Monique

Monique started her business after experiencing menstrual cramps and finding relief through steaming products. She realized that this natural solution was not well-known in Canada, so she decided to promote it herself. Monique also shared her personal experience with painful cramps and how she was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis. She emphasized the importance of women's health and the need for better education in this area. Monique's business offers a range of products including steaming herbs, yoni elixirs, and natural cotton pads. She is also writing a book on self-care and plans to create an accountability group to support others in their self-care journey. Monique believes that vaginal care should not be taboo and that trying alternative methods can be beneficial for overall well-being. Welcome to the Canadian business woman podcast. My name is Esther your host and today. I have the pleasure of speaking to Monique about Something that's unfortunately too common. I've definitely experienced it and how she overcame that. How are you today Monique? I'm doing great Thank you for having me here. I'm so excited Thank you for being here. So let's start with your your origin story What led you to starting your business and kind of then go into what what you do? Okay, so pretty much what led me to my business is um, I was a person that actually suffered from menstrual cramps So I was at the beginning. I was taking naproxen, which is a very Powerful pain reliever, but you know when you go to the doctor and they give you something They don't tell you the side effects. So I was popping those things like candy and I was like, you know Let me just check to see and I was like, oh, I'm not supposed to be doing this One in like a 12-hour span I was taking two because one was just wasn't cutting it for me So and I have like other health conditions. I have lupus to be transparent So I was like, I don't want to be taking all this medication while I'm not like at the best of my like best of health So I went online and I did my research and I was actually following somebody on Instagram that had somebody on their page that actually did this the steaming products So I went on and I checked out her website and I actually ordered it for myself and I tried it out It helped me. So but what I realized in Canada, we actually didn't have anybody promoting this So I you know Just wanted to try it out and promote it myself to try to you know Give somebody else the option of course to just pop in Tylenol or naproxen which is not really good for you in the long run Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately again. I also were you ever diagnosed with anything? I have lupus Other than that like anything else that may have been contributing to that painful cramps. No. Yeah, because I have painful cramps. Oh I always say out throughout my whole career of womanhood I've had painful cramps and initially went to the doctor when I was in my teenager because it's so painful so hard to concentrate when I'm studying and No, I'm just undertaking nothing was taken. I was just told to take birth control That was it and I I'm not kind of the opposite of you I don't want to take any medication unless I have to so I was like, oh, I guess I'm just gonna have to suffer I guess that's normal. So After several decades of suffering I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I Had fibroids removed. So unfortunately, I know the struggles real and it was my naturopath who kind of pushed for that Pushed for me to get my doctor just to do an ultrasound Like that's the first step if you're going to diagnose something first do the ultrasound but women's health is just so so under Researched and the doctors don't even know I don't even blame them They're not given the proper education on how to do this. So you started your business and again I also want to just point out that we both are not medical professionals. This is not medical advice We're just sharing our personal experiences and you should always check with a health care practitioner your own doctor first before you start anything, but you're sharing something that worked for you and this inspired you to I Guess help other people. So what kind of products do you offer? So when the business started was just like the only steaming products So and then from there I branched off into Other natural products like a yoni elixir that helps with like razor bombs and balancing getting rid of bacteria Yoni boric acid depository that helps with yeast infection and BB and I yeah I have natural cotton pads to help with Menstrual because a lot of time after your period a lot of people have a lot of itching and irritation Using the regular pads and I've had three people that are very sensitive use them. They're just like Thank you for it, you know, thank you for introducing me to this because they were like suffering using the regular pads Yeah, and that's pretty much the base of my line as well And where does it work because I've heard it before I heard of Yoni before he said, you know Where that comes from and what that refers to so it's a Sanskrit Terminology from the ancient days instead of saying vagina they see Yoni because it's a sacred path true for birth and life So like Yoni steaming has been like around for like centuries But it's just like nobody really talks about it as a like a way of healing Something but in the back closet that nobody talks about Yeah, I definitely have seen it before but I didn't realize that I guess is more like US based or maybe internationally based Websites that I was looking at I didn't know that there was a lot of options here So I love that you have so many products and especially the natural pads because it's hard in general to find and then I I also Again, do you do you make or is it like your own brand or are you using a third party? Like how did you source this these pads? So the pads I didn't put make it myself I have a source that actually shipped them to you because the pads are that's out of my scope But everything else that's on my website make it myself Yeah, but the washes the Yoni oil and the steaming herbs. I forgot about those And so but again the pads I was just looking at your website Are they like your brand basically your kind of your product? It's not like under another company or anything like that, right? Yeah, it's my breath. It's branded with my name, but a third party makes it. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. You Have a book coming out. Can you kind of explain what inspired you to to start the book and and what what it's about? Yeah, so I actually created I'm in the process of writing another book But the book that's actually out right now on Amazon is called strut don't stress But there's a lot of time in like in this world that we're in right now We're so go go go go go that we're not really paying attention to the signals of our body that something is going wrong So before we get there, we need to learn to recognize what's happening in our body and what could be triggering things Especially stress is like the big one. So a lot of the time we don't take the time to do self-care We don't take the time to meditate and we don't pay attention to our bodies and the stress can really affect different factors in our bodies especially like our thyroid So a lot of the time people have endometriosis and their thyroid is off and it's all contributed to stress So once you know what to do and how to calm down and how to regulate your stress It helps to prevent things getting worse and out of control Yeah So that book just pretty much is like a journal teaching you the way of doing it and then keeping track of your journey That's right. And so what is your next book going to be about then? So the next book is called is going to be called the road to self-care Friday. So that book is going to be Mainly about self-care how to do self-care and I'm going to also have an accountability group So you don't feel like you're doing this alone So giving people ideas on what to do to for self-care maybe meeting up to do activities together Leave the kids at home and just enjoy your time I know it's sometimes it's very hard to do that But we all need to have some time for ourselves Especially in this the world that we're so busy busy busy that we don't take care of ourselves until the last minute So you want to try to help yourself before we get there? I love it. Yes. I agree. I'm stressed Israel I don't know anybody who's not stressed, especially if you're an adult and I'm community is important. It's important because a lot of times it does feel like for a long time I felt like oh, it's just me suffering through this and then I found out Oh, no, there's other people and they've also been misdiagnosed and because there's just not enough education So it's it's great to have that community as well Is there anything else that I haven't asked you that you wanted to share with us today? So the dynasty is a feminine wellness company and we do have all the natural products for the vagina or the yoni and Yeah, I find like a lot of people find Vaginal care to be taboo But it really isn't because there's a lot of the time that we go out there and we try to seek help and we're not Getting the right answers. I know I'm not a healthcare professional but trying something different that doesn't cause you any harm You're not losing anything and I think it's like a good way to also reconnect and rebalance yourself as well for meditation purposes as well So see, you know taking that time out for yourself is very important. I agree. I agree. Thank you, Monique. I'm gonna Put all your contact information in the show notes, but also let us know what is the best way to reach you So you can reach me by email at the dynasty shop at gmail.com Always available You can find me on Instagram as well at underscore th3 dynasty underscore and that's how you can find me Thank you so much again. This is such an important topic I'm so glad that more and more women are talking about this and that you're trying to Help provide a solution. Thank you for being here today. Thank you so much. Have a good day. Take care. You too. Bye. Bye You