Is there anything more taboo about women's bodies then our menstrual blood?
It's something we painstakingly hide, cover, soak up and medicate away throughout our reproductive lives. It's seen as a nuisance. The amount of time, mental and physical energy we put into making sure ABSOLUTELY NO ONE EVER sees a single drop of our blood is quite frankly, exhausting (also super grateful to be with a man that appreciates and is unfazed by menstrual blood and makes me feel even more feminine and beautiful when I have my period - shout out to the other partners who do this too!).
Women as a collective have an inherent shame about our blood, thinking it is gross, dirty and just want it to go away. This mindset is a relatively new phenomenon for the human species. For a long time womens blood was something that was deeply revered and respected. Which is a perspective I am WAY more interested in.
This respect and sacredness has its roots in the fact that menstrual blood is different to the rest of the blood that circulates throughout our body and was seen as magic due to its special properties.
In ancient times menstrual blood was seen as a potent elixir, a life giving substance that could heal and be used as medicine for longevity and regeneration.
Whilst this notion has been dismissed over time as nothing more then folkloric tales, science is now backing this up in a big way.
Researchers have discovered that menstrual blood is full of unique stem cells that have the ability to grow and differentiate into almost any kind of cell in the body, any organ or tissue as needed.
Let that sink in for a second. The implications of this are ground breaking. This information has the capacity to completely change medicine (and how we view our bodies and periods) as we know it.
There has been research demonstrating menstrual stem cells transforming into heart cells that will begin spontaneously beating. In traditional cultures menstrual blood is often affectionately referred to as the elixir of life, and its now it's being demonstrated that it really is.
There are companies beginning to establish whereby a woman collects her menstrual blood each month that is then deposited into a menstrual blood bank that can be there for her should any of her organs or tissues become damaged – she can use her own menstrual stem cells to heal herself. They also contain the capacity to reverse the effects of aging, not just external signs but internal signs also.
This is such a new and exciting area of science and research that is only beginning to be tapped into and explored. What else is going to be discovered? There is so much to this topic and I can’t wait to see what else is waiting to be uncovered.
But for now we truly have evidence that our menstrual blood (and by extension women’s bodies) have the profound ability to deeply heal the body. And not just our own, but also others. The most exciting part is that there isn’t anything we need to do to be able to use our bodies or our blood to heal and have this special power. We don’t have to take a course, this isn’t something we need to learn, practise or perfect. It’s something our bodies just DO, an inherent wisdom embedded in our cells.
As I write this, I have my period. I’m bleeding and I couldn’t be more happy or grateful for it. My blood is not something I am disgusted by or feel shame about, I am proud of it!
I hope women everywhere feel the tight restraints of menstrual blood stigma begin to loosen and fall away.
There is nothing to feel shame about. It is okay to bleed. You are not unclean or dirty. Embrace your blood as a sign that you are healthy and that you have cycles just as nature does. You ARE nature.
So how to we tap into and use this new information? Accept your cycle, place your hands over your womb and breathe in fully and feel the creative power originating from this center flowing through the rest of your body. Get to know your blood and your body. Don't be afraid of it. There are long held traditions of women collecting their menstrual blood and use it to fertilise their plants and watch them come back to life, thrive and flower. Use your blood practically in this way if it feels good to you! If nothing else, just walk around with the knowing that you are a badass and quite literally, magic. That would put the sass in anybodies step.
Have this knowing anchor deep within you that you contain enormous energetic potential within your body. Whether we want to call it magic or menstrual stem cells, there is a well of creative power inside you that is just waiting for you to tune into and explore.
How could there be anything ‘gross’ about that? :P
Lauren xxx