The period will accompany you for a large part of your life, nothing more and nothing less than once a month. It is now that we learn to enjoy it, don’t you think? That is precisely the objective of menstrual coaching: “it is a process of accompanying and changing everything that today prevents you from fully enjoying your menstruation and, therefore, your life”, explains Irene Aterido, sociologist and sexologist. who works with women of all ages and conditions.
Put a menstrual coach in your life!
What does a menstrual coach do?
A menstrual coach helps, guides, motivates, guides and accompanies the woman so that she feels good both physically and emotionally.
“She is someone who, with the tools of health coaching, the knowledge about the menstrual cycle that the most advanced feminist endocrinology and gynecology have established, the clinical experience of sexology (because female sexuality has a lot to do with the experience of the cycle period) and with an empathetic attitude and full listening, she accompanies the person who consults towards a path of health”, explains Aterido.
Why do we need it?
- Despite how accustomed we are to having our period, we are largely unaware. As Irene Aterido explains to us, there are many reasons to sign up for menstrual coaching:
- It teaches you to know yourself better and, therefore, to realize that something has changed. “Knowing your cycle and detecting possible alterations can avoid a pilgrimage by professionals who are not trained in the menstrual cycle or have no interest in the integral health of women.” Therefore, it also helps to save time, money and suffering.
- It teaches you to understand your menstrual cycle and start to see it in a different way. As this sexologist details: “It helps you eliminate, if necessary, taboos and beliefs that are preventing enjoyment and that cause pain.”
- This accompaniment teaches you to get involved in your emotional, dietary and sexual health in an active way.
- From the self-knowledge that menstrual coaching offers you, it allows you to make more informed decisions about how you want to relate to your body and manage your health. For example, you will be able to decide better if you want to take the contraceptive pill, if the menstrual cup would be good for you, what is causing that bad smell, why do you get your period twice a month, etc.
- Above all, menstrual coaching teaches you to enjoy your period.
The importance of enjoying your period
- “Menstruating and enjoying are words that normally do not go together. It is important to break the taboo that menstruating is something bad and painful, even limiting. If we accept the cycle of our bodies and know how to interpret and decipher each phase, we would probably come to enjoy it”, explains Irene Aterido.
- “Negative thoughts make our symptoms worse (…) Understanding the cycle, breaking taboos and above all not feeling menstruation as a curse is synonymous with enjoying it.”
What does a coaching session consist of?
- Each menstrual coaching session is different, because it is personalized according to what the woman needs. “The coach session begins with a previous interview where the objectives and the way to achieve them are set. The number of sessions is set by the rhythm of the person and their needs, in each session the necessary tools are offered through advice, audiovisual support and all the necessary material.”
- For this reason, relaxation techniques are sometimes proposed, others a beneficial type of diet or sport is recommended, talks are held about what it feels like… “During each coaching session the woman has the full attention and empathy of the professional. Free expression is encouraged and value judgments and interruptions are avoided. All this takes place in a confidential environment. Privacy is very important, it is actively preserved and prior contract”.
Who can try menstrual coaching?
Any woman can benefit from coaching. Those who are beginning to face menstruation, those who are experiencing menopause, those who have problems with their menstruation, those who want to live it in a more natural way, those who want to get pregnant… It can even be done as a couple to improve the sexual and affective life between both.
