Wellbeing

Emma Cannon: Menstrual Journal

Our columnist shares a trick to help us engage with our monthly cycle and all that it entails

Keeping a period journal is a simple exercise that can help you feel more in tune with your body during the different stages of your cycle. Counting day one as the day your period starts, note down: the quality, colour and amount of blood; any physical symptoms; your emotions and any dreams. By exploring your menstrual cycle, you will become more aware of the ebb and flow of your emotions throughout the course of the month.

Invitation one: Adopt my 3 Cs method

Curiosity: Be curious about your body, your emotions and your general reactions. To do this you will need to drop out of your thinking mind and into your feeling body. What is the emotion behind this feeling? Have you felt it before? If the feeling is familiar, what were the circumstances in which you experienced it? Does it have something to say to you?

Compassion: Whatever comes up in the curiosity stage, meet it with compassion. It is really important during the process of self inquiry and discovery that we move away from judgement of self or others. When compassion is present, then change is possible.

Courage: Sometimes it can be hard to face our vulnerability and the ‘less desirable’ parts of ourselves. I call it the Disney effect, where there are goodies and baddies. In the world of Disney, you are one or the other, but humans are much more complex than this.

Invitation two: Incorporate the 3 As

Anger: Notice what your beliefs are around anger. These often come from childhood. Studies demonstrate that inability to express anger in a healthy way is linked to disease and hormone imbalances. Unhinged anger is also not considered healthy.

Acceptance: Learning to simply ‘be’ rather than constantly trying to get somewhere or change things is one of the most healing practices there is. When we accept life as unfolding and learn to be in its flow, often our body follows suit.

Awareness: Becoming connected to our bodies and emotions is key. The way we respond to life is often owing to our early experiences, and although we cannot change them, we can bring awareness to our wounds and seek out ways to accept all parts of ourselves – not just the bits we deem to be ‘good’.

I invite you to meet all your obstacles with courage and learn to have curiosity and compassion. Bring awareness and acceptance to your relationship with anger and other so-called difficult emotions.

Emma Cannon is an integrated women’s health expert, registered acupuncturist and author. Check out more of Emma’s fantastic work at emmacannon.co.uk