Our Cyclical Nature
Issue No. 5: Stressed Out!
Words - Rachel Amber
Our world is externally driven by the sun, often with a lack of space in our busy schedules and to-do lists designated to turn inwards, focus on self-care, and slow down. The moon is our external reminder to focus inwards—it reminds us of our connection to the tides of Earth’s oceans; waxing and waning, ebbing and flowing, our internal tides are always shifting.
Feeling stressed, exhausted, and irritable can be caused by a mixture of things, but for many of us it is at least partially a product of a lack of self-care in our lives. The less we pay attention to our bodies, the more out of balance we become.
Whether we are bleeding or not, we are constantly experiencing the hormonal fluxes and other elements of our cycles. We are always in this flow, yet we tend to brush it aside and keep moving full speed ahead.
We tend to forget that our cycles are a sacred, magical force within us that sync us to the tides of the ocean pulled by the moon. We are powerful, resilient vessels who balance work and the stress from everyday life on top of this active experience occurring within us. The discomfort, fatigue, irritability, or other difficult parts of our cycles are signals to slow down and reconnect with our bodies. We cannot heal as easily when we hold unconscious tensions within ourselves. Menstruation is a reminder for self-care and stress relief, pronto!
I know that it isn’t doable for most of us to take a week off from work while we bleed or experience the difficult parts of our cycles. We are past the days of the ‘red tent’, where long ago much sisterhood was found within the confines of a place intended for isolation from society during an “unhygienic” time of bleeding. While this was in many ways oppressive of the natural and clean phenomena of menstruation, the concept of community, safe spaces to share within, and quiet time away from everyday life was also bred from the tent, and is much of what we are now working to bring back as we work towards empowering ourselves and others in our modern world.
So how do we integrate methods of self-care into our lives and find time to turn inwards, without it becoming another task on our list that causes stress? When we make time for rest and reflection and use physical reminders to keep us grounded, whether once a day or once a week, we begin to notice emotional, physical, and spiritual relief. It takes awareness and intent to organize our time to prioritize our self-care.
Self-care does not have to look any certain way;, it’s more about doing what helps you feel happy and relaxed while positively impacting your life. It can be something as simple as taking a bath or spending some extra time grooming during stressful times or peak parts of our cycles, or it could be buying yourself flowers. However, self-care does not have to come with a price tag or take up a set amount of time—it can fit within the context of your life and what you are comfortable with!
One method to organize our flow is to keep a journal that is designated specifically to the menstrual cycle and all that influences it. Let this become a ritual - a physical space to pause, reflect, and record symptoms. Let this be a place for release, and also a place for discovery to better understand and prepare for the difficult parts of the cycle.
Use these landmarks to pinpoint and navigate life more smoothly, to integrate coping mechanisms and prepare ahead. Through this ritual, we leave less room for added stress, detours from self-care, and fewer reasons to dislike ourselves and our cycles.
I created a journal to track my cycle out of my desire to find solace in all my wild fluxes and flows and what influences them. I now offer this journal as an option for anyone who has a uterus and is looking for a place to ground themselves and create a record about their own body’s habits. There are patterns within nature, and we are a part of it. If we seek to understand our own patterns, the intention will lead us to more peace, and less stress.
