For many women, menstruation is a monthly "curse" and a "trouble" unique to women.It brings pain, inconvenience, strong emotional impulses, and various physical discomforts like diarrhea, backache and breast tenderness.It also requires women to pay special attention to hygiene and cleanliness to avoid leaving traces of menstrual blood on their clothes or causing embarrassment to others due to body odor;
Therefore, many women hate menstruation, hate having to embarrass themselves every month, and hate "being a woman".
But when you understand the meaning of menstruation more deeply, you will find that our negative attitude towards menstruation is actually shaped by culture to some extent. In fact, menstruation is a blessing from God to every woman.
1. Most of the "trouble" of menstruation should not exist.
It is true that menstrual care is troublesome, but if you look closely, you will find that many of these "troublesome" are actually created by the culture of menstruation shame.
For example, when menstruation comes suddenly, you have to cover up when you want to take out sanitary pads;
I finally found the toilet, but found a long queue at the door of the women's toilet;
If you accidentally get blood stains on your pants, you will be laughed at by the boys, and you will be embarrassed to ask for leave during physical education class;
When you go to the store to buy sanitary pads, you have to be careful to avoid being discovered. Some bosses will thoughtfully provide you with a black bag;
Even when discussing menstruation, one can only vaguely use representative words such as "that" and "one's friend"
It is not difficult to find that when we change the shameful attitude towards menstruation, change the number of women's toilets, and change sex education, these "troubles" can actually be eliminated.
From this, I also thought that as a woman, the "trouble" that culture puts on her is far more than the shame of menstruation, but also the trouble of makeup, the trouble of "sexualized" breasts, etc... These troubles are like layers of shackles. Let women be bound by their bodies and lose touch with their true selves.
There is no doubt that these troubles are the product of a "misogynistic" culture. In this environment, the female body is reduced to a tool for pleasing men and is also regarded as a source of sin. She was constantly fed the message that her physical characteristics were troublesome and dirty, and she slowly grew to hate herself.
2. The "trouble" of menstruation itself is actually a gift
At this time, you may say: "Even if the man-made "trouble" is eliminated, we can take out sanitary pads and discuss menstruation openly, but menstruation itself will still make women feel uncomfortable and have difficulty moving."
Indeed.But if you look at it from another perspective, from a deep perspective, these discomforts are not a "curse", but more like a "gift", which is sacred.
1. It represents the contract between women and the moon
Due to the similarity between women's menstrual cycles and the moon's waxing and waning cycles, menstruation was once seen as a beautiful and divine existence before patriarchal society, symbolizing the contract between women and the moon.
The book "Becoming a Complete and Sexy Woman" says that our bodies are 70% water, and the moon affects the tides, so it also affects our bodies. In addition, a woman's body has more water than a man's, so her body is even more affected by the moon - if her body is balanced and connected to nature, menstruation will even synchronize with the moon cycle:
During the full moon, she will ovulate, her energy will be strong, and she will become active with the moon;During the New Moon, she bleeds, becomes less energetic, and follows the moon into darkness.
When she bleeds, nature gives her an opportunity to let go of the outside world and get along with herself. During this period, women in ancient times would put aside their daily chores and enter the Moon House to communicate, meditate, and pray with other women, connect with the sacred feminine energy in their bodies, and glorify their female bodies.
In addition, because menstruation will stimulate the secretion of the pineal gland to reach its strongest stage, a woman at this time will have strong intuition. She may say some irrational words and perceive some things that are invisible and do not understand. People would think she was mentally ill. But in fact, these are some messages that allow women to return to a state of physical and mental balance.
2. It represents the blood of creation
Menstruation symbolizes the mysterious fertility and creativity of women. It is the blood of life.
"Hills of Paradise" says that an Indian woman in a certain place had such a declaration
This is the time when we are powerful and frightening to men... The menstruating woman is the vehicle of a supernatural power that enables her to create life.
Vaginal bleeding every month is a reminder of this incomprehensible power within the female body.
And it is this mysterious power that makes men feel afraid, so in the patriarchal society, various stigmas and taboos about menstruation have arisen.
3. It helps regulate the mind and body
When we menstruate, suppressed emotions in our subconscious will come to the surface of consciousness, so we will feel physical discomfort and emotional impulses. These are actually messages from the body, reminding us that there are some energy blockages.
At this time, if we can avoid falling into these negative energies, consciously detect and release them, and restore balance to the body and mind, then menstruation can actually become an opportunity for women to be reborn.
But unfortunately, in today's society that excessively pursues positivity and development, the weakness and fatigue caused by menstruation are considered bad. Therefore, many women would rather swallow painkillers to numb their bodies and allow themselves to continue working, rather than stop and listen to their bodies. This makes us increasingly disconnected from our bodies.
In addition, based on this statement, I also thought that the reason why many women now have strong menstrual cramps may be because under the patriarchal "misogynistic" culture, their true selves cannot be released, and too much is suppressed in their bodies. Emotions and negative energy.
On the contrary, when the environment becomes enlightened and equal, when our attitude towards menstruation is no longer shameful, a woman's body and mind will return to a state of balance, and her menstrual period will not be so painful.
For example, anthropologist Mead's research on the Samoans found that women there rarely experience menstrual discomfort, and severe menstrual cramps are even rarer. This may be because they are not ashamed of their puberty development and are not concerned about their own puberty. Feminine characteristics are hidden, and menstruation is not paid much special attention, and it is just treated with a normal heart.
In short, no matter whether menstruation brings discomfort or not, we can all be grateful to menstruation. It gives us the opportunity to regain physical and mental balance, and also allows us to understand that only by embracing our negative energy, learning to be quiet, rest, let go, care, and connect with the inner, Only then can we become a complete person.
4. It reminds us that life goes through cycles
Yogi Sadhguru said that if you look closely, you will find that our physical, mental, emotional states, and even circumstances are actually going through cycles, just like the rotation of the planet. The same thing happened at school last time and may happen at work next time; some cycles may occur once every three months, and some may occur once every three years.
Menstruation is an obvious cycle. This physiological characteristic allows women to experience repeated physiological and emotional states every month. This is not a curse, but a powerful reminder that life is a cycle. If we can be aware of it and use it, it can be a great opportunity to change and become more aware.
But for men, due to the lack of physiological reminders, they may need to do more work to realize the cycle of life, otherwise they will just stand still.
3. Gratitude for menstruation
From a different perspective, we can see menstruation as a blessing. It transforms from a source of shame or a mere physiological aspect into something sacred and beautiful. Menstruation contains a tenacious vitality which It is the unique gift given to women by nature.Menstruation serves as a constant reminder of the significance of rest and release.
Therefore, consider expressing gratitude for menstruation. By accepting and embracing it, we gradually establish a connection with the profound wisdom and energy inherent within us. Through menstruation, our menstrual cycle evolves into an embodiment of our joy and fulfillment.