Whilst in McLeod Ganj, India I viisited Argentinian lady Berenise (http://www.lunaroja.4t.com/) who specialises in harnessing female energy and connecting with instinct of our wombs. Berenise firstly explained how in her own practise she discovered the healing power of connecting to your menstration cycle and seeing it as a positive rather than how it is typically viewed in the west as a bit disgusting, something women may opt to avoid and be embarrassed of. We've been conditioned to be ashamed and detached from our cycle when it is one of the most vital life forces. Rather than throwing all the energy that is stored in the menstrual blood away in the bin Bernise actually uses the blood to nourish organic vegetables she grows and has even used it to heal injuries. I'm not sure this is something I will be doing personally but it is never the less very interesting.
Menstration and the Moon
As I began a regular yoga practise I found that my cycle became regular and insync so I would menstrate on full moon. It felt good to be able to chart my cycle with nature and I thought this was perfect harmony and know fellow yoginis who follow the same pattern. However I did find that around 5 days before full moon I would have terrible pmt, feel emotionally out of control and unbalanced and although I knew it would pass it was disruptive. I shared this with my incredible ayurvedic doctor Jono Condous (based at Triyoga: http://www.ayurvedabrighton.co.uk/) and he is very passionate about female cycles and reassured me that it is natural for these emotions to arise. He articulated that in the west women are told to carry on as normal throughout cycle; tv adverts for santitary care depict ladies smiling and jumping on trampolines which is probably the last thing we feel like doing! Whereas in the east traditionally at this time of the month women would come together in a red tent to relax, share stories and bond.
Jono also said that in fact the most fruitfiul time of the month to menstrate is on the new/dark moon because of the gravity and power of the full moon it heightens any emotions and can create inbalance if also menstrating. Not that this is important to me personally at the moment but by shifting the period to coincide with the new moon you then ovulate on the full moon so it's power can aid fertility. With the herbs and practises he prescribed my period is starting to shift forward, close to new moon and thankfully I don't go quite soo crazy and suffer as bad pmt and feel more balanced across the month.
Wombs Workshop with BereniseI wanted to take opportunity to learn as much as possible from Bernise so she kindly ran a 3hr workshop to help us to tune into female intuition and connect to the womb and mother Earth. We began looking at the cycle and how it follows the flow of the seasons and of a woman growing from a child into an old black witch as follows:
Spring / Teenager - New cycle starts bringing fresh energy
Summer / Young Woman / Full Moon - Ovulation, fertile, strong sexual desire
Autumn / Old Woman - Pre-menstration, coming into darker side of woman
Winter / Black Witch / Dark Moon - Menstration
In my yoga asana practise I do work on strengthening mulha bandha and uddiyana bandha with similar exercises but I had never drawn attention to mt womb and been conscious of this as a way of connect to female power. A particular exercise which helped cultivate a conscious sensations in the womb was slowly isolating and working up the vaginal rings to the uterus. We also worked in pairs giving a massage centralising around the womb and working out over the whole body and then listening into any pulsations and instictive thoughts.
It was totally unexpected and empowering to spend an afternoon celebrating the aspects of womanhood that usually shy away from.
Menstration and the Moon
As I began a regular yoga practise I found that my cycle became regular and insync so I would menstrate on full moon. It felt good to be able to chart my cycle with nature and I thought this was perfect harmony and know fellow yoginis who follow the same pattern. However I did find that around 5 days before full moon I would have terrible pmt, feel emotionally out of control and unbalanced and although I knew it would pass it was disruptive. I shared this with my incredible ayurvedic doctor Jono Condous (based at Triyoga: http://www.ayurvedabrighton.co.uk/) and he is very passionate about female cycles and reassured me that it is natural for these emotions to arise. He articulated that in the west women are told to carry on as normal throughout cycle; tv adverts for santitary care depict ladies smiling and jumping on trampolines which is probably the last thing we feel like doing! Whereas in the east traditionally at this time of the month women would come together in a red tent to relax, share stories and bond.
Jono also said that in fact the most fruitfiul time of the month to menstrate is on the new/dark moon because of the gravity and power of the full moon it heightens any emotions and can create inbalance if also menstrating. Not that this is important to me personally at the moment but by shifting the period to coincide with the new moon you then ovulate on the full moon so it's power can aid fertility. With the herbs and practises he prescribed my period is starting to shift forward, close to new moon and thankfully I don't go quite soo crazy and suffer as bad pmt and feel more balanced across the month.
Wombs Workshop with BereniseI wanted to take opportunity to learn as much as possible from Bernise so she kindly ran a 3hr workshop to help us to tune into female intuition and connect to the womb and mother Earth. We began looking at the cycle and how it follows the flow of the seasons and of a woman growing from a child into an old black witch as follows:
Summer / Young Woman / Full Moon - Ovulation, fertile, strong sexual desire
Autumn / Old Woman - Pre-menstration, coming into darker side of woman
Winter / Black Witch / Dark Moon - Menstration
In my yoga asana practise I do work on strengthening mulha bandha and uddiyana bandha with similar exercises but I had never drawn attention to mt womb and been conscious of this as a way of connect to female power. A particular exercise which helped cultivate a conscious sensations in the womb was slowly isolating and working up the vaginal rings to the uterus. We also worked in pairs giving a massage centralising around the womb and working out over the whole body and then listening into any pulsations and instictive thoughts.
It was totally unexpected and empowering to spend an afternoon celebrating the aspects of womanhood that usually shy away from.
