Menstrual Cycle Awareness: Deep Listening, Deepest Love
In a world where conversations about health and wellness are becoming increasingly mainstream, one crucial aspect often overlooked is Menstrual Cycle Awareness.
Understanding and embracing the Menstrual Cycle is not just a biological necessity; it is a gateway to the true meanings of so many over-used phrasings: Self Care, Well-Being, Empowerment… and to the kind of Self Love that can never be shaken or broken. Menstrual Cycle Awareness is a radical act in a world that wants us as women to be anything but who and what we actually are.
So what is MCA and why should you care?
The Menstrual Cycle is an intricate process that occurs in a female body, typically spanning 28-35 days; though, as with most ‘objects’ of scientific study, the Cycle can be far more variable in the reality of our bodies… It involves various hormonal changes, inviting shifts in our physical, emotional, and mental states of being.
The first step in MCA involves listening, observing, and recording what you find. I suggest at least 3 consistent months of keeping a Menstrual Cycle Journal, which can include anything from your physical symptoms, moods, thoughts, or dreams. This gives you time to start to notice patterns, and make slight adjustments based on the needs and desires that your body is speaking up about in each phase of your Cycle.
For centuries, patriarchal power structures have maintained a stigma around menstruation. This essential aspect of women's health has been kept, swept, and shoved into the shadows. It was not ‘good business’ for systems of oppression that women should have this knowledge and this power.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness invites us into open conversations and education about the Cycle and our diverse experiences of female embodiment. By understanding the different phases – menstruation, follicular, ovulation, and luteal – we develop a deeper connection with our bodies and gain life-changing insight into our overall health.
What real-life, every-day benefits are there to practising MCA?
You may have heard that through MCA it becomes possible to tailor your fitness routines, dietary choices, and stress management techniques according to your menstrual cycle phases. For instance, during menstruation, gentle exercises and nourishing foods may provide comfort, while the ovulation phase may call for more energy-intensive workouts.
Practising MCA helps with emotional well-being. Hormonal fluctuations during the Menstrual Cycle can impact mood, energy levels, and stress tolerance. By recognizing and anticipating these changes, women can adopt coping mechanisms that align with their emotional needs. Finally, MCA gives you more choice when it comes to managing your family planning and sexual wellbeing as you have more insight into your fertility and fluctuations in sexual desire.
Yes, knowledge about your Cycle can bring all of this… BUT!
Why do I care so much?
Let’s not allow MCA to be co-opted too. I am not teaching this practice (inside Blood Club and with many of my individual women’s health clients) so they can become more efficient, more productive, easier-to-get-on-with workers or mothers or spouses or friends or daughters… Oh no.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness is not just a biological understanding; it's a journey towards the deepest, most resilient Love for ourselves, Nature and our fellow beings. It is reclaiming what has been lost, hidden, and stolen from girls and women for too long.
By embracing this tender, mindful, and highly personalised approach to our cyclic bodies, we pave the way for a more compassionate and informed society. By demystifying the menstrual cycle for ourselves, we naturally shine this light into our families and our communities. We can help to create, in turn, environments that support women to be exactly who and what we are - and to know in our bones that we are enough.
This is life-changing, game-changing work. It's time to break free from the chains of menstrual stigma and accept the beauty and strength that comes with being in tune with our bodies and with Mother Nature.
Check out Blood Club for yourself and Moon Sisters if you are mothering a daughter, to learn more about how I’m showing up in this space.