For Hannah, growing up she was never taught to celebrate her cycle, something many women can relate to. A period often is something to manage, hide and get through rather than celebrate until Hannah did. Now 29, the Montana based practitioner and social media advocate has built her life around reconnecting women and others who menstruate to their menstrual wisdom.
Pomegranate speaks to Hannah Grace Nichols, known on social media as Coming Home Embodiment , she mentors women on how they should honour and understand their bodies through their cycles.
She argues that the menstrual cycle shouldn’t be a burden to push through but a blue print for living. From free bleeding, period face masks and how through celebrating her period she has found her power and connection to “mother earth” again.
What does your menstrual cycle mean to you personally, beyond just the physical experience?
My menstrual cycle means creation and life!
It is creation moving through me each cycle and it means I am one with the earth, Great Mother. I have the opportunity to birth life and creation through my body, which is the greatest power anyone could possibly imagine holding.
Do you remember the messages you received about periods growing up, and how have your views changed since then?
I remember growing up that I would see my mom’s bloody pants in the sink each month, she never shamed her cycle. I remember when I got my first period, I got my first blood while at dance class (one of my greatest loves in life) and I was excited.
However, I didn’t feel comfortable asking for mentorship or guidance around it. I YouTubed how to put in a tampon! I fell into objectifying my own body at a young age, and then my period became a nuisance.
Practices like free bleeding or returning menstrual blood to the earth are often described as acts of connection or empowerment. What draws you to these rituals, if anything?
I practice free bleeding, in my underwear, on towels, and on the earth for many reasons. On a very psychological level, menstrual blood is THE most nutrient-dense substance on earth. As it flows out of the vagina, it nourishes the tissues & hydrates them.
Ever since starting free bleeding I sometimes try wearing a cup so that I can collect blood to paint with. I feel my tissues crying for the nourishment of my blood and I love free bleeding on the earth because it is the literal embodiment of the circle of life.
I can, while living, give the gold of my body back to the earth as an offering of gratitude. In return, my body is grounded and balanced by the earth, as the electromagnetic field of the earth balances our fields that get so messed up by technology and living in cities.
Some people use period blood symbolically or spiritually — whether through art, rituals, or skincare practices. What do you think these acts represent for the people who engage in them?
To me and for many women I know who use menstrual blood to make art or face masks, doing this represents reclaiming our blood. It takes bravery, releasing conditioning to be able to interact with one’s blood in this way. It is a powerful unifying act of the self and the feminine to embrace our blood in this way, and to circle back to menstrual blood’s medicinal properties.
It is rich in stem cells, which are so beneficial to the body in so many ways. This same blood is harvested from placentas of mothers, the same thing happens with the foreskins of baby boys’ penises, and these are used to create skincare products. However, this isn’t gross to people because the materials have been processed and we’ve been disconnected from the biological processes that are the truth of the substance.
Using my blood as a mask is me claiming that I don’t need layers of processing and disconnection. I believe this estrangement from our bodies, blood, and physiology on a broader level is a huge reason as to why our world today is so messed up. We are disconnected from ourselves, our bodies, and the circle of life.
Do you think reconnecting with menstrual cycles can change the way people relate to their bodies?
I know without a shadow of a doubt that reconnecting to the menstrual cycle, for both women and then the ripple effect out to the men in our lives, helps us to reconnect to our bodies. I have seen it completely transform my own life, the lives of my peers, and the lives of my clients.
Women have been taught that in order to be powerful and strong we need to do whatever men do. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and this way of being is making us sick, infertility is higher than ever, as are rates of divorce. When women learn that they can embrace, honour, and cherish their physiology we recognize our wisdom.
This wisdom of ourselves and the menstrual cycle is equal to, but differently wise than that of men’s wisdom, we can reclaim our bodies and stop trying to work against them, pushing them toward illness and dis-ease.
I have seen in my peers, mentors, and clients that the relationship between men and women improves when we do this and the rippling health benefits through families and communities.
Do you think social media has helped normalise conversations around periods, or has it created new pressures around “wellness” and femininity?
I think social media has created more openness, educational opportunities, but has created pressure. Social media is a tool, and it will reflect to you what’s going on in your inner world. If someone isn’t in a good headspace mentally, they will feel pressure and start feeling not enough around any topic on their feed, menstrual related or not.
We are all human. We all have weak spots and flaws. My advice is to don’t take everything one person says as truth and learn from lots of different teachers on the topics you’re interested in. Use your own discernment and embodied practice of the knowledge to feel what’s true for you.
Menstruation is still treated as taboo in many spaces. Have you personally experienced shame, stigma, or pressure around your cycle?
I am fairly bold in sharing my practices, and I began sharing about this work early on in my learning journey. I have been gently teased, verbally assaulted in comments sections, called crazy, and everything in between! It doesn’t bother me, because people are scared of things that challenge the foundation of who they are.
Changing our views of the menstrual cycle and women’s wisdom does this. They’ll open up when they’re ready and a mentor of mine always told me, “disgust is the opposite side of the same coin as obsession”, so clearly it strikes a chord in them for a reason!
Some people describe their cycle as a source of creativity, intuition, or emotional clarity. Has your relationship with your cycle ever influenced your work, mindset, or daily life?
My work with my menstrual cycle has transformed my life, my physical health, and my emotional wellbeing in every way. Our hormonal health cannot be separated from our emotional health.
In women, if we don’t have a good relationship to our cycle, our mental health can only get so good. Until you get to know and honour your hormones, you won’t access your full potential for joy or symbiosis in life.
When I come home to my menstrual cycle, womb, and femininity, I became who I truly am. I became grounded. Through this I have learned to love myself, set boundaries and learn what my true passions were. I unlocked new levels of creativity, new outlets of creativity that I didn’t know I had, and I got closer to the Great Spirit and Mother Earth.
Healing my relationship with my cycle, healed trauma I didn’t know I had and I healed relationships where I couldn’t understand why there were issues in the first place. I stopped being a victim to our world, the system, life and I started creating heaven on earth for myself.
What does empowerment through menstruation look like to you in practice? Is it about visibility, education, ritual, health, choice, or something else?
Empowerment through menstruation looks like women being able to actually inhabit their bodies and ultimately express their authenticity.
It means we slow down and rest during menstruation and are allowed to fly fast during ovulation.
If all people honour the feminine as wise, in turn, women can honour men’s wisdom. It means young women are celebrated at their first blood and older women are celebrated at their last. It will ultimately mean peace on earth.
What would you like future generations to understand about menstruation that previous generations were discouraged from talking about openly?
I desire future generations to understand the menstrual cycle, how they can organize their lives to honour it and themselves, rather than forcing upstream.
I desire for young women to see their menstrual cycle as equally important to their heartbeat and for young women to love their bodies and their cycles, to bleed with pride and peace. I want future generations to feel safe in their bodies, and safe to be as they are.
