Stella Artuso: Menstrual Cycle Educator

Soothing and soulful Stella is a certified Yoga teacher and a passionate Menstrual Cycle Educator who helps womxn reconnect to their bodies, better understand their cycles and learn practical mindfulness tools to support and honour their cyclic needs. She has made it her mission to guide womxn to live in-tune with the phases of their menstrual cycle so they can experience smoother more harmonious cycles. Imagine celebrating your cycle instead of dreading it !? Stella helps womxn understand what powerful forces of nature they really are.

For as long as Stella can remember she’s had a passion for holistic health. Stella has a background in Exercise Science, a Master’s in Public Health and an insatiable desire to keep learning. She continues to enroll in teacher trainings such as trauma sensitive yoga, women’s health, Ayurveda and Tantra. 

Stella leads with femininity and authenticity and shares her gifts and knowledge through different offerings including her 5-week BLOOD MAGIC workshop series, virtual one-on-one Consultations, Sisterhood circles and Cacao ceremonies or join her on International retreats (once covid is no longer our collective reality)

GET TO KNOW STELLA

What’s your sun, moon and rising sign?

Cancer (sun), I don’t know the others  (:

What lights up your soul?

When I am living my full expression of the Self. When I allow all conditioning and doubts to melt away and I stand, rooted in my TRUTH. This is my soul. This is my soul on fire. 

Favourite self-love ritual?

At the moment there are two > spending time in solitude and > regular self-massage. Both connect me to myself and invite love in. 

Sometimes, when we think of self-love we think of things that are pleasant or pleasurable. Loving the self - is about loving all aspects of the self. The first practice (being in solitude) often brings up my shadows; it unearths parts of me that I prefer to tuck away neatly and ignore. This self-love practice invites me to sit and witness what comes up. To welcome it, accept it, without judgement, without expectations. Not easy but has become a necessity. 

The second is actually a pleasurable self-love practice & I’m really enjoying it. I LOVE doing this while I’m still in bed, as I waver between my dream and waking state. Giving myself time to slowly emerge, caressing my body, fingertips whispering “good morning” to all my curves, my skin responding to each touch. It’s such a loving way to wake up! 

What is your gift you offer others? (What you are here to share with your sisters, your mission)

My gift, or what I’m here to share, is a remembering. I’m here to guide womxn to reconnect to their cyclic nature, to honour and love everything about themselves in a safe and welcoming way. A way where there are “no rights or wrongs”  - just a remembering of our own wild and cyclic nature - a reclaiming of who, and what we have always been. 

I do this by connecting womxn to the power of their menstrual cycle, through body literacy and mindfulness practices. Showing womxn how to live in harmony with their cycle and actually thrive in all aspects of their lives with this knowledge and practices. 

Biggest shadow aspect you had to overcome/are overcoming?

My tendency to try and control many aspects of my life (and the lives of those I love). 

This  stems from a lack of trust that  I am enough, or that there will always be enough.

I’m learning to trust that there is nothing for me to “fix” or “do”, that - IN THIS MOMENT, 

I AM ENOUGH. 

Can you share a story of when you first stepped into your feminine power? (might be tied in to your shadow aspect)

I first stepped into my femine power when I shattered the walls of “protection” I had built around my heart over my lifetime. This shattering happened during a silent meditation retreat. I literally felt a burning heat rising up my spine and stopping at the level of my heart. This energy was so intense that all was released in that moment, I had to leave the room I was in to weep. I wept all the tears and emotions I had never allowed myself to feel. 

I connect this experience to stepping into my feminine power because I believe the feminine nature is to feel, to love, to be compassionate and empathetic. We (western world view) often think of this as a weakness, but I understood in that moment that staying soft, staying open is the most loving and courageous thing I could do. 

What’s one thing you want to learn this year?

I want to learn how to dance! I want to tap into a new way of moving my body that is liberating and fun!

Early bird or night owl? 

I’m a bit of both! When I’m living somewhere close to nature, I wake up at sunrise and love to witness the world around me waking up.

When I’m living in an urban setting (as I am now) - I tend to stay up later and spend more time lounging in bed and enjoying sleepy mornings.  Both bring me joy (: 

What makes you feel empowered?

I feel empowered when I can share from the heart. When I can share yoga, mindfulness, self-care rituals and the power of the menstrual cycle in a way that is open, free and unbound. I feel completely in my power and love to share in this way. 

Something most people would be surprised to know about you?

I have a very fiery and passionate nature, as well as a rebellious tendency. I love these aspects of myself, but they sometimes get me into “trouble”.

Inspiring book or podcast recommendation?

Wild Power - by Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope 

If you were an oracle who could only deliver one message, what would it be? 

Trust the intuition of your heart. The mind is clouded by conditioning, past experiences and judgements. Your heart always, always, knows the way. 

Follow along on her Insta 

Listen to Stella’s interview on Bed Talks The Podcast

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