We’re excited to welcome Sally Arsenault to the DivaCup blog today. Sally has been a fitness enthusiast for over a decade training in weightlifting, Brazilian jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts, wrestling and Muay Thai. In today’s post, Sally shares her journey finding the DivaCup for the first time, and how it’s had a positive impact on her life as a female athlete. 

When I had my first period, about 25 years ago, the fashion trend then was very baggy pants with the bottoms rolled up. “Balloon pants” were the skinny jeans of 1987 and I wore them everywhere. You would think the giant maxi pads my mother gave me to wear would be easily hidden in pants that big, but you’d be wrong. I still remember the day I went bowling with my friends and one of them pointed out that she could see my pad wagging through the back of my pants like a tail. I was humiliated.

So, I bought a box of tampons and after a few failed attempts I was able to insert one. I said goodbye to those giant pads forever. As I progressed through puberty, I had very heavy periods – sometimes going through a super absorbency tampon every couple of hours! I was always wondering if I was going to leak through my pants and face another humiliating moment.

Finally when I was about 15, everything balanced out and I was able to deal with my monthly menstruation with minimal hassle.

As the years went by I continued to wear tampons and never thought about seeking an alternative. I didn’t like wearing them because I found them to be a bit dry, especially if my flow was light and it was always difficult to avoid peeing on the string.

Then I found the DivaCup… and have been at peace with my feminine hygiene ever since.

I’ve been a student of Brazilian jiu jitsu for about four and a half years and as the only female student in my class, I’ve always felt a little out of place. BJJ is a martial art which was developed to allow a smaller person to defend him or herself against a larger opponent using chokes and joint locks. Most techniques happen on the ground, kind of like wrestling. Some of these techniques, like the triangle choke, involve one person wrapping her legs around her opponent’s head and arm to cut the blood supply off at the neck.

Curious about how this all works? Check out this video of me finishing a triangle choke in competition.

Being in such close contact with another person in training can be pretty uncomfortable especially during your menstrual period. Fortunately since I started using the DivaCup, I almost feel more comfortable during that time of the month than I do on a regular day because the DivaCup forms a seal that prevents menstrual flow from leaking! In fact, in all the years I’ve used the DivaCup, I have never experienced the leakage I sometimes had while using tampons.

I am so pleased to support a Canadian company that cares about women’s health and wellness as much as the DivaCup does and I hope you will too.

For my review of the DivaCup and for more information about competing in Brazilian jiu jitsu, please check out my author page on Breaking Muscle.

Sally Arsenault

Sally Arsenault has been a fitness enthusiast for over a decade training in weightlifting, Brazilian jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and muay Thai. She enjoys sharing her love of BJJ with other women in her women’s only jiu jitsu class at Titans MMA and looks forward to future competitions and new fitness challenges.