Wisdom of the Menstrual Cycle

Wisdom of the Menstrual Cycle - Health Conditions and Advice - Dr. Christiane Northrup

The menstrual cycle is the most basic, earthy cycle we have. The macrocosmic cycles of nature, the waxing and waning, the ebb and flow of the tides and the changes of the seasons, are reflected on a smaller scale in the menstrual cycle of the individual female body. In many cultures, the menstrual cycle has been viewed as sacred.

Even in modern society, where we are cut off from the rhythms of nature, the cycle of ovulation is influenced by the moon. During the new moon, ovulation and conception rates are decreased overall, and an increased number of women start their menstrual bleeding. ¹ The timing of the menstrual cycle, the fertility cycle, and labor also follows the moon-dominated tides of the ocean.Environmental cues such as light, the moon, and the tides play a documented role in regulating women’s menstrual cycles and fertility. In one study of nearly two thousand women with irregular menstrual cycles, more than half of the subjects achieved regular menstrual cycles of twenty-nine days’ length by sleeping with a light on near their beds during the three days around ovulation.

The menstrual cycle governs the flow not only of fluids but of information and creativity. We receive and process information differently at different times in our cycles. Many women find that they are at their peak of expression in the outer world from the onset of their menstrual cycle until ovulation.One woman, a waitress who works in a diner where many truckers stop to eat, has reported to me that her tips are highest at midcycle, around ovulation. Another man described his wife as "very vital and electric" during this time of her cycle.

Picture credit: http://thebraveclass.blogspot.com

The menstrual cycle itself mirrors how consciousness becomes matter and how thought creates reality.

Our creative biological and psychological cycle parallels the phases of the moon; recent research has found that the immune system of the reproductive tract is cyclic as well, reaching its peak at ovulation, and then beginning to wane.From ancient times, some cultures have referred to women having their menstrual periods as being "on their moon." When women live together in natural settings, their ovulations tend to occur at the time of the full moon, with menses and self-reflection at the dark of the moon.

If we do not become biologically pregnant at ovulation, we move into the second half of the cycle, the luteal phase—ovulation through the onset of menstruation.

Studies have shown that women’s dreams are more frequent and often more vivid during the premenstrual and menstrual phases of their cycles.
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Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom  by Dr. Christiane Northrup

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