I’ve been on birth control for eleven years, and coming off it has been painful, but this yoga pose has helped me manage my sore lower belly

Woman in black vest and leggings lying on her back on a black patterned yoga mat and wooden floor in a twist, facing away from the camera .

When I turned 30, I decided to take a break from the hormonal contraceptive that I’ve been on since I was a teenager. My body has been adjusting slowly, with a mix of weird and wonderful symptoms as my hormones find their natural balance again, including sore breasts and intense pain in my lower abdomen that feels very much like period cramps.

The experience of coming off hormonal birth control is personal and can vary widely. Even though mine has been a painful process, that doesn’t mean yours will be too.