So often today, I hear women feeling the struggle with their menstrual cycle. I did, myself – I used to have deep pain from endometriosis, which was a condition that made my periods very painful. Women can often suffer with painful bleeds, for a variety of different reasons, including:
- Menstrual cramps
- Endometriosis
- Adenomyosis
- Ovarian pain
- Fibroids
- Previous womb trauma
- And other reasons
Even if there is no pain, menstruation is often seen as an ‘inconvenience’ in a modern world that demands we ‘keep up’ – with a body that’s begging us to ‘slow down’ each month, as we respond to hormones that want us to become more tender, soft and slow.
Yet, one of the things I’ve seen, from years of guiding women home into their bodies, is that often – whilst many women (understandably) feel some ‘hate’ towards their bodies during their menstruation because they feel their bodies are ‘letting them down’ by being in so much pain – we can begin to heal and change that relationship with our cycle. And, as we do – often our bodies will respond with less pain; like mine did.
My worldview, garnered from personal experience and that of working with many women in the reclamation of their cycles, is that much of common pain and tenderness during our cycles (always get anything serious ruled out by a GP first) can be due to a basic disconnection from our natural body rhythms, which can be healed by consciously working with our cycle – and by harnessing essential oils to remind our bodies of their natural rhythms.
As women in female bodies, we can learn quite easily in this chaotic modern world to disconnect from our natural cycle, to numb our bodies to keep up with the pace of life – perhaps that’s by dulling our natural hormone patterns with the pill, or the coil, or just completely ignoring our bodies and plastering over the pain with painkillers. It’s innocently done, because our cycle often calls us to slow down – and that’s hard to do in a world where that’s not valued.
Yet, if we do reconnect to our bodies, slow down and honour our cycles – and work with essential oils to support the reclamation of that rhythm, so much can be changed. This work is what has had me reclaim my menstrual cycle and really reduce my chronic pain. There’s a great book that grounds us in this research and explores how working with our cycle can actually help us heal and reconnect to our deeper purpose – it’s called Wild Power, by Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope – if you’re interested in reading more.
So, what if by working with connecting to our bodies and their natural rhythms, using essential oils, our bodies could reveal things to us that helped us heal our painful periods? Here are some invitations to help you begin this journey into the body – along with some therapeutic essential oils that can help you directly treat the pain symptoms, too.
Begin to track your cycle and its natural rhythms
One of the most powerful invitations for any woman with a cycle is to begin a practice of cycle tracking. This could be as simple as noticing where you are in your cycle each day and noting how you feel physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually – as well as keeping a note of any pain sensations you have. You may begin to notice that there’s a particular rhythm to your cycle – or that it’s revealing certain patterns – such as you not slowing down when you’re bleeding.
Our cycles – and our hormones – go through an (approximate) cycle which can be explored well as an ‘inner’ Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter:
Inner Winter – Days 27-5 being the time where we bleed and feel tender and soft – our progesterone plunges, and oestrogen is low, and we may have cramps and low energy. This is time to SURRENDER.
Inner Spring – Days 6-11 – being the season of the follicular phase, where we’re beginning to feel more energy, our mood lifts and we feel more confidence – oestrogen is riding, but progesterone is low. This is time to SAY YES.
Inner Summer – Days 12-19 – being mid-cycle when we are ovulating and generally feeling most vibrant and alive – we might feel more energised and confident at this part of our cycle (if we have honoured the slowdown in Winter). This is a time to GLOW.
Inner Autumn – Days 20-26 – being where we are transitioning into the luteal phase, journeying back towards our bleed – progesterone rises and we find ourselves with less energy, needing to honour our needs and slowing down. We might start to feel an inner ‘wild no’ to things we don’t desire to engage with. This is time to SAY NO.
It’s really helpful to ground ourselves into these natural hormonal patterns and begin to get familiar with how our body was born to navigate the world – and when it wasn’t just ‘go, go, go’.
We’ve written a previous blog about how to regulate our cycle with blends for each of the inner seasons. For now, though, I want to speak specifically to navigating the pains we can feel if we aren’t honouring our cycle – and especially our ‘inner winter’ – by slowing down.
What essential oils can support us therapeutically when we experience menstrual pain?
First of all, let’s assume that you’re already honouring the natural seasons in your cycle – and using blends from our other blog to track and support your rhythms. Because that’s deeply important – and likely will reduce pain, because it’s usually going directly to the underlying reasons for the pain.
If you’re doing that, and still having pain – and even if you’re not doing it and experiencing pain, there are also therapeutic essential oils that can help with directly treating menstrual cycle pain symptoms – whether that’s pain at ovulation or pain during your bleed, so I’d like to explore those.
Top 10 ‘therapeutic’ essential oils for menstrual pain
In general, the floral oils are superb for all Feminine issues, but there are also analgesic, antispasmodic and relaxant oils that can be really serving:
- Rose – a rich rosy oil, this is one of the first-choice options for all female-related challenges (including emotional aspects of menstrual pain) – it’s very balancing for the female reproductive system and supportive in regulating the cycle.
- Geranium – with a sweet, floral aroma, this oil is a relaxant, and helps relieve spasms, pain and inflammation.
- Clary Sage – a musky floral, this oil has a ‘euphoric’ effect, which can really help pain – it’s a powerful muscle relaxant, antispasmodic and aphrodisiac, which helps women to soften and open.
- Lavender – a floral, calming and relaxing oil, it has pain-relieving properties that can help cramps and tenderness at any time of the cycle.
- Rose Geranium – a gorgeous fragrant oil, this is a wonderful hormone balancer, and pain and inflammation reliever.
- Ylang Ylang – a strong, sweet scent, this oil is balancing and relaxing.
- Clove – a warm, spicy, woody scent, Clove is great for aches and pains – it is warming and comforting.
- Sweet Marjoram – a woody, spicy, warm oil, this is often a great alternative to Lavender. It is a great pain reliever, and also has antispasmodic properties.
- Vetivert – a smoky, earthy, woody oil, this is a great analgesic, but also a hormonal balancer, making it wonderful for the cycle.
- Roman Chamomile – a herby, fruity aroma, this oil is a particular favourite relaxant – and can help muscle spasms, tension, inflammation and pain – perfect for menstrual cramps.
All of these oils are great to support menstrual pain – and there are two ways I’d recommend you create blends; direct application in massage (in a carrier oil), and via bathing (if warmth helps you relax). Here are two blends you can use to mix and match the above oils into:
Feminine Cycle Massage Blend:
Blend up to 6 drops (total) of up to 3 different oils – choosing from the list above, by selecting the oils that call to you most – in 15ml of a carrier oil. Mix well, and apply to the areas of pain and tenderness, gently massaging the abdomen in a clockwise direction – or anywhere else in a direction towards the heart.
For example, you might use 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Clary Sage and 1 drop Roman Chamomile mixed in 15ml of Grapeseed carrier oil. Use this daily, as needed, during times of pain and tension – as a therapeutic support.
Feminine Cycle Bath Blend
Blend up to 7 drops of up to 3 different essential oils – selected from the list above – in 20ml of Bath Oil, and mix with the warm, running water of your bath. Close the doors, and sink into some relaxation, breathing in the scents.
For example, you might use 3 drops Geranium, 3 drops Lavender and 1 drop Vetivert. Use as needed during times of pain and tension – as a therapeutic support.
These blends can both be used at any point in your cycle to soothe pain and tenderness – whether your pain is usually at ovulation or during your bleed; they have therapeutic properties that will soothe, either way.
My deepest invitation is to use these, whilst also working with the blends to remind your body of its natural ‘seasons’ as this will also help regulate your cycle – so do enjoy our other article, too!
Happy blending.
Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist
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