A woman's body is mysterious and yet simple in its rhythm of ebb and flow. We usually feel reluctant to think positively of this painful and somewhat inconvenient point in each month, but what if we could use this time to grow and understand ourselves spiritually? Our menstrual cycles are parallels to our inner struggles, our anger, our time of needed rest. There's still a lot we don't understand about our periods, but if we find a way to address the issues at a time when our bodies are reminding us to, it could be exponentially valuable to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. We go day by day, our routines are the tracks of the train of our lives. Perhaps the moment goes unnoticed, we shrug things off and pay no mind to the inner voice of struggle. Yet, for most, as we reach close to our cycle we have no choice but be thrown in a hot deep ocean of heightened emotions, irritability, sadness, anxiety, and fatigue. As if our bodies have accumulated all our unacknowledged emotional concerns over the past month and have handed them right back in a giant steaming heap. Clinically diagnosed, this is called PMS. What if our "irrational" anger stems from anger we've carried, long overdue for its time of healing passing. Each moment that we feel this rush of emotion, whatever it may be, we must ask ourselves, "where have I carried this before?" "Where have I felt a lower version of this stronger emotion I am feeling right now?" "How can I choose to let it go?" It's simple, yet difficult because it questions our view of our unbreakable selves, our forever rationally and sound version of ourselves. Emotional and spiritual healing is a process of swimming through the humiliation of our past understandings and walking out of it like a lotus blooming through the mud. Our bodies speak to us so much more than in a physical sense. Just the idea that our period is the act of our womb shedding away the lining that was built during the previous menstrual cycle, is symbolic of our needs to shed away all that is not helping us spiritually. We are our own medicine and our bodies are our own doctors. Even our cramps play a role in our emotional healing. As painful and sometimes horrible they may be, they are also what gives us power in perseverance, in mind over matter, perspective, and the strength of overcoming our physical discomforts, so that possibly one day we will have the power of releasing a new life into this world. There are many things that make us all strong women and the one that we all share is the adversity through our menstrual cycles, it is what connects us all and asks us to grow and understand more. Taking time to ourselves for introspective thinking during our menstrual cycles is a very natural and healing process. These concepts have been present throughout the history of our ancestors. A society in tune with nature and recognizable for its spiritual culture, Native Americans, acknowledged the healing power a woman's menstrual cycle held. Many tribes would even celebrate the event of a young girl's first period, a horrific thought in today's world. Women would gather together in the same tent, far away from the tribe, during their bleeding days to talk and overcome the painful uncomfortable experience together. The Cherokee Indians believed that women were more powerful and intuitive when menstruating, so much so, that it was not uncommon for tribe members to seek out menstruating women for insight or guidance to connect them to a greater power. In many other cultures throughout the world, some positive, some negative, women were regarded as holding a portal of power. After all, it makes sense to think that someone that could continue to bleed profusely for days without dying would hold some form of higher power. Our menstrual cycles are truly our gift from nature. They are our natural teachers of emotional and spiritual growth and our bodies function as a reflection of these needs. It is time we begin to acknowledge and listen to our bodies, follow the intuition and face the adversity with love and understanding. This is what defines us as women and shapes us into strong and loving mothers. It's time to love, listen, and understand the message our menstrual cycle is giving us. P.S. This article was written purely to inspire love and to cherish our menstrual cycles. In no way is this article against the decision some women make to use contraceptives to stop their periods. We are all here to support one another and we each heal and grow differently.
