Thoughts On Health… Menstruation Part I (or, why I think being a woman totally ROCKS!)

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I’m going to start a new topic… several slots for my Skin Care eCourse are still available, if you miss the skin care discussion we had going (Parts One, Two, and Three.)

I’ve been excited to delve into this topic for a while now.

Last year, I put together an informal talk for all the local homeschool girls that were pre-teen age… dealing with impending puberty.

We met at a park and I talked all about periods… hormones… body changes… and you know what? The girls enjoyed it… but the moms are the ones who loved it most! I got so much feedback from the mothers… some told me they had never ever thought of their period in a positive way and that it was transformative.

I love being a girl, and I love having a daughter!


So… I’m going to take the next few weeks and share some of that presentation with you here.

I figured I’ll break it up into three parts… today, why I think being a woman totally rocks, period and all.

Next Monday, I’ll review some eco-friendly and healthy ways to deal with your period… from tampons to pads to Diva Cups and more.

Lastly, Part 3 will be an exciting post for me… for the first time ever, I’m going to interview my own husband, Dr. Craig Koniver of Organic Medicine Now, for ideas on natural ways to cope with changing hormones… from PMS to Menopause. He knows just about everything there is to know about bio-identical hormones and nutritional supplements that help support our complex hormone system.

So without further ado… Part 1!

The number one reason why I am so very thankful to be a woman is because I can do something no man has ever done… and it’s my favorite thing… EVER.

Have a baby.

Have children! At least the option to have children. The option to create life… to use my body to create the ulitimate expression of creativity… a human being… a soul, incarnate.

That is unbelievably amazing.

I’m willing, no, I’m thankful to do whatever it takes in order to have that capability. As a mother, I know that having my two children was the best thing I have ever done or will ever do. Yet even if I chose not to have children, I would be just as thankful to be the one who has all the options.

The one with the creative power.

The one with the ultimate choice.

So, this is how I introduced the concept of periods to the young girls. I asked them… how does food and nutrition travel around our bodies?

Through our circulatory system… in our blood.

That’s why a period looks like blood… it is food for a baby. A period is a girl’s body’s way of getting ready to one day grow a baby, if she chooses.

Your body begins to practice over several years, like this: nipples grow, breast tissue grows, discharge starts, pubic hair grows, then you get your first period!

I explained that discharge is one way your body practices for your period… and you may begin to experience all the same emotional changes that come with having a period even though your body may not yet be releasing a *real* period. If your body is producing a healthy clear discharge, you can be sure that your body is growing and strengthening and practicing!

So periods look red, similar to blood… it comes out as the extra food you were able to produce, but do not need unless you are pregnant.

And that is such a special thing.

One reason it’s so special is this: (an idea adapted from the book First Moon, by Maureen Theresa Smith) if you think about it, boys and men only see their own blood if they are injured, bruised, or cut.

Girls get to see their blood during their period… and she *knows* that she is healthy, strong, and powerful.

Blood for us is power. Blood for men is injury.

Blood for women is creativity and HEALTH. Blood for men is wound.

Blood for women tells us not only that we strong and healthy enough for our own life, but we are strong and healthy enough… and special and *amazing* enough… to actually grow another human being!!!!

So that’s what I think of whenever my period comes… it is the ultimate confirmation that I am strong, health, and special.

That not only do I feel strong and powerful, but that *God* or *Source Energy* agrees — I am healthy enough to support life and create another human being.

… I love being a Mommy to both my kids. It fulfills my deepest heartsong!


Because periods occur on a natural monthly rhythm, long ago people realized that periods come once a month, just like a full moon.

Some folks still call periods “Moontimes.”

Women are creators of people, full of health and healing, just like a mystical full moon.

The moon governs water, and tides, and the growth of crops, and nature… so it’s no wonder that women are seen as magical healers, full of mystical energy.

If we can allow these rhythms, allow the creativity to flow through us during our different cycles of the moon, we can allow the full expression of our power to expand.

Instead of fighting our different seasons, we can ride them to their fullest extent, showing our many faces of ourselves, just like the many faces of the moon.

When you are feeling tired or needing downtime, or craving certain foods, or full of energy, or irritable, wanting space, wanting connection, empowered… whatever ways your period expresses itself in you… just remember, there are many faces of the moon. The moon never looks exactly the same, night after night after night. It can vary anywhere from being a full on bright light, illuminating the entire sky, radiating so brightly that farmers can actually harvest their crops under the light of the full moon… to being completely absent… dark, inward, remote. And all the phases in-between.

If the moon can change and show many different sides of itself, why can’t we? We can.

We only need to allow it.
Allowing the rhythms, the down times, the creative times… periods can be a time of renewing our strength and releasing.

If you can honor your power… let it rise, swell, release and renew, you honor what it is to be the ultimate creator of life.

I highly recommend celebrating every single period that comes into your life. From the very first period to the very last. And beyond, even when the periods no longer leave your body and you hold your ultimate wisdom inside… just celebrate the many faces of you.

Here are some suggestions to look forward to each month…

bubble baths

meditations

journalling

drawing/painting/sketching

eating your favorite foods with abandon

chocolate

candlelight

cooking your favorite meal

staying up extra late

going to sleep extra early

naps

mirror talk — “I love myself, I am beautiful”

body art — henna, painting fingernails/toenails, temporary tattoos

special jewelery

accupressure or massage

dream journalling

(did I mention chocolate yet?)

and more! What other ways do you have to honor your creative power every month? I’d love to know, please leave a comment below!

And come back here on Wednesday, where I reveal my latest painting… yes, it’s finally done! And, it fits perfectly with this series, as it features a Goddess (aren’t we all? Really? Yes, we are.) in the midst of a ocean of waves. Come check it out! xoxo