Discovering your menstruation as a spiritual practice
Yasmine understands her menstruation as a spiritual practice and shares in this interview how she is connecting more with her own body through cycle awareness.
Every experience with menstrual cups is different. For some it work right away, others need several cycles, and others need several menstrual cups and several cycles. For some it may not work at all. Everything is normal. If you think back to your first attempts with a tampon, it might not have been easy right away. And at some point it was the most natural thing in the world to change your tampon. That’s how you’ll feel after some time with the right menstrual cup! We recently gave you plenty of tips on how to find your perfect menstrual cup. Now it’s time to see if you have already found ‘the one’.
How do you know you’ve found the right one for you? Your perfect menstrual cup should meet the following three requirements:
If the menstrual cup is correctly inserted, you will (almost) no longer notice it. If you still feel the cup after one or two cycles, you could, for example, cut off the stem a little or completely. This will make the cup shorter. You could also turn it inside out. This changes slightly the shape and length, which can lead to a more comfortable fit.
Small drops of blood can sometimes ‘leak’ and are quite normal. After inserting the menstrual cup, a little bit of menstrual blood often remains on the vaginal wall underneath the cup. Here it will be enough to wipe it off once with toilet paper, just like a normal toilet trip. Afterwards, the blood should only end up in the cup.
Once correctly inserted, the menstrual cup should not move when worn and should remain securely in place. However, if you tighten your pelvic muscles when going to the toilet, the cup may of course shift slightly downwards due to the pressure. In this case, you can simply push it back up again a little further with a clean finger.
If you have bought a cup that neither leaks nor moves and that you can’t feel, then you’ve made it! You have found the right menstrual cup for you. Congratulations and happy bleeding! For everyone else: don’t give up and keep on searching. The perfect cup is already waiting for you.
Unfortunately no! Or maybe: Fortunately no!? Because we all have different bodies and therefore our needs and demands for a menstrual cup are very different. The market for sustainable period products is now so well established that (almost) all menstruating people can find the right cup for them. However, a little research as well as trial and error is required.
Now you may be wondering if one menstrual cup is enough for your entire period? Yes, it is! Because you can simply remove it, empty your menstrual blood, clean it and put it back in again. Before and after your period you can boil your cup for several minutes. Is your menstruation different on different days? Also no problem. On stronger days you can simply change your menstrual cup at shorter intervals. On lighter days it can be worn for up to 12 hours. In general, most menstruating people can manage well with a single menstrual cup for the entire cycle. However, some people choose to use a second cup as a backup if they have to change their cup when they are out and don’t want to clean their menstrual cup in public toilets or in the office. The decision is entirely up to you. For me personally, a single menstrual cup is enough.
If you have used and tried your menstrual cup several times, but it just doesn’t seem to be working, then it is probably not the right one for you. Some companies even take the cups back if you are dissatisfied. And otherwise, thanks to their material, menstrual cups can be made sterile again by boiling them and you could resell your (rarely) used cup and give it a new home. And then buy another one and try it out. Or maybe you need more support and tips to find your perfect menstrual cup? We are happy to help you – just send us a message!
Yasmine understands her menstruation as a spiritual practice and shares in this interview how she is connecting more with her own body through cycle awareness.
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…and empower countless women to make empowered choices about their bodies!
