Thriving During Your Period
For some, this might sound like an impossibility.
“Thriving during my period? It’s my least favourite time of the month!”
Here’s the thing though: Ideally, our periods come along each month and us a wave to say, “Hey Queen, I’m here again, as expected/on time, to do a bit of a clear out of everything we don’t need anymore. I’ll be gone before you know it!”.
The world we live in DOES make this harder and harder to achieve BUT I do believe that it’s still possible to turn the period into a more loved time of the month if we know how to make space for our bodies to do their thing.
Remember: The female body moves through the menstrual cycle each month. This means day to day we feel and are different because the internal landscape of our bodies is doing different things. Sometimes we are letting things go, sometimes we are getting ready to release a beautiful microscopic package of potential, and other times we are working to build things up to grow a tiny human. Different times need different support.
The period is likened to the Winter season of the menstrual cycle. Why? Because it’s a time of rest, hibernation and introspection.
This means the period is ideally accompanied by rest, nourishment and space for alone time. This is also because shedding the endometrial lining is a big deal and takes a lot of energy, so we want to make sure that we are supporting our body to do this as efficiently and effectively as possible 🥰
In Chinese Medicine, the start of the period marks the switch from a Yang phase to a Yin phase, and this change in polarity is a big shift for the body to coordinate, which reflects the big energy output required at this time.
The following tips can be adopted for the whole length of the bleed, but most importantly on the first 2-3 days:
😴 Early bedtime, sleep ins if possible
The more sleep, the better! Your body needs time to recover, replenish and restore energy. Sleep is a Yin activity and during menstruation we are literally losing Blood and Yin, so we need to give the body its time to restore this.
🍲 Nourishing and warming foods
And lots of them! Make sure you’re filling your plate with warm, cooked foods that are nourishing and easy to digest and that you’re also eating enough to match the energy output that is the letting go of the endometrial lining. Avoid cold and raw foods during the period if you can - they introduce Cold directly into the body (this is often a BIG contributor to period pain and fertility problems) and take extra energy to digest.
😌 Reducing your work load
This comes with a big “only where possible” caveat. In a perfect world we can take the day off on the first and second day, but more realistically, sometimes we get rostered on to work ~11 hours and it’s day two and by the end of it we are drained in every sense of the word 😓. If the latter is the case, make time and space to give your body adequate rest and replenishment before/afterwards.
🧤 Keep your body warm
Especially your feet, ankles, back, belly and neck (so, basically everything). We are more “open” to environmental influences (and energetic influences) during the period. Protect the channels from Cold and other environment factors, and your energy by keeping your body warm.
🚶🏻♀️➡️ Rest days or the chillest of chill movement
Think short, gentle walks, Yin yoga and slow dancing - we don’t need to add any extra stress to the system during the period. Save that for the follicular phase 😉
🧘🏻♀️ Meditation or extra time alone
As I said, it’s hibernation time AND we are energetically “open” at this time. Give yourself the gift of your time and attention where possible to integrate this letting go, introspective phase of the cycle (even if it’s three deep, mindful breaths a few times throughout the day).
😫 Period pain (take note)
If you experience pain during the period, note what makes it worse and what relieves it (heat pack, gentle movement, resting, certain foods, before/during/after the bleed) and let your Chinese Medicine Practitioner know when you see them (it gives us a lot of information about what imbalance may be contributing to any pain or other symptoms).
💜 See your Chinese Medicine Practitioner regularly!
Before the period can be very supportive to help move things along (i.e. encourage the movement of QI and Blood) which is especially helpful if you typically experience period pain.
After the period is brilliant because it helps support your resources (Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang) after the clearing out and energy expenditure that happens during the bleed.
Periods can be a tricky time, especially if you experience pain and other symptoms that make it anything but fun. However, by supporting ourselves (with some/all of the above), it’s more possible to turn a time that is dreaded into a time that is (dare I say) celebrated 🩷
If you have questions about how Chinese Medicine can help to support your menstrual cycle, I’d love to help! 🫶🏼 Send me an email with your questions or you can book in via the link below.