Daily Rituals during your Menstrual Cycle

Ever think about adapting your self-care habits according to your moon cycle?

Have you noticed that when you push through a super packed day when you just feel like taking a nap, you end up feeling depleted?

VERSUS

When you happen to take some restorative time for yourself to rest and resplenish your energy, you got at the end of the day feeling rested and happy. It's amazing how a few adjustments make such a great difference.

The best way to feel good during your menstrual cycle?

With a sense of balance and self-respect.

A strong and healthy self-care routine.

Creating a Self-Care Routine

In Ayurveda, yoga's sister science, the menstrual cycle is synonym to winter. And if you want to balance the energy of winter, you have to give it the opposite energies.

There are so many ways to balance your winter energy but think warm and nourishing practices. Let me give you some examples.

Self-Care Rituals for Menstruation:

1. Get enough sleep, preferably between 8 and 10 hours. You might be thinking that this is way too much but especially during this phase, your body needs a lot of rest to be able to recover. Not sure if you can do it? Try to go to bed earlier gradually and see how you feel.

2. Meditate before you start your day. Or even just stay still for a few minutes looking out the window.

3. Take a warm shower with your favorite smelling products. Follow up with a hydrating body lotion. Take it a step further by applying a face mask. This is the time to do whatever helps you feel good in your body. Remember to listen to your body and do what feels right in the moment.

4. Drink a warm infusion. Use ginger or curcuma to help you fight against inflammation. This ritual will leave you warm and relaxed.

5. Give yourself a massage or find someone to do it for you.

6. Journal and reflect about the previous month. This site has a free downloadable sheet to get some inspiration.

7. Yin and Restorative yoga are great at this time of the month. The more gentle and grounding practices are going to help your body  resplenish your energy but also help you release any tensions or discomforts that you might be experiencing. Enjoy giving yourself this time to go inside and simply be with yourself. Click here to learn more about the benefits of these yoga styles.

8. Get cozy! Now of course, it is not always possible to keep comfortable clothes all day but whenever you can, put on some warm and cozy clothes. And snuggle in a blanket and take some time to rest on the couch or in your bed!

9. Read. Reading can be a nice way to relax and spend some alone time. Choose a book that you truly enjoy reading and add this to your list of menstrual phase rituals.

10. Eat nourishing and warming foods. Nourishing your body with nutrient dense and warm meals will help your body get all the nutrients it needs to feel healthy and vibrant.

That's a lot of ideas! And I understand that it's not always easy to have some time for yourself. You need to take care of so many things. So how can you still add more things to your to-do list?

Here's the thing, if you are not giving yourself the care that you need, you will feel depleted, lethargic and unfulfilled. So remember to take some time for yourself in order to be more able to take care of others. If you have even 5 minutes in your day to add one of these little self-care rituals, it will already make a huge difference. And if you have other ways to make yourself feel loved and cared for, go ahead! There are no right or wrong answer when it comes to your own self-care. If are interested to learn more about balancing your hormones through yoga, click here.