Navaratri.. Celebration of women power.. Part 2

Menarche - onset of menstruation

                Now that we have understood anatomy (structure) of a Female Reproductive System, we will now discuss about Menarche that Menstrual periods in adolescence i.e onset of menstruation.

                Adolescent age is an important milestone of a woman’s life. A little girl embarks upon her journey to became a lady. It causes many physical and mental transformations and onset of regular menstruation (Menarche) plays a vital role in it. Girls are overwhelmed with emotions during this stage. Confused, irritated with it, sometimes they are unwilling to accept these menses. (Loathing - nonchalant - considering menses as punishment to girls). But it is important as parents to understand her physical and psychological state. Parents should Make her calm down. Educate her with scientific knowledge about menstrual cycle and its benefits. HOW to take care of mind and body. How to control one's emotions and reactions. First and foremost parents should make it crystal clear to their girl that there is nothing shameful or inferior about menses on the contrary it is a very proud and healthy cycle of life. Nowadays age of menarche has reduced from 12-15 to 8-12 years. Hence it more important to take care of these little girls.

               Ayurvedic texts have stated that this is a Vaat dominant stage which induces menstrual bleeding in order to remove residual endometrial lining.

                Therefore there are some different routine practices has been stated for a menstruating lady (Rajahswala). According to it, a Rajahswala should stay alone in a different room… She should not go to kitchen or do any household chores….

Take rest… should not dress up pretty or use any makeup... should not eat from other's food and eat only from cup of her hands.. should sleep on mat {chataai).. should not get involved in sexual acts.. avoid bathing during the course and enter house on forth day after having bath… 😱😱

                 Yes,I can feel those angry vibes from readers after reading all this. “Hello, these 2016.. you and your Ayurveda is from wrong era.. how could you make women feel inferior about themselves, after all you are also a women.” I may even receive messages of protests after reading this paragraph. But wait for a moment. Let that heat to cool off a bit.

                  Now let us give Ayurveda a chance and try to understand reason behind these directions.

• Staying in a alone and withdrawal from household duties is to give some rest for Rajahswala as This is a Vaat dosha predominant stage. Any labour will cause vitiation of Vaat (Vaatprakop) and it will hamper proper menstruation.
• Dress up and Make up are for making a lady beautiful which stimulates sexual desires but it is advised to follow abstinence during this period. Hence a lady should wear simple white abd clean clothes.
• Abstinence is advised in order to avoid any hindrance to ongoing menstrual flow,hence to  ensure proper cleansing of uterus.
• Agni ie digestive-metabolic strength is low during this period Hence a lady should eat less food (which can be collected in cup of hands) also it should be light. Normal food (which is consumed by others) or outside eatables are heavy to digest and can be responsible for improper digestion.
• Sleeping on floor only on a mat is advised in order to restrict sleeping on comfortable, soft matress as it vitiates kapha dosha which again obstructs menstrual flow.
• Now about Bathing - water has cold properties (Sheet guna) which vitiates kapha dosha. But this does not mean that a lady should not cleanse herself at all. Local hygiene is utmost important.
•                These are ground reasons for our age old customs. But later these customs got denatured into abominable traditions and lost its significance. These troublesome restrictions are the real reason which made women to think of menstruation as a curse. And it has also created various health hazard for women's lives.

                 Now time has come where both, parents and ladies need to understand science of menstruation and true nature our customs as well. Nowadays girls/women are attracted to what is shown in sanitary napkins advertisement. So They feel that these restrictions are like an obstruction to their free life and it is their right to run,dance or play heavy sports or pull out some tiresome work, even during menses. But considering rise in number of menstrual complaints like irregular mensen, heavy/scanty menstrual discharge,menorrhagic pain, headaches, polycystic ovarian disease(PCOS), uterine fibroids, infertility , I think now it is a high time to make some serious changes in our lifestyle. So why not accept our Ayurveda keeping scientific mind ?

                                   (To be continued…)

Next topic : Menstrual cycle in Reproductive Age.