These past months (years) have been some of the hardest for my motherland, Lebanon ❤️🩹
As a Menstrual Cycle Educator, I believe it’s essential to address how stress impacts menstrual cycles and the disruptions that can arise during challenging times like war.
To support this, I’ve created a short guidebook offering supportive, simple tips. These insights are rooted in local resources and focusing on accessibility and self-reliance.
- Supply shortages: Access to pads, tampons, or reusable alternatives is often hindered by disrupted supply chains.
- Hygiene challenges: Limited clean water, privacy, and sanitation facilities increase the risk of infections.
- Psychological impact: Stress and trauma from war can disrupt menstrual cycles, causing irregularities or amenorrhea (temporary pause).
- Cultural barriers: Stigma around menstruation can prevent individuals from seeking support or supplies during crises.
In this blog post I address some of the challenges and offer supportive, simple tips. These insights draw from local resources, focusing on accessibility and self-reliance.
Additional Yoga Poses:
- Legs Up the Wall: Encourages relaxation and improves circulation. Lie on your back with your legs resting vertically against a wall, arms relaxed at your sides.
- Seated Forward Fold: Gently stretches the lower back and relieves tension. Sit with legs extended, fold forward, and reach for your toes while breathing deeply.
Allow for extra rest when possible, especially during heavy flow days. If access to bedding or comfort is limited, sit or lie on soft surfaces, like rolled clothes, to relieve pressure on the lower back.
🫛 Local, supportive foods: With food scarcity in mind, I emphasize prioritizing iron-rich foods like lentils, beans, and dark leafy greens, along with vitamin C sources to boost iron absorption and combat anemia from blood loss.
🌿 Local herbs and herbal teas: Staying hydrated is essential for reducing bloating and maintaining energy. Boiled water for herbal infusions can be helpful when clean water is scarce. If herbs aren’t available, plain boiled water can be supportive.
- Ginger: If available, chewing ginger or making ginger tea can help reduce inflammation and cramping.
- Chamomile: Reduces cramps, eases anxiety, and promotes relaxation. Chamomile tea is calming and readily available.
- Mint: Eases digestive discomfort and reduces bloating during menstruation. Mint tea is commonly consumed in Lebanon.
- Sage: Helps balance hormones and can alleviate menstrual cramps. Sage tea is often used for its anti-inflammatory properties.
I am fully aware that these resources might not be available to all our Lebanese and Palestinian sisters.
If you are in a position to support organizations addressing period poverty and menstrual health, here are a few doing incredible work:
✨ @wingwomanlebanon
✨ @jeyetna
✨ @thepachaproject
✨ @dawrati.lb
