PMS is the unspoken burden that affects nearly 85 percent of women.
A few days of the month half of the population will suffer from cramps, indigestion, headaches, and moodiness. Women will warn their families, coworkers, and friends that they may be overly sensitive or not seem like themselves, and painfully endure the process. Yet often when a woman asks their doctor, they are told its “just PMS” as if a women’s menstrual imbalance is just a normal part of life.
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What if you could find not only a cure from the symptoms of PMS, but learn to honor its power with a lifestyle that listens to your body’s messages? What if menstruation or “Moon Cycle” was an opportunity to tap into the most sacred part of yourself to reveal what your spirit most needed?
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A woman’s cycle is a powerful and sacred time when women are highly attuned to the subtleties that they might not always be aware of, both through the senses as well as through intuition. Ancient cultures revered the actual “period” of release as a detoxification and rejuvenation, a time to purify the blood, our core essence. In many cultures it has been considered a time of rest when women looked within, slowed down, and nurtured their creative energy. Ayurveda and yoga offer amazing ways to rejuvenate your creative, reproductive essence so that energy may flow smoothly through the hormonal shifts with grace and wisdom. Though we often get cravings for foods during this time, ask yourself what it is about a particular food that you crave and look deeper at what the desire truly is. If you feel you are craving chocolate, are you really needing sweetness, romance, and energy? Each flavor balances a dosha in Ayurveda, and the sweet taste has a grounding or calming effect on both Vata and Pitta. PMS is a time of both high Vata and high Pitta, as the body is preparing to move blood with Apana Vayu, the downward moving force that governs menstruation as well as elimination. This can magnify our tendency toward digestive imbalances, allowing us to take a look at how we have treated our body temple the last month with our nourishment. The same grounding energy, the downward moving flow, is what causes cramping. When the energy isn’t flowing smoothly, there is constriction, and obstruction. We feel the painful awareness that we are not “in the flow,” and may need to redirect our mental and spiritual energy, and surrender to experiencing this energy moving through our body, rather than hiding it, fearing it, or resenting it. For the 15 percent of us who have had the experience of a smooth happy period, we know who gentle, sweet and peaceful it can be. The womb holds a sacred wisdom that will get our attention physically if we refuse to listen intuitively. Interestingly, this same downward moving energy is what takes over during childbirth, allowing each month to be a lesson of the creative power which exists inside.
So why do the emotions get turbulent?
Imagine the energy of the body as a wave in the ocean- as the Apana moves down, it pulls at the Prana Vayu the energy of the mind. And as we cleanse the liver, the seat of Pitta, by moving blood, old emotions come to the surface as well. Tension headaches and migraines can result if we don’t allow our mind and body to drop into honoring the experience rather than repressing it.
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1. Love your liver.
Eat plenty of rich leafy greens to cool Pitta and get a good dose of Iron and calcium. Notice your emotions and allow yourself time to chill out, relax and flow.
2. Be Gentle.
Practice deep gentle yoga asanas to open the pelvis and aid in detoxing, like seated twists and Pigeon Pose.
3. Consume Shatavari and Ashwagandha.
These are two amazing herbs for women, balancing apana and shukra, the downward moving and reproductive essence.
Remember to take time and look at what the core desire your body is speaking to you. Listening to the wisdom of your womb is like a magnifying lens on our health, showing us where we need to be aware. Allow yourself the space to slow down, look deep and nurture yourself.
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