lessening your period pain naturally

I still get period pain – some months it’s awful, some months not so. It might sound strange but I don’t dislike cramps any more – I’ve learned how to ride them. Whatever pain comes I try to sit with it and observe my relationship to it, see what it brings out in me.

But what if I’m floored by the pain? Those times where lying down in a crumpled heap is the only option, wherever that may be… those horrific feint nausea months. Naturally I‘m always on the look out for things that might help me lessen that kind of pain. Things like baths, homoeopathic remedies, hot water bottles etc have become my self-care staples. Or things like doing less, moving slower (if my day allows) and resting… Those things all feel good and give me a lovely monthly ‘event’ to look forward, a series of treats, a psychological ‘lift’ when my moon-time comes. There is something I have been experimenting with that I would like to share with you.

Take this month’s Day 1, and the pain woke me up at 6am. I knew it was going to be ‘one of those’ months. But I did something different when I finally got out of bed – I listened to my body. I ate no breakfast, lunch or dinner, just freshly squeezed juices instead, cuddled up with a hot water bottle… and my pain has lessened significantly!!

Think back. Have you ever noticed a natural tendency of wanting to eat a lot less around the first day of menstruation, or the night before? Have you also noticed that the hours after a meal on Day 1 can bring on the worst menstrual pain? I have experienced this often in my life. I’m no doctor or health practitioner, but I’m guessing that solid food adds extra pressure on the womb because the entire digestive system is busy contracting grooving and moving, trying to digest the food that’s just been eaten. And pressure and movement equals pain.

I am a firm believer in listening to my body and going with what it needs (within reason – it asks for chocolate cake most days….hah!). Some months my appetite completely disappears, and some months I can’t stop eating around menstruation.

But sometimes even if I have lost my appetite on Day 1, I might go against my intuition and eat anyway. Words of conditioning echo round my mind like ‘eat to keep your strength up’ and ‘have a good healthy appetite’, encourage me to eat even if I don’t feel like it. Often it’s the irresistible food smell from when my partner cooks that makes me hungry too…heavenly kitchen delights and snacks lying around make it so difficult when considering missing a meal! Psychologically, the idea of missing the whole ceremonial/social aspect of sharing a meal together can make it very difficult to fast at home. Anyway the times when I eat against my intuition always bring me the most menstrual pain, and time and time again when I follow it (like this month) I survive relatively unscathed!

It’s amazing how fasting keeps popping up in my life at the moment – conversations with women who have suggested it as a weekly health tonic, opening a yoga book right on the fasting page, and most recently a book borrowed from a dear friend about women’s health – with a very inspiring section about fasting. I’m a firm believer in synchronicities and this feels like an unexplored challenge for me, a chance to explore my emotional attachment to food and an opportunity to feel lighter healthier and more vital!

Now, there are gentle fasts and there are serious fasts. Hard-core fasts recommend organic juices and herbal teas only (freshly made in a juicer) and suggest drinking at least 4.5 litres of fruit juice a day, and nothing else for three days (now that’s a lot of veggies!), but that’s not the one for me right now.

This time I decided to opt not for a full system cleanse, but for a way to keep the volume down in my digestive system and cut my period pain. To do this I decided on a mixture of juices herbal teas, thin vegetable soups, the very odd piece of fruit and handful of nuts only. No bread, rice pasta potatoes and nothing bulky. I started the whole thing very naturally and organically with no particular planning when I was feeling at my most bloated and uncomfortable (the late pre-menstruum) and now it is my day 3 and I feel amazing.

So the juices I have tried are:

Apple carrot beetroot ginger lemon
Apple carrot cucumber ginger lemon
Apple carrot celery ginger lemon

And the soups, both of which are in season at the moment and are utterly delicious:

Kale and herb
Fresh tomato

The amazing thing is that I am completely on a roll now; and feel really good about carrying on as long as my body wants to. I feel lighter and brighter and have kicked the cold that was lingering around. And I am on ‘day 3’ of my period!

If this has worked for you in the past too, I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments section below. Happy juicing, and remember to listen to your body and what it tells you it’s needs are. If you don’t feel good with juices and soups, then just stop straight away and eat things that do feel good for your body instead! xx

hormonal birth control – is it good for you?

“The Pill is taken by healthy women whose only problem is their fertility” Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope

The Pill is an icon. Proclaimed as one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century, enabling women’s liberation, the catalyst of the sexual revolution, the Pill gave women independence and ‘empowerment’…

…But this was 55 years ago!

A LOT has changed since then. The definition of empowerment has changed and so has the appeal of synthetic hormones in this ‘one size fits all’ approach. Empowerment today means EDUCATION and CHOICE!

“The pill is an unique drug in that it is designed to interfere in one of your normal bodily functions – with fertility itself – and is the only prescription drug used long term that does so.” Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope

Hormonal birth control is usually the first (and most socially accepted) option women turn to when avoiding getting pregnant, and during these years many of us seem to find ourselves hopping from one type to another; never entirely happy with our ‘choices.’

“When the Pill is suppressing the hormone that is inducing ovulation it is also suppressing the person emotionally” Keith Bell, Holistic fertility Specialist.

10 Pill Facts

• 80% of women have taken or will take hormonal contraception at some point.
• Currently some 100 million women take the Pill.
• It’s the worlds most widely used drug and treats people who aren’t ill.
• The Pill is given freely on a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
• The dangerous side effects are not well-known (63.7% of women stop taking the birth control pill because of unwanted side effects).
• Synthetic hormones are easily prescribed for hormonal complaints, skin problems, irregular cycles, period pains, period-free exams, honeymoons.
• Taking the Pill doubles your chances of depression.
• The Pill can mask menstrual reproductive and fertility problems.
• The Pill stops the body being able to process some nutrients, leading to deficiencies and illness.
• The Pill can cause depression and anxiety which in turn affect libido.”Perhaps the most definitive research about the effects of the Pill on libido was carried out by Dr Irwin Goldstein and Dr Claudia Panzer. They found that for taking the Pill for as little as six months could potentially destroy a woman’s sex drive forever.” Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope.

“The use of the pill must be regarded as one of the most serious and influential causes of iatrogenic diseases. (Disease caused by a doctor).” Dr David Lilley, Medical practitioner and Homoeopath.

From a teenager’s perspective…
“Often we end up on the pill because it seems the most obvious thing to do as a teenager” It feels like a responsible way to deal with contraception. 10 minutes speaking to a doctor, a couple of questions like “Do you smoke?” and a little chat about what to do if you forget to take it…. and PRESTO you walk out of the surgery with 3 months of Pills in your bag! All you have to do is go back for a blood pressure test every few months and you get prescribed more! Your cycles are regular as clockwork, you get to feel ‘like more of an adult’, and then there’s the stress free contraception too. No one ever tells you about the chemical-free alternatives.

The good news…
“1 in 5 of women are interested in learning more about fertility awareness-based methods.” From ‘Sweetening the Pill’ kickstarter video

Body-literacy is empowerment
Many women are choosing to gain ‘body-literacy (learning to read and understand their bodily changes over the course of the menstrual cycle) and learn about ‘fertility awareness’ (specific practices such as charting basal body temperature and cervical mucus qualities) and use this knowledge to opt for non-hormonal options for contraception. Let’s stop supporting these big pharmaceutical companies and instead become EMPOWERED!

“A new generation of young women find liberation in not using the Pill.”

Click here to support Sweetening the Pill – a documentary made by Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake! Their video inspired this article.

Click here to buy ‘The Pill – are you sure it’s for you? Written by Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope. This incredible book opened my eyes to the truth of the Pill and motivated me to write this.

Click here for the Natural fertility management website; one of the many natural fertility kits out there.

Share this on Facebook Twitter or Google+ by clicking on ‘Leave a Comment’ below!

menstrual hygiene day ~ 10 reasons I feel grateful

Today, 28th May, is the big day! As I read the many positive tweets from all around the world #MenstruationMatters #MenstrualHygiene I feel a great deal of hope that attitudes towards menstruation are changing. Thank you WASH for all you are doing!

Reading deeper into the Menstrual Hygiene Day website, I learned about how women all over the world are still suffering. It reminded me what I have, and often take for granted, but am so so grateful for. It fired me up to spread awareness of the circumstances in which so many women and girls are living, all over the world. Please share.

Here are 10 reasons I feel grateful today:

1. I have access to safe clean water and I am healthy (In one study by HERProject, 73% of the Bangladeshi garment workers they interviewed miss work for an average of 6 days per month (resulting in unpaid work days) due to vaginal infections caused by unsanitary menstrual materials).

2. I can choose which type of sanitary protection I want to use. I chose pretty re-usable cloth pads that I can wash dry and care for easily. (In urban India, 43%-88% of girls use reusable cloth, yet they are often washed without soap or clean water).

3. My cloth pads are beautifully designed, comfortable and soft. (In rural India, many women and girls use unsanitary materials such as old rags, husks, dried leaves, grass, ash, sand or newspapers because they do not have access to affordable, hygienic and safe products and facilities).

4. I never have to stay at home because I don’t have sanitary protection. (A study at a school in Uganda found that half of the girl pupils missed 1-3 school days a month, or 8-24 school days a year. UNESCO estimates that 1 in 10 African girls miss school during menses, eventually leading to a higher school drop out rate).

5. When I was at school we had menstrual hygiene facilities and services. We had a school first aid room. (In India, 66 % of girls-only schools do not have functioning toilets and 83% of girls in Burkina Faso and 77% in Niger have no place at school to change their sanitary menstrual materials).

6. We had a presentation about menstruation and were taught about our bodies. (32.5% of school girls from South Asia had not heard about menstruation prior to menarche and an overwhelming 97.5% did not know that menstrual blood came from the uterus).

7. Menstruating did not prevent me from participating in class (In Sierra Leone, girls who are normally active classroom participants sit in the back because they worried about emitting an odor or leaking through their clothes while menstruating).

8. Or work…(Often, male managers do not understand why women need to use the toilet more frequently while menstruating. This adds to women’s discomfort and shame, which may result in women missing work).

9. I was never taught that menstruation was a disease (48% of girls in Iran, 10% in India and 7% in Afghanistan believe that menstruation is a disease).

10. I have a respectful partner and the men around me are supportive empathetic sensitive and aware of the ‘taboos’ surrounding menstruation. (Men’s and boys’ knowledge is sometimes laced with negative stereotypes, reinforcing the negative stigmas attached to menstruation). 

I just feel more and more committed to spreading the positive word and opening up the conversation about menstruation! For the activism page click here, for information about taking menstrual cycle workshops out on the road, click here.

“A lack of adequate Menstrual Hygiene Management denies women and girls their right to education, right to health, and right to work in favourable conditions.” Menstrual Hygiene Day

eat right for your menstrual cycle

I love eating food and I love my menstrual cycle! So you can imagine my delight and joy when I discovered that this fascinating woman Alisa Vitti has put together research about foods that support feminine hormones and the menstrual cycle, and has come up with some week-by-week suggestions to “eat our way to better menstrual health, naturally!”

High five to that.

Over the last year or so I have been loving experimenting with the foods that Alisa recommended during the different phases of my cycle. On the whole, the foods I felt like eating were also the foods I needed according to Alisa, with the exception of when I went travelling and became obsessed with salad in the warmer climes and soup in the colder ones despite the phase of my cycle…

(Last night I realised that I cannot get enough cabbage and kale and green leaves at the moment…this article explains why!!)

I am completely fascinated about this kind of research, and have always loved nutrition and alternative health. Eating right for our menstrual cycles and for fertility just seems to make total sense to me.

Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I’d also like to add “Let thy cooking be from scratch and let thy ingredients be whole foods.” It doesn’t quite have the ‘ring’ of Hippocrates’ quote (!) but to me cooking from scratch is great because you know exactly what’s in it, and you get to put in the single ingredient that I believe is missing from all factory processed and pre-packaged food…LOVE.

At the Beach House Kitchen we are so into food and nutrition and eating that it has become more like a hobby. Mealtimes are one of the highlights of my day, and experimenting with grains beans and spices and vegetables a new pastime. Lee is an incredible vegan cook so I’ve had a pretty good teacher… click here for a cool vid about Lovely Lee’s book!

Now let me share with you the work of Alisa!

The science-y bit and some tips

“Food is the most powerful medicine we have; it has been proved scientifically that the type of food we eat directly influences the balance of hormones, the performance of the endocrine system, and the menstrual cycle.” Alisa Vitti

The foods given below as examples are not the only thing you eat for that week of the diet. I think it’s very important to emphasise this, and suggest you just increase your intake of the recommended foods during the different weeks of the plan. This raises the levels of ‘food-medicine’ at the right time to help keep the hormones moving.

This is a healthy eating plan for everyone so you can include the rest of the family, men or women with no fuss. Eating more fruit vegetables good fats grains and nuts can never be a bad thing in anyone’s diet and healthy eating is in no way restricted to women.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and that you’ll share your ideas on the comments section below.

When to start? 

If you are menstruating, start the day after your period ends. If you are not menstruating, start on any given a Sunday or any day you’ll remember.

If you are tracking your cycle already you will probably be aware when you are moving from your pre-ovulatory phase to your ovulatory, and pre-menstrual phases etc of your cycle. If you don’t know what tracking your menstrual cycle means, fear not! Just click here for your free menstrual tracking chart and then click here to read about why/how to chart your cycle.

If, like mine your cycles are irregular lengths these phases might not be exactly a week each. My recommendation would be to follow the pattern of your unique cycle and go with your own intuition about when to change to the next food group.

Of course, listen to your body too. It will tell you if it likes this whole eating plan or not….It probably will, all the foods in this plan are seriously healthy!!)

 

Week one ~ pre-ovulatory phase ~ sprouted or fermented food

Recommended Foods: Kimchi, sauerkraut, bean sprouts, broccoli sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, sprouted whole grain bread.

These foods provide your body with the right nutrients that can deal with the amount of oestrogen that is increasing during the first week of the cycle.

In these fermented groups there are key prebiotics, and a compound called indole-3-carbinol that break down oestrogen and gets it out of the system as quickly as possible.

Week two ~ ovulatory phase ~ raw juices and fresh veggies

Recommended Foods: Raw carrots, tomatoes, courgettes, apples, fresh herbs, kale, beetroot, lemon, ginger, red cabbage, celery, leafy greens.

Recommended Juice: Beetroot, kale, parsley, celery, lemon and ginger.

Oestrogen is surging at this part of the cycle and we need plenty of antioxidants for our liver to help it process it out. These raw veggies contain glutathione, which the liver needs and stores in its tissues, and uses to detoxify our bodies, especially from excess oestrogen.

Week three ~ pre-menstrual phase ~ greens and grains

Recommended Foods: Buckwheat, quinoa, leafy green vegetables like bok choi, pak choi, kale, Swiss chard, rainbow chard, cavolo nero.

This is the part of the cycle where levels of oestrogen and progesterone are shifting quite dramatically, rising and falling.

Grains are good for moods, because they are low glycemic and provide the small intestine with the building blocks for serotonin production. This can help stabilise the mood.

The greens combined with the grains increases fibre content, which then helps the body to eliminate waste and literally get everything out!

Week four ~ menstruation ~ healthy fats and root vegetables

Recommended Foods: Pumpkin, squash, carrots, sweet potato, beets, avocados, seeds, nuts.

Root vegetables, especially the orange ones, are full of Vitamin A. The liver needs vitamin A so it can help break oestrogen down.

The healthy fats are really important to help keep the mood and energy levels staying stable.

A good excuse to cook a gorgeous soup, I say!

further reading

For more general information about the menstrual cycle, red tents, and woman’s wheel work/workshops I do ‘on the road’ click here and here.

Don’t miss this ~ Coming soon on Woman’s Wheel ~ a free e-book of fabulous recipes for healthy eating and happy red tent times.

Thanks again to Alisa Vitti for all those years you spent researching how food is directly linked to our hormonal balance, and our menstrual cycle. I hope you continue to inspire many more women.

cloth pad stitching ~ a woman’s gathering

On Saturday afternoon the women of Red Tent Gwynedd (a monthly public woman’s gathering centred around women’s empowerment, honouring menstruation and the environment in Wales UK) gathered for their very first ‘Eco Femme make your own pad’ stitching workshop.

Before the event the women took some time to read a little about the kits, the pad for pad scheme, and making re-usable pads in the larger context of the environment. One woman wrote “I am already feeling connected to other women just thinking about such an important step in creating this circle of pads.” I felt exactly same; the feeling of unity and harmony in knowing that similar groups and workshops are taking place all over the world.

As we gathered around in our sewing circle and opened up the kits, I noticed that every woman was smiling as she commented on the fabrics and the colours, the cycle chart, and the clarity of the instructions. For a while we took our time familiarizing ourselves with all the bits and then we started to create, joking that we would ‘stitch ‘til we drop’.

It was a lovely peaceful afternoon and we spoke of many things; inevitably we discussed the impact of disposable pads on the environment, and that by using cloth pads women (collectively) could cut down on millions of tons of needless waste. We felt very aware that the ‘birthing’ of the new pad in our hands represented at least 75 disposable pads (probably many more) from being used and discarded.

We touched on whether cloth pad sewing workshops could work as part of the curriculum for UK secondary school girls (why not?), and wondered how the modern young woman at menarche age really feels about her menstruation ‘these days’. Whether she would happily carry clean or used cloth pads in her school bag (cloth pads look very different from plastic ones and can be ‘disguised’ a lot easier in pretty pouches) or if she would be embarrassed like we used to be at school. The thought of our young women still feeling awkward about ‘being found out’ made us feel more determined than ever to spread the positive word!

Talking about our own school days made us recall and share stories of our own experiences of menstruation as a young woman, some positive and some negative. Sewing together as a group brought back all sorts of long forgotten memories of our own home economics and sewing classes, which we had fun sharing.

We also spoke of how we wished we could had been given cloth pads by our mothers. And that if good quality reliable cloth pads had been invented sooner our mothers could have used them too. So many generations already have passed with the pollution of plastic disposables taking 500-800 years to break down in landfill sites all round the world.

There was also silence for a while; with each woman quietly absorbed in her own activity. I reflected on this too, about how natural it felt for us women to sit together and take part in communal activities, exchanging information and tips, working together naturally and effortlessly. Exactly what I saw so often on my travels to different countries, with crinkly old bright-eyed women sitting on the ground, chatting laughing and cooking together around a fire. Sadly in our culture we are often isolated, with no circle of women to sit in at all.

Having this special pad workshop allowed us to set aside quality time and space deserving of this important activity, and made it really fun too. One pad took about 2 hours to stitch, including time to figure out the instructions and make some cups of tea. Everyone commented how great it was to be able to see inside the pad and feel the fabrics, and to see just how many cotton layers make up the pad. We chatted about general care instructions for cloth pads, the simple washing process (soak them rinse them then add them to the wash with your underwear), and how best to dry pads in our cooler rainier climate, where strong gusts of wind and warm fires make drying fairly easy.

This workshop also helped us to gain a new appreciation of the skill of the women tailors working from the Auroville Village Action Group campus, who produce the pads for Eco Femme! Some of our pads ended up a bit wonky, untidy, and a little uneven but despite some comical shapes and cries of “I’ve lost my wings” or “Which way round do the poppers go?” we still all produced functional cloth pads. Sewing our own pad was in some ways more meaningful than buying one, which happens when we create anything for ourselves. We all decided to love our newly stitched pad for all its imperfections.

What I was touched by was the enthusiasm for the sewing – women wanted to create nappies next, then breast pads, then pads of different sizes. It also turned out that the women were not just sewing for themselves but wishing to share the pads with their loved ones. One women was sewing for her niece, one for her friend, and another was sewing quickly so as to finish the whole set of three for herself ready for her menstruation in a few days!

For me, I just love that the pads are so pretty, and that the process was really enjoyable. The fact that I have sewn them with my own hands makes me look forward even more to using them each month, and that even in using the pads I have a connection with all the other women who have made them too, and who use cloth instead of plastic.

So today, as I write about the event, I feel enormously privileged to be a part of the movement towards re-usables; spreading the word about this positive action to my sisters, contributing in a physical sense by making a pad that will save dozens of plastic ones from being thrown away into our Earth.  I would definitely love to run another pad stitching session again in the future, because in doing so it somehow feels as though the world is waking up, one pad at a time.

the joy of gathering nourishing weeds

It has been a pleasure and delight to wear my thick gloves and walk along the local lanes hedgerows and our garden to pick nettles. Dark green vibrant beauties, tall, strong, fibrous and tough. Or to gather edible primrose flowers from the back garden in spring. Or elderflowers with their scented heads and beautiful tiny snowy flowers, that cover my fingers in yellow pollen and give me the gift of the joyous smell of early Summer. The dandelions are out in flower too. From the bathroom window I can see their bright heads, along with the golden buttercups dancing in the breeze in amongst the lush grass. One day out walking I discovered a huge clump of wild apple mint, with it’s furry soft leaves and fresh homely smell.

Hawthorn too is just starting to lose it’s pure white blossom petals to the wind (it has been a very late start for lots of plants here in Wales). This was the tree that was planted in olden days to protect the household from all ill and bad fortune. Said to be inhabited by faeries, the mystical Hawthorn tree (nicknamed by me as our ‘Crone Tree’) is a wise and very welcome member of our back garden. Ancient British folklore connects it with the fertile festival of Beltane, May day, and Goddess-centred worship practices by priestesses in sacred groves of Hawthorn planted in the round. Drinking an infusion of the blossoms and leaves of this tree, or an infusion of the berries, come Autumn, are good for the heart and circulation. The heart is a central theme of this tree of wondrous natural beauty, strong wood, and herbal medicine.

“The etheric signature of the Hawthorn appears to have a pulsation which is similar to that of the human heartbeat. Before taking Hawthorn, herbally or as a flower essence, it is a good idea to tune into your heartbeat for a few minutes, to help you consciously align with the energy of the Hawthorn. The Hawthorn will help release blocked energy, not only releasing stress, but creating an ability to trust and let go of fear. The energy of love is opened. For this reason, the Hawthorn is particularly potent as a tool for healing affairs of the heart and can be given as a token of friendship and love.” Glennie Kindred.

I have been cackling with joy and skipping down the lanes at every opportunity since discovering all the uses and healing properties of all these incredible plants… and we call them weeds – how terrible! Susun Weed, a wonderful author and herbalist has been excellent help and a huge source of inspiration to me as I have sat for hours reading her quirky books with delight and wonder, with the excited feeling that I am entering into a whole new secret world of vital ancient knowledge. Viva nourishing herbal infusions, herbal vinegars, and elderflower champagne!

The act of foraging, picking, de-insecting, rinsing, drying, labelling, and storing all bring out such a sense of child-like joy in me! I feel like it is something I was born to do; earthy and freeing, and a huge step towards the increasingly natural life I want to lead. It is even stirring old memories from my childhood, of picking up rose petals from the ground and making rose-water ‘perfume’ with my sister, the sweet smell of mum’s apple mint plant that used to dominate the garden and spread like wild fire every year, the intriguing mystical dark and shaded place at the bottom of the garden, where fairies were felt and stories of magic were told beneath the crab apple and plum tree.

Foraging, gathering, tending to, blessing and caring for the plants, fresh and natural, local and chemical free, is like some kind of living dream!! For more recipes like the primrose dandelion and sorrel salad, visit the beach house kitchen.

a truly inspirational woman

Over a year ago I was lucky enough to have met Christine at a residential workshop. She immediately struck me as an incredibly warm and big-hearted woman. Great compassion and love flowed from her naturally both as she participated, and allowed others to open and share during the retreat. In her presence I felt an instant heart-connection, and great almost motherly love.

Some time after our meeting Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our recent conversations about this illness have deeply touched me. I feel so blessed and honoured that Christine shared her feelings so openly with me, I have been completely inspired by her positive loving attitude to the illness.

I feel utterly compelled to share her beautiful words with you in the hope that they can inspire you too, and it is with Christine’s blessing that I do so.

Christine explained “So many of us miss the signs by being too busy. It was the most powerful gift I’ve ever received and it turned my life around for the better. I’ve never felt so connected to my body and conscious of my health, which feels amazing. A whole new way of living my life is showing up and I’m being so kind and loving to myself, and everyone I know is reflecting that back to me in ways that touch me so deeply, it makes me weep at times. I can hardly believe the ways I and my life have changed in just a few months.”

To me, Christine’s philosophy of illness truly comes from a place of love, which for me is the truest place. Christine is approaching her challenges with a softness and an open heart; with love and positivity. Her powerful words are a shining example of living in a free, fearless and powerful way.

The very act of self-love and kindness promotes healing on many levels. Giving time and space to ones self is a gift that women rarely bestow upon themselves. Yet rest, relaxation, allowing ourselves time to listen to what our bodies are telling us is vital. Focusing on/communicating with different parts of our body during relaxation can be very nurturing and healing. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent and will respond to such loving intentions. Take time if you can today to breathe some love into your body…..

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.