Menstrual powers for life: 3

The menstrual cycle is one of life’s blueprints. This is the third in my new series of posts on its different phases along with practical ways to support each phase through movement, touch, and visualisation. These practices are rooted in my work in shiatsu, massage, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This phase is known as the follicular phase. After the opening and releasing of menstruation we first need to gather ourselves back so that we can then restore our energies.

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This is a time of rebuilding vitality and reconnecting with our inner resources. It carries the energy of the maiden: freshness, curiosity, and emerging creativity.

We meet this phase in many areas of life: after intimacy, after birth, after illness, after loss. We gather ourselves back into our bones, our breath, our centre, before we can move forward again.

The most powerful Vessel of the Extraordinary Vessels to support this is the Penetrating Vessel. I want to start calling it Nourishing Vessel: what do you think?

Here are some practicies for it. It is paired with Girdel Vessel which also supports our energies to gather in.

After a few ‘dry’ days, sticky, tacky mucus is produced until ovulation. Your cervix moves upwards, and sexual desire returns if it was absent during menstruation. FSH levels continue to rise, with slight fluctuations. The maturing follicles secrete oestrogen and your womb lining thickens. By ovulation it is six to seven mm and its glands and blood vessels are longer and more coiled One of your eggs, (occasionally two) matures ready for ovulation. The other eggs degenerate at various stages to be reabsorbed to support continuous renewal of your reproductive system.. Prolactin, a hormone produced in large amounts during early breastfeeding, rises along with testosterone. Progesterone levels remain low. Prostaglandins aid the maturation and rupture of the follicle.

In a 28-day cycle ovulation is around 14 days. In a 35-day cycle ovulation is around 21 days. In a shorter cycle ovulation can be as early as seven days but since the egg has less time to mature, ovulation may not occur.

Immediately after menstruation your womb and Heart need to gather back from space and reconnect with the Earth. If you are grounded in nature, this may happen easily. However, if you are estranged from Earth’s rhythms, especially if your daily reality is stressful, there may be resistance to returning from space and resuming day to day activities.

There may be grief of loss, of being in space, visioning, loss of pregnancy.. Take time to grieve.

The midline of Conception, Governing, Penetrating and Girdle Vessel draw back from space to gather in your Heart and Womb supported by the Linking Vessels. The leg branch of the Penetrating Vessel helps your Womb and Heart build new roots into the Earth. The Stepping Vessels support this reconnection, enabling you to find an appropriate balance between rest and activity.

All energies are depleted: Yin; Yang; Qi; Blood Essence; all Eight Extraordinary Vessels; and the 12 channels. They need to regenerate and build. This deep renewal strengthens you and matures eggs. Since menstrual Blood has been lost, Penetrating Vessel and Yin Linking need to regenerate. Take time to rest, eat well and be nourished physically and emotionally to build up Blood and Yin. Water (winter) moves through Earth into Wood (spring) when birds start making their nests and laying their eggs.

Here is a self care practice to gather yourself back in

How quickly energies renew illustrates your own uniqueness and where you are in your life cycle. You may not feel tired because your basic energies are strong and you quickly spring back to vitality. If you feel deep depletion for many days, especially if it lasts throughout your cycle, your Essence is weak and needs extra time and support to replenish. This may take many cycles. Weakness can be due either to exhaustion built up over a long time or weak inherited Essence. This reduces your capacity to nourish new life both for yourself and a baby or other creative project.

Journal Prompts

Have I truly released the last cycle?
Am I giving myself time to renew?
What does my body need right now?

How do I embrace new beginnings.
How do I nourish my energy.
How do I honour my rhythms.

I’d love to know your thoughts on these reflections. And also how you much you feel the tiredness after your bleed and how long it takes you to recover. And what you think of the name “Nourishing Vessel”?