“Menstruation” – the most pivotal change for girls becoming women. Women bleed without violence, and this phenomenon stops when a life is being created; and also when a woman’s body stops birthing babies; then it’s called ‘menopause’. If you take the average time that a woman bleeds, in a 28 day cycle (a lunar cycle), it can add up to 10 years of a women’s life, I think a topic worth talking about again. During ancient and tribal times, all women’s cycles synchronized as they would gather and return proteins, iron, vitamins & minerals to re-fertilize the soil. This was a ritual to also energetically connect with the land.
Modern society expects women to show up every day and perform 100%. These values have most probably come out of a dominant masculine orientated culture. This demand limits our awareness of our bodies and our fluctuating energy flows, which often leads to increased pains and depression during the menstrual period.
What can help?
Did you know that you can holistically reduce period pains and be more relaxed by adding the following into your body system – Magnesium, Cinnamon, Ginger, Lavender and Heat?
Furthermore, our creative biological and psychological cycle parallels the phases of the moon. Recent research has found that the immune system of the reproductive tract is cyclic as well, reaching its peak at ovulation, before beginning to wane again.
Seed Cycling, which means eating specific seeds during the 2 main phases of your menstrual cycle, can help promote a healthy balance of estrogen and progesterone levels which may benefit your body during each phase.
During menstruation (in winter) start with 1-2 tablespoons ground flax seeds and 1-2 tablespoons ground pumpkin seeds during winter and spring. During your winter you are called to eat more iron, omega-3,
and magnesium-rich foods. Why not experiment with this safe method and adapt to your body’s needs?
As women, we have access to parts of our often unconscious selves that are less available at all other times of the month. In fact, it has been shown experimentally that the right hemisphere of the brain – the part associated with intuitive intelligence – becomes more active during the pre-menstrual cycle, while the left hemisphere becomes less active.
In winter, menstruation is about withdrawing, introspection, reflection, connecting to inner wisdom. Letting go of the possibility to life and shedding who you were going to be (a mother/ women/ partner), inviting you to discover how you wish to create next.
Journal prompts:
- What has been coming up for you mentally and
emotionally ? - Can you identify certain patters in your cycle?
- What patterns do you want to let go of at the end of
this cycle? - What new ideas & impulses do you want to
incorporate into your next cycle?
Menstruation is something to be celebrated, not feared.
We would love to hear from you what helped you to
connect deeper with yourself; you may include holistic
treatments that ease period pains, to assist other
Menstruation is something to be celebrated, not feared. We would love to hear from you what helped you to connect deeper with yourself; you may include holistic treatments that ease period pains, to assist others manage this cycle better.
By Charlotte Mostert
