The sun drives our world from the outside in, frequently leaving little room on our hectic schedules and to-do lists for introspection, self-care, and slowing down. Moontimes serve as an external reminder for us to turn within. It does this by reminding us of our connection to the tides of the Earth’s oceans, which are constantly changing, waxing and waning, ebbing and flowing within us.
Many of us experience stress, exhaustion, and irritability for a variety of reasons, but a lack of self-care is a major contributing factor in womanhood. The less attention we give to the innate Wisdom of our body the more we become increasingly unbalanced.
Cyclical beings often overlook the fact that our cycles are a holy, mystical power that exists within us and synchronises us with the ocean tides caused by the moon.
What are the cyclical phases women?
Menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the short luteal phase are the four stages of the menstrual cycle.
When I am in the short luteal phase of my cycle I find myself more prone to burnout. With this knowledge of my cyclical nature, it’s important to offer my body the self care and restoration that it is calling for.
The Short Luteal Phase is the period of our cycle where we usually experience premenstrual tension (pmt).
I am quite literally “handling business” from my bath right now. I write this article after a full week of running my gardening business and going to the gym in the evening. My goal of a more toned body demands that I commit to a gym session every other day.
Gardening is physically taxing and a few days before my moon, I could feel exhaustion creeping in and an unusually loud inner critic begun creating so much inner turmoil. We’re talking about insecurities on steroids here!!!
My innate physiology was calling me to rest as my ordinarily robust disposition, was feeling fragile. I tuned into my need for rest by skipping the scheduled evening ‘sesh’ and got a much needed early night. I woke up feeling well rested and without meaning to, knocked out the article you now read… all from the comfort of a nice hot bath!
How’s that for self care and productivity?
PMT & the Pain Body according To Eckhart Tolle
For many women, the pain body awakens particularly at the time preceding the menstrual flow. If you are able to watch and stay alert and present at that time and watch whatever you feel within, rather than be taken over by it, it affords an opportunity for the most powerful spiritual practice, and a rapid transformation of all past pain becomes possible.
Eckhart Tolle
An other thought-provoking viewpoint on this is Eckhart Tolle’s concept of the pain-body. He explains how your pain-body goes into overdrive right before your period begins.
Eckhart Tolle claims that your pain-body, which is made up of all the energy remnants of your childhood pain, is an energetic body that is almost entirely distinct from you. Either an active or dormant pain-body exists.
It can take control of you when it’s active and feed on pain, which could account for the melancholy you experience right before or during your period. Hormonal changes are another possibility, of course, but you never know; perhaps the pain-body triggers that?
Next, Eckhart Tolle describes how that time might have additional worth. Being cognizant of what is going on allows you to be present to feelings as they arise, which prevents the pain-body from controlling you and from surviving the light of consciousness. In actuality, it’s a chance to put previous experiences behind us. Aren’t we fortunate?
This point of view seems very logical to me. This time of month has significance because of it, and it has made it easier for me to do some shadow work by embracing my feelings in the moment.
What does Moontime mean?
Menstruation is referred to in Ojibwe tradition as “moontime.” Traditionally, ladies use this time to rest and contemplate at home.
Modern woman is not designed to approach life in quite the same ways as modern man and it’s important that we stop putting pressure on ourselves and demand that the world stop treating women as little men.
We are strong, resilient vessels with a cyclical nature that manage this active experience going on inside of us while also juggling the demands of everyday life and our jobs.
When we experience pain, exhaustion, agitation, or other challenging phases of our cycles, these are cues to slow down and reestablish a connection with our bodies. When we harbour unconscious tensions within ourselves, it breeds a feeling of powerlessness.
By tuning into our infradian rhythm, we listen to the prompts to take care of ourselves and find ways to decompress!
Men and women experience distinct cycles that are correlated with the moon and the seasons. However, women in particular experience highly distinct monthly cycles, which are naturally related to our menstrual cycle. Living becomes so much more logical as we become more conscious of all these cycles.
Cyclical living
Women’s cyclical nature follows a beat. However, the manner in which the world adheres to patricahal institutions leads this rhythm to be disrupted and blocked for a great number of women. Our world demands us to behave as linear beings, and we want to achieve specific objectives in it.
But what happens if you have nowhere to go and nobody to be with? What if we now have to “unlearn” in order to reconnect with the innate knowledge of our bodies and selves? And that we already are what we have been searching for?
Our endocrinology is a physical manifestation of the transitory nature of woman. Life becomes effortless and meaningful when we begin to give ourselves up to this feminine flow.
Womanhood, its cycles and the natural tendency for introversion
For instance, there are certain days this month when I’m not feeling very motivated. I just become frustrated and exhausted when I try to write something for work or force myself to produce something during that time.
And the outcome of it will not be particularly appealing. I now understand that it’s simply not the proper moment for me to create when I’m not feeling motivated. I’m probably in the bleeding phase of moontimes already or will be starting my menstrual cycle in a week.
I feel more inwardly focused and would rather be left alone while I am in my lunar period. My body then instinctively demands rest. When I ignore that calling, I get extremely irritable with everyone around me and experience exhaustion, frustration, or sadness.
Moontimes become something incredibly powerful and less weighty when I honour my needs during this cycle and let go of control. Not anything to be disliked. It’s a mystical moment for reflection and relaxation. We ladies are most open and able to go very far within ourselves at this time. We can thereafter put into practice the profound understandings we gain about ourselves, life, and work.
Conversely, when I approach my ovulation, I inherently feel more alive, seductive, and motivated. We are most attractive and fertile at this time. That’s when I think it’s OK to socialise, celebrate, dance, make decisions, and open myself up to the outside world.
What do indigenous people believe about Menstrual Moontimes?
I am aware that the majority of us are unable to take a week off from work during periods of bleeding or other difficult phases of our cycle.
We have moved past the “red tent” era, when a lot of sisterhood was discovered inside the walls of a location meant to be kept apart from society during a “unhygienic” period of bleeding.
Even though this was in many ways an oppression of the pure and natural phenomenon of moontimes, the tent also gave rise to concepts of community, private places for sharing, and peaceful time away from daily life—many of which we are currently trying to restore as we strive to empower ourselves as women in our contemporary society.
So how can we incorporate self-care practices into our daily lives and carve out time for introspection without making it just another stressful chore on our to-do list? We experience emotional, physical, and spiritual comfort when we set aside time for introspection and rest, whether once a day or once a week, and employ tangible reminders to help us stay grounded. Setting aside time to give our own needs first priority requires awareness and intentionality.
It’s critical to understand that we are ever-evolving, changing beings. Don’t focus solely on the good times. Our cycles contain a great deal of wisdom, and when we learn to respect and understand them, our lives naturally flow with the beat of the natural world. You’ll feel happier, calmer, and more in alignment after that.
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