Hey there Reader,

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately about how much my relationship with my period has changed over the years.

From that first bleed in 7th grade {and trying desperately to hide it from everyone 🤦‍♀️} to feeling deeply, wildly grateful for this powerful infradian rhythm that guides me day-in and day-out, all month long.

I’m nearing 38 {July 15 bday, for those keeping track 😜} and as I inch closer to 40, there’s a real awareness that I have a limited time left of this cyclical body ritual in the form of a monthly hormonal cycle. {More on how I’m preparing for the perimenopause transition someday soon.}

Had you told me at age 12 that I would one day be sad about the prospect of not having a period every month… I would have laughed in your face and quipped in pre-teen Millennial fashion “um, yea right, like whatever.”

And yet here we are — feeling preemptive grief for my peri/menopausal self 🤷‍♀️

It's been a wild journey, and I'm so grateful to have made the shift from rejecting this innate power in the gift of menstruation to fully embracing it.

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so, how can you go from dreading your period to feeling a deep gratitude for it?

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🕯️ CREATE RITUAL AROUND IT

I think the idea of Ritual sometimes scares people off… This belief that it has to be some elaborately designed ceremony — the whole “do it ‘right’ or don’t do it at all” extractive capitalism nonsense. 👎

Bleccch 🤢

Ritual can be so simple, yet it’s the intention that a Ritual setting creates that makes all the difference in mindset and relationship to your cycle {or anything you are reworking your orientation to}.

Ritual can be as simple as…

🃏 drawing Oracle Cards for the month ahead {I work with the Sacred Cycles Oracle Deck every month during my “Bleed Read”}

🎨 create a piece of art embodying the lessons from the past month

📝 journal your reflections and set your sights on the month ahead

🫖 slowly craft a cup of Inner Winter Tea and sit in silence as you sip, noticing the flavors

In truth, there’s little difference between a habit… and a Ritual. If every month during your bleed you force yourself to quickly pull a few cards from your Oracle Deck because “it’s what I do every month,” then you’ve successfully turned it into a habit — not a Ritual.

And where’s the fun in that?!

All it takes is a simple shift in mindset — which might mean you don’t do the same Ritual setting every month to honor your cycle. Beautiful! Use the call to Ritual to tap into what your body calls for and be conversing with it.

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The importance of Ritual in my life is truly one of the reasons why the Inner Seasons Teas exist — to create simple, intentional ceremony throughout your entire cycle 🕯️ ​ START YOUR TEA RITUALS

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👩‍🏫 AMP YOUR EDUCATION

This one was huge for me.

In the process of getting off hormonal birth control, I dove into understanding what was actually happening every month. I was mildly shocked to realize that what I’d learned in 7th grade, “Sex Ed,” fell woefully short of the full story.

Up until then I had no idea that…

✨ there are only 6 days TOTAL that you can get pregnant during the monthly cycle — once an egg is release it has a 24 hours cycle + sperm can survive up to 5 days in fertile cervical mucus

✨ there were other options to prevent unwanted pregnancy beyond prescription birth control

✨ the menstrual cycle is now considered the 5th vital sign for women, right up there with blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, and breathing rate

✨ traditional cultures understood the power, and health benefits, of women’s menstruation.

Menstrual huts, often referred to as “Red tents”, were designated places for women to gather during their bleed time in a place men were not allowed to go. I was taught by a grandmother in the Abenaqui traditions that men created the sweat lodges as their own means of purification since they did not experience the monthly cleansing of a bleed. Both practices are entered into with deep reverence for the body and the importance of release and rebirth.

👆 This last one was a bit lightbulb for me. The idea that our bleed time was not always seen as a “curse,” a burden, or something to be hidden? 🤯 Absolutely revolutionary.

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👯‍♀️ CULTIVATE WOMB-LOVING COMMUNITY

Honestly, even if you scrapped the other two, this would probably make up for it all. {Because you’ll likely get the above two BECAUSE of this!}

Connecting with women who have actively chosen to throw out the old narratives around bleeding and living in a cyclical body means the dialogue around you changes.

Yes, we can still feel frustrated about painful periods & how tired we are, BUT somehow the context becomes different when you’re connecting about it with those who aren’t actively trying to STOP, avoid, or suppress these natural hormonal rhythms and the superpowers they provide.

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On the topic of Womb-Loving Community… I absolutely HAVE to share my dear friend Lindsay Courcelle’s course “FLOW” with you.

Want the hands-on techniques of soft and powerful self-care that take you deep into your own healing journey, at your own pace, and shape to your exact needs as a women, a mother, a maiden, or wise woman crone?

Lindsay is a Myofascial Release {MFR} therapist and all around INCREDIBLE HUMAN. “FLOW” is her MFR offering for the pelvic bowl through internal self-guided myofascial practice.

I LOVE THIS COURSE, and I think you will too!

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In truth, each of our journeys toward rewriting the script around bleeding and choosing to embrace it wholeheartedly will look different for everyone. I hope these ideas sparked something in you, though!

👉 I’d love to hear from you — what practices have helped to shift your relationship with your cycle in a more positive way? Hit reply to this email and let me know! {It’ll come straight to my inbox, for my eyes only 👀}

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Big Love, all ways always

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