learning about the menstruation and what it did for me
in my recent and first blog i wrote about why it is important to learn about the menstrual cycle and now i want to share with you what learning about it changed for me and my relationship with my body and the menstruation
learning about the menstruation not only means learning about the functions and happenings in the body, with the hormones and everything, but it also means listening to your own body and learning about yourself. so one of the most important things is to know that every body is different and not everything fits everyone. so listening to yourself and your body, getting to know yourself and constantly trying different things is part of the learning process. of course our bodies are also always changing, so keep that in mind as well. if something is working for you right now, it doesn't mean it will always work for you or for someone else.
that being said, everything i am sharing here is just my own experience.
the most important thing that learning about the cycle did for me was getting a deeper connection to myself and my body. to think that before, i did not even know what my body was doing every month, what my body was going through every month is actually really sad. now with this knowledge i am so much more connected to my body.
energy-levels, moods, skin etc. now make so much more sense and being able to connect for example certain feelings to my current day of cycle can often help me understand myself better.
not only is it great for understanding myself more, it is also great to use this knowledge to plan my months and days.
the menstrual cycle is (often) divided in four stages. this division is connected to what the hormones are doing during the cycle which leads to four parts. so since in every part the hormones are at a different level, our energy, mood and emotions are also at different highs and lows. by understanding on which day you are in the cycle and by listening to your body, you can then understand what you are capable of doing or what you might need right now.
this for me means, that i know at which time i am more capable of doing a lot of work, meeting friends or being creative, and at which time i need more rest and be alone. the last months i've learned that by understanding this, connecting to my body and ,even more, listening to my body i am more at ease.
especially my bleeding days now feel so much better, because i am already slowing down some days before i start bleeding, which leads to less stress and therefore less cramps. another thing i really like about cycle tracking is to check in with my body. this is something i am sure we all do way too less because we are always busy. but taking a break, checking in and being mindful, accepting the status of the body and mind, not fighting against it, feels really good- at least for me it does.
of course i am not always able to do this, to be mindful or to listen to my body, but i am trying and giving my best, and the best is sometimes also just ignoring it which is totally fine too
i can only recommend everyone to learn about their body and connect with it. in this time where everything is super fast, we stopped listening to ourselves and what we need. this can lead to many physical and psychic problems. these problems of course can also effect the menstrual cycle, therefore our bodies and our emotions.
i hope you liked this post. if you have any questions you can ask in the comments or dm me via instagram @katharina.lorenz
for other accounts and books related to this topic check out my blog post 'integrating you menstruation into your daily life' where at the end i added a list of amazing people
