A woman’s menstrual cycle is the fifth “vital sign” — along with blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate — to assess her overall health.
But too many women go through life not really knowing how their cycles work.
Stigma or silence around periods makes the problem worse. Many women don’t know about important bodily signals that affect health, lifespan, and future fertility.
One organization is committed to changing that. Natural Womanhood, a Texas nonprofit, is on a mission to educate women about their natural fertility so they can embrace it as something “beautiful, powerful, and healthy.”
Their flagship program, Cycle Mindfulness® Clubs, brings this education to college campuses.
Cycle Mindfulness® Clubs are peer-led campus communities where young women learn to understand their cycles, fertility, and womanhood. They offer a safe and encouraging space for young women to learn and grow together.
A supportive place to learn
“Every woman deserves to know the truth about her body in a supportive community of peers,” said Gerard Migeon, president and CEO of Natural Womanhood, which he founded with his wife Anna in 2012.
In the past 60 years, fertility and cycles have been treated as problems to be “fixed” with contraception. But because of this approach, many women have a distorted relationship with their bodies and feel that they have no control. It affects their confidence in who they are, their life balance, their decisions, and ultimately their identity and freedom.
Natural Womanhood surveyed college women and found that some 80% are not at peace with their cycles. Their responses ranged from “I can’t sleep or work during my periods” to “I hate my body.”
Many use a period tracking app, but much more is needed. “The key to make a difference is to help them not only learn the science of the design of their bodies, but also to observe and chart their own cycles in order to integrate this knowledge personally,” Migeon said.
“We realized that in order to make a change, women needed to be in a safe community where they feel supported,” he said. This realization led to the creation of Cycle Mindfulness® Clubs.
What happens at the clubs
The clubs include two types of meetings: educational and inspirational. During educational meetings, the leader gives a talk on a given topic, followed by a discussion. During inspirational meetings, the leader will share part of an article from Natural Womanhood’s website along with her personal response to it and her experience on the topic, then invites everyone in the club to share their own response and personal experience.
The topics include the following:
- Charting your Cycle
- Cycle Syncing
- Common Cycle Problems
- Ovulation
- Male and Female Anatomy
- Informed Consent and Medical Interventions
- Reproductive Life Planning
- Lifestyle shifts for health
Responses from college women
Migeon shared with Aleteia responses from club participants:
- “I feel more confident in who I am and how God made me.”
- “Thank you for making this course. It has helped me love my body more and work in communion with how I am made.”
- “Loved learning about the gift of femininity.”
- “I feel more powerful as a woman and in the knowledge and beauty of femininity.”
- “The sisterhood that has developed is so rich and I am extremely grateful that I got to walk with this group of women.”
Currently there are 29 clubs in 23 locations across the U.S., and new clubs are starting in Uganda and Nigeria this fall. You can learn here how to bring a club to your campus.
Natural Womanhood is also working on a digital platform to make the program easier to access by anyone. Meanwhile this unique program is helping young women gain self-confidence and freedom as they learn to chart their cycles.
“Cycle Mindfulness® Clubs don’t just provide knowledge — they nurture a deeper sense of dignity, purpose, and gratitude for womanhood,” Migeon said. “Many participants share that the experience has helped them reconnect with the truth that their bodies are created with intention and beauty.”
