Think back to your very first menstruation. How old were you? Did you feel prepared for the experience? What emotions come up as you remember this initiation into womanhood? Oftentimes, our first menstrual experience can unconsciously taint the relationship we have with our menstrual cycle and ultimately, our wombs. For many women feelings of shame, confusion, and frustration have been carried on from childhood and continue to be their lived experience in regards to their menstruation.

So how can you change the way you experience your menstruation? Deepening your understanding of your menstrual cycle, has the ability to gradually bring you into a healthy relationship with your womb.  When you consciously connect to your womb you can begin to reduce painful period symptoms, bring your cycle into regulation, and even balance mood swings and energy levels. In this post we will discuss 5 easy to implement techniques that will help you build a healthy relationship with your monthly bleed.

 

Why is it important to honor your bleed?

The average woman will experience 500 menstrual cycles in one lifespan. That translates to roughly about 6.5 years of menstruation, which is a long time to spend in resistance and discomfort. Having a clear understanding of your cyclic nature, makes it easier to come into acceptance with the superpowers and vulnerabilities of each phase. 

With a sense of gratitude for your monthly bleed you can better support your womb through all of its seasons. This heightened awareness naturally begins to create a more easeful menstrual experience. A deepened grasp of your monthly bleed will also help you to communicate to loved ones how they can support you during this time, therefore creating a better experience for you and your entire home.

 

Track

 

Tracking your cycle is one of the most important steps you can take to deepen your understanding of your womb and your monthly bleed. Not only does cycle tracking allow you to potentially predict when you will be bleeding, it also gives you a greater understanding of your cyclic nature.

For example, knowing when you will be ovulating can help you to understand energy levels and mood swings during that time of the month. Preovulation is the perfect time to tap into your creativity, start new projects and bring ideas into fruition. Meanwhile, your premenstrual cycle is a great time to connect to your heart center, reflecting on which pursuits are currently serving you and which are not.

Cycle tracking is a tool for living in flow with your natural cycles, instead of pushing against them by attempting to exert energy during times when your body naturally needs to rest. Ultimately, learning to live in flow with life’s cycles is an immeasurable skill that can be applied in all areas of life.

Here are a few cycle tracking apps to check out:

• - Flo
• - Clue
• - Eve

   

Rest

 

Once you have started tracking your cycle, you can begin to predict when you will bleed every month. This is extremely useful in scheduling time to rest. Yes, you read that correctly, scheduling time to rest. Just as you would schedule in that soccer game, or request off for that wedding, it is equally important to schedule time to rest during your menstruation.

For most women the first and second day of their bleed tends to be the heaviest and therefore the most energetically draining. As your uterus is diligently shedding its lining, there is a physical and energetic reset taking place. Your womb is hard at work releasing what no longer serves you, and preparing you to move into the next phase of the cycle with ease.

When this shedding process is not honored, the results can oftentimes be painful. The menstruation phase of the cycle is meant for you to be in a state of rest or hibernation, and the first few days are a great time to request off and avoid scheduling social events. Ask for help from your partner to care for youngsters, lean on family members to assist with meals and chores, and explain to children about the menstrual cycles and why this time of rest is so important. It is an act of courage to ask for help, and in doing so you are showing up authentically only for yourself, but also for your loved ones as well.

Rest can look like:

• - Sleeping in
• - Reading a book
• - Taking naps
• - Laying in nature
• - Avoiding outside stimulation (social media and social events)
• - Womb massage
• - Face mask

 

Nourish

 

While you are bleeding, your loss of blood also includes a loss of vital nutrients such as iron, magnesium and Vitamin C. The easiest and most efficient way to replenish that loss is to intentionally nourish your body. Oftentimes, we are low energy during our menstruation and the last thing we want to think about is standing in the kitchen to create a multi-ingredient meal.

With cycle tracking and a bit of planning ahead, proper nourishment during this phase can be simple yet deeply enjoyable. Healthy fats such as nuts and seeds, leafy greens, hot teas and dark chocolate are all supportive ingredients that can easily be incorporated into mealtimes.

 

 

  

Connect

 

 

Physically interacting with your menstrual blood is a great way to release negative beliefs around your menstruation. So many women grew up with shame around their bleed, seeing this natural fluid as gross or dirty, something to be hidden away and not spoken about until it was over. Contrary to those limiting beliefs, this liquid gold produced by your body is actually full of electrolytes like sodium and potassium, making it an ideal fertilizer for your plants!

Free bleeding is one of the easiest ways to connect with your menstrual blood. You can ease into free bleeding by using period underwear, which allows your menstruation to flow freely and unobstructed out of your vaginal opening. One of the main benefits to free bleeding is having the opportunity to see and physically touch your menstrual blood. Think of it as a liquid reminder of all that is being released to make room for the blessings and manifestations of the cycles to come. Or you could even see this magical fluid as living proof of your body's ability to create life.

As you build a relationship with your menstrual blood, you will also deepen your connection to your womb and the wisdom that lies within her. You will begin to recognize when your blood looks healthy, or when you may be suffering from induration (a buildup of uterine fluid). You will gradually begin to learn the language of your womb and be able to clearly recognize the information that she shares with you each month.

Here are some resources for period underwear:

• - https://bambody.com/
• - https://www.thinx.com/
• - https://www.dearkate.com/collections/briefs/products/the-ada-brief-full-variants

 

Massage

 

 

Self guided womb massage while you bleed is an ultimate act of self care. Some of the benefits of womb massage are:

• - Relief of cramping and pain
• - Deepen your connection to the energy of your womb
• - Move stagnant energy
• - A chance to drop in and practice being present with your body and your breath
• - Regulates menstrual cycle
• - Improves circulation
• - Can be deeply relaxing and sensual act of self care
• - An easy to implement intuitive practice  

Each phase of the menstrual cycle plays a unique role in your energy levels and overall health. Menstruation is a time of renewal not only of the cells of your uterine lining, but also of any energetic blockages you may need to release. As you make a conscious effort to connect with and understand the messages of your womb, you will even begin to recognize signs of dis-ease that may be present. This process of connecting to your monthly bleed can also help you to shift your perspective from avoidance into gratitude for how powerful your womb really is.

 

Sacred Blood

 

 

When a woman remembers the potency and power of her menstrual blood, her relationship with her womb begins to change. This new found connection creates a bridge to deep healing. The womb space often holds stored trauma which can show up as numbness, painful and irregular cycles, intuition blockages, and sexual shame. Connecting to the creatrix energy within the womb and recognizing the sovereignty in your menstrual blood is an important first step on the journey to womb wellness.