Menstruality Medicine Circle (MMC)
It really does feel like magic.
This transformational process created by the co-founders of Red School, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Huo-Wurlitzer (see me on their website - scroll down). It is an intriguing mix of embodied listening and cyclical awareness. It is founded on the notion of moving through the inner seasons, which anyone can access whether you have a menstrual cycle or not, are female or not!
In their words, 'MMC is a psycho-energetic embodiment process developed by Red School to support you to go deeper into the power, magic and healing of this work. A modern healing modality that elicits insight and revelation, tapping into the power and medicine of menstruality to bring about healing, change and deeper self authority.'
Every time I facilitate a Medicine Circle, I'm awed by the process. It really does feel like magic.
What happens in an MMC?
My task as a facilitator (or I prefer guide) is to create space in your busy life for you to stop and pay attention to what your body is trying to communicate. I will guide you through each of your inner seasons (see a video explaining these) in turn.
The MMC is not therapy and I am not a therapist or counsellor. Instead, I enable you to travel through a process to receive the wisdom and medicine through deep attention to your inner experience or felt sense (interoception). I am trained in trauma-informed yoga and bring those skills to the sessions too.
Why invest in an MMC?
Are you struggling with your periods or PMT/ PMS?
Are you trying to reconnect with your cycle after years on the pill?
Are you trying to conceive and want to reconnect positively with your body?
Are you blocked creatively?
Do you want to change the relationship with your body?
Do you want to navigate your changing emotions?
(I could suggest many other reasons - it's also wonderful for listening to what your body is craving during pregnancy and perimenopause - usually specific advice about self-care arises.)
What does a session look like?
We meet for an hour. We start with you connecting with your intention for the session: perhaps there is something you have been struggling with or there is a desire for guidance. You make yourself comfortable (usually sitting, but can be lying or standing) and then I talk you through each of the inner seasons - the Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and back to the Winter of your cycle. We listen for what is coming up and I support you stay with your body rather than cognitively working out the answers. At the end of the process, we discuss practical steps to work on.
Every time I have participated in an MMC - for myself or another woman - I am astounded by what emerges. Whether a woman sees herself as imaginative, intuitive, in touch with her cycle, OR NOT, so much arises when the body is given the time and space it deserves.
It's important to have some time afterwards at your home, in the park, wherever you can let the experience sink in and ground yourself before going back to your busy life!
How many times do we meet?
Depending on the reason why you would like to experience the Medicine Circle, I might advise to meet for one session or for a number. Often a standalone session will reveal insight that can be turned into practical steps of action to take.
My credentials for being an MMC guide
I completed the Women's Quest Leadership Apprenticeship with Alexandra and Sjanie in 2017. I am an MMC facilitator, having completed the residential component and certification process. I am insured with Balens as a Menstrual Educator and specifically for facilitating MMCs. I receive supervision from the Red School.
I have hosted a monthly women's for 8 years and am deeply in touch with my own cycle.
What is the investment?
A standalone Medicine Circle session with follow-up recommendations costs £69. I will guide you through the circle for one hour, and then email you with the recommendations to follow that were suggested by the medicine/ insight that arose in the session.
I provide bespoke packages and concessionary rates so please get in touch for a free clarity call on how I can support you.
What People Are Saying
“The Medicine Circle that Tessa held for me was an amazing opportunity to connect with my cycle on a much deeper level than I have ever been able to do on my own.
It allowed me to have a totally different awareness of myself, my past and feelings throughout my inner seasons, some of which was totally new for me.
It has made a huge difference on how to deal with my inner seasons and to support myself throughout my cycle. Tessa's loving presence, support and gentle guidance was essential to give me confidence to explore my inner cycles. I would recommend it to anyone who wants clarity.”
- Andreia Hamer
“My Medicine Circle with Tessa was a potent, highly charged and extremely illuminating experience. Tessa holds space for healing with grace, tenderness and respect.
I would highly recommend this to anyone who would like deeper insight and clarity into their cycle and how it effects their day to day lives.”
- Jodie Grace
"I found the course really thought-provoking, inspiring and practical - I felt I could try all of the elements that Tessa suggested and that they would be beneficial for me. I have changed the way I think about my body and what it needs. I provide it with much more rest and relaxation than I have in the past. I no longer ignore my cycle and the signs my body communicates; I now try to work with my body and listen to what it needs. Tessa is a highly skilled and wise facilitator and I thoroughly enjoyed every day of the course. Doing something different each day meant I could learn new things in bite-size chunks and apply them gradually."
- Zoe Gimring
Among the MMC facilitators, I specialise in fertility, pregnancy and birth trauma.
Joey's Medicine Circle during pregnancy:
"I found the session so insightful. I felt really at ease and this helped me to connect to my thoughts and express them more easily.
I really felt that I connected to my different seasons and could really visualise and feel the difference between them. It help me to connect to my feelings and emotions towards my PCOS diagnosis - I hadn't realised I was carrying such heavy emotions towards specific seasons.
This has been very useful as it has allowed me to work on unlocking this and to continue to face and work through areas of my cycle that I struggle more with: trying to make the murky more clear.
Being in my final weeks of pregnancy (my first and unplanned), it was really insightful how much linked to my current emotions, and I wasn't aware of how thankful I am actually feeling for being pregnant until I had the session.
After the session I was overcome with emotion - but not in a bad way - it was nice to get out some of the emotions that have been building up, which I have been keeping in.
Interestingly that night I had a lot of very vivid dreams and although some of the dreams were heavy with emotion, they really helped me to understand my current emotional position.
I would definitely recommend the session as it was truly insightful and allowed mem to come aware of my emotional connection with my own cycle, my emotions towards my PCOS, my pregnancy and the upcoming birth of my child
As well as this it allowed me to look into my emotions towards my periods and cycle AFTER birth. I will definitely be continuing to work on seeing specific seasons more clearly.
Thank you!"
Elisa's Medicine Circle during pregnancy:
"Having never given much thought to my menstrual cycle nor how it affects my life and emotions, I approached the session as a 'blank slate'. Being in the later stages of pregnancy (35th week) seemed both an odd time to think about my cycle (felt ages ago) and a great time, as Tessa took me through all the ways in which the four seasons of the cycle can also be applied to the different stages of pregnancy.
A range of different emotions arose for me; from introspection and some of the challenges I am facing in the later stages of pregnancy, to the desire and willingness to bring back the positivity and enthusiasm of earlier stages; from some of the concerns over what the postnatal period will bring, to the determination in trusting myself and my instincts.
I also experienced deep joy for the upcoming birth and visualised the baby as a present I am longing to unwrap, as well as deep gratitude for the support of my partner throughout the pregnancy."
Lisa's Medicine Circle during pregnancy:
"I was surprised that despite being 38 weeks pregnant, I was able to experience the link between the stages of pregnancy, the menstrual cycle and the [inner] seasons. I felt guided and supported by Tessa; this enabled me to open up and explore my feelings more than I thought possible.
The sessions was particularly useful in helping me to identify my feelings and needs at this stage in my pregnancy. I left the session feeling empowered and very ready for birth.
I really did learn a lot. It has inspired me to find out more!"
In these interviews with my good friend and colleague Kate Codrington (www.katecodrington.co.uk), author of Second Spring: a Self-Care Guide to Menopause, we talk about the Medicine Circle and menopausal women and pregnant women. How does it work? What benefits are there? Who comes to receive this and why?
Colour Your Cycle colouring book
Learn about the qualities and tasks of the inner seasons as you colour the mandalas and read the accompanying stories.
