We live in a world where women are constantly bombarded with data and information. We have been conditioned since birth to look outside of ourselves for the answers. And the truth is that a lot of the time, many of us feel lost.

This would never happen in ancestral tribes and villages where women were centred in their communities, where they were taught from a young age the feminine arts and intricate ways of women, and where there were wise elders to guide you through the beauty and burden of life.

We live in a different way now - the places where we gather information about our bodies are mainly online, not through the direct wisdom passed on by a beloved matriarch.

Our communities are mostly made up of likes and follows, and listening to our bodies is something we often only arrive at when the compiled moments of non-listening grow into disease or diagnosis, leaving us with no choice but to finally face ourselves.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Each of us has our own unique, powerful inner guide - one who is wise as wisdom herself, and wants only the most incredible life for us. We indeed have a wayshower, and her name is Blood.

Our blood initiated us into womanhood the very first time she flowed through us, and she continues to beckon us deeper on our path every time she comes around. Many of us were taught that our blood was a curse; the pain, the exhaustion, the mess, the smell, the sight. Once we begin to consciously work with our blood, to be with her, is when we realize she is not a curse at all - she is the cure.

With every cycle of our menstruation, we meet death and rebirth. As we become more intimate with our blood, we become more intimate with the grand arc of death and birth as well. The closer you are capable of listening to your blood, the more she will have to say, and the more nuanced each message will become. She is the microcosm of the macrocosm of our lives, and within the days she graces us with her presence, she is able to provide a map for us and our health and wellbeing - if we are willing to listen.

During the first three days of our bleed, we often find ourselves in an altered state, and for good reason. If we allow ourselves to sink into our blood, she lets us know that we need more stillness and rest, more nourishment via proper fats and minerals, and more quiet time for self-reflection and contemplation.

When we honour this, our blood will release with ease and gift us with a knowing of what is to be birthed through us in our next cycle. When we push ourselves, pack our calendars, and prioritize checking off our to-do lists instead of checking in with our blood, she will raise her voice via pain, moodswings, colour, smell and heaviness in womb and flow.

When we experience cramps, it is our womb’s way of saying “slow down”. Instead of popping a Motrin in hopes to shut her up, allow yourself to rest laying down with some heat and your hands on your womb, and breathe slowly and deeply. Pain is a call for presence, and when we honour this call the body will soften, relax, and the pain will melt away.

Our body also makes hormone-like lipids called prostaglandins that control inflammation, blood clots and flow, and cause our uterus to contract when we shed our uterine lining. Unbearable cramps can also show us that we have inflammation or high levels of histamine, which can be caused by an overabundance of estrogen. You can find natural relief with magnesium, cinnamon, ginger, cramp bark tea, or hydrating with coconut water.

Another way we can assist the body's natural process is by not blocking her.

Choosing reusable pads, a Free Bleed™ Blanket, or free-bleeding panties made from natural, organic materials will support our blood to flow out of our bodies in a harmonious way. After all, our blood is truly a small death each month, detoxifying us of toxins, heavy metals, and excess iron. Using toxic tampons dams the flow of our inner waters and can lead to blood clots, and the use of menstrual cups that suction to our cervix can pull at our fascial networks and lead to prolapse. This can be extremely uncomfortable or painful for our cervixes. If our blood cannot flow, she cannot speak. Our blood is an intimate part of who we are as women, and taking time each month to be with her, listen to her, and learn from her is our sacred work.

The colour of our blood is also a way that our womb speaks to us. Our blood should be a bright crimson red without any clots. When our blood is showing up dark red or brown, it means that old blood that may have been stuck from our last bleed is only now clearing. Yoni steaming is a powerful way to cleanse any excess blood from the vaginal canal and uterus if done once or twice after our cycle has ended. If our blood is showing up light pink or not really at all, this can be a sign of malnourishment or an overstressed system. Cut out PUFAS, hormone disrupting chemicals, and things/people/places that make you feel stressed. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, are well-hydrated and mineralized, eating enough food throughout the day, and receiving plenty of sunshine on your skin.

We haven’t been taught to love our blood, but if we choose to have a relationship with our monthly cycle, the effects it can have on every facet of our lives is nothing short of magical. Invoke child-like curiosity and let yourself get to know your blood and the way she moves though you intimately. It may take months and maybe even years, but coming into right-relationship with our wombs is one of the most powerful things we can gift ourselves with as women.

The devastating cramps you once felt will become a soft song of the earth that your whole body rejoices in hearing. The heavy periods and dark clots will become a gentle river that ebbs and flows as you do. What once was something that fell out of the sky and ruined festivals, camping trips and lovemaking will become a monthly sojourn into your soul.

Each month, our bodies offer us a chance to come back to them and relax, fully embodied, present, & deeply listening. A chance to sit with ourselves and release who we thought we were in order to become who we truly came here to be. We are cyclical beings, and we die again and again, to be birthed anew.

The wayshower with kind eyes and a lantern in the dark you have always dreamed of lies within you; the question is, will you allow her to guide the way?

Written by Autumn Rose

Autumn Rose is a mother, writer, storyteller & women’s embodiment guide devoted to empowering the feminine frequency and midwifing her back to her rightful home - in the body. Follow Autumn on Instagram @embodyjaguar.