In the world as we know it today, that certain time of the month sends shudders of pain to women worldwide, both physically and emotionally, and sends men running for the hills. It’s hard to imagine a time when menstruation wasn’t such a taboo. Yet, our ancestors saw it as a powerful natural process.

 

These days, most women are “inconvenienced” by, annoyed, grossed out, or completely detached from their period cycles. If you’re a woman, take a moment to think about your feelings towards your menstruation. How do you feel (or don’t feel)?

 

How many times have you heard the women around you refer to their periods as a “curse” or even talk about their periods with sarcasm (“it’s that time of the month again”)?

 

We’ve become completely disconnected from our natural cyclical nature.

 

Yet, before we started perceiving our monthly periods as annoying, scary and gross, we honored them and even planned our lives around them.

 

In ancient cultures the period cycle was deeply respected and revered. In fact, most words meaning menstruation were synonymous with sacredness, the supernatural, incomprehensible and worshipped. The ancient Indian tribes, Dogons of Africa and Native and South American tribes are rooted in the belief that there is no greater time for a woman to embody her divine femininity than during her menses.

 

Special care and preparation was taken to ensure optimal comfort such as Moon Lodges. These Moon Lodges were places for the women to gather, rest, introspect and dream. At this time of the month when the women were most sensitive, they would often have revelatory dreams about how to govern their tribe.

 

These days, more often than not, menstruation seems to be condemned. Just look at your own education. It’s likely that you were taught that your period is something socially unacceptable to discuss or even disgusting and shameful.  You were probably taught that your period makes you something of a “bitchy” raving lunatic.

 

Unfortunately, these degrading beliefs have subtly leaked into our present cultural minds and attitudes towards the female period.

 

The good news is that there is a shift happening. We are now re-learning that there is so much more to menstruation than what we’ve been taught, and we are beginning to understand the sacred power within our cycle.

 

Our period cycles are physical, but they are also emotional, mental and spiritual. In other words, menstruation isn’t just about bleeding, cramping and getting PMS!

 

When we are menstruating without consciousness, we are depleting such vital energy. So we end up feeling depleted, frustrated, disconnected, grumpy, we have heavy periods, cramps and become irrational.

 

We are so conditioned to be constantly ‘doing’, from such a lack mentality, that there is never ‘enough’ – that we are so disconnected from our inner abundance. To take rest, many feel guilty. This is the sad reality of the masculine dominated society we live in.

 

In reality, menstrual symptoms are actually messages in disguise telling you to slow down and honor your body. Every month our periods reveal to us just how many physical and emotional toxins we have accumulated and we’re shown the state of our inner selves in complete rawness. To many females this kind of honesty can be very painful and intimidating to face. But that is only because we haven’t been taught how to listen and live in sync with our cycles.

 

As the feminine rises we see through this illusion of constantly doing by taking at least the first day of bleeding to stop, retreat, rest and feel what our body is trying to tell us. We may be surprised what true abundance begins to manifest, in the form of new ideas, creative projects, inspiration from a calmer place versus rushing, or working from a place of lack.

 

Through honoring our menstruation and the phases within our cycle, we are honoring our femininity, our sacred sexuality and our body-temples as women. As we re-build our connection to our blood and menstruation, we break free of years of suppression around being a woman, around having a woman’s body, around a woman’s sacred sexuality.

 

It is a tiny step that impacts us on a huge conscious level and therefore the collective consciousness.

 

Now is the time to be supportive of your body, your emotional rhythms and your cycles.

 

Here are 5 things to be aware of during the sacredness of menstruation:

 

1. Our senses are heightened. This includes our sense of taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing. As a result, this makes us more aware.
2. We dream more frequently.During our Moon Time, we are much more likely to experience lucid as well as prophetic dreams.
3. Our energy is focused inwards.This makes us less emotionally available for other people, and more focused on the lessons we need to learn about our lives.
4. We are more intuitive. Our increased sensitivity at the time of      menstruation makes us more receptive and open to life.
5. We are in the process of death and rebirth.In other words, this time of month is the perfect opportunity to “let go” of old patterns, habits and thoughts that no longer serve us. This is physically expressed through the release of our womb’s blood.

 

This sensitivity is indeed a gift. It allows for immediate recognition of areas creating pain and resistance and propels us to understand the source of that pain. When it is properly felt out we become lighter and wiser than before. It’s no wonder the first shamans were women.

 

The aim now, is to let the wisdom of our ancestors inspire us. To respect the creative forces within us and use them to live our full potential and in a healthy manner.

 

When we begin to apply a conscious practice around our menstrual cycle, we reconnect to our feminine spirit, our emotional body, our intuition and our creativity. When consciousness is applied to menstruation, we also adopt a more healthy cycle, in the form of natural products like Menstrual Cups, Eco Pads, Sponges etc., which all have way less negative impact on our health and on the earth by reducing waste.

 

Here are some conscious rituals you can begin to integrate during menstruation:

 

• Set aside a day or two to be alone
• Explore what you have been holding on to and what you can let go of during this stage
• Meditate and spend time journaling
• Record your thoughts or dreams
• Let your friends or family know that you’ll be taking some time out for yourself
• Prepare your meals for yourself and family so you don’t have to cook
• Sleep longer or take a nap with a heating pad
• Allow yourself to be quiet when interacting with others (let them do most of the work and just observe)
• Find ways to relax, such as having a soothingbath, doing yin/restorative yoga or going for a light walk in nature
• Ask for messages in your dreams before you go to sleep (if in need of guidance)
• Draw, paint or read
• Honor your blood by recycling it in the earth
• Create your own Moon tent or lodge that you can dedicate to stillness and reflection
• Find ways to naturally alleviate and soothe any symptoms you have and explore the root cause of them
• Nurture yourself and respect this period of symbolic and literal death in whatever way feels the most loving and natural

You can design your Moon Time Ritual however you’d like. There is no right or wrong way to do this and each month you may need a different kind of nourishment. Listen to your body, tune in and trust in the wisdom of your sacred blood.