🩸 Menstrual Magic

A guide to herb and nature-based practices for working with your menstrual cycle

🌱💬 Herb.Chat is a monthly herby/foody/flowery advice column (sometimes written, sometimes video, sometimes audio) for paid subscribers of The Dirt newsletter. Paid subscribers are welcome to leave comments at the bottom and 🌈 submit your anonymous questions for future months.

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You've Entered the {🌱💬 Herb.}Chat.

🩸 fl0wfl0urish:

Q: Do you have any suggestions for restoring your menstrual cycle/working with your cycle? I’m looking for lifestyle practices, daily rituals and incorporating herbs/teas.

🌱herb.chat:

Love this question!

This is a BIG topic (one that could easily span all the herb.chats for the next three years…), so I wanted to focus on a couple foundational concepts so that really anyone reading this, no matter what is going on (or flowing down), can hopefully get some support.

To start with, to support our menstrual cycles, it’s helpful to first zoom out and look at supporting healthy folliculogenesis (as they are intrinsically linked - call them bosom buddies).

Folliculogenesis is the process where an itty-bitty-bebe egg grows and matures in the ovary, ready to be released during ovulation. If ovulation occurs successfully, the second half of the menstrual cycle takes place, leading to menstruation (aka blood) when fertilization does not occur.

So, basically, the health and regularity of a menstrual cycle is super-duper dependent on healthy folliculogenesis.

And, while there are LOTS of ways to promote healthy folliculogenesis and, by extension, our menstrual cycles, we’ll talk about two easy-peasy, super important starting points: nourishing our blood and nourishing our nervous system.

🩸 Nourished Blood

Nourished blood is crucial for folliculogenesis. Blood vessels provide essential nutrients and hormones to the follicle, which influence the wee-wittle egg’s development and fate. Thus, good vascular health (aka rich, nourished, juicy blood) is essential for a healthy, rich, juicy, nourished menstrual cycle.

So, what is ‘nourished blood’? It’s blood that is filled with nutrients (macros, vitamins, minerals, oh my!) and that moves with ease throughout the body’s circulatory system (but in particular to the pelvic organs).

• Clif’s Notes: Nourished blood tells our body “hey, you’re needs are met here.”

☁️ Nourished Nervous System

A nourished nervous system also contributes to a healthy menstrual cycle because it helps regulate hormones. When our nervous system is calm and balanced, it can effectively communicate with our endocrine system (which produces these hormones) to ensure that processes like ovulation and menstruation occur at the right times. Chronic stress, which can exhaust our nervous system, can disrupt this hormonal balance and lead to irregular cycles or other menstrual issues.

• Clif’s Notes: A nourished nervous system tells our body “hey, you’re safe here.”

🌒 The Short-Version?

In essence, nourishment is key.

Nourished blood and nourished nerves sends the message to our body that it’s needs and safety are met, letting us bleed with more ease.

So, when we think of herbs, practices, rituals, etc, two of our key considerations are how can we nourish our blood? and how can we nourish our nerves?

🫖 Herbal Teas Blends

🩸 Nourish the Blood Tea Blend

The herbs in this infusion help improve blood flow to the uterus, relax tension in the body and calm the nervous system, and support the liver’s natural detoxification process.