What are the Seasons of the Menstrual Cycle?

Your period is not the same as your menstrual cycle!

It's actually quite a common misconception, especially if you are not practising cycle awareness, so you might not realise that your period is only just a small part of your cycle.

Your cycle is something that is happening all the time, and you are constantly part of it. It is actually made up of two halves and those are divided by two prominent poles. Menstruation (your Period) and ovulation.

What is the cycle

Your cycle is calculated from the first day you bleed and typically lasts anything between 21 & 35 days.

The cycle has four main phases both biologically and energetically speaking. The more awareness you have about your cycle the more you get to understand who you are during each phase and that is where the magic begins to happen. Let's have a closer look at the cycle and think of it in more tangible terms by using the seasons of the year.

And spoiler alter I have a Free Workshop and Charting Tool to explain all of this in more detail HERE

Menstruation - Inner Winter

This is the phase we all know about because it's when we bleed, this is not just blood but also the shedding of the uterine lining and old tissue through your cervix and vagina.

It generally lasts about 5 to 6 days and estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest and we are at our most tired. You might not feel like it but this is an incredibly powerful time.

The week of your period is the Winter of your cycle. It 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 at menstruation 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!

Pre Ovulation - Follicular Phase - Inner Spring

This is between the first day of your period and ovulation. Estrogen rises as you may start to feel your own energy rise. The pituitary gland produces communicates with the ovaries to get going and prepare an egg.

The uterus gets busy rebuilding the lining that was shed on your last period and becomes thicker to prepare for a potential fertilised egg to find its home and begin to grow.

It's also the Spring of your cycle and an opportunity to cherish yourself, remember your innocence, be curious and play. 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.

Ovulation - Inner Summer

During ovulation, an egg is released from your ovaries and makes its way along the fallopian tubes. It then waits for a friendly sperm to rock its world and create a baby while the uterine walls continue to thicken. Estrogen is at its peak and you also get a cheeky testosterone bump.

During ovulation your Inner Summer phase, 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

Pre Menstruation - Luteal Phase - Inner Autumn

The week prior to your period energy starts to ground, think of it like the Autumn of our cycle. 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. Time to shed everything that is no longer serving you and get ready for Winter. 

This phase is about 14 days long. After ovulation, oestrogen starts to dip before it rises again as progesterone continues to rise and we start to slow things down. Once your body realises there is no baby happening, it prepares for menstruation and the lining of the uterus starts to break down. Both estrogen and progesterone plummet towards the end of this phase and the body begins menstruation.

How can I use my cycle to create more flow in my life?

So often I see women struggle to balance all the different parts of their life, wearing all the different hats, working all the hours, running a busy household and struggling to factor in time for them because....

Truth bomb! They don't realise how impactful the effects of their hormones can be on their energy and motivation!

Not being in tangent with the natural energy of your cycle stops you from living with more energy, motivation and FLOW!

So if this is you, these tips will help you move the needle when it comes to reaching your goals and living the life you dream of.

Cycle tracking!

If you haven't started tracking your cycle whether that's the moon cycle or menstrual cycle and I mean really tracking it, then here's your invitation to start! Download your tracker HERE

I promise once you get going it's a 3 min a day habit and it is game-changing BECAUSE IT HELPS YOU ANTICIPATE THE FLUCTUATIONS OF YOUR ENERGY.

Plan!

Once you know WHAT'S happening and WHEN in your cycle, you can start to plan around it! Did you know your cycle has 4 different phases?

Each with very different energy and each lends itself to very different tasks. Once you know WHEN to do WHAT, things become a lot easier!

REST!

It's so very tempting to just keep pushing through, isn't it? The fear of not achieving enough in the time we have each day is the ever-present driving force behind burnout!

BUT operating from exhaustion WILL keep you small! Nothing grows in that place and it always leads to you being a puddle!

Resting when you are tired IS ESSENTIAL to living a heart-led life that makes space for your passions. So the next time that little voice in your head tells you to rest, listen to it!

Please share with anyone you might think will benefit from a little cycle check-in.

My thoughts on inclusivity.......

I recognise not all women bleed and not all people who bleed identify as women.

It is my intention to use language that is as inclusive as possible and not to exclude anyone who is interested in this practice and embodies the cycle.

I would encourage everyone to become aware of their own unique cycles and to find their power within them.