What is your period telling you? Are you listening?

I have spoken to so many women over the last few years who have lived with years of heavy or painful periods or issues with their menstrual cycle that have affected their day to day lives, often having to use the contraceptive pill to manage their symptoms even when this didn't feel right to them. Many of them said that once they asked this question and made some changes to their lifestyle as a result, they noticed such an improvement that they wished they had known this earlier.

I have also struggled with heavy and painful periods most of my life. I was told that the only way to manage it was through medication. I've used pain relief, medications that control bleeding, and many different contraceptive pills and a coil. I've never like the way I feel on the pill/coil so I have stopped and started, tried different ones but I always went back to it as I didn't know there was anything else I could do.

Even working as a nurse, in our healthcare system and a female dominated profession, you just have to carry on. I was once told off for going to the toilet too regularly and I ended up bleeding through my uniform and feeling humiliated, and I remember laughing with a colleague about how there were actually people admitted to the gynae ward with the same amount of blood loss that we had while still working! Perhaps things are a little better now but there is still a mentality that women just have to get on with it, I even hear about it for girls in school which makes me so upset.

So we don't/can't stop to listen.

And many women don't realise that this is not just how it has to be, that there is SO much more we can do.

It wasn't until I was nearly 40 that I learnt this! I am so grateful as it has changed my life in so many ways. I am so glad that women are now starting to take their power back, learn about their cycles and their health and I'm really hoping that things will be better for my daughters generation and beyond.

I have learnt so much about natural ways to balance hormones, how to best support my body, diet, exercise and lifestyle choices that have made such a difference, but the single most important step I took was the very first step, deciding to listen to my body and what it was trying to tell me. Making that commitment to myself, trusting in my body that it was not broken, it was just shouting out to me trying desperately to get my attention!

Something that I have noticed seeing many patients in the hospital and clients in my holistic work is that we all know deep down what it is that our body is trying to tell us, it is often the first thing people mention to me. We might not know it consciously and it might be something so deep that we'd rather ignore it for now.

Because let's face it, we live in a world where we are used to just having to get on with it, where there are a multitude of things considered part of 'normal' life that are there purely for us to numb our pain so that we can just get on with it. Making the decision to break away from this pattern and face our pain is not something to be taken lightly.

I feel extremely lucky during my time as a nurse to have met some truly inspiring patients who have taken this approach in the face of terminal diagnosis, harsh treatment regimes and really difficult times. They are the reason that I have learnt to listen to my own body and am working in holistic health today. I knew that if they could do it so could I. Seeing the positive change in people who take this approach to their health, even if it is a difficult journey is truly inspiring. And it is life changing.

In the area of womens health I feel that this is so relevant. If we are able to tune into our cycles more, learn about what they are showing us, how we can best support our hormone balance as well as our energetic womb centre in ways that are nourishing and natural, we have access to a beautiful power that is within all of us. Disconnecting from our bodies, simply putting up with or numbing how we are feeling is disconnecting us from our own vitality and life force which I beleive is our greatest source of healing.

So where do you start?

You could take your first step today by making a commitment to your body, recognising that it is not broken, you are not broken, your body is infact amazing and making the decision and commitment to listen. You might want to start by simply taking a quiet moment, placing your hands on your womb and asking if it has any message for you.

If you'd like more information on how to balance your hormones naturally and take an empowered and holistic approach to your health then you can download my free guide as a place to start:

Or get in touch if you're ready to start a journey of health creation and really make the commitment to listening to what your body is trying to tell you in order to create positive change in your life.

Today I am an entirely different person from the day I made the decision to listen, I no longer take any medications, I no longer have heavy periods (except when I need a reminder to slow down) and most importantly I live a healthy and happy life. It has been a journey to get here, my body was shouting loudly because there was a lot in my life that was wrong. But I am so grateful that I listened.

And your journey may be very different from mine, and it's not to say that for you medication isn't an important part of your journey, I have worked with women who have taken many different approaches but the main step that I feel is the most important for healing is trusting in and listening to your own body. And healing is very different from curing, the journey itself and developing that relationship with your own body and knowing that whatever happens it is on your side for me is where I see such a difference, regardless of any outcome.

So wherever you are on your own journey, please reach out if you would like support, you are not on your own and you have the power to change things.