9 ways to experience the bliss of menstruation

Over the past few years, menstruation has become one of my favorite phases of the cycle. 

Each month, I am dropped into a blissful state where I give myself full permission to release commitments and just be with myself. 

At the end of my bleed, I am left feeling rejuvenated, cleansed, and with a sense of optimism that feels much like entering spring after a long winter.

But it wasn’t always like this for me. 

For many women, the most challenging symptoms of their cycle occur during menstruation. 

These symptoms can be physical, emotional, mental, and even spiritual in nature. For years, I experienced painful and emotionally debilitating bleeds that made me feel like my body hated me or it was a burden to live in a woman’s body. 

With intention and practice, I know the gifts that menstruation can provide to a woman’s psyche are available to all of us. 

If you are feeling called to coming into a more loving and authentic relationship with your cycle, keep reading. 

If you’re enjoying this content, you can gain access to my free yoni mapping course here. It’s 100% free and will all be delivered via email over 10 days. Each day you’ll receive a new insight and practice you can implement immediately.

The purpose of menstruation

If you experience a lot of symptoms during menstruation, know that although this is common, it is not necessarily normal. 

Menstrual pain and other symptoms are messages from the body that are asking to be heard.

The body is designed to release waste on a regular basis. The most common and known example of this is through our bowel movements. 

Menstruation is the female body’s way of releasing waste of the reproductive and emotional systems. The uterus is a really incredible organ that is designed to grow and shed its internal lining on a consistent monthly basis— much like how we shed our skin to keep it smooth and healthy. 

A healthy uterine lining is what allows an egg to implant on its walls and reach full, healthy development. This is why a practice like yoni steaming— where the uterine lining is supported in releasing through warm, moist, herbal-infused air— can be beneficial for someone experiencing difficulty conceiving. 

Emotions of the body are often stored in a woman’s womb, or uterus. Menstruation facilitates the release of both the emotional and stress stores from the previous month’s cycle. 

If you’ve had a particularly stressful month, or experienced a highly emotional event, you may notice that the bleed that follows is “louder” or expressing more symptoms than usual. 

When menstruation’s release process is delayed by things like hormonal birth control, amenorrhea, and other conditions, the system becomes overwhelmed and congested. 

It’s not uncommon for the first bleed following many or even a few missed cycles, to feel heavier and highly symptomatic. 

The purpose of menstruation is to cleanse your physical, emotional, and energetic body in preparation for the next cycle. 

Every 28 days (or whatever your cycle length is!) the body prepares you for a fresh start. 

The more we can support our bodies in this sacred release process, the more we will experience the bliss and efficiency of our natural systems. 

Root causes of menstruation symptoms

Take a moment to reflect on your last bleed. 

Can you remember some of the symptoms you experienced? Were they mostly physical or more emotional? 

Menstruation is the most spiritual phase of the cycle where the veil between our physical and spiritual worlds gets blown open. 

This is why emotions are heightened, heavy revelations occur, and we can often feel like we’re “losing it”. 

The type of symptoms you experience can provide you with deep insights and revelations on what you are being called to act on in your next cycle. 

Often physical symptoms are a message to slow down, tune inwards, and care for your body. 

Emotional symptoms are often deeper messages to reflect on, spend time alone, and care for your heart and mind. 

Whatever your symptoms are, your experience of the menstrual cycle is truly your own. The one person who knows best what the messages behind your symptoms are is you. 

Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed by symptoms during my bleed, I find a quiet moment to place my hands on my lower belly and turn inwards. Slowing down and turning in usually opens space to allow the needed messages to flow through. 

9 ways to experience a blissful bleed

Let me preface this by saying you don’t have to do all of these practices to experience the benefits of menstruation! 

My approach to the cycle is one of intention, ritual, and sacredness. But I am not overly rigid with myself to do all the things for every single cycle. 

I recommend picking a handful of these practices that resonate with you and then reflecting on how they feel for you during your next bleed. Each cycle you can adjust to the set of practices that feel best for you. 

Before your bleed

Reflect on the past cycle

In the week leading up to menstruation, take some time to reflect on all that your body has moved through this cycle. 

This is a powerful moment to celebrate yourself and an effective way to soften the effects of PMS. Our premenstrual time is often filled with a lot of criticism and overthinking from our inner voice. 

One of my favorite ways to do this is with a journaling session that highlights all the items I’m proud of from the past few weeks as well as some of my favorite moments that occurred. 

Referring back to this journal page in moments of self-doubt is always a powerful way for me to zoom out when my internal world feels overwhelming.

Drop your calendar

Out of all the items on this list, this is probably the most effective way to allow bliss to come through during menstruation. 

The biggest thing menstruation needs is space. Space to occur without stress, overexertion, or distraction. 

When I load up my calendar with events and tasks during menstruation, I end up fighting my body’s natural call for rest and slowness. 

For me, this usually leads to stronger cramps and feeling more irritated— messages from my body to slow down and turn inward. 

As my premenstrual symptoms start kicking in, I take it as a call to clear my calendar as much as possible for the coming days. I see this is a way of sending love to my future bleeding self. 

I’m always very grateful to my premenstrual-self  for setting boundaries and taking the initiative to clear the space for me to bleed. 

Prep your space and nourishment

To take the premenstrual preparations a step further, set up your physical space and meal prep as a way to send love to your bleeding woman. 

I like to use my premenstrual energy to clear my home, especially my bedroom, so I can bleed in a clean and calming environment. Messes happen and are welcome, but there is nothing better than bleeding in what feels like a serene, spa-like environment. 

Nourishment is especially important during this phase of the cycle as well. I’ll usually cook bigger batches of soups and stews in the week leading up to my period so I have easy meals to heat up while I’m bleeding. 

If you have a partner, this is a really special task you can ask of them as a way to support you during your bleed.

During your bleed

Take time to be alone

This tip is especially useful if you find yourself often irritated or lashing out on those around you during menstruation. 

When your thoughts are spiraling, you’re feeling tired, uncared for, and all the other things. . . take some time to just be with yourself. 

This is the space where your cycle can speak to you. But the task is that you do nothing and are alone for a piece of time. 

If you can do this for yourself, you are giving yourself one profound healing moment that will last you the rest of your cycle. I’ve had experiences where I was only able to take time alone for just an hour during my entire bleed. In that hour, I had beautiful revelations that calmed me, empowered me, and gave me the medicine I needed to finish my bleed in peace and confidence. 

It’s as simple as a walk in nature or resting in bed with the door closed. These moments alone are pure medicine for your cyclical experience.

Prioritize your body (heat, nourishment, rest)

How we treat ourselves while we’re bleeding reveals so much. Are you patient with yourself?

Are you able to sit with the discomfort? Can you answer the call to slow down and prioritize yourself?

To take care of your body during menstruation is to send love to yourself. 

There are three simple pillars for care while bleeding; heat, nourishment, and rest. 

Keep the body (and especially the uterus) warm with a hot water bottle and socks on your feet. This will help support a healthy blood flow and prevent stagnation which can lead to cramps in the pelvic organs. 

Your body needs extra calories while bleeding and particularly warm foods. Soups and stews warm the body, deliver a nutrient-dense meal, and are easy to meal prep. 

And finally, make sure you are resting. Keep your days as simple as possible with lying in bed, taking walks outside, gentle stretching and movement. Menstruation is not the time to overexert or push the body. Think of it as a gentle time to support the body while it performs a very important task. 

Make space to vision

Many women report the experience of receiving “visions” or psychic messages while menstruating. I can personally attest to this experience. 

The energetic body opens during menstruation to allow for emotions and energy to release as well as for important messages to come through. 

I keep my journal or the notes app on my phone handy for recording all the messages I receive while bleeding. 

Sometimes it’s very subtle, like a clear answer to a question I’ve been mulling over for several cycles. Other times it’s more grand, like a big visual that appears in my mind’s eye. 

I always record these messages and visions because I know my menstrual brain is very forgetful! Bleeding can feel like being in another dimension and as soon as menstruation ends, I feel I am back in the real world with those dreamy experiences far behind me. 

If you have a question you’ve been sitting on, no matter how small or big, tell yourself you’ll “bleed on it”. 

Make the space to turn inwards and see if your menstrual wisdom comes through. 

After your bleed 

Pace your RE-ENTRANCE

As your blood tapers off and your energy begins to rise, it can feel as though it’s time to rush back into the world— whether by personal preference or obligations. 

Your entry back into the world is the beginning of a new cycle. 

How you care for yourself during this transition can set the tone for the rest of this cycle. 

Rather than trying to jump back into everything from the first day you’re feeling reenergized, try pacing yourself. Add on a little more each day until you’re full back in the swing of things. 

Alternatively, you can try the approach of maintaining a moment of the day for yourself to reflect and go inwards. This can help to keep the slow, reflective energy of menstruation while tending to your calendar and commitments. 

Capture your visions

In the first few days that I “reenter the world” I like to review all the notes and journal entries I made while bleeding. 

This is a way for me to reconnect with the visions that came to me while bleeding and feel into what to take action on for this cycle. 

I especially love this practice as it allows me to plan out what my big tasks and action items will be for this new cycle. 

I know the energy of my ovulatory phase will support me in creating or building whatever I have been called to. So having this direction helps me channel that future energy towards the most aligned tasks. 

Thank yourself and your cycle 

I find that thanking my cycle after each bleeding phase has built a genuine feeling of love and appreciation for my body. 

It’s not about doing it “well” or “poorly”. But about how you responded to all that came up for you. 

Your body just completed an incredible process that has now given you a clean slate of energy, physicality, and emotion to work with. 

And if you really loved certain ways about how you tended to yourself and your body— acknowledge it! 

You and your cycle are working together, not against each other. 

There is so much love there to be felt. 

It’s these simple, but powerful practices that help bring you together.

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