I’m on my period. The first one I've had in over 4 months and boy is it flowing, releasing, returning. This post is reflective on our relationships with our periods over the years and why they can be seen as a negative (for goodness sake they used to be called the ‘curse’!) but are sacred & magical. A woman’s power is immense and periods and the transitional phase of menopause (which I'm now in) used to revered as goddess power.
Think about it. We have a ‘moon cycle’ we bleed almost exactly in the same timescale as the lunar cycle and many other creatures reproduce to the full moon. The moon energy is associated with the water element (think the tides) and feminine energy (the sun is fire and masculine). We need both in balance
We ‘lose’ part of ourselves each month, or we could see it as we return to the earth part of ourselves each month - we connect.
In earlier times, the women of the village would menstruate at the same time, in some cases retreating together to the forest or a ‘red tent’ where they would be together, eat, chat, chant and rest, particularly welcoming young girls on their first period to support and nurture - how lovely…(and these have made a comeback in some parts)
Unfortunately for many of us, in our modern life, we are just expected to get on with it even though our energies can be very different and perhaps this has meant we’ve masked and tried to forget about it to be able to get on. Perhaps you can remember a time when you lived with other females (family or shared house) and your cycles synced… I can. Pretty magical eh?
Breaking it down to bodily functions we are releasing the lining of the womb and egg that might have been another human and our blood and returns to the earth to nourish it and gets recycled (as does our body when we die) into the soil for the food for future generations to eat, which becomes their body … and so it goes on. We are ALL connected.
Don't get me wrong.. it can be a pain (and painful), emotional, messy and inconvenient especially if you want to sky dive, wear a white dress or roller skate on the beach in a unitard (one for the older viewers there..and don't forget to pour BLUE liquid onto the sanitary towel, heaven forbid red be used to remind us of the reality..!!) but despite all this,
I have to say, ‘and don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ and as mine visit less and less I feel a twinge of sadness that this could be the last one.
But just like our periods, we let it flow…and into the menopause which is a transition into elder status with all the wisdoms, life experience and joys a life well lived brings. There's still plenty of living to do but it's also a time for relaxing a little more, re-evaluating what’s important and treasuring our bad ass selves in the Autumn of our lives.
Hot flushes are power blasts that burn through anything thats holding you back.
So in summary, PERIODS! MENOPAUSE! Let’s say it loud and proud … and keep saying it until its not a hidden word and world. It’s not dirty, it not shameful… It’s not even just normal, its flipping incredible and awe inspiring and my sisters its time to re-claim our goddess status
If you want to read more about some of the reasons periods became taboo, I really enjoyed this article
Yoga and meditation are great for helping us connect to our true essence, the divine within and not conform to societal conditioning which can sometimes reduce our power. We connect to our breath, body and mind and discover true freedom.
Come along and try a class, relaxed or energised , meditation or strong yoga - its all good. See our wonderful timetable with different teachers here or contact me
Comments