Blood, Pain, Power:
The Truth About Your Menstrual Cycle
Bleeding is a blessing, as it is a sign of fertility. Indigenous cultures celebrate the onset of menstruation, as it symbolises ascension. From the Kogi tribes to the ancient Tantric practices of India, where the first blood sacrifice offered to the Goddess was female menstrual blood.
Menstruation is initiation: the moment a woman steps into her power and into the elemental force of giving life.
In modern culture, however, we seem to have lost the meaning of celebration and reverence for fertility. Instead, we often find ourselves wishing for no periods, for no pain, for everything to be less messy.
In our early teenage years, it can feel shameful to speak about periods, let alone for others to know you have your period, and even more shameful if your peers notice a blood stain on our pants. Suddenly, there is a loss of control of something private and intimate. And so, we would rather wish it away.
Once, I had an encounter with a grown adult man who, upon realising that I was bleeding, called it disgusting. First, I felt ashamed. But then, I began to wonder:
Why is blood disgusting?
Why is a woman disgusting for bleeding?
Shortly after this, I travelled to the Andes mountains in Peru, where I met a group of indigenous Shamans. We spent days trekking through the Sacred Valley and Macchu Picchu, listening to their sacred songs and offering prayers to Pachamamma. One day, I asked Wachan, a medicine man about menstruations, and he simply responded: It is sacred.
With this wise explanation, I released myself from all the inherited misconceptions about blood and periods.
The period is the body’s natural way of cleansing, as nature intended. Before a woman’s body can bear life, it clears itself. It is a form of release, similar to elimination through urine and bowels, but deeper. Menstruation allows heavier waste to be discharged from the body. It is, in many ways, a more profound form of cleansing.
The body generally has three ways of eliminating waste: bowels, urine, and skin.
The menstrual cycle can be considered a fourth form of elimination, unique to women. Because this release occurs through the blood, it has the capacity to draw out deeper waste. Menstruation occurs when the body prepares for the possibility of conception.
Pain and the Period
For many women, menstruation can be painful and difficult. But it does not have to be this way. A painful period is often linked to lifestyle and diet. The more acidic the diet, the more acidic the blood. The blood constantly works to stabilise its pH, which must remain within a very narrow range. When acidity increases due to diet, the body must work harder to regulate itself. This imbalance is often associated with pain and heavier bleeding during menstruation.
Fasting or following a more alkaline diet is often said to result in lighter-coloured blood and fewer cramps.
Premenstrual symptoms can be seen as the body entering a cleansing phase before the possibility of reproduction. This process is often described as being linked to natural cycles, such as the moon.
When acidity accumulates in the body, it becomes heavy and difficult to process, which may result in pain. Conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), PMS, and endometriosis are often associated with this state of internal imbalance.
Fibroids may be understood as a build-up of waste and acidity combined with impaired lymphatic function — waste is not being properly eliminated.
In this view, pain is associated with acidity, while an alkaline-leaning diet is believed to help symptoms gradually subside.
In the case of PCOS and endometriosis, cysts are often described as accumulations within the lymphatic system caused by waste that the body cannot eliminate efficiently. When the body is overloaded — through diet, binge eating, or other lifestyle factors — waste may become compacted into isolated masses. Over time, these masses can grow as excess acidity continues to be stored.
Skin and Elimination
The skin is another outlet for waste. When the first two elimination systems — bowels and urine — cannot manage all toxins, the skin attempts to expel what remains.
Applying topical products, such as chemical creams, does not address the root cause. Likewise, the pill is not a true solution for PMS, PCOS, or endometriosis. While it may suppress symptoms, it can also lead to hormonal imbalance and other long-term effects. In both cases, the underlying lymphatic congestion remains unaddressed.
It is essential to understand that the body functions as a whole. Nothing operates in isolation: a skin rash, for example, is often the result of an internal imbalance.
Circulation and the Period
During menstruation, the body is eliminating waste in preparation for the potential of life. The period acts as a natural reset.
Blood circulation is influenced by fluid intake, diet, climate, and the body’s ability to process and eliminate waste through the bowels and kidneys. When the body is burdened with detoxification, menstruation may be more painful. When there are no cramps, it suggests that there is less excess waste to eliminate. Feeling persistently cold can be a sign of circulatory imbalance.
Over time, you will learn what is normal for your body. Understanding your own cycle helps you recognise when something is out of balance. There is nothing to be ashamed of — these signs are guides back to intrinsic balance.
Modern culture has forgotten, intentionally or unintentionally, the power women hold as bearers of life and the power this generates within us. Instead, we are often told that during our period we are in a polluted state. In certain cultures, women are discouraged from entering temples or performing rituals while menstruating, as if we were impure.
It is time for us to pause, reflect, and realign with our bodies and our sacred power.