for sixteen years I “pushed through” my menstrual phase. as a young teen id sob before a dance audition and sucked it up right before my time to shine. in high school I felt different, left out, and shamed by my lack of attendance due to severe hormone imbalance causing my menstrual cycle to destroy me. in college I’d find the courage to push through and keep silent about my suffering even though I wasn’t eating enough and developed ulcers from taking too much Advil. in my early twenties I’d cry over my hormonal acne and felt on days it was impossible to get out of bed due to fatigue and anxiety. from ER visits, to horrible side effects of birth controls, my weight was all over the place, and I felt constantly burnt out. I wonder now how much of that was not allowing myself to truly rest. to nourish myself properly during this time. to process my traumas. to honor my body, instead of hate it. to give it sustenance instead of depriving it or punishing it. I despised my menstrual cycle for ruining a week or more of life each month. and continuously told myself I was so strong for pushing through physical and emotional pain. thankfully I do not live that way anymore. i am so proud of myself for taking these past few years to learn my body. to nourish it. to praise it. to let it rest. to speak kindly to it. to honor it. to invest in it. it’s never too late to begin giving your body the care it deserves, however you’re able. I finally chose to listen to my strong intuition, to the connections of my chakras, to the beautiful humans who have come along side me to help me heal instead offering another pill and treating me like one big symptom, and to my body telling me it was time to slow, to feel, to receive. if you’re able and if you’re a cyclical being, this is your sign to rest during your bleed and honor your body for its utter magic!