How to have a Womb and Earth friendly period

It’s that time of the month for me and whereas before I used to curse about getting my period, now I have begun to respect it and savour it for what it is: a time for me to connect with me.

As womxn we have been told that our periods dirty and unhygienic and we have been forced to swallow a narrative that tells us that our periods are an inconvenience when actually, our menstrual cycle is perfectly placed to remind us to connect with our selves and our femininity at least once a month.

I’m aware that for a lot of womxn this time is painful and uncomfortable and for others who do not have a consistent or even existent cycle, speaking about it can be source of anxiety and hurt, but at the end of the day, as womxn we deserve the right to be able to talk about our bodies and how they work. The average womxn bleeds for roughly 6years in her lifetime! So maybe it’s about time we started really thinking about our periods as well as the sanitary waste we produce during them!

For this reason I really wanted to write a blog about all the little healing and self care rituals and zero-waste tips Iv picked up that have helped me see my period as a special time of treats and self love instead of a chore.

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Moon time

A lot of women may find that their cycle is linked to a certain phase of the moon, the most common synching is around full moon or new moon but regardless of when this is, one of the period rituals I enjoy the best is taking some time to look up at the moon. Take a minimum of five minutes on one night of your cycle to gaze up at the moon in silence and on your own. You can choose to set an intention for your own new womb cycle that is about to begin or perhaps think of something you want to let go. I also usually take the time to list 10 things about myself that I love and am grateful for. Talking to the moon is magical and a wonderful way to remind yourself how small yet extremely powerful you are.

Connect with (and save) the planet

Along with looking at the moon, I also enjoy walking barefoot in nature while I’m on my cycle. If I’m feeling really earthy I even sometimes collect some of my bath water and sprinkle it on the plants in my garden. It feels like I’m organically giving back to the planet as a thank-you for all it gives me everyday.

I also connect with the planet at this time by making sure that ALL the products I use won’t hurt or dirty her. I use a menstrual cup which is made of silicone and lasts 5years! It is economical and in five years is the equivalent of thousands of sanitary pads or tampons. I love the idea of my cycle being light on the planet and it’s also super light on my pocket! My Mina cup was just R250! Over 5 years that equates to R50 a year! Nothing compared to the cost of pads, panty liners and tampons. If you are interested in buying a Mina cup we sell them for R250 at The Nest Space! Come through! Mina do loads of education programs and community out reach programs about menstrual cups and ending period stigma so by buying one of their cups you are supporting an amazing cause.

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I have also developed a little ritual around my cup. I have a Moon bowl which is only used for sterilising and rinsing my cup. I use it at home every time I change by putting boiling water into it and popping my cup in, and if I’m at work I do exactly the same and rinse my moon cup in the bathroom stall after getting some boiling water from our kettle. This really helps with keeping things neat and tidy 🙂

Once my cup is in I don’t feel it at all and now that I’m used to folding and inserting it I haven’t had an unexpected leak in ages (p.s life hack if you do leak: soak the stained patch in just COLD water for 5-10min then use soap and cold water to rinse the blood out – cold water ensures it won’t stain!). For the yogis: my cup has shifted a couple of times when I’m doing yoga (awkward!) but now that I know what postures lead to that (downward dog split is a no go! I generally don’t do inversions on my cycle but these would be too!) I either skip them if I’m practicing or don’t use them in my sequence if I’m teaching 🙂

Not leaking, no smell and not feeling my cup is a huge deal for me since I have a medium flow and bleed for 7days! The feeling of forgetting that I’m on my period is life changing and is what makes me such a huge advocate for menstrual cups!

Another planet friendly option are reusable pads as well as period underwear! I personally haven’t used these but found this great and authentic review on them here if you are interested. Faithful to Nature sells both 🙂

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Soothing Pain

I don’t know about you but I definitely get period pains, especially in the first 2 days of my cycle. Iv noticed that every 4th month I have a really bad set of cramps which make me feel faint and nauseous (sometimes I even puke), but the other times my cramps are mostly an achy feeling, just a bit more intense than discomfort.
My remedies for my pain are as natural as I can be on the day. I have a special period yoga flow sequence (excuse the pun) which REALLY helps, I use my trusty hot water bottle if things are still achy and I have found that watching tv or even sleeping while in child’s pose with a pillow under my belly, chest and head alleviates the pain almost completely. If I’m having a bad month CBD oil has become my new Panado.

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Nourish your body and satisfy your cravings (in a healthy way)

I generally don’t have a huge appetite on my cycle but I get suuuuper thirsty. I tend to drink loads of luke-warm water with a stick of cinnamon chucked in side. Something about cinnamon makes me feel grounded and homey on my cycle. I also crave sweet things (weird because i have NO sweet tooth when I’m not bleeding) and enjoy making my spicy vegan hot chocolate which is sugar free and still satisfies my chocolate munchies or I munch on some dates for that toffee-like sweet yumminess. Here’s my hot chocolate recipe:

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Pamper Time

Lastly, the thing that really makes my period a time I love is the self pampering I do. Here’s my list of period pampering activities:

-loads of restorative yoga (self practice or classes depending on whether I’m feeling like I want to hermit things out or be around people)

-painting my nails and doing my hair

-burning of cinnamon essential oils around the house

-adding rose essential oil to my body cream and bath water (better yet pick some flowers and add those to your bath too!)

-doing loads of face masks

-looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself how much I love myself

-giving myself delicious self massages with cinnamon essential oil infused Shea butter

I also tend to withdraw around my cycle. I don’t go out much and tend to become introspective and introverted. I know my cycle is at the start of the month so I make sure I schedule meetings etc towards the end of my cycle and am just generally aware that the first 4 days of every month are slow and quiet for me. It’s important to fit your life around your cycle and not the other way around – it happens every month so treat it as a routine, schedule it in and make it a special time for you to reconnect with your body.

I hope you guys found this post informative and helpful. I’d love to know how you feel about your period and if you have any more tips!
Comment below if you have any questions or advice to share 🙂

Happy Bleeding!

P.S if you are interested in doing more reading about the eco-feminist-politics of periods, National Geographic wrote a great article here.