How do we honor the womb?

Honoring the womb begins by honoring the period.

Individual and collective cultural teachings about periods form our early perception of menstruation. How our first period or menarche is received informs the value we assign to our monthly bleed. Some cultures celebrate the first period, showering young women with gifts, affirmations, and festivity. Others teach that the first period should never be seen or known by anyone, demanding that women permanently conceal any indication that they are menstruating at all.

To honor the period is to the honor the female body.

The period is connected to the most sacred and intimate parts of the female body. Dishonoring or shaming the period can result in negative associations with the body parts connected to the period such as the vagina, vulva, uterus and ovaries. If the period is a source of difficulty and pain, this may result in further disassociation from the parts of the female body that house our reproductive organs.

To honor the womb, we must first listen to the womb.

When we discard the notion that period pain is normal or that suffering is the female plight, we can allow our symptoms and discomforts to serve as guides and signposts to the self-care our womb is in need of. By noticing the habits that affect our period pain, heavy bleeding, or pelvic discomfort, we can map a path of womb care that helps us experience peaceful periods and happy hormones month after month.