Tilted Uterus Symptoms: Causes, Signs & Maya Abdominal Massage
Many women are told they have a tilted uterus and reassured that it’s “normal,” insignificant, or something to ignore unless it causes obvious symptoms. That reassurance often comes from well-meaning providers, including midwives and gynos, but it overlooks something essential: just because something has been normalized does not mean it’s healthy.
A tilted uterus is common, yes. But from both a physiological and energetic perspective, a uterus that is out of its ideal alignment can affect circulation, nerve signaling, lymphatic flow, and the way a woman experiences her cycle and her life. Balance matters, even when there are no apparent symptoms.
When I was 19 I was told I had a tilted uterus by a midwife who dismissed it as irrelevant because I didn’t experience pain. I didn’t question her at the time. But I’ve since learned that when a woman’s womb is out of balance, subtle or not, her entire life is out of balance.
This article defines what a tilted uterus actually is, outlines tipped uterus symptoms and causes, and explains why Maya Abdominal Massage, and other indigenous abdominal massage practices are one of the most natural, simple and effective ways to heal, support uterine alignment and menstrual health.
What Is a Tilted Uterus?
A tilted uterus, sometimes called a tipped uterus, refers to a uterus that leans to one side or the other, backward toward the spine or forward toward the bladder rather than resting in its ideal centered position within the pelvis.
In a balanced pelvis, the uterus is gently suspended and supported by a network of ligaments, fascia, blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue. These structures are designed to hold the uterus upright while still allowing movement, expansion, and contraction throughout the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and beyond.
When the uterus is tilted, some ligaments are stretched beyond their optimal length while others become shortened or compressed. This uneven tension can restrict healthy blood flow, impede lymphatic drainage, and create areas of stagnation within the pelvis.
While this configuration is often labeled a “normal variation,” indigenous systems of medicine, including Maya medicine, have long understood that optimal uterine positioning supports vitality, fertility, emotional balance, and ease in the cycle.
Tilted Uterus vs Tipped Uterus: Are They the Same?
The terms tilted uterus and tipped uterus are commonly used interchangeably, and clinically they often describe the same general condition. Both refer to a uterus that is angled rather than centered.
However, different practitioners may use these terms to describe slightly different directions or degrees of tilt. The key issue is not the label, but whether the uterus is balanced, centered and able to move freely, receive adequate circulation, and communicate effectively with the rest of the body.
A uterus that is fixed, congested, or pulled out of balance over time is more likely to contribute to symptoms, even if those symptoms are subtle or delayed.
Is a Tilted Uterus the Silent Cause of Your Pain?
Women often experience pain, either with menstruation or other types of pelvic pain, and are provided with hormones, or over the counter drugs to suppress it. What if, instead of applying a band-aid approach, you explored the root cause of your pain or symptoms.
It often doesn’t occur to women to check in on the positioning of their wombs when pain occurs, and the medical providers we trust often also overlook this highly likely cause. A tilted uterus can cause a wide range of physical symptoms, and is always worth exploring as a potential root cause for your pain or dis-ease.
Tilted Uterus Symptoms and Signs
Some women with a tilted uterus experience no obvious discomfort, while others notice a range of physical or cyclical symptoms, so absence of pain does not necessarily indicate balance.
Symptoms of a tilted uterus can include period pain, low back discomfort during menstruation, pelvic heaviness, difficulty fully emptying the bladder, digestive pressure, varicose veins or discomfort during sex in certain positions. Often cases of unexplained fertility are tied to a womb that is out of alignment. Some women notice irregular bleeding patterns or a feeling of congestion in the lower abdomen.
One subtle sign that often goes unnoticed is cervical position. During fertility awareness cervical checks, a cervix that consistently feels far off to one side or difficult to locate may indicate that the uterus itself is tipped. This is not diagnostic on its own, but it can be a useful clue when considered alongside other signs.
From an energetic perspective, a tilted uterus can also correlate with feeling off balance or out of alignment in life, experiencing blocked creativity, or having a feeling of being disconnected from the body’s rhythms.
What Causes a Tilted Uterus?
A tilted uterus can develop for many reasons, often cumulatively rather than from a single event.
Falls onto the tailbone are one common cause, often they can have occur earlier in life or even childhood and were never addressed. Repetitive impact, such as certain athletic activities, can also contribute.
Chronic posture patterns and prolonged sitting, especially with a tucked pelvis, can contribute to ending up with a tilted womb. Even things you may not think of can throw your uterus out of balance like wearing high heels which regularly shifts pelvic alignment and alters the natural curvature of the spine, placing long-term strain on uterine ligaments.
Pregnancy, childbirth, abdominal surgeries, scar tissue, chronic constipation, and emotional holding patterns are also frequently cited causes in indigenous medicine. Rosita Arvigo, founder of the Arvigo Abdominal Therapy, emphasized that emotional experiences are not separate from pelvic anatomy; the body records what the mind and heart experience.
Can You Fix a Tilted Uterus?
In short, yes, it is possible in most cases to heal and bring a tilted uterus back into it’s proper position. A tilted uterus is not something to “force” into position, but it naturally wants to be in its optimum position. It’s important to be gentle and work with the whole person to support the uterus getting back toward balance.
According to both traditional indigenous teachings and modern practitioners trained in Arvigo Maya Abdominal Therapy, the uterus responds best to consistent, gentle support that improves circulation and reduces ligament tension rather than aggressive manipulation. It is also helpful, to address spiritual and emotional factors when it comes to malpositioned wombs.
Many women experience measurable improvement in uterine position, reduced symptoms, and greater ease in their cycles through abdominal therapy or abdominal massage along with self-care practices designed to restore flow and alignment.
Many times in mainstream medical settings we are told that we can not, or need not fix a tilted uterus. However, centuries of ancient wisdom prove otherwise.
Maya Abdominal Massage and the Arvigo Approach
Maya Abdominal Massage, also known as Arvigo Maya Abdominal Therapy, was developed and taught by Rosita Arvigo after decades of apprenticeship with indigenous Maya healers in Belize.
This work is grounded in the understanding that the uterus is a center of a woman’s life force. When it is displaced, congested, or restricted, the entire system is affected. Rosita taught that proper uterine position allows blood, lymph, nerve signals, and energy to flow freely, supporting not only reproductive health but emotional and spiritual well-being.
The therapy uses gentle external abdominal massage to guide the uterus and surrounding organs into better alignment. It’s not uncommon for a single session to bring the womb back into it’s proper alignment. It also addresses congestion in the pelvis, improves circulation, and supports the body’s innate self-healing mechanisms.
Maya Abdominal Massage has been used to support tilted uterus correction, reduce period pain, improve cycle regularity, ease digestive issues, support fertility and postpartum recovery and more.
The methods used in Maya abdominal therapy have many overlaps with the indigenous massage practiced by my Kalanga ancestors in Botswana and other indigenous cultures I have come across worldwide.
Abdominal Massage With Elder Bushmen Women in the Kalahari
I had the privilege this past summer of traveling to South Africa, deep into the Kalahari desert to the ancestral homelands of the bushmen. I will note here, that according to the tribal members I spoke with, bushmen is the preferred term for their tribe, which is also sometimes referred to as the San.
I sat around fires, and learned and practices earth based ancestral skills. I learned about and experienced their unique form of massage that they refer to as to “smear”. This deep and intuitive massage style also put high priority on making sure that the womb itself was in proper alignment for the overall health of the woman.
Womb massage is known to help cure all manner of reproductive ailments, and aid in fertility. Fertility is one indication of optimum health, so anything fertility promoting will have a positive impact on your overall health.
From deep dives into the research, I have found that the consensus seems to be its essential for a woman’s womb to be in balance for optimal sexual health.
Professional Treatment and the Power of Self-Care
One of the most empowering aspects of Arvigo’s work is the emphasis on self-care. Women who receive professional Maya Abdominal therapy are taught a self-massage routine they can perform at home.
According to Rosita Arvigo, this self-care practice is approximately ninety percent as effective as professional sessions when done consistently and correctly. This makes the work accessible even when finances, location, or scheduling limit access to professional practitioners.
This is the method of abdominal therapy I am formally trained in, and have seen powerful results in restoring my own womb to its optimal positioning as well as improving the sexual health of myself and my clients.
I am sharing this because the true power of this work lies in teaching women how to support their own bodies. Healing does not have to be reserved for a select few, it is for us all, and by reclaiming our ancestral wisdom we can do just that.
Women can also work energetically with their wombs through breath, visualization, and intentional awareness, especially when physical touch doesn’t feel aligned or feels triggering.
Period Pain Is Common, Not Normal or Healthy
Period pain is one of the most normalized experiences in women’s health. If pain can be dulled with over-the-counter medication, it is often dismissed as inevitable.
But pain is one of your body’s main communication methods. Menstrual pain carries information about circulation, inflammation, hormonal balance, and structural alignment within the pelvis as well as potentially spiritual and emotional imbalances.
A tilted uterus is one of many factors that can contribute to period pain by restricting flow and increasing congestion during menstruation. Addressing uterine position is one validated pathway toward reducing discomfort, not by suppressing symptoms, but by treating the root cause to restore balance.
There are multiple evidence-informed ways to improve period pain. Understanding your cycle, supporting circulation, and addressing structural contributors are all part of that conversation.
Reclaiming Balance Through Ancient Wisdom
Maya medicine never separated anatomy from spirit, or structure from emotion. Rosita Arvigo carried this understanding into the modern world with integrity, humility, and respect for lineage.
Today, we have language, anatomy texts, and imaging that validate what indigenous traditions have long known: alignment matters. Flow matters. Subtle imbalances matter.
A tilted uterus may be common, but supporting it toward balance can profoundly affect how a woman experiences her body, her cycle, and her life.
This is not about fear or fixing something “wrong.” It is about listening more closely and responding from a position of power.