Period Pain as a Path to Pleasure: Sensual Practices That Heal

Trigger Warning: This article goes deeper than my usual pieces. We’re talking about pelvic pain and its roots, its messages, and how sensuality can be a gateway to healing. If you’ve experienced trauma or have a complex relationship with your body, please read with care, and take what serves you. 

P.S. Hi I’m Dani 👋, the person who wrote this article – Book an experience with me on Sensuali 

Pain as a Messenger: What Is Your Body Telling You?

Period pain is common. 80% will experience it at some point in their lives. 

But, just because it is common does not mean it is normal. 

When we hear “Oh, period pain is just part of having a uterus,” we internalize the message that suffering is expected, unavoidable, perhaps even a badge of honor (?) if we grin and bear through it.  

But, let me be super clear: 

Pain is never random, ever. It is the body speaking in tongues we may not understand. It is asking us to listen. Every single time, no matter what kind of pain it is – whether it is a heartache, a headache, a toothache, a muscle ache or period cramps – it deserves our attention. 

What Exacerbates Period Pain?

Menstruation and ovulation are naturally inflammatory processes, meaning they involve a temporary immune response, just like healing a wound. 

But when period pain is debilitating, something deeper is usually at play.

Many factors can amplify inflammation and disrupt hormonal balance, turning period pain into a chronic issue:

• Stress (HUGE impact!): Raises cortisol, disrupts estrogen-progesterone balance
• Inadequate sleep: Reduces hormone regulation and tissue repair
• Alcohol, smoking, and drugs: Increases inflammation and hinders liver detoxification
• Inadequate nutrition: Lacks the building blocks for hormonal nourishment
• Past trauma (especially sexual trauma): Stored in the body, especially in the womb and hips

For some, period pain is so much more than just a physical experience. It can be a deeply emotional, ancestral – even spiritual – one. Our cervix, the literal gateway of human life, is one of the most sacred and sensitive places in the body. Trauma stored here, whether from medical procedures, non-consensual experiences, childbirth or even other reasons, can leave an imprint that can manifest as pain, numbness, or disconnection.

Okay, okay, well then how do we move through pain into relief? How do we go from suffering to something that feels like softness, surrender – or even pleasure?

Two Approaches to Period Pain: 

• Science & Sensation 

• Sacred Sexuality

Some people prefer purely practical approaches to pain relief, while others are open to seeing sexuality as a deeper, more spiritual force for healing. Both are valid and both have immense value, especially when considered together. I will outline both for you below: 

1. Science & Sensation: How Pleasure Literally Reduces Period Pain

If you’re the kind of person who needs evidence before trying something, here’s the science:

Dysmenorrhea, the medical term for period pain, has primary and secondary characteristics:

• Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain caused by normal uterine contractions, often starting soon after the first period and usually improving with age. 

• Secondary dysmenorrhea is pain caused by an underlying condition like endometriosis, fibroids, or ovarian cysts, and tends to get worse over time and last longer than typical cramps.

Dysmenorrhea is caused by prostaglandins making contractions in the uterus, working to peel and push out endometrium (uterine lining) that is no longer needed, since we did not get pregnant this month. Prostaglandins are healing messengers made at injury sites that trigger inflammation, pain, and fever to kickstart your body’s repair process. High estrogen levels, chronic stress, and neglecting basic health needs can cause your body to produce more prostaglandins, leading to stronger cramps and more intense period pain.

Now that you know what’s happening behind the scenes, here are some key ways to manage period pain with pleasure-based activities:

• Relaxing Pelvic Floor Muscles: Chronic pain can cause tightness in the pelvis. Sensual or sexual touch can help relax these muscles, preventing the cycle of tension → pain → more tension.
• A Full-Body Reset: Sexual pleasure (solo or partnered) can trigger the period to start when it’s just on the horizon. Many people notice that after an orgasm, they get that long-awaited “release,” like a very deep exhale that signals the start of a new cycle.
• Prostaglandins & Uterine Contractions: Some cramps are caused by excess prostaglandins, which cause stronger contractions than necessary. Orgasms can help regulate these contractions by creating an alternating pattern of tension and release.
• Orgasms & Blood Flow: Slow, sustained arousal increases circulation to the uterus, helping relieve cramps by bringing blood flow to the area and flushing out prostaglandins (the chemicals responsible for painful contractions).
• Neurotransmitters as Painkillers: During orgasm, the body releases endorphins, oxytocin, and dopamine—all of which reduce pain perception. These chemicals also decrease cortisol (the stress hormone), which, when elevated, makes period pain worse.

Menstrual pain relief is just one of the many benefits of engaging with your body’s arousal response in an intentional way.

2. The Sacred & Spiritual: Sexual Healing Happens When We Feel Safe

For those open to it, there’s another layer to this conversation that goes beyond biology and into the realm of embodied healing.

The cervix as a ‘Sacred Portal’

The cervix is the front door to female biological creative power (I use female as a strictly biological term, divorced from gender or women’s creative power) – literally and figuratively. The cervix is where life begins, it’s where our root and sacral chakra meet, it’s where we birth our greatest ideas, and it’s where we can hold onto deep emotional and physical imprints. 

Medical trauma, sexual trauma, or even just growing up in a culture that objectifies, uses and shames female bodies, menstruation and sexuality can create numbness, pain, or a sense of deep disconnection from ourselves, our worth and our bodies in this particular area of the body. 

This is why pleasure practices – on one’s own terms – can help reawaken and reclaim this space.How?

• Learning: Check out Self:Cervix to learn more about the power of this special place in your body and its relation to trauma and pleasure. 
• Slowing down: And then going even slower. The body opens in safety, not in force. Soft, intentional touch, intentional deep breathing, and longer arousal periods give the nervous system time to shift from sympathetic nervous system activation (fight-or-flight) into parasympathetic nervous system activation (rest-and-receive), essentially from stress to relaxation. 
• Breath & Vocalization: Trauma is stored in the tissues. Deep, rhythmic breathing or vocalizing during sensual experiences can help move stagnation and pain.
• Self-Trust & Boundaries: Exploring your body on your own terms, or with someone you deeply trust, allows pleasure to feel truly healing—not performative, not forced.
• Kink & Conscious BDSM as a Healing Tool: For some, elements of sensation play, restraint, or impact play – done with deep consent and intention – can help release stored emotions from the body. This is something explored by practitioners like Denel Nawrocki of Cervical Wellness, who emphasizes the connection between embodied release and reproductive health.

Your Body Holds the Wisdom

Your body is not broken when it is in pain; it just needs to be listened to and supported. Through pleasure, but also through a holistic approach to nutrition, movement, stress management, sleep, and more…

In 2025, it’s absolutely no surprise that so many of us are deeply dysregulated – our nervous systems overwhelmed, our hormones out of sync, and our pain dismissed or normalized.

Our bodies are constantly communicating with us. Instead of overanalyzing every symptom with our minds, what if we allowed ourselves to listen – and I mean really listen – to what our bodies are asking for?

Period pain isn’t just something to “put up with.” 

It’s a signal. Sometimes, it’s a sign of deeper imbalances that can be addressed with education, body awareness, and the right support. 

If your pain is severe – think debilitating cramps, heavy bleeding, or symptoms that disrupt your life – it’s worth digging deeper. Conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, or hormonal imbalance could be at play, and seeking guidance from a healthcare practitioner who actually understands the complexity of menstrual health (like a reproductive endocrinologist or a holistic menstrual & hormone health coach like me) can make all the difference.

For some, relief comes through movement, nourishment, and practical strategies. For others, healing is found in sensual reclamation, breathwork, or deepening a spiritual connection. For many, it’s a mix of both.

No matter what path feels right for you, know this:
✨ You deserve to feel good.
✨ You deserve relief – because pain should never be the norm.
✨ And pleasure, in whatever way feels safe and right for you, might just be the missing piece.

To learn more about cervical orgasm, I recommend checking out Self:cervix, an inspiring online platform that focuses on rewriting and reclaiming the cervix as part of our pleasure anatomy, focusing on education and practices that challenge this normalization of numbness and disconnection. 

If you’re curious about learning how, I’m available for 1:1 guidance on how to take deeper steps to holistically reduce period pain! 

Until then, your body may already know the way. Ready to trust it?

Read: The Menstrual Compass: How the Cycle Can Help Guide Pleasure and Play.

Explore more in pleasure education on Sensuali.

Danielle Keiser

Author

Danielle Keiser is the Queen of Menstrual Health: A pioneer, a consultant, a coach, a speaker, an educator and an exited social entrepreuneur. Since 2013, she has worked to advance menstruation, from launching Menstrual Hygiene Day, to founding the Menstrual Health Hub, to co-authoring the official definition of menstrual health. Danielle has worked across both the public and private sectors with the likes of UNICEF and UNFPA and has consulted large companies like Johnson & Johnson, Essity, and The Body Shop. She is now a Holistic Women's Wellness Coach and offers her guidance to individuals navigating hormonal health challenges and the menopausal transition.