Women’s Health & Hormones Part I: Hormonal Balance and Stagnation

This course may be a good choice for you if:

• You are a woman or know a woman that wants to explore or further understand and support her physiological, hormonal, emotional experiences
• You are a health care practitioner, treat women, and you want to explore or further understand women’s physiological, hormonal, emotional experiences
• You are a woman, know a woman or treat a woman that wishes to understand crucial hormones involved in women’s hormone balance
• You know a fair bit about stress and sex hormones already but you would like to further understand how they interact
• You want to understand hormonal changes over the course of a woman’s life
• You want to understand how to address painful gynecological issues (menstrual pain, tender breasts, etc) with simple changes
• You are a woman that wants to learn how to support hormonal balance
• You have any or no background in women’s health. This course speaks simultaneously to everyone from people with no background in health care, to MDs, to professionals in Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine

“It was AMAZING. Such a lot of compact knowledge, wisdom and practical insights so beautifully offered with tons of genuine fun. A healthy jolt in how I see my life so far as a woman and my understanding of female world at large. Absolutely wonderful and inspiring on all levels, including my sadhana”. -Barbara

“I can’t tell you how much I loved this course. I knew I would because BYHBYL is my bible, but it was so wonderful to listen to Dr. Welch’s teaching ‘in person’. I have been feeling burned out in my work and this course reignited my love for women’s wellness and I am very excited to start Ayurveda I + II and Hormones II. Please more courses! :)”  Leslie W. Seattle, WA

I found this course highly insightful in preparing me with a set of principles that I can now apply in my practice regarding women’s hormonal health. It The course gives me more confidence in providing health care to women. Eric DeForge, Taos, New Mexico [previous graduate of reputable year-long Ayurveda course]

“The information presented in this course is life-changing. An incredible supplement to Dr. Welch’s book Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life.” Deborah Andersen (graduate of reputable year-long Ayurveda course), San Antonio, TX

It made me aware of the power I have in my wellbeing, that my choices but also my state of mind affect my whole Being. As well as the importance of Breath. Bettina Milotta Austria/Europe

I have enjoyed listening to each session of Part 1 of the Women’s Health and Hormones course! Really, this course is highly recommended for anyone interested in life. So meaningful and grounding! Taught with so much love and affection by Dr. Welch. –Preeti Singh from India

…The overall message is so hopeful, even if we have some ‘bucket syndrome’ going on! The stories, experiences and anecdotes were beautiful … I have three sisters and want them all to know all of this… anonymous

Wonderful! I am very inspired – both to make further personal changes and apply to my clients. Very useful, inspiring, motivating – and makes a lots of sense. Elegant system. Thank you! Julia Pomazkina, Sydney, Australia

Incredibly engaging, informative, interesting and relevant for me entering my third stage of womanhood, and also seeing many ‘stressed out’ women as Yoga students coming to my classes… Lisa Morrison, New Zealand

I LOVED the course! It was so fun and uplifting. I am so grateful for Dr Welch and her joyful teaching style. It is the way I want to learn nowadays. With more joy! The information came together in a very easy to understand way. Simple, intuitive and profound. I now more fully embrace rest with far less guilt. I don’t pretend to be busy when my partner walks in the room anymore. -Erica Cooke

Claudia delivered this fascinating topic in such a way that it felt like the “having tea with a friend” she refers to. I looked forward to my time alone with this course and learned so much information which will help the women I work with as clients and for myself and loved ones, all the while having a great time, enjoying a few laughs, and appreciating Claudia’s applicable anecdotal demonstrations of the theories in action in her own practice. Taking the online version felt like being in the room with Claudia and all the live attendees, who had such thoughtful questions. I have recommended this course and the accompanying book to a few people already. -Meri Consor

This course was very helpful for me in understanding women’s hormones and health, and things I can do or help others do to improve any issues. There is just the right amount of backstory and then solutions offered to work with and not be overwhelmed, yet also feel I have a good grip on understand these concepts and how things work. Claudia is funny and knowledgeable, and it was a joy to watch these videos. I appreciate the depth of her knowledge, and that a lot of her wisdom from practice and from what she has learned can address questions and issues in a way that many others cannot. There is a deep understanding of the subtleties involved, and to be able to include that into the mix is so incredibly important, and I think is most helpful in the end. Alexis Muka – Buffalo, NY, USA

What this course does not cover

While our Women’s Health Parts I & II online courses set the stage for understanding, contextualizing and supporting healthy fertility, contraception, conception, pregnancy, birth and postpartum care, and we touch on some (very interesting) associated issues, we do not cover these topics in any depth in either Part I or II. The material we cover in these courses we feel, is best understood before addressing these issues, which simply could not be, “fit in” to these courses and would perhaps better constitute their own course. Gratefully, there are some good resources available, including Dr. Welch’s book, Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Science, especially certain chapters. We’ve listed other resources under the Resources for Conception, Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum Education & Support category on our Useful Websites & Resources page.

It also doesn’t cover the menstrual cycle in terms of vāta, pitta and kapha. 

This audio course consists of six recorded lessons with a total of 18 videos. Each session includes lecture and discussion with Dr. Welch. You will have access to the course for a year, so you can watch the videos at your own pace.

The listener is also invited to participate in the guided visualizations and practices.

The course comes with a free download of Dr. Claudia Welch’s Prana CD, a free copy of  her eBook Dinacaryā: Changing Lives Through Daily Living and a handout to support the material.

A 20-question quiz is included, to be taken upon completion of the material.

A link to download a certificate is given, once the quiz is successfully passed.

Lesson 1: Two Categories of Women’s Health Concerns & Prāṇa Visualizations

(4 videos: 1 hour, 30 minutes + audio track visualizations: 01 hour, 15 mins)

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to sort women’s health imbalances into two separate categories
• Be introduced to the idea of hormone imbalance
• Be introduced to the idea of stagnation
• Be introduced to association between pain, masses, lumps and stagnation
• Recognize some differences and relationships between physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual disorders
• Become acquainted with various visualization exercises to establish or support a personal understanding of and relationship with prāṇa

Lesson 2: The Language of Duality

(1 video: 44 minutes)

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the general nature of bṛṃhaṇa or yin
• Understand the general nature of laṅghana or yang
• Be able to define guṇa
• Be able to recognize and understand the 10 pairs of opposites in a general way
• Understand the relationship between bṛṃhaṇa/yin and laṅghana/yang
• Understand how bṛṃhaṇa/yin and laṅghana/yang apply to human health

Lesson 3: Sex Hormones and Stress Hormones in Women’s Physiology

(1 video: 01 hour, 50 mins)

Learning Objectives:

• Apply the concept of duality to hormones
• Define a hormone
• Understand the relationship of hormones to bṛṃhaṇa & laṅghana
• Learn the general role of, and pertinent information about dominant female sex hormones
• Learn the general role of, and pertinent information about dominant stress hormones
• Increase understanding of how our actions and experiences affect hormones
• Understand the general nature of DHEA does in relation to cortisol

Lesson 4: The Bucket Syndrome: How Sex Hormones and Stress Hormones Interact

(2 videos: 01 hour, 02 mins)

Learning Objectives:

• Be introduced to, “The Bucket Syndrome”
• Learn how hormones change over the course of a woman’s life
• Learn aspects of how pertinent hormones interact over the course of a woman’s life
• Understand the possible effects of long-term stress on women’s physiology

Lesson 5: How to Maintain, Gain or Regain Hormonal Balance; Dinacaryā & Nāḍi Śodhana

(5 videos: 01 hour, 57 min + Dinacaryā: Changing Lives Through Daily Living mini eBook: 30 mins)

Learning Objectives:

• Be introduced to three tiers of therapeutic responses to hormone imbalance
• Be introduced to information on dinacaryā–healthy lifestyle & diet practices & support
• Explore why nāḍi śodhana may be a potent remedial practice as part of lifestyle
• Learn one way of understanding how the mind affects the body and hormones and the body affects the mind, linking channel systems of the mind and body according to Ayurveda and nāḍi theory
• Explore the concepts of prāṇa and rasa
• Explore the way Ayurveda organizes each srotas (via mūla, mārga, mukha)
• Have a general understanding of the overlap between prāṇavāhasrotas, rasavāhasrotas, and manovāhasrotas
• Know basic information about iḍā, piṅgala, and suṣumṇā channels
• Consider possible contraindications for nāḍi śodhana
• Practice a hands-free visualization for a nāḍi śodhana practice, if you have no contraindications

Lesson 6: Recognizing and Resolving Stagnation in Breasts and Uterus

(6 videos: 01 hour, 08 mins) 

Learning Objectives:

• Be introduced to the relationship between pain and stagnation
• Be introduced to the main places stagnation occurs in women
• List some possible reasons stagnation might arise
• Understand some methods of resolution of stagnation in the main places it arises in women
• Methods of resolving causes of stagnation in general
• Have a brief overview of the four kinds of karma
• Be introduced to a difference between men and women
• Be introduced to the qualities of testosterone

By the end of this course, if you have assimilated the material, you will be able to:

• Understand the role of some major hormones in women’s physiology
• Understand how crucial sex and stress hormones in a woman’s body interact with each other
• Identify some examples of hormonal imbalance
• Understand some causes of hormonal imbalance
• Identify which of the major hormones influencing a woman are likely to be out of balance
• Understand how hormonal imbalance relates to many gynecological disorders including irregular menses, mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, osteoporosis, women’s type heart disease, infertility, difficult peri-menopause and menopause, endocrine disorders and other concerns
• Understand how to support hormonal balance in a woman
• Understand how the concept of duality manifests in a woman’s physiology, emotions, experiences and hormones
• Recognize when stagnation occurs in the human organism—especially for women
• Recognize the relationship between pain, masses, lumps and stagnation
• Understand how stagnation of prāṇa might arise, lead to disorders, and might be resolved
• Understand where stagnation is most likely to occur in women
• Understand possible remedial steps to address concerns arising from hormonal issues or stagnation
• Learn how to avoid lifestyle and dietary practices that contribute to hormone imbalance and stagnation
• Learn a general healthy daily routine
• Explore how prāṇāyāma practices like nāḍi śodhana have the potential to support hormonal balance and how moving prāṇa may help relieve stagnation

When can I begin this course?

Anytime. This is a stand-alone, self-paced course. Start, stop, begin again, any time that is convenient for you.

How long will it take me to complete the course?

There are approximately 8.5 hours of video spread over 18 videos; 1.5 hours of guided visualization exercises aside from what is in the videos; plus some written material that could take 30-60 minutes to read. That’s a total of about 10 hours, but it may take longer to complete the course. We recommend you take your time with the material, reviewing sections that are either particularly meaningful for you or that are unclear with one listening. There are many lessons you may well wish to repeat multiple times. You will have access to the course for one year from the time you register. It will also take you time to read Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life, strongly recommended reading for the course.

Please see, “Course Structure” above, for the length of the individual lessons.

How long will I have access to the course?

For one year. You can extend access to it for another year for 50% off the original price or 50 USD per month extension. If it has been longer than six months since your course expired, you may retake it for 50% off the original price and have one year’s renewed access from the time of that payment.

How much does it cost?

440 USD

What if I have questions on course content? Will I have live access to Dr. Welch?

If you have questions about course content as you go along and would like support, there will be a couple options:

• We plan to offer two live Women’s Health Q&A support calls per year with Dr. Welch exclusively for alumni of our Women’s Health Parts I & II online courses hosted by DrClaudiaWelch.com.Once you are a registered student of one of these two courses, you will receive emails letting you know when live calls are scheduled, how to join them, and be invited to submit questions on course content. We also plan to have a half hour at the end of the session, dedicated to participants sharing their experiences. While access to this course expires after one year, we plan to extend access to these calls and their recordings indefinitely.
• you can try posting your questions on the course discussion forum, where you can discuss your learning with fellow students. The link to the discussion forum for each course appears in the right hand column on this course page and all its lesson pages. Please do not use this forum either to ask or answer other’s personal health questions. Those are best addressed by a personal health care practitioner.
• you can sign up for a tutoring option.

What if I need technical support?

Once you are a registered student, we let you know who to contact if you need technical support with the website or course.

Can I download the lessons?

No. This is a streamable video course.

Are there any required textbooks?

We highly recommend you read Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine and Western Science by Dr. Claudia Welch. There are benefits to reading it either before or after taking the course. The course and book have some overlapping material but are mostly designed to complement each other.

You also may find Dr. Welch’s (admittedly rather dry) Secrets of the Mind: The 10 Channels Revealed useful if you are interested in references to classical material that Dr. Welch used to develop the perspective she has on the material she covers in this class, but it is not necessary.

Is there a quiz?

Yes, there is an exam at the end of the course. They are not tricky questions. All questions relate to the stated objectives listed for the course or are directly from the course material. A passing grade is 80%.

Can I have a certificate of completion?

Yes. Once you have successfully completed the course and quiz, you will have the option to print out a certificate that will include your name, the name of this course and the number of course hours. Please download, save and print out your certificate before your access to the course expires. Even if you don’t want it now, you might want it later. If you don’t download your certificate before your access to the course expires, you can request it in the future but we may no longer have access to it and, even if we do, it takes some fiddling and time to get one for and to you, so there will be a $50 administration fee for this service.

Where can I find answers to questions about the legality of practicing Ayurveda, about certification, or NAMA issues?

This course is worth 11 NAMA (TIA) hours. These hours are listed on your certificate of completion.  

For information on NAMA, legal requirements and our courses, kindly see https://drclaudiawelch.com/resources/ayurvedic-certification-licensure/

Does this course fulfill the requirements for CEUs for licensed health care practitioners that are not Ayurvedic professionals?

At this time we are not pre-approved CEU providers for health care professions other than the field of Āyurveda. However, you will have your certificate of completion, which will provide the title of the course, your name, and course hours. This may or may not be sufficient for the organization requiring your CEUs. We encourage you to contact your organization to determine what we could do to support you getting CEU credits for Dr. Welch’s programs. If there is additional documentation that you need, we’d be happy to support you with this for a nominal fee. What that nominal fee would be, depends on the documentation you would need. Please contact our office if you have any questions about this.

What is your refund policy?

We do not offer refunds for online courses. We have tried to provide clear descriptions of our courses; please review this information before purchasing.

Is there an option for financing?

US residents can use the PayPal finance option to pay, when purchasing the course. The PayPal finance option has 0 payments and 0 interest if you pay within 6 months (subject to PayPal credit approval). Beyond 6 months, there would be a 19.99 % interest rate. To choose this option, when you go through the checkout line you will reach the PayPal page where you can choose to pay via your own credit card, via your PayPal account, or via PayPal Credit. Choose PayPal credit. If you haven’t done this before, PayPal will ask some questions to check your credit before approving. Once approved, your transaction will go through and you will have access to the course without needing to pay anything for 6 months. However, to get the zero-interest rate, please remember to pay what you can at the end of the 6 months.

What are the differences, and similarities between the Healthier Hormones online course, taught by Dr. Welch but hosted by Yogahealer. com and this course?

• This course is hosted, maintained ad administered by us. Healthier Hormones is hosted, maintained and administered by Yogahealer.com.
• This course content has quite a bit of overlap with that of the Healthier Hormones course. We think there is merit to doing either or both. Repetition is helpful and, both have different benefits.
• Women’s Health & Hormones Part I is comprised of predominantly streamable, video lectures–that go into somewhat greater depth than the Healthier Hormones’ audio-only, downloadable lectures.
• Both have similar handouts and the same downloadable visualizations.
• Women’s Health & Hormones Part I has an exam at the end, is approved for NAMA PACE credits, and offers a certificate, while the Healthier Hormones course does not include a test, is not NAMA PACE approved, and does not offer a certificate.
• We plan to offer and host two live Q&A call-in support sessions per year for Women’s Health & Hormones Part I, with time for sharing experiences afterwards. Healthier Hormones generally offers a Q&A live call once every year or two, but we don’t have control over how often that is offered or administered or if it will continue to be offered.
• While access to Women’s Health & Hormones Part I course expires after a year, we plan to allow access to the Q&A call-ins indefinitely.  Access to Healthier Hormones is not planned to expire, but we also do not have control over how long YogaHealer.com will host that course and the Q&As are not as frequent and may be discontinued.
• Women’s Health & Hormones Part I includes a chat forum during the time you have access to the course. Healthier Hormones has a group facebook page for its participants that doesn’t expire. 
• While Healthier Hormones offers enough information to go on to take Women’s Health & Hormones Part II, Women’s Health and Hormones Part I was videoed literally the days before Part II was videoed so the information more seamlessly flows from Part I to Part II. (Part II is designed only for Ayurvedic clinicians well-versed in the fundamentals of Ayurveda). It is also delivered in a bit more refined way.
• We think both courses are good and generally good for anybody.