Let’s change our attitude towards menstruation!
Menstruation is a natural process that happens to about 50% of the population. Menstruation is what keeps human life going. Yet, somehow in our current society, menstruation has become something almost taboo to talk about. No matter how natural and miraculous menstruation is, we somehow have made it a “dirty” issue. Menstruation has become something we must be discrete about. Yet why is menstruation not something that we celebrate?!
MENSTRUATION AS A “DIRTY” SECRET
When I got my period at age 12, I was mortified. I was mortified because I felt like I had just been told a secret that I must keep hidden for life. I would even go as far to say that I felt ashamed that my period had arrived. What a burden! The way periods were spoken of was that they were something “dirty” that needed to be hidden. And so we were taught discrete ways of hiding this ‘problem’. We were also taught that we could keep this hidden and continue all of our activities. That no matter how tired, irritable, uncomfortable, or how much pain we were in, we could and should continue our normal activities.
Now, I’m all for living life to the fullest and I don’t want my period to slow me down, however what I have learnt over the past few years is that we have a cycle for a reason. There are periods during our cycle where we need to rest, periods where we are more energised, periods where we are more sexual, and periods where we are more irritable. Tuning into these natural flows of energy can actually make us more productive and keep us healthier. Learn more about tuning in to your menstrual cycle here.
MENSTRUATION AS A TIME TO SLOW DOWN
When we are menstruating, we are losing a lot of nutrients from our body, so it is natural that we are less energised. This mainstream notion that women need to push on during these times is actually detrimental to our health both physically, and mentally. Now I’m not saying that women can’t work or shouldn’t work when they have their period, but perhaps when a woman is curled in a ball feeling nauseous, light headed and with severe cramps, she doesn’t feel the pressure to just push through it. That she is instead encouraged to rest and to take care of her body and mind during this period.
Perhaps there is a need for a shift in how we structure our work lives to account for these natural fluctuations. There is a wonderful new campaign from Libra that is trying to shift attitudes towards menstruation. In the ad it features a woman ringing up work to say that she is on her period today and will work from home instead. How amazing is this, a more flexible work schedule to account for these natural fluctuations.
For restorative yoga practice for women, try out classes here.
HONOURING A WOMAN’S CYCLE
In some cultures the women’s cycle is honoured. Take Native American cultures for instance. Here “moon lodges” were set up for women to go into during menstruation. It was believed that during this time, women were most powerful. So during their bleed, women were exempt from chores and came together to not only support each other through the time but as a time to listen to spiritual wisdom. Also, the first time a girl menstruated it was celebrated. Even the language surrounding menstruation sounded lovely. “Moon time” was given for the time of bleeding, blood as “moon drops” and “gifts from the moon”, and even “lunar tea” was served.
Did you know that in the past we used to sync up with the moon cycle? Hence why we have a 28 day cycle. When we were in sync with the moon bleeding would happen on a new moon when it was dark so we could rest and restore. Ovulation occurred on the full moon when we were influenced by the energy of the moon. Now with artificial lighting at night and pill and other contraceptive devices, our body clock is out of whack and is less influenced by the moon.
CELEBRATING MENSTRUATION
When you think about it – menstruation is a life-giving cycle! Without bleeding once a month, human life could not exist! Instead in our society there seems to be a stigma against talking or even acknowledging that periods exist. We creep around pretending we’re not bleeding, we continue to work out, we push ourselves even though we are losing blood, our life force. It’s crazy when you think about it! Why don’t we embrace it?
Imagine being at a party and a young girl wearing white gets her period. Wouldn’t it be amazing that instead of rushing her out of sight, wrapping a jacket around her waist in shame, we all celebrated that she had come into her womanhood! I know there is always a concern when it comes to blood that we may spread disease but haven’t we taken it too far when a young girl feels ashamed of becoming a woman and stepping into her life force?
The sense of shame surrounding menstruation is disempowering over half the world’s population and that in itself is has an impact on the entire planet. Something needs to change. We need to talk about menstruation, we need to celebrate menstruation, and we need to empower women. Let’s make menstruation normal. Less shame, less dirtiness, less discreteness. As the current Libra campaign says, let’s normalise periods.
#bloodnormal
Peace.
Love.
Namaste.
Emma