If you’re like me, you didn’t have much of an initiation into becoming a menstruating woman. I never had a conversation with my mom about how it is a gift to bleed, let alone how to work with my female cycle. She left a box of tampons and pads in my bathroom and the rest was for me to figure out.
As I grew older, I began to recognize patterns that were the same month after month. The more I noticed the rhythms, the more I was able to manage, prepare and understand myself and my female hormones. I realized how all along it was normal to feel what I’d been feeling. I wasn’t crazy or messed up, in fact my female recycling system was working just as nature intended.
Not long after that connection, I discovered a book that transformed my life, 4 seasons in 4 weeks by Suzanne McQueen. It was everything I knew in my soul to be true, I had simply forgotten that Truth. The book explains how in four weeks, the female body goes through our own four seasons. Each season represents one of four phases in a woman’s monthly cycle.
On average a woman's cycle is 28 days long. We are a little different each and every day, with the first day of the Period marking day 1, beginning of week 1 and the season of Fall / Autumn. Our bodies go through a complete cleansing and releasing, with our hormones being at their lowest levels. When no pregnancy occurs, the uterine lining (nest) releases in the form of blood to get ready to rebuild and prepare for the next weeks' pregnancy potential. During the time when my body is regenerating, I am gentler with myself, rest more, and overall lean into slowing down. There’s often tears, journaling, and sometimes beautiful insights.
I have found that using tampons felt counter intuitive. Embracing the directional flow, I use period underwear (the Period Company is one of my faves) and through free bleeding I have connected more deeply with my body, as a result. Like the way the leaves fall in autumn, aligned with the direction of gravity…to earth, so does my cycle, when I allow.
Week 2, Winter Follicular phase, begins as bleeding stops. Now that we have rested and estrogen begins to rise, our hormones are rebuilding and our energy too. This is an important part of our cycle, as it is the foundation upon which all other weeks are built. All the visions and insights from the previous week are eager to start being produced… Tackle those projects now. Get yourself looking cute…when you look good, you feel good. Get the momentum rolling… go on dates, meet up with friends, connect and get cozy with loved ones, tap into your creative energy, try new things, dream big. Now is the time to go for it!
Week 3, Spring begins with Ovulation, the midpoint in the monthly cycle, the peak, the week your magnificence fully radiates. Sexual energy is at an all time high, as it’s the time when one egg gets released from an ovary in hopes of connecting with sperm. Communication comes naturally this week. You are at your most outgoing personality and heightened verbal skills. It’s a great time for important conversations. Ovulation represents the confident, wise, compassionate woman inside you- your authentic self and the lens to look back, evaluate and manifest from an elevated, bigger picture point of view into the future. You are a magnet!
Week 4, Summer, the Luteal phase. Many know this premenstrual week as PMS... and it doesn’t always have the best connotation linked to it. It is the fire walking week and the emotional purging of thoughts and emotions. Our bodies begin to break down the nest, in preparation for the physical purge next week during the period. For me, this is the week where I tidy up the house, tie up loose ends, and wrap up projects. All senses are heightened and sometimes the summer heat can call for some irritation. Relationships can experience strain… remember to be patient with others, this is your process, not theirs. A pen and pad are a great place to vent. Setting the intention to notice when irritation erupts by way of tears, anger, and frustration. Sticking with routines and getting exercise will help immensely.
This intricate feminine design is in harmony with natural rhythms and circulatory systems that mimic bigger forces such as our Universe. We are interconnected to the entire world system and finding the beauty, purpose and importance of our monthly feminine cycle has the power to alter our inner world and the outer world as a whole. This is the remembering of the power of the creative womb, and the sacredness we hold. This is where we were all created and birthed. This is our birthright.
Lastly, this is a reminder that this is our story to tell. I love to embrace phrases like “I’m on my moon” or “my cycle resets / begins…” rather than ‘period’ or ‘menstrual cycle’. Women, in our elegance, can change the language of how we speak about our special cycles and processes. Ofcourse, this is simply preference…but it feels good to me :)