Honoring the cycles in your life – Menstruation & the Moon
A theme which keeps arising for me lately is that of the cyclical nature of our lives. As women, we encounter a number of cycles throughout our lives, some more obvious (a monthly menstruation) and some less easily noticed (seasonal shifts – both literal and metaphorical). But all are important and should be honored.
This is a topic I’m incredibly interested in and as such, I have so much information to share that it will be broken up into a few posts over the next several weeks. (Check out the other posts in this series: Mother Nature’s Seasons, Longer Rhythms in Life, and Navigating & Supporting your Journey through Cycles)
What’s the big deal with honoring our menstrual cycles
I’ve been working my way through Dr. Christiane Northrup’s Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. Although this book was first published in 1994, it continues to be relevant – providing incredible insight into the interconnected nature of our physical, mental and emotional health.
If you don’t own a copy of this book, I highly encourage you to get your hands on it – although it’s long (over 800 pages), the writing is accessible and deeply impactful.
Dr. Northrup notes that “The menstrual cycle governs the flow not only of fluids but of information and creativity.” Her discussion of the menstrual cycle outlines the impact the natural monthly hormonal shifts in our body can have on everything from our creativity, energy levels, ability to focus on details, and more.
Listening to your body whisper
You might have heard this saying from me before, but if we listen to our bodies whisper, we won’t have to hear them scream. Each month, our cycle calls to us for a little downtime to rest and digest.
Unfortunately, we’ve come to believe that call for rest is something for us to “power through”. So we ignore it – and as a result we end up sick days (or weeks, or months) later as our body shouts louder for us to take a much needed rest.
After years of ignoring them, I’ve learned to listen to those whispers. And while there are still days when I need to be more outwardly focused during a time in my monthly cycle which encourages introspection (we all have commitments beyond ourselves), as much as possible, I try to honor the need to rest and turn inward each month.
Diving into the connection with the moon
If you don’t use a hormonal birth control method, you may find your cycle aligns naturally with the moon’s cycle.
The window from new moon to full moon may be linked to the time from the end of your last menstruation to ovulation. The growing of the moon from dark to light is the time for us to grow as well.
This phase when your body rebuilds the uterine lining is a time of inspiration, growth, and curiosity in the world around us.
From full moon to new moon, you may find your body moving from ovulation to menstruation. The increasing darkness outside is a sign to turn your focus inward.
During this time, we’re called to enter a state of introspection and reflection. You may also find your energy level drops as you near menstruation. Your body is asking you to take the time to be quiet, rest, and focus on introspection.
And if your cycle doesn’t align. . .
There are many reasons why your cycle might not align with the moon. Maybe you’re on hormonal birth control, have an irregular cycle, or no longer menstruate.
If you fall into this category, first, give yourself grace – you’re not alone! Next, if you menstruate, honor that cycle as each stage comes. AND consider building a moon practice to honor the cycles in nature as well.
If you no longer menstruate, it’s still incredibly beneficial for you to harmonize with the different stages of this cycle using the moon as your guide.
For years, I used a hormonal IUD which prevented my body from building a uterine lining. While my body still cycled through all of the normal monthly stages, without a uterine lining, I didn’t menstruate, and so I needed to pay extra attention to my body to listen for what it needed. Noting the cycles of the moon helped keep me tuned into my body.
(Please note – a hormonal IUD is the decision that was right for my body, this should not in any way be read as an endorsement for one type of birth control. You need to make a decision based on your own body about the right birth control for you.)
Honoring the cycle – Inspiration
By honoring both the inspiration and introspection stages of this monthly menstrual/lunar cycle, we bring balance into our lives. As the old adage goes, an excess of anything is bad.
The inspiration phase is the going, doing, making stuff happen part of our cycle. It’s where we in the western world are often conditioned to believe we SHOULD always be.
BUT, if we push ourselves to stay in the inspiration stage continuously, we burn out, we lose our ability to be inspired at all. And we remain in uninspired burnout until we’ve been able to replenish ourselves.
By honoring the monthly shifts, we give ourselves room to celebrate not only our creativity, but also the deep knowledge within ourselves. Finding a natural balance between these two allows us to create AND replenish so we don’t become burnt out.
Honoring the cycle – Reflection
When we enter the reflection period of our monthly cycle and we take the opportunity to go inward, we may find things we’ve hidden away. These might be bright shiny things, and they may be slightly less shiny, but no less important things.
Our body stores within it the experiences we have throughout our lives.
Your biography becomes your biology.
Emotions (good and bad), stress, trauma, all of these things become embedded in our bodies. When unheard, they can manifest as disorder, disease, and chronic health issues. Remember – if you listen to your body whisper, you won’t have to hear it scream.
By taking the time to turn inward and listen to our bodies each month, we’re not only able to hear their messages, but we’re also able to acknowledge these messages have been received.
In acknowledging (and if necessary acting on) those messages, the body begins to process and release the emotions, stress and trauma it’s been holding onto, and in hearing the whispers we’ve helped prevent it from screaming for our attention.
I love the way Dr. Northrup describes these messages from the body. “Think of this information as compost that you’ll be using to create new growth in your life once the light comes back.”
This is a cycle that continues to repeat itself
The light always returns, just as the moon will move from darkest at new moon to brightest at full moon, you’re also invited to monthly move from the darkness of introspection to the lightness of inspiration.
By discovering the compost, you’re able to plant your seeds of inspiration in rich soil which will help them grow faster and stronger than before.
Think of a vegetable garden grown in hard packed clay without any fertilizer or nutrients added. Now imagine a garden of light soil enriched over many planting seasons with nutrient filled compost. Which do you think will produce better tomatoes?
The same goes for you when you begin to move in harmony with the moon and your menstrual cycle, you grow better metaphorical tomatoes. And the longer you flow in this rhythm, the more things in your life improve.
You’re healthier, you’re more creative, you’re more productive, and you’re able to achieve things you might not have thought possible. And it all starts with honoring your body and the messages it sends.
Additional Resources & Support
Now that I’ve drawn the analogy to the growing season, you might see where we’re going with the next cycle in this discussion – the cycle of the four seasons of nature. You can also check out the additional posts in this series on the longer rhythms in our lives, and learning how to navigate and honor each cycle in your life.
I’ve also created a guided meditation inspired by a meditation technique which in studies has been shown to reduce the symptoms of PMS. This meditation is designed to give you the time to focus in on your body and give it the space to talk to you. All you need to do is get quiet and listen.
The moon itself
Just a side note here – I’ve referenced the moon a lot in this article. Many of us live in brightly lit cities and the light from the moon is much less noticeable. With lights in yards, on houses, lighting streets, night is turned into day, and we have to actively seek out the moon glowing in the sky.
You can find lunar calendars online to help alert you to the passing of the moon’s phases, but try to also take a few moments on cloudless nights to appreciate the moon in all her stages.
(If this triggered an aha moment for you, I recommend James Attlee’s Nocturne: A Journey in Search of Moonlight – an interesting collection of essays on moonlight.)
I want to leave you with a quote from Glennon Doyle’s Love Warrior – I love how this quote represents both the literal and symbolic cycle of each day.
“I know the moon’s always there, waiting for its turn to be seen. The day has to fall to make way for the night, and the night has to surrender its place so the day can have its turn.”
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