Ride the high of ovulation

Ride the high of ovulation

Let’s talk about ovulation! If you’re trying to conceive then it’s the main event and even if you aren’t trying, then this is still an important vital sign of your overall health. It’s a good idea to track your cycle either way so you know if and when you ovulate and take note of your mood, energy and any other symptoms, which are your body’s way of telling you there in an imbalance somewhere.

During ovulation, a mature follicle is released from your ovaries. There is a pre-conceived notion that women are born with all the eggs they will ever have and when they run out, then we get menopause, but science is actually showing us now that that is not accurate! 

In 2004 scientists at Harvard Medical School found that new eggs did indeed form in adult mice and this sparked further studies by a man called Dr Jonathan Tilly.  In 2004 Dr Tilly co-published multiple studies showing that the ovaries of mammals (including humans!), contain stem cells that are creating new eggs far into adulthood! He is also one of the authors on a new 2023 study which again shows the ability of mammals to continue to produce eggs throughout their fertile life span.

“There is no fathomable reason why a woman would have evolved to carry stale eggs around for decades before attempting to get pregnant while men evolved to have fresh sperm always available” ~ Dr Jonathan Tilly

So what actually causes menopause then, if it’s not your eggs running out?! I’ll leave that topic for another blog! So now we know that you can produce new eggs throughout your life and it’s also now well known that you can indeed influence the quality of those eggs through diet and lifestyle factors. This is great news because there is so much you can do for your fertility and indeed your overall health because fertility is a reflection of a balance and nourished internal system.

If your hormones are balanced then ovulation is like your inner summer time. Your oestrogen levels peak right before ovulation - so your energy is high, you’re on fire, you feel juicy and sociable and your communication is at it’s best. This is a great time to be active and productive, schedule in all those social events and meetings at work as you are rocking it! In Ayurveda this phase of your cycle is dominated by the Pitta dosha which is mainly the fire element.

However, if your hormones are not balanced, then this could potentially be a time when you feel tired and agitated – a bit like PMS and you might even get some spotting. These are all signs that your hormones need some TLC.

Exercise wise this is a great time to go for it and do some HIIT or high energy classes and challenge yourself because you have the energy for it.

During ovulation focus on anti-inflammatory, fibre rich food and because it’s your inner Summer time you can eat plenty of raw and juicy fruits and veggies. Try to include food like:-

  • Cruciferous veggies
  • Leafy greens
  • Fennel
  • Berries
  • Flax and pumpkin seeds
  • Tomatoes
  • Bell peppers
  • Turmeric

However because the fire element is already high, if you start to experience aggravated Pitta symptoms, then you’ll need to cool it down and you can find out how to do that in this blog here.

Below is a short 15 minute practice for the ovulation time of your cycle. This is part of a longer practice which will be on my membership site I’m currently creating, which will have lots of cycle aware and hormones balancing Yoga and Yoga/Belly dance fusion classes, nutrition plans and more! You can find the wait list here.