Going against the flow of your natural rhythm can cause tension in the body.
Moving in sync with your cycle helps to nourish your inner ecosystem by working with your body rather than against it so you can better use your energy throughout the month and live with more balance and inner harmony.
But, this may not be so clear or easy to spot, so the best way to get started with understanding and anticipating your energy fluctuations is to track them.
Not everyone has an obvious cycle, maybe you take birth control, are post-menopause, post-natal, or have a condition like PCOS or endometriosis. If this is the case mapping out different moods/sensations throughout the month can be so helpful in helping to restore a little more harmony to your inner ecosystem.
Luckily the moon can help you here! Your energy runs with the phases of the moon, so if you want to create more regularity or you no longer bleed, you can use the moon as an anchor.
As a starting point, you can use the new moon energy in place of your menstrual phase and the full moon energy in place of your ovulatory phase. However, this does not align for everyone and you may want to swap them around, but you can use that as a guide to begin while you establish your own energy patterns. This way you can create a little more structure and use the moon phases like a compass.
The best way to get started in finding the patterns is by cycle tracking, I have a FREE guide and cycle tracker HERE so you can get started straight away.
Awareness is the first step in creating meaningful change! Becoming aware of your cycle and your cycle needs allows you to create the conditions for a little more joy, a little more ease and invites a better way to optimise and organise your life.
There are many ways to do this, and you might already have an app, especially if you have been trying to get pregnant. Apps are amazing as they allow you to enter your cycle data and the good ones will start to make assumptions and see patterns. There are many out there, but my favourites are Clue and Flo. There are also apps for women during perimenopause to track your symptoms such as Balance.
So, if you are into your tech solutions, they are a great starting point. All you have to do is log the first day of your bleed and keep entering data from that point on and it will start to compile a profile. Personally, even the good ones are a little limited when it comes to tracking energetic aspects.
This is where a good old-fashioned pen to paper works best so grab your tracker HERE It's a habit that will take less than 3 mins a day and the results are game-changing. When you start to see the patterns of your energy you can start to plan around them!
Tracking is the first step to a more cyclical life. The next stage is rest!
During your period your hormones are at rock bottom, so doesn't it makes sense that you tailor your movment to match your energy? And if you don't have a period, you will still have a cycle of energy, so mapping it out in a way you can clearly see will help you to spot patterns.
When you take care to move with your bodies rather than against it jamming yourself into life, you can create a more harmonious stream of energy throughout the whole of the month. Woking cyclically can help to regain a regular cycle, ease painful periods and symptoms of PMS and open your mind to a new way of living and moving.
The easiest way to understand the energy of your cycle is to relate it to the cycle of the year, so energetically speaking this is what your cycle might look like -
Inner Spring
Pre Ovulation | Waxing Moon
Inner Spring is an opportunity to cherish yourself, remember your innocence, be curious and play, especially on the mat!
Nurture your being and allow things to unfold rather than pushing them, it’s important to create boundaries to manage yourself. Like a little sprouting seed, nurture yourself, go slow as you transition from winter to spring, allow time for your hormones to rise and give you the energy you need.
Inner Summer
Ovulation | Full Moon
During the Inner Summer phase, you may find your energy peaks. Summer is about showing up in the world as you are, stepping into the fullness of yourself. Celebrate who you are!
You may find yourself a social butterfly, able and happy to communicate and share yourself with the world. Move the body in new and challenging ways building heat and fire in the body. This can be a time of motivation, passion and expansion
Inner Autumn
Pre Menstruation | Waning Moon
During Inner Autumn energy starts to ground, It's time to start reserving your energy, slow it down and go inwards, allow yourself to reflect. Autumn invites you to come back to yourself, restoring balance back to the body after the peak of summer.
Autumn can be a wonderful time of creativity and reflection, you can use that energy in your practice to get creative on the mat too. It is also the time to purge and detox the body, letting go of things that haven't been serving you.
Inner Winter
Menstruation | New Moon
Inner Winter is a time to take rest, restore and preserve energy. It is wise to match your movement and activities for how you feel with gentle movement.
What you do in this phase is key in setting yourself up in the best way possible for the month ahead and it all starts with rest. Rest is not a reward a basic human right! So resist the temptation to keep on pushing, or to keep layering expectations. It's ok to do less!
I have a Facebook group that runs alongside my membership group if you want to deep dive on this a bit more, the group is full of tips and advice for Cyclical Living you can join the group here
This is way I have designed the Root & Rise Membership with 4 types of flows to help you move in sync with your body-
MOVE
Inner Spring
Flowing movement to build strength & mobility.
RISE
Inner Summer
Challenging movement to progress your practice.
CENTRE
Inner Autumn
Going inwards, creative movement to balance and centre.
ROOT
Inner Winter
Gentle Yoga to help ground, reset and restore.