The M word...

It seems that even in the XXI century women are still scared of the word menstruation. What is it with this word that every time we say it our voice goes soft and we end up whispering as if we were talking about something really awful?

This post comes after going to the Mind Body Spirit festival last weekend as Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo where talking about menstruation and spirituality. I went there to support them and to help spread the word, talk about their coming workshops and books.

Hearing Alexandra and Sjanie talk about menstruation to a group of women was a really inspiring experience for me. I just finished my apprenticeship program with Alexandra so I saw this talk in a completely different way. So many ideas started popping up into my head about how can I approach this work in my own practice and the things I could offer to women.

It is amazing how still many women out there have no idea about their cycles and do not understand they could be working with them rather than against them. The sad thing about all of this is that the most common reaction when we hear the word menstruation is the idea that a women is in bed suffering with pain but we never think about menstruation in a positive way and we certainly don’t attribute spiritual connotations to it.  

The Mind Body Spirit festival is supposed to offer spiritual work but it doesn’t really offer deep radical work. Most things offered can be found in your main high street, book store, crystal shop, etc. but nothing as radical as menstrual work or cycle awareness. So it is amazing how the word menstruation on a well know event like the Mind Body Spirit where supposedly people are more open to this kind of things are still shocked when they hear menstruation and spirituality in the same sentence.

But I have hope just as much as Alexandra and Sjanie and many other women who are doing wonderful work on the lines of menstruation and women’s spirituality. I believe the more women start reconnecting with themselves and finding out the true meaning of their womanhood this work will start popping up in every high street. So let’s keep holding this vision together, let’s keep spreading the word.

And let’s say it one more time for those of you who are still a bit shy….

MENSTRUATION!!!