Women have the ability to create and foster life. When you stop and actually think about that, it is absolutely miraculous. Too often are women compared to, and try to compete with men. We are not men, and for good reason. We go through hormonal changes on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis that makes us who we are. Recognizing and appreciating these changes for what they are can allow us to live our true feminine nature.

When you think of your menstrual cycle, what comes to mind? Perhaps blood, cramping, moodiness. These common “symptoms” that may occur every month is our body’s way of telling us something is off and needs to be addressed. Though I am not here to “treat” you or the symptoms you are experience, I would like to simply bring attention to it. Are you living in accordance with your cycle and it’s changes? Are you honoring your body as it goes through these shifts? When something is off, do you address it? There are simple things we can do to start looking inwards which can allow us to express our full vitality outwards.

First, let’s just become aware of what is happening with our bodies on a daily basis. Are you experiencing any symptoms? Are you feeling frisky and outgoing, or retreated and introverted? Do you have a lot of energy, or do you feel the need to rest? Keep a journal and write it down. All these things can give us clues as to where we are in our cycle, and what our bodies need from us to perform it’s best. There will be times we are not feeling “up to it” and that is OK. Allow yourself the time it needs in order to repair, build, and nourish our bodies.

This goes along with keeping a journal; tracking your cycle. By keeping a calendar, journal, or chart of what is happening on a daily basis, you will begin to learn what your natural cycle looks like. Mark when you get your period (this is day 1) and how many days it lasts. Write down when you feel yourself ovulating; when you feel the cervical mucous and notice your sexual desire increase. Take your temperature daily, once it jumps, you know you have just ovulated. Knowing these things will help you to tell when you are fertile, when to expect your period, and how to plan your days accordingly. For example, you wouldn’t want to plan a huge party on the day(s) you have your period. Instead plan big outings for when you are ovulating, which is when you are most outgoing.

Honor your period, your blood, your flow. We often cower at the sign of our own blood. Ladies, it is our body, why are we afraid of it? Our bodies have just gone through a major hormonal shift over the last month. There is nothing to fear once we release that which does not serve us. Perhaps try a menstrual cup instead of your usual tampons. This will allow us to become much more intimate with our bodies and the amount of blood we release on a monthly basis. By physically seeing and handling the blood can create a huge shift in our perception of what our bodies are doing. It is humbling and educating to say the least.

Respect your emotions. As our hormones fluctuate, so do our moods. We want to feel good, happy, and outgoing all of the time, because we feel our life demands that, but our bodies have a different plan. It needs to retreat once in a while. It needs to rest and be alone; to have us looking inward and respecting the quite time. We need to put our selves first because that is the most important. Once we can learn to ride this wave of changes, our body can find it’s balance and natural flow. And once we can learn to love and honor these changes, all will fall into place.

Nourish the body, nurture the soul. A well functioning body happens when we find balance in the foods we eat and the nutrients we are getting. This is different for everyone so see what works for you. Overall, be sure to get a well rounded diet full of real, whole foods. This includes plenty of vegetables and fruit, lots of fresh water, and less of the things we know do not benefit us like sugar and processed foods. Feed yourself well so your body has the ability to function as best as it possibly can.

Let go of the competition. Women are really good at comparing and contrasting one another on this ultimate fight of competition for who is best, prettiest, skinniest, smartest, etc. Enough is enough. It is time to come together. Let us honor our own uniqueness, and quit comparing ourselves to others. Each and every one of us is a beautiful feminine creature and together we are a strong force of nature; let’s respect that and celebrate the union of womanhood.

Be kind to yourself. We all make mistakes; let’s try not to get too caught up in them. Life is constantly fluctuating and so are you. Allow yourself room for error, and get back up and try again.

All in all, the more we know, the more we can appreciate. By becoming enlightened about our cycles and bodies, our feminine power is unleashed. Support one another. Lift each other up. Bring back the love our ancestors knew so well, for yourself and those around you. We have a goddess within us all, let’s honor and support her and teach others to do the same; for our children, for humanity, and for all future generations to come.