Natural Therapies Directory NI

Imagine if the day of your first period, your mother had given you a bunch of flowers, had taken you out for a meal and you had finished the day by going to the jewelers where your father was waiting with a special gift, a small piece of significant jewelry, perhaps your first earrings…. Imagine if soon after that you were allowed to join in with your Mum and other girl friends to a special gathering of women where you could put a bit of lip gloss for the first time and learnt more about the wonders of being a woman.

How different would your life had been?

The Moon Heart Club is a 4-hr Workshop where girls are invited to explore to the usual facts around puberty and menstruation covered in school, plus a lot more, in a fun, dynamic way with plenty of opportunity for conversations to nourish every girl’s sense of self-esteem, increase their self-awareness and encourage a positive body image.

The Moon Heart Club Workshop is preceded by a 1.5hr "Carers-Only Session" where you will be able to explore and express some of your own feelings and experiences about menstruation in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.

As Dr. Christiane Northrup says, “The carer-daughter relationship is the foundation of every woman’s health. It has more clout biologically, emotionally and psychologically than any other relationship in a woman’s life.”

As such, if your own experience of puberty and menarche were difficult for you, in this space you will have the opportunity to learn more about the subject in a much wider context than it is traditionally taught or shared, so that the ways you communicate with your daughter about puberty and menstruation will be gentler, more positive and smoother than it may have otherwise have been.

As women, the menstrual cycle is the most basic and earthy feature we possess. Our blood is our connection with the female archetype. The macrocosmic cycles of nature, such as the ebb and flow of the waves in the sea and the seasonal changes are all reflected in some way or another in the menstrual cycle of each woman. The monthly maturation of the egg, pregnancy and the release of menstrual blood are a faithful reflection of the process of creation just as it happens not only in nature, but even also in every human enterprise. In most cultures, the menstrual cycle was considered as sacred up to about 5,000 years ago.

Nowadays, however, the way in which most of us experience the changes in puberty and particularly menarche (first period) is often surrounded by secrecy, shame, ignorance, anxiety, mixed messages and even loneliness. Menstruation is a taboo subject, even amongst women, daughter-Mums and that “special class” most girls get at school as part of the official curriculum may explain the physiology of periods, fertility and pregnancy but makes no reference to the emotional and psychological aspects that are so crucial in these processes.

If we wish to return to the ancient wisdom surrounding menstruation and the true nature of women as cyclic, creative (regardless of procreation), beautiful beings we must acknowledge the negative attitudes towards menstruation we have all come to believe in ourselves and make a change in the way we are communicating about these subjects with our daughters/sisters/nieces/granddaughters.

Science has repeatedly shown that young girls who experience menarche well prepared and supported and receive a positive introduction to the emotional and psychological changes that come about during the puberty years have higher self-esteem, a lower incidence of period-related symptoms such as PMT even less complicated pregnancies and births.

By initiating, promoting and supporting a healthier, more open and grounded experience and knowledge of the changes that puberty brings to girls at all levels (physical, emotional and psychological) we are able to foster the overall more positive self-image and self-esteem required for them to be able to make healthy and better-informed decisions with regards to relationships, sex, consent, child bearing and other crucial life decisions.

The 4hr Workshop is divided into 2 parts, with the first 3hrs being a "girl-only zone" and the last hour incorporating their Mum or any relevant adult figure close to the girl.

Spaces limited to 12 participants aged between 10 and 12.

Participation is open to girls who have already had their first Moon as well as to those who have not.