Holiday Practice – Menstruation

As women, the menstrual cycle provides a pretty reliable reading of the body and mind. To some degree, there is an internal sense of where one is on the cycle simply by virtue of how the body feels. And if one is a practitioner, asanas speak it loudly. Post Covid or mid 40s, I can’t be sure which one or if it is both, my cycles have been mildly irregular and there have been changes. It is a little disconcerting for someone who has been regular as clockwork. Long story short, Day 1 of cycle and it was early but that explained the practice experience yesterday and the day before.

Supine poses, supported forward bends and supported Setuband Sarvangasana was on the menu this evening. Morning saw some supine asanas to relieve discomfort. It also felt appropriate to read through a much-thumbed copy of an essay by Geetaji on the practice of women.

During practice, I also listened to a talk about props by Abhijata from Yoganusasanam 2015. Earlier, I would feel a bit of a missing out when I was menstruating but now it is a welcome relief to stay in supported asanas. I also notice a recalibration of my cycles to the lunar phases every 6 months. I don’t know if there is anything significant about this change but there is a change in creative output every time it is synced to the full moon.

About 7-8 years ago, I got introduced to the idea of practising/ training as per one’s cycle by my then yoga teacher. I used the concept while training for my first half marathon and it became a sort of personal blueprint. I mapped it for a couple of years alongside food intake, sleep and also dominant thought patterns. It was useful to get acquainted with my own being in a methodical way. I no longer maintain the log but the lessons from that endeavour has allowed me to take care of myself as I needed through these years.

I also worked in the space of sustainable menstruation for a few years which opened up a whole universe of challenges. On one hand there was a section of the population that struggled with basic needs of hygiene and sanitation while another grappled with deep rooted gender related anxieties. Across both groups, there were menstrual imbalances. A significant chunk of it could possibly be rectified by simple changes to food and exercise but there was reluctance to change lifestyle habits. While there is a great deal of awareness about the physiological process and the science behind it, we have lost much of traditional sensibility in dealing with a natural phenomenon. There are a few people who ride against the tide but polarization in a digital world is so strong that it is an uphill task to have a reasonable discussion without one side tearing the other down. Like Abhi says, we need to first learn to connect then to communicate, only then can we integrate and there can be union.

Shiva Shakti

The first time I heard about working with my periods was when my earlier yoga teacher told us how to be mindful of the various phases of the cycle. While fairly regular and consistent with my cycles, I’ve experienced the ebb and flow of energy through the month. The physical discomforts of PMS are kept in check with a regular inversion practice and I find lightness with twists. The supine asanas calm me during my days and while I don’t find an expansive breath, it is a time when I am instinctively intuitive. Sometimes there is a sense of lightness at others a heaviness during those days and I see it as a play of the gunas, constantly changing.
I did not visit the temple last night for Maha Shivratri celebrations and did not use my japa mala. I was told that the rudraksha should not be worn or used during menstruation. As a product of ‘modern times’, I used to dismiss rituals and traditions saying that they had no place in today’s world. But as I grow older and search inside, I have had to change my ways in the face of my own experiences. There is so much out there that I do not know. Perhaps this ignorance is necessary to live without being overwhelmed. As and when the heart and mind are open and conditioned to receive new knowledge, there is a trickle of new information to process and make my own.
There is a lot I could talk about the physical aspects of menstruation. The greater draw however has been the variability of emotions and thoughts through the entire cycle. There was a brief period where I logged my miles, food and repetitive thoughts. At the end of a few months I could almost predict how each day of my cycle would make me feel physically and mentally. After reading a few of the posts from a couple of bloggers (links below), I plan to keep a note for a while with the cycles of the Moon and see what that throws up.
So far the only bit of literature I had access to was a lecture by Geetaji on how to practise through the month. I had not come across anything on the wider cultural and religious context of everything related to this uniquely feminine aspect of my existence. It fascinates me and I feel there is a powerful energy that is untapped and accessible only if I can live in sync. In all my frantic Google searching, I never came across anything that I considered relevant until now. And in the last 24 hours, I found enough to chew over for a while. While asanas were my introduction to Yog philosophy, the background was perhaps being created in all the years that passed by before the spark found me. This time around the entry into the texts of Yoga and Indian philosophy was easier and somehow more intimate. I don’t claim any deep scholarly understanding just an intuitive one, mostly that which I cannot really explain although I feel it at times as a physical sensation.

Three Days of Impurity: Menstruation and (In)Auspiciousness –

The Sabarimala Story: Can visiting temples affect menstruating women? –

Image: page from Siva by Ramesh Menon