Joyful Period #MenstrualHygieneDay

You go on a vacation to Srilanka; a dream vacation with friends. The beautiful beach beckons you and all you want is to lap it up! You are excited about the scuba diving that you’d planned to try. But, as luck would have it, you get your period on the very day you land there. Ugh! A period is the last thing you want to happen while on a vacation…right?

Luckily it didnt turn out that way for sis, thanks to the menstrual cup! After a day of taking it easy, she was all set the next day to go underwater as planned! Her friends were super impressed and became immediately interested in the ‘menstual cup’ that had saved the day, so to say 🙂

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“I’m so glad I was there when you spoke on this topic. I wish someone had told me about this earlier! It is amazing and has made a wonderful difference to my life. Thank you so much!!” – gushed a friend who is a classical dancer.

Being an amateur dancer myself, I totally get it… the much needed relief and the confidence boost you get to go do your thing!

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“It is fantastic. It is as if I’m not having my period at all. There is no uneasiness, no discomfort, not even a bit. In fact, it was so comfortable that I quite forgot I was having my period and almost missed the evening routine one day 😛 “ – was the sheepish refrain of one of my dear friends.

Even when one is not doing earth-shattering heavy lifting work, having a stress free period is like a dream come true… isnt it?

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These are only a few anecdotes/words that shine light on the positive difference that the ‘menstrual cup’ has made to the lives of people around me. It gives me great joy and satisfaction to know that I was instrumental in the choice that they made and the benefits that they are reaping. Above all, to realise that in small but definite ways, together we are doing our bit for mother earth.

Though I use the word ‘small’, when thought of in a cumulative sense, what this means is that mother earth is going to be spared a few hundreds of sanitary pads/tampoons per year and, that makes me very happy and grateful.

Grateful to have been surrounded by folks who cared deeply about the environment and about making sustainable choices. Grateful to be able to pay it forward by talking about this in my circles (formal and informal talks) and influencing choices.

I will not say that it is a choice that I made in a jiffy. It did take time for me to digest the fact that such an option exists. It took time for me to understand the implications and for that information to sink in.

I will not say that I did not have any doubts or hesitation about using the menstrual cup. There was some amount of trepidation even when I finally actually tried it.

It did feel uncomfortable at first. But, I was lucky to have friends who had tried it already, who comforted me and asked me to hang in there. Just to be clear it felt uncomfortable for around 10-15 mins or so on the first try and then it felt great.

Even now, using the cup is a bit of an effort sometimes. But then I remind myself to breathe and thats it!! Other than the few minutes that involves handling the cup, life is a breeze during the periods.

The joy is 2 fold!! One is for yourself. The fact that you feel freer in your body and hence no stiff, uncomfortable postures. No fear of rashes and allergic reactions. You can focus better on what you want to 🙂 . Two, you no longer contribute to the ever growing enormous landfills, which I would say, is a joy of a different kind altogether!

‘Joyful period’ may have sounded like an oxymoron in another era. But not now. When you have choices such as these and fairly easy access to them. Choose the right cup and remember to breathe! Trust me, thats all it takes 🙂

Whats your period story? Have you tried the menstrual cup? If yes, do share your experiences!! Do join me to help create awareness and to spread the message of joyful periods.

Cheers!!

P.S: here are a couple of resources for further reading.

Menstrual Hygiene Day – An overview on Menstrual Hygiene Day

MenstrualCup.Co – Exhaustive information on all things Menstrual Cup. Do check out the FAQ page.

A comprehensive guide on the menstrual cup

Also, feel free to drop me an email (softypinkngloriousred@gmaildotcom) in case you have questions or need a personal reassurance about this 🙂

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