By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
To Julia Demillones Moore, knowledge about periods is power.
Julia Demillones Moore, known as Julia Moon Beam online, lives in Turners Falls and offers unique services and education for those seeking a holistic-care approach to menstruation, uterine and reproductive care, and more. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Moore, who goes by “Julia Moon Beam” online, is a menstrual cycle educator and a pelvic steam practitioner from Turners Falls. Through her two businesses, Wise Gal Period Mentor and Moon Beam Steams, Moore works to inform and destigmatize menstruation, and to provide resources and services to those seeking a holistic approach to pelvic health.
In her first business, Moon Beam Steams which she founded in 2019, Moore’s services are geared toward adults who are seeking holistic care with services like pelvic steaming, menstrual cycle analysis, holistic birth control consultations, and education about herbalism. Moore is certified in through the Peristeam Hydrotherapy Institute as of 2019, according to her website.
The pelvic steaming practice – or vaginal steaming – is an Indigenous reproductive and uterine health practice that is found in many cultures globally. Moore explains that a person sits over a bowl of hot water infused with herbs, and the herbal steam provides a non-invasive and gentle treatment that improves circulation, nervous system support, menstrual cycle and postpartum support. Additionally, she can offer people with more complex gynecological conditions, like endometriosis or PCOS, steaming as a holistic management option without providing medical advice or prescriptions.
Moore said that steaming was beneficial for her postpartum, and was a chance for her to reconnect with a part of her culture. Her personal experience inspired her to learn more about the practice and offer it to others.
“Just knowing that I could trust my own body, and that it is a cultural practice of mine, gave me a sense of like, ‘I know it’s good for me,’” Moore said.
Moore’s second business, Wise Gal Period Mentor, launched in 2024. Moore is a mother of two boys, and she is part of mom groups online where many moms voiced questions about menstruation and requested advice. She said she noticed these gaps in knowledge, and now, through workshops with pre-teens and their parents, she offers education on menstruation to empower those who are nearing the start of their period, or who have already started.
In these three-hour workshops, Moore offers information on ovulation, period cycles, hormone changes, products, alternatives to hormonal birth control and holistic period care methods. Additionally, the workshops allow for discussion and questions from both the pre-teens and parents in a safe space.
“With Wise Gal Period Mentor and the Period Positivity Workshops, my aim is to shine a light on accurate menstrual cycle education, so they’re learning about it. It is not heavily anatomy and physiology, but a little bit of their body and self-care within the four phases of the menstrual cycle,” Moore adds.
So far, Moore’s workshops are attended by a handful of parents and their pre-teens. She provides some lectures on menstruation, ice breakers and physical activities, like stretches and movements, along with craft activities, like period cycle bracelets, a vision board and a first flow kit. She notices the parents are also learning too, and both parents and their pre-teens can come away with new and valuable information.
“I’ve had one workshop where it’s a mom organizing it, and that’s been awesome, because the girls know each other, and the kids will interact with each other no matter what, but there’s a sense of camaraderie and community that’s really special to witness when there’s a group of pre-teens that are going through the same thing, in the same timeline, and they know each other,” Moore recalls of one of her workshops.
In her personal life, Moore shared that limited options for period pain management were given to her when she began menstruating, and that hormonal birth control was the suggested method. “This is a very common story in our culture,” Moore said.
While not against the idea of hormonal birth control as an option for periods, Moore said that she hopes she can provide information that can help people understand that it does not have to be the default method for period management.
“One of my goals is to support pre-teens and their parents [in knowing] that there are other options to support this transitional time. There are other ways to care for our bodies where our periods don’t have to be debilitating,” Moore said, adding that physical and emotional pain along with taboo and embarrassment with periods can have negative impacts on pre-teens.
Moore said that she wishes her teenage self knew that “I don’t deserve to suffer painful periods, that I can trust my body and my intuition, and that plants are here to help us.”
As her businesses continues to grow, Moore said that she hopes to expand her Period Positivity Workshops, and offer them two or three times a month. Additionally, she hopes to investigate funding options for her workshops to make them accessible to families who may not be able to pay a group fee.
“I love the idea of giving the pre-teens, the youth, this knowledge,” Moore said. “As knowledge is power.”
To find Moore’s services through Moon Beam Steams, visit her website https://www.moonbeamsteams.com/. Information about Wise Gal Period Mentor and the Period Positivity Workshop is available on the website under the “Work With Me” tab.
Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.
