Wisdom of your cycle
"I have come to see all kinds of stress-related diseases ranging from PMS to osteoporosis could be lessened a great deal if we simply followed out body's wisdom once a month." - Dr Chistina Northrup
Throughout my 20’s and into my 30’s, I was completely oblivious to my cycle because I was on the pill. I often took it back to back to avoid the inconvenience of bleeding! Looking back I can’t believe I thought that was healthy or helpful for my fertility and overall health!
It took months after coming off the pill for my cycle to start again. By this time, I was trying to get pregnant and after a year of trying and nothing happening, I realised I needed to learn more about my fertility and that’s when I discovered fertility awareness and fertility yoga.
What I learned blew my mind! How the hell did I not know this essential information already at almost 40 years old?! I was completely disconnected from my womb, my cycle and my feminine essence. No wonder I wasn’t getting pregnant!
Here’s a quick summary of what I learned about women’s cycles and how attuned we are to the cycles also seen in nature.
Ovulation
Ovulation is correlated with the full moon and doesn’t always happened on day 14! It can happen much earlier - just after menstruation if you have a short cycle or much later for longer cycles. Our energy is high as estrogen peaks. This is our internal summer time and when we are biologically built to be more sociable and seek out a mate.
This phase is also know as our expressive phase, as our communication is at a high also. In Ayurveda, Pitta Dosha is dominant which is the fire element. Think of summer time, which can be hot! Exercise can be at a peak also, so you can get sweaty but be careful to not overdo it as your Pitta Dosha can become out of balance and you might experience things like irritability, anger and inflammation, in which case you need to cool it down a bit!
Luteal Phase
After ovulation is correlated with the waning moon. Your energy, like the moon is diminishing. This is our internal Autumn. Progesterone becomes dominant which means we are more creative, chilled out and generally in a good mood – until progesterone drops and that’s when your Pitta Dosha can become out of balance and you get PMS symptoms such as acne, tender breasts, anger and irritability. During this phase, take your exercising down a notch, so things like walking, swimming, weight lifting, Pilates and slower Yoga practices like Yin.
Menstruation
Menstruation correlates with the new moon. This is our internal winter time where Vata Dosha becomes dominant. Vata Dosha brings the air element which allows the downward moving energy that moves menstrual blood out of the uterus. This should be a time of rest and reflection, ideally taking a rest from exercise on the days of heavier bleeding, or some restorative Yoga is ideal. Reflective practices like meditation, reading and journaling are ideal during this phase.
Follicular Phase
The follicular phase comes after menstruation which is our internal spring time. Our energy is rising again like the waxing moon. Kapha Dosha or the earth element is dominant as our uterine lining is growing once again. Estrogen is dominant and this is our dynamic phase where we can be productive and get stuff done! This is also when you can push yourself during your workouts and do things like HIIT.
So there you have it! This is information that I will be teaching my daughter. All women should learn this at an early age and I believe fertility awareness should be taught at the schools for both men and women. I’m also creating a course which will include this as well as some Yoga practices for each phase of your cycle so watch this space!
As a caveat I would say that we are all unique and the only way to know your own peaks and troughs is to track your own cycle. So how well do you know your cycle?