is like recovers from one surgery. After certain period of time they go already into another one, and that's a lot to take for someone. That's a lot of stress, a lot of trauma to take for someone.

Natalia:

So, obviously, one of the side effects of the surgeries here is the actual trauma that has been done to the body, and it's regardless of the surgery and within the matrices. It's usually the laparoscopic surgery, where there is only like a few small cuts done to the body, and this is how it's also been presented. Oh, don't worry about it, it's just a small thing. If we just do a little cuts on your body, it will, you know, heal very quickly. But what women are not being told is that it's not just those little cuts on the skin. It's the layers and layers of tissues that are being cut through to get to the destination of those of the certain lesions and adhesions as well, and this is a very traumatic experience for the body. Plus, of course, we're talking about the scarring that comes with it. Regardless of the type of the surgery there could be, there will be scars within the body, and the more of those surgeries one has, the more of those scars will be within. And then we talk about, of course, there are infections that may come with it again, something to be to speak to your doctor about if the surgery is the route that you want to take. Speak to the doctor how to minimize the way of getting infection, for example, because that happens quite often.

Natalia:

But one of the biggest side effects of the surgery is there is actually term for it and it's called postoperative adhesions, and this is when, after the operation, the actual adhesions start develop. Regardless of the type of the operation, the adhesions start developing within the body, so they started touching organs to each other, and I can tell you from my experience that a lot of women are being told that when that happens to them after the surgery, after a certain period of time. Again. For some women it only takes a few months, for others it may take a couple of years, maybe a little bit more. They go back to your doctor and say I'm in so much pain. They start doing the what we also see with Western medicine how it's been done.

Natalia:

Obviously it's just those MRI scans or ultrasounds that are being done to see what's going on and of course there are surgeries to actually diagnose someone. So they go back to the doctor and they see on this count, for example, especially MRI, and they say oh, your organs are attached to each other. What's going on? But women are led to believe this is because of the endometriosis. So women go back and think my endos got so bad. It's still progressing so badly within me. What is wrong with me and all sorts. They start blaming themselves, they start putting everything on endo, which it may not be the case. It could be post-operative adhesion. So my advice for everyone if you're going to have a surgery, please discuss this with your doctor and see if there is a way to minimize a risk of this. This is what I would say.

Bindi:

Wow, so powerful. Thanks so much for sharing that. This is important and it's important for women to be empowered with choice, and in order to make a conscious, empowered choice, we need knowledge right and we need options and we need to understand side effects. So I love to hear you sharing that, and I think one of the tragedies really in all of this is that when you talk about an endometriosis, it's such an inflammatory whole body disease which we'll get into that in a sec, but it's inflammatory.

Bindi:

One of the key root causes is gut based imbalances and it's involving adhesions and lesions within the tissue around the uterus. And so it's so ironic to me that we would douse our body with you know painkillers, which destroys our gut microbiome, drives inflammation in the long term, and then do surgeries that perpetuate adhesions, lesions and scar tissue. It's just this really fascinating vicious cycle that, like you said, can maybe help in the short term with short term relief, but in the long term, is really perpetuating the symptoms. So so let's get into the other side. Let's get into our you know, functional medicine approach, tendometriosis and and how the functional medicine approach really differs from western medicine. What's some of the underlying root causes behind endometriosis from the functional side of things, so functional medicine is my jam, so I can just talk about it.

Natalia:

But to summarize it all, obviously this is a natural approach to it. This is how we heal the body, how we bring body into harmony, and so the healing state through the natural medicine. And for me, obviously this is the best approach that we can do, we can have and there is a lot that we can do. And I think there is a very common misconception when it comes to natural medicine. That is out there in the world and people say, oh, natural medicine, or you're just going to tell me you know what diet I should be on and that's it. I'm like no, so functional medicine is so much more. This is, of course, we're talking about food here, how you nourish your body, how you heal your body through food, and it's not only what to eat, it's also how to eat, when to eat, how to cook. All of that is going to be very, very important when it comes to it. And then, of course, we talk about the lifestyle changes as well, and when you work on all of that, you can see the changes that the body goes through the studs, inflammation goes down massively, the hormonal balancing. Of course we address the gut health. We look deeper into it and through functional medicine we actually go for the root cause.

Natalia:

Here we don't just look at the symptoms and just say, okay, take this or that.

Natalia:

No, we are like investigators here, you know, like little detectives, and we want to know why it's happening, what is going on with that person, why is that growth occurring, and so on and so forth. And, as we already said, and the materialistic is a whole body disease. So we approach the whole body here. We don't look only in a reductionist way, as one thing only. We look at the whole body. And this is what happens here and this is why it's very different. And then of course we're talking about sometimes bringing supplements into it to give that boost to the body, so that extra, that extra to eat, so again for the body to heal, and this is just fascinating. And then of course we work on the strategies like read the stress reduction that again dominates within the body in a way that it promotes so much stress, because the disease itself is quite stressful. What women go through is very, very stressful. So I think it's very important when we work with women from the functional medicine perspective. We work on all of that there is no masking here.

Natalia:

This is what it is so going for the cause of the disease.

Bindi:

So, the way you see it like in your practice, what are some of the most common root causes that drive endometriosis? I know you mentioned it being such an inflammatory based condition you mentioned about hormonal imbalances being a piece but it's not a hormonal disease. So what are some of the driving factors or root cause imbalances that cause the symptoms of endometriosis?

Natalia:

Sure. So when we talk about the cause, again, that's a bit of a controversial subject. Let's put it this way, because the main belief out there is that we still don't know cause of endometriosis. Personally, I don't buy into it. I just don't buy into it because we can't say we still don't know it. Here is the growth within the body. No, it comes from somewhere. It doesn't just magically appear from nowhere. So the main contributing factors here are those different causes that play a very big role in developing and growth of endometriosis will be, of course, this inflammation is a big driver here. That is going to be an inflammation comes from anywhere. So of course there is a big argument that inflammation comes from already those developed lesions and adhesions, which, yes, it does, because this is how the immune system going to be reacting to it as well. But inflammation comes from other places as well.

Natalia:

So we're talking about the gut health, which is a very big factor here. What is going on with the gut? What is inside the gut? What's the gut microbiome is like? Like you know, we talk about parasitic infections as well within the gut. But certain parasites can be beneficial for us, but other ones, they literally feed on the nutrients that we consume through the food that we eat. And one of the biggest factors here I see with women quite a lot is the lack of iron, for example, and when you start looking at the gut microbiome and when you start doing the tests and you see, oh, that guy is sitting here and we know that that guy, for example, is literally feeding on that iron, it's just stealing from the body, then you're like, okay, that's one of the reasons why we're not going for that. So it's just identifying those little contributing factors to it. I'm saying little, they're not really little, they're big on its own, but little it's like. You know, if you look at the body as a whole, okay, what else, what else, what else? So we start creating this kind of a map. So another contributing factor here is quite big one is the liver health and the gold blood health.

Natalia:

Because, again, when it comes to hormones estrogen, progesterone and many others liver has to be in good shape. But with time, because of the inflammation, poor diet, high acidity within the body, the lifestyle that we tend to live in our modern world, overall liver becomes quite sluggish. So it doesn't metabolize, doesn't process those hormones, especially estrogen, the way it should be. So there is this over flood of this estrogen flowing around the body. Then again, what's the bowel movements are like? If someone is really constipated, that's not going to help. That's going to promote so much toxicity within the body as well.

Natalia:

All that estrogen that is supposed to be excess of estrogen, that's supposed to be eliminated because of the constipation, is just being reabsorbed back into the body. These are just those things. Then, of course, what's going on with the thyroid? What's going on with our adrenal glands? What's going on with the whole nervous system? Because all the stress from the whole life, not just from, let's say, some stressful events, is the whole life that we're talking here about. It's all being stored, all those emotions that are being stored within the nervous system and there is a lymphatic system. So all those blockages that are happening. What does that do? That creates even more inflammation within the body. And then we're, of course, talking about the blood flow or how it's all flowing.

Natalia:

So it's the whole body that is being involved, and this is what we do with functional medicine. We take everything and we just like untangling and just going for it and like okay, and then suddenly someone starts feeling like, oh, I feel better now, my pain started reducing. Oh, amazing, because we're addressing the body.

Bindi:

So powerful and it is amazing that endometriosis is being so driven by inflammation. But hearing you say well, what's causing that? Is that gut-based pathogens or an imbalance in the gut microbiome? Is this an imbalance in thyroid? Is it an increase in environmental toxins or heavy metals? All of these things, so it all matters. Now you touched on the nervous system piece as well. Let's get into that a little bit of the nervous system and the mind-body connection, how those emotional states or things going on within our body's stress that really contributes and drives that endometriosis.

Natalia:

Yes. Well, this is a very, very big connection. Again, it's not really been understood out there because we don't really learn about the mind in schools, for example, right when I was studying or when I was at school, yes, we were taught about the body's anatomy, so we knew about the body as a physical body, but no one was teaching us about the mind. So we go along now alive thinking like oh, there's just thoughts coming, there is a brain, you know, there is a brain as a physical tissue there, like organ. Right, there is brain and this is where all the thoughts are. Is it really so? There is a lot of research. It's not just some stuff that we're talking here about. There is a lot of research about the mind out there. And what is mind really? It's energy, like everything is energy. So is the mind? Just because we don't see it, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist and it's a big energetic field around us. And so the mind and body connection again, what we have in our mind is going to be affecting our body. What thoughts do we have on daily basis? What are we telling our to ourselves? And if we even put it on a physical level, so let's say we have some negative thoughts, whatever those thoughts are, every single negative thought that we have, the brain will start producing certain type of chemicals that goes straight into the blood and carried around the body and that's one type of chemicals and it's the disease promoting type of chemicals. So when we have positive thoughts, when we think about something nice, so we think good about ourselves, and so on and so forth. Brain produces different type of chemicals and again the those chemicals are carried throughout the body, within the blood, within the nervous system, and that is the wellness, well-being promoting chemicals. So then, what do you think? What do you believe and that is a very big factor here as well the beliefs is a massive, massive thing and this is again a very big connection that comes into it. So if we believe that I'm always in pain this is not to dismiss anyone, but there are certain periods when we sleep, let's say we're not in pain, like properly sleeping, not in pain. So we can't always say I'm always in pain, that kind of thing. But if this is what we keep telling ourselves, the body will perceive it as truth. The body doesn't know the difference between what is true and what is lie, and the body receives its instructions from the mind. This is how it works. So if we say to ourselves, I'm always in pain, or one of the biggest ones that I see when it comes to endometriosis, is that because of so much pain that women go through, they start disliking themselves, they start disliking their bodies, they start disliking their life, and then what they start believing is that there is something wrong with me. I hate my body, I hate my life, and it goes like a vicious cycle here. So when we have all those beliefs as well about ourselves, about our body, about the disease, then again the body perceives that as truth and the body goes like, okay, fine, so there is always pain. Here is more. If you hate yourself, I'll give you more to hate, because this is how it is. There is always growth, and so it's a big thing.

Natalia:

A lot of doctors have written different books about the biology of belief. That's Dr Bruce Leibt and who wrote the whole book about it. So it's what we believe that matters. And then there is a very big factor that comes into place when it comes to the whole body-mind connection is the identity that we have so specifically within the matrices. What do I mean by identity is who we become, who we perceive ourselves to be. So I'm not talking about our names or what we do for a living not that, even though it's a part of it, of course but what I really talk here about is the identity.

Natalia:

In a way that there are those labels that we give to ourselves, and it's very big within the matrices because there are so many labels already out there. So the labels like I'm and a girl, I'm and a sister, I'm and a this and I'm and a that, that becomes an identity, because I am a very powerful words. So this is who you become. So you may want to try to heal yourself right from this pain, from this disease, but if you believe that you are and a girl or and a sister, this is who you're going to be, because this is your identity Again, because this is what you think and you believe. So the body again takes instructions from that.

Natalia:

Okay and I'm still living in and here I go, let's continue living with them. So all of that plays a very, very big role when it comes to mind and body connection.

Bindi:

I could not agree more. It's so powerful. You see all these hashtags on Instagram, right, especially just in the field of women's hormone and women's health, as you and I work in, and it's all like endow warrior, endow sisters, you know, and there's a whole community behind it, and I see the power of community and when you're struggling with something, to feel held and supported by something bigger than yourself, and also that is making that your identity and that does deeply influence how our nervous system works and how we feel about ourselves, and can so limit and hinder our capacity to going beyond the endow warrior, right. Even endo survivor, right. It's still fixating and zooming in on the endo part of it, right? So I love to hear you share that. So let's get into some practicals of. Let's say that a woman has been experiencing endometriosis. What's some advice that you would give her in terms of how she can really start to rebalance herself, whether that's with nutrition or supplementation or therapies that you find really supportive. What advice would you give? Sure?

Natalia:

So there is so much that can be done with endometriosis, but I would just point a few things out here, because otherwise we will just end up talking for hours. So I would say it's the body nourishment and it's a nourishment. So when it comes to food and we'll say diet I don't like using the word diet because we don't talk about the diet as such there is this endo diet being circulated out there. There is no such thing. Let's be honest about it. What it really is being talked about is anti-inflammatory diet. But then again there are certain things is what is anti-inflammatory for one, what is anti-inflammatory for another? So there is it's got to be a personalized approach. But generally speaking, the mindset behind food is not so much of what can I take out? What can I take out and the promoting fear around food. Let's start talking about food in a way that what can I add? What can I add to nourish my body, Because this is what food is for. Food is not really to stuff our face with it and then feel happy about it. Food is for nourishment, because every cell in our body requires nutrients to function, for the energy production right, for various body functions. So this is why, and if we approach food from this perspective, it becomes a true medicine. So watch what you eat in a way that nourishing like have. Make sure that you have enough protein when you have it, because protein, we are made out of protein, Our bodies are made out of protein. For the body to function well, we need protein For the enzymes. Enzymes are proteins anyway. So if you're not producing enough enzymes for digestion, let's say for breaking down foods, again we've got to look and see are we actually consuming enough protein here or not? So it's not so much of eliminating big food groups from the diet. Again, it's looking as okay. Do I nourish myself enough here? What else can I add? As I said already, Then we're talking about the fats.

Natalia:

Don't be scared of fats, of healthy fats. Fats are our friends. They're not going to do much to your body in a way that it's not going to make you grow. Let's be honest about it. Healthy fats are anti-inflammatory. They're going to be helping us with reducing the inflammation within the body. They're going to be helping us with the hormonal balancing. We do need fats to be producing the sufficient amount of hormones within the body as well. They require for brain health and so on and so forth. Then, of course, we're talking about the antioxidants here that are very powerful and we need them for endometriosis Again, to reduce that information within the body. We need those beautiful antioxidants that we can get from the colorful fruits and vegetables here. That would be the very basics of it. This is what I would say in terms of the food.

Natalia:

Then there are lots of lifestyle strategies that you've got to be active Again within the matriosis. You've got to see where you are, because if your body is functioning quite well, even though you may be in pain, but you're still moving, you're still active. Then there are certain types of exercises. You can probably go for a bit of run. If it's possible for you to do that, do some strength exercises. However, if you're already in a position that you're pretty much bed bound because of the pain and fatigue that you experience within the matriosis, it will be very different approach when it comes to exercising. This is not the case of forcing yourself getting up from the bed and pushing yourself so that it would be creating even more inflammation within you. This is not the case. What I usually tell to my clients, who especially the very beginning, is that if you are in bed for a prolonged period of time, for example due to pain, start moving a little bit. Even if you move your arms a little bit and your shoulders and your head and maybe just your feet, just make sure that you don't have any pressure around your pelvic and abdominal areas around there. But certain things you can still, because that will give you some blood and lymph circulation as well, which is very important, because when there is no circulation again, there is a lot of stagnation and then there is inflammation and that leads to pain too. So something to be mindful of here.

Natalia:

Then, of course, we're talking about sleep. Quite big one, and one of the biggest one, of course, is the circadian rhythm. This is what I would say very, very big factor to look at here. So what time do you go to bed, what time you wake up, what time you eat? It comes all with it because with our modern life we tend to dismiss sleep pretty much. We go to bed whenever we want, we wake up whenever we want, and it throws everything off. Then the stress levels, as a cortisol stress hormone, has been produced to very high levels, but then we can't go to bed at night because the melatonin levels drop considerably as well. So everything here to be taken into account, and these are the main lifestyle strategies.

Bindi:

I would say Love this so much. This is so helpful and you've shared so much throughout this episode of just these little things that can be done that make a big difference. Everything from changing our diet, eating more clean, eating more organic, to better exercise, sleep optimization all of these different things the lifestyle hacks is just so important and I'm such an advocate for someone really working with a practitioner such as yourself, because so many women they Google what to do for endometriosis. They get the first thing on Google that says there's no cure and no known cause, so they're already hopeless. And then they start to look at what's holistic things for it and they get some anti-inflammatory diet and try to sleep well. All those things and working with a practitioner is detective work and someone in our field we can really help people to identify what those unique bio individual causes are for that person, so that they don't have to do a complete 180 with everything that they're doing and really get down to business with the specific things that are going to really move the needle for them. So it's so helpful. I love to hear all that. Okay, my dear. Well, I think this is a great place for us to start.

Bindi:

To wrap up. You are just such a wealth of knowledge and I know that I could talk with you for absolutely hours. We'll start to wrap up there, so I'd love to just go through a little rapid fire round of some hot tip questions with you as we wrap up in the next couple of minutes. Are you ready? Yes, let's do that. Okay. So what is the number one thing that women can do to improve their overall wellness today? Change their lifestyle habits. Huge, and you shared some really helpful tips in that, with circadian rhythm and sleep optimization, changing their identity. All of that's so huge.

Natalia:

Yes, because food comes under it as well, all this nourishment, it would still fall under lifestyle changes. That's why I'm saying all together, all of it.

Bindi:

yes, yeah, their relationship to their body, their relationship to food all of that matters so much, love it. Okay. What is your personal number one secret to living a vibrant life, a positive mindset? Oh, I love that. So simple, so powerful, okay. And then the third one for you is what is the number one book that, if the entire world read it, the world would just be a happier, healthier, overall, better place?

Natalia:

There's so many books, but for me it will be Healing and Recovery by Dr David Hawkins.

Bindi:

Oh, love that one. Okay, I haven't read that one yet, I'm going to write that down. That sounds amazing. I think everyone should read that book so good and I'll link it up in the show notes for people as well. Amazing, yes. Well, my dear, I want to hear where can our community connect with you? You've shared so much knowledge and information and I know so many women are going to be so keen to reach out to and connect. So where's the best way for people to find you? Online?

Natalia:

Yes, so they can find me. You can find me on Instagram, so it's natalianikrosovacom, so that's Instagram, or we will link my ebook. I'm happy to share it with everyone. I have a free ebook for everyone Five reasons your endometriosis pain still persists. So it's very specific ebook and you find in there the reasons and it's pretty much what we've been talking about here today, and at the end of the book you will find a link also to book a call with me. So if you wish to explore a little bit more on how I can help you to manage or even heal your end of pain, then please book a call and let's have a chat. It's not a big chat and I'll be happy to hear from you.

Bindi:

Amazing, and we'll link all of that up in the show notes so people can reach out to you. So, natalia, I want to thank you so much for being here, for sharing all of your wisdom. I know that it's just going to be so transformational for all the women tuning in and, yeah, thank you so much again for being here.

Natalia:

Thank you for having me. I'm really grateful. Thank you.

Bindi:

Thanks so much for listening. If you loved today's episode, please spread the love by subscribing and leaving a review, or if there's someone in your life that you think could benefit from this conversation, please share this episode with them. I would love to hear from you over on Instagram at Bindi Stables, or visit my website, bindistablescom, to connect and work with me. Thank you so much again for being here, and I'm celebrating you in this journey of becoming the happiest, the healthiest, most vibrant you.