MY CYCLE: Dancer & Choreographer Vanessa Marian
Byron Bay-based dancer and choreographer Vanessa Marian is always in a state of movement, and yet somehow always going with the flow. Vanessa is frequently using dance to help others. Her company, Groove Therapy aims to make dance more accessible to everyone - no matter your age or your ability to body roll. Here she shares her cycle routine and why sometimes popping a Nurofen and just getting on with it is the best kind of attitude...
Name: Vanessa Marian
Age: 32
Day job: Movement artist, writer
Location: Byron Bay
My mum's a science teacher, and I was across the concept, so I was fairly unbothered by it. I'd heard horror stories of other girls freaking out over the experience, and I think, for me, there was an immature, egoic sense of 'I'm grown-up and not like the others' that fed into my nonchalance. Mum was cooking curry at an Aunty's house for a big event, and I remember calling her to break the news casually. I enjoyed playing the role. "Hey mum? Yeah, I got my period, just thought you should know. No pain. Yeah I'm fine, just grown-up things you know how it is.
Apparently you're not meant to go upside down on your cycle so, without doing any of my own research, I just take that advice and keep my body rolls vertical. Aside from that, if I've taken a pain killer, I'm generally business as usual.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I have faaaantastic skin. It's purely a genetics thing. Three go-to beauty products: Moisturiser, tweezer and lip balm.
My partner gets queasy around blood but makes the extra effort not to show it when I talk about periods. He knows that makes him a bad feminist/ally. Aside from that, there have been a few horrendous occasions of deep, guttural stabbing pains and it's endearing to feel him sort of flip flop helplessly back-of-shot with words of affirmation and fresh mugs of tea.
Look, I'm quite the naturally indulgent person already so I just keep it up during my cycle. I dance almost every single day, I eat a little chocolate almost every single day, I drink tea, listen to music, I read, I catch up on the latest goss of some pop star whose music I've never even listened to and I comfort myself re: the state of the world with memes that degrade politicians. Life's fab on all 28 days of my cycle.
Follow Vanessa Marian on Instagram or visit groovetherapy101.com