3 Simple yet Powerful Steps to Transform Your Period and Embrace Cyclical Wisdom

In honor of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, this blog post aims to empower you with three straightforward steps to transform your period. By following these steps, you can experience a profound shift and cultivate a positive relationship with your menstrual cycle. As a women’s well-being and mindfulness coach, I draw from my personal experiences as a menstruating individual, supporting women from various fields, including design, technology, and well-being.

Common Struggles: ‘The period is a problem (to be fixed)’

Most individuals I work with, regardless of their unique backgrounds, share a common perspective when they first approach me: they perceive their bodies, particularly their periods, as problematic. Whether it’s coping with dysmenorrhea, irregular periods, or the discomfort and inconvenience that accompany menstruation (such as cramping, fatigue, irritability, and fluctuating moods and energy levels), many people feel a need to fix their periods.

My Personal Journey & Desire for Transformation

I can relate to this sentiment, as I once felt the same way about my body and period. During a time when my life seemed overwhelming—coping with a family member’s mental illness, struggling with an eating disorder, and feeling like an outsider as an undergraduate—I turned to yoga. It became a means for me to exert control over my body and overcome physical, mental, and emotional obstacles. However, I soon realized that I was unwittingly becoming a slave to my body, particularly during my period, despite feeling like the master during my intense yoga practices.

Have you ever yearned to transform your period? Countless times, I envisioned an alternate reality where I wouldn’t have to face the inconveniences, pain, stress, and unpredictability that come with the menstrual cycle. Whether it was discreetly carrying sanitary pads to the bathroom, experiencing embarrassment when they fell in public, or feeling fearful and ashamed of leaks, I longed for a transformed period—a period that would simply disappear.

The Vague Call to “Listen to Your Body”:

Throughout my decade-long yoga practice, I frequently encountered the phrase “listen to your body.” However, there was a lack of tangible guidance, especially concerning menstruation.

Women discreetly disposed of their sanitary pads in the changing room, even after performing inversions like shoulder stands and handstands in the same class I attended. My favorite teacher, an Anusara Yoga instructor, regularly taught headstands and handstands but never addressed adapting the practice during menstruation.

Disregarding vs. Transcending the physical body 

As I continued my yoga journey, I encountered stories from menstruating women who were advised by their gurus to maintain the same rigorous practice regardless of their menstrual cycle. Some shared their experiences of fear, guilt, and pride when told that their lack of menstruation indicated spiritual enlightenment. Others struggled with fertility issues and felt disconnected from their cycles due to long-term contraceptive pill use.

Cohabitating with: Living with a menstruating body

 My understanding of “listening in” transformed when I delved into the teachings of Dr. Uma Dinsmore-Tuli. Uma’s book Yoni Shakti, which means ‘Source Power’, shares such practices, and seeks to educate yoginis on how our menstrual cycles are actually our power, not our limitation or flaw, and how women-centred Yoga practices can support us to connect with this power.

This work, along with my exploration of Wild Power, written by my teachers Alexandra Pope and Sjanie hugo wurlitzer, founders of the Red School, and my embodied and intimate practice of tracking my shifting moods, energy levels and connectedness enabled me to understand my body, mind, and spirit on a profound level.

Womb as World, World as Womb:

Before encountering Uma’s work, I believed the womb was simply the space for a baby. Now I realise that a woman’s fertility is not simply for the procreation of a baby – the womb, or ‘Yoni’ is the root and source of a woman’s ability to birth and foster life in all forms, including our personal and creative projects, work, family life and so on. 

Yoni Shakti, also brings to light the patriarchal structures underlying many Yoga lineages that have perpetrated the abuse of women in yoga, how disposable feminine waste products are damaging the planet, and how Yoga can be a tool for social and environmental justice in the world if we truly embrace the idea of ‘Womb as World, World as Womb’.

Uma’s work has empowered me to acknowledge my woman’s body as sovereign, and to listen to the needs of my bodily cycles, rather than ignore, resist or seek to overcome them, as I or the other women I had encountered had done before.

It cemented the radical belief that my menstrual cycles are my connection with nature, and evidence and reminder that I am a part of something greater. Later through my practice and studies in Qigong, the Five Elements and Chinese medicine, I found the words to describe this – the Creative Cycle, and this is the heart of what I now do and share with the world. 

This is my story, and how my relationship with my period has changed and grown. How about yours? How would you like to shape it? Here are 3 simple yet powerful steps you can take to empower you to transform your period:

3 Steps to transform your period

1. Rather than transform your period, change your relationship with it.

Instead of seeking to transform or fix your period, recognize that your menstrual cycle is a natural reflection of your connection to the the Creative Cycle. Adopt the perspective of working with your period and listening to what it tells you.

2. Start listen to your body.

Start tracking your menstrual cycle to gain insights into your moods, energy levels, and other observations. Download our Free Menstrual Cycle Tracking Journal and Guide to assist you in this process. Your period serves as a vital sign, offering valuable information about your overall health and well-being, including sleep patterns, nutrition, exercise, stress levels, and life transitions.

3. Transform your period through cyclical wisdom

Acknowledge that you are a cyclical being, and your menstrual cycle mirrors the changing seasons in the world. Just as we adjust our daily routines and habits according to seasonal changes, embrace similar adjustments throughout your menstrual cycle.

Begin with honoring the Winter phase, which corresponds to your period—a time for rest, restoration, and receiving insights. Create a safe space during this time, take a menstrual break and nurture an unshakeable trust in your innate divinity.

Other resources to transform your period

Would you like to transform your period by learning how to adapt your Yoga practice according to the menstrual Cycle?

Join our transformative Menstrual Yoga training and enjoy a special 30% discount . Learn to align your yoga practice with your infradian rhythm and experience relief from PMS cramps, mood swings, insomnia, period pain, fatigue, and frustration. As a yoga teacher, you’ll also receive a certificate of completion and earn valuable CE credits with Yoga Alliance USA.

Read our blog post on Yoga for Menstrual Health, where you’ll find valuable insights and practices to transform your relationship with your period. Dive deep into the wisdom of yoga and unlock the secrets to embracing your menstrual cycle.

Find Support for Your Menstrual Challenges:

Are you seeking support to navigate emotional overwhelm, fatigue, or pain during your menstrual cycle? With my coaching, we’ll explore the underlying triggers and equip you with effective and simple tools to dissolve overwhelm, fatigue, and pain.

You’ll also learn long-term strategies, such as taking menstrual breaks and aligning your workload according to your cycle, to prevent overwhelm and honor your body’s needs..

Book a complimentary call with me

Book a complimentary call with me and discover how coaching can transform your period and your relationship with your menstrual cycle. Together, we’ll create a personalized approach that honors your body, restores balance, and empowers you to thrive.

Share the Gift of Transformation:

Know someone who wants to transform their period? Share this incredible opportunity with them and support them on their journey towards menstrual empowerment.

What does ‘listening in’ mean for your body, as a menstruating being? 

What would it feel like, if your period was your power, not your problem? 

What would it feel like, if you worked with your body, rather than sought to control it?