Healing the Womb

A few years ago, my sister and I went to a Kundalini yoga and meditation retreat in New Mexico. One of the classes we attended was a women's workshop called "Healing the womb of the Goddess". The teacher, Guru Atma Kaur, taught us a technique to realign our menstrual cycles with the cycle of the moon. A woman's menstrual cycle is the only thing in life that corresponds to the cycle of the moon- that is 28 days. (Sure, water is pulled by the magnetic effect of the moon on the earth, but that is on a daily basis). According to "The gynecological Sourcebook" by M. Sara Rosenthal, "menstrual" comes form the Latin "mens", meaning "month" and the word "month" comes from the root word "moon". The Greek for moon is "mene" and therefore if you meet it all it the middle, you'll find that menstruation etymologically means "moon change". The proof is in the language. And, as most of us may know, when women live with other women, their cycles tend to align themselves with each other. Thus the importance of being surrounded and bonding with our fellow sisters. The problem is that our cycles are out of whack. They beat to their own drum and i'm not sure that's a good thing. When we're not aligned with the moon, we may experience more pain, longer menstrual cycles, etc. Why are we out of whack? My guess is our sleeping habits, eating habits, and or slight detachment from nature. I always like to say "When in doubt, watch the animals". Wild animals are completely in sync with nature, with their intuition and their natural habits. And, as you may have guessed, female animals menstruate with the cycle of the moon. (Don't compare anything to domestic animals, as their are just as disconnected as we are- Hello, it's the reason some people send their depressed pets to animal therapists!)

That being said, my sister and i took this wonderful class and i'm so happy she saved the notes, because there's not much information online about realigning yourself with the moon cycle using yoga. I haven't tried it yet, but i invite you to try this with me and see what changed occur in your life with this practice. There are three parts to the practice: Asana (posture), Mudra (hand gesture and Prana (breath).

Again, the class was "Healing the womb of the Goddess" with Guru Atma Kaur and her references are: "The Path of Practice" by Maya Tiwari and "A woman's guide to Yoga" by Hari Kaur. The text is in blue so you can distinguish is from what i have written in black, above. And, in case you're curious, the retreat was Summer Solstice 3HO.

According to Ayurveda, all disorders relating to the womb are related to the monthly cycle. In bringing our cycle into alignment with the natural rhythms of the moon, we will harmonize ourselves with nature. Under this premise, we should be menstruating at the time of the new moon and ovulating during the full moon. These practices will help you strengthen your shakti-prana, re-balance your hormonal system and rejuvenate your womb and womanly spirit. You should continue with these practices for the new moon until you are sixty years of age to help you maintain healthy hormone levels and to recall your natural rhythms.

1) Shakti Asana

With your head pointing East, lie on your back and stretch out your legs, hip-width apart. Let your arms fall to the sides, palms up. Bring the soles of your feet together so that your knees fell to either side, extending the stretch without strain. Feel the stretch in your pelvis, and visualize the breath coming in through your vulva. Let this energy flow up into your belly then slowly release it downward through the vulva. With each breath imagine white light flooding your belly. Hold the posture for at least 5 min., increasing time as you feel comfortable.

2) Yoni mudra- Womb seal

This is the most powerful way to draw the shakti-kundalini into our bodies, womb and belly. This mudra strengthens the shakti-prana and directs the menstrual blood so that the flow begins at the time of the new moon. It locks the opening to the womb, so that the circulation of prana in this region stays within and intensifies. This should be practiced 3 days before the new moon. Hold this hand mudra for at least 5 minutes.

3) Solar Breath to strengthen shakti- prana

You can shift your menstrual cycle to the new moon by activating your solar (right) breath. A few days before your period begins, (regardless of which phase of the moon your cycle occurs), do the practice as follows.
Lie on your left side, close the left nostril, and slowly inhale and exhale through the open right nostril. Do this practice for a few minutes every day on the three days before your cycle begins. The solar, or ha, breath invokes the power of shakti in your root chakra, and helps it gather its forces so that it thoroughly collects the menstrual waste before ejecting it.