Dancing During Your Period
It’s a common belief to view menstruation as a nightmare or an obstacle in life.
Even though bleeding happens every month, for many, it still feels like an extreme situation. You may have encountered women who stop their lives and feel miserable when they get their period—or maybe that’s how you feel. Some of us spend a quarter of the year bleeding.
All of our first period stories are different, and for many of us, no one even explained what menstruation really is. I remember a group of instructors coming to my school to teach us how to use a pad when I was in middle school. By that time, I had already started my period, so it was too late for me to learn.
And more importantly, is period education only about how to use a pad?
For many years, I was truly upset and struggled with my period problems, which were a constant headache for me. Pain that required IV drips, irregular bleeding, fatigue, tension, hopelessness... And if I had to dance that day—oh no! You naturally grow tired of your biology and get angry with your body. You get angry because it’s constantly changing, because it feels weaker. Of course, I never imagined I would eventually grow to love my period.
Later, during high school, I discovered a solution for myself: doing sit-ups helped me relieve period pain. Yes, we want to lie down, sleep, shut ourselves off from the world, but I instinctively found that moving made me feel much better. I started to realize that, when I was in pain, instead of giving in to immobility, it was much more beneficial for me to guide myself towards movement. Even though we might want to curl up in the fetal position, this actually compresses our abdominal muscles and could worsen the pain.
Of course, resting during your period is a good idea. I’m not saying we should torture ourselves with extreme movements. But I’d like to revise that sentence a bit: *Listening* to yourself during your period is a good idea. Does listening always require staying still? No. You can listen to yourself through gentle movements.
When I shifted my focus from performance-based dancing to feminine energy and listening to myself, I realized that during my period, regular, mindful, and gentle movements eased my flow, relieved my pain, and improved my mood. We all know those couches and screens that pull us in like a black hole. Yes, you might think you’re resting by lying down, but when you take a break from that and slowly invite yourself to move, you’ll see how much better it makes you feel.
And after a while, incorporating dance as a part of your life will help you dance through all your cycles. Yes, we are constantly changing. During ovulation and menstruation, we behave, feel, and live from entirely different places. When you make dance a part of your life by listening to yourself instead of dancing on autopilot, dance becomes your companion and support in all your transformations. The goal here isn’t to perform perfect dances, but to move like everything in the universe does.
So yes, dance can be your ally in dealing with period problems. You can even rest through dancing. You can engage your body in the contracting and releasing motions of your abdomen, and you can celebrate your cycles. This way, you will accept the fact that you bleed and will bleed every month—not just mentally, but by structuring your relationship with your body.
By gently relaxing into your abdomen and calmly exploring pelvic movements, life will become a more enjoyable place. Just don’t get so caught up in the enjoyment that you step on cold stones with bare feet!
After all, grandmothers are always right, aren’t they?