Not many women have had the best experience with their menstrual cycle.
From the very beginning it can be a horrendous experience, leaving women feeling alone, ashamed and burdened by it all for years to come.
It can be hard to talk about it too, due to the stigma surrounding it; some women can’t even speak to their own mothers about it.
Many women end up consulting a medical man who doesn’t even experience a menstrual cycle!
Women have been experiencing painful, heavy, irregular periods for too long now.
We have been conditioned to suffer in silence, using tampons to block it, nurofen to numb it and the pill to control it.
The root causes of our issues are rarely addressed.
I believe Mother Nature can get it wrong sometimes (but not as often as she gets it right!) but did she really intend for us to suffer?
I believe not.
I have personally experienced all of the above and I know some women that have had it much worse, experiencing issues such as PCOS and Endometriosis.
However after years of hating my period I have discovered a conscious menstrual practice and have fallen in love with my cycle. I can’t wait to bleed each time now as I no longer suffer!
And whenever I discover something that helps me on a soul level… I feel compelled to share it with others!
Please note: I’m sharing this knowledge to raise awareness and I believe in informed choices. I don’t share it to make anyone feel guilty or to replace medical advice. It’s also important to have acceptance of where you’re currently at.
Herstory
Once upon a time, women used to bleed together in sync with the moon, away from the men.
We would share stories, dreams and wisdom with each other.
From the age of seven, girls would be invited to sit in the ‘red tent’ where they learned from what they saw and heard.
It wasn’t seen as dirty and shameful.
We would honour and celebrate a girls first bleed, known as the ‘menarche,’ which was a rite passage in to womanhood.
Other rites of passage, such as birth, were also honoured, supported and celebrated in the red tent.
The patriarch (not all patriarch but the distorted type) knew of our power through these times and imposed shame and stigma upon women and the cycles of womanhood.
Later on, they also saw a business opportunity in it.
The cycles of womanhood became sanitised, medicated and silenced.
Many women have become out of sync with each other and the moon due to artificial lighting, unhealthy diet, stress and toxins affecting the pineal gland and hormones.
Conscious Menstruation
Your body will often use your menstrual cycle to communicate that there’s an imbalance within your mind, body or soul.
Consciously approaching your menstrual cycle can help reduce PMS and alleviate painful, heavy periods, among other benefits.
It can create balance, creativity, productivity and purpose in your life.
You’ll get to know yourself more, have a healthier relationship with your body and feel more connected to your feelings.
You can fall in love with your menstrual cycle, your life and yourself!
Your menstrual cycle is your superpower because you are listening to and being guided by the nature of your body rather than going against it.
The Four Seasons
We are all cyclical and connected to the cycles of mother earth and Grandmother moon.
Just as Mother Earth has her four seasons each year, we women have our ‘inner’ seasons each week over a month.
We are not flat-lined like men.
Consider the differences within the seasons each year; Each season isn’t always the same, yet it’s expected that we remain constant.
We have an inner winter (menstruation), inner spring (follicular phase), inner summer (ovulation) and inner autumn (luteal).
The seasons influence nearly everything, including our reproductive years, a 24-hour day and the perinatal period.
If you live in an area that doesn’t experience the four seasons, you’ll still have the four inner seasons within you.
If you’re no longer are bleeding for whatever reason, you can sync with the moon cycle.
Your Inner Seasons
(The seasons can vary in length from person to person and the following is based on a 28 day menstrual cycle.)
Inner Winter: Menstruation, Days 1-5
It’s time to hibernate!
This is your time to retreat, go inwards, receive, rest, dream, surrender, release and self-connect.
You may feel tired, emotional, receptive, discerning and wise. You can also experience anger, manipulation, instability and drama.
The Menstrual phase embodies:
- Winter
- Crone Archetype (70 years – death)
- New Moon
- Night
- First Trimester
- Postpartum
- Earth Element
- Femininity
Physiology:
If theres an absence of pregnancy, shedding of the endometrium lining occurs (bleeding). This is triggered by your corpus luteum dissolving and progesterone levels decreasing.
Please note: If you don’t listen to your body in your inner winter, it will worsen for your next inner winter and continue to snowball.
Inner Spring: Follicular Phase, Days 6 – 13
Spring is in the air!
This is your time to de clutter, set goals, write to-do lists and plan.
You may feel growth, renewal and gain clarity. You can also feel naïve, overwhelmed, scattered and overcommitted.
The follicular phase embodies:
- Spring
- Maiden Archetype (0 – 25 years)
- First Quarter Moon
- Morning
- Second Trimester
- Air Element
- Masculinity
Physiology:
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates the growth of ovarian follicles. One follicle becomes dominant and prepares to release an egg. The uterine lining begins to thicken in preparation for a potential pregnancy.
Inner Summer – Ovulation, Days 14 – 21.
You’re coming in hot!
This is your time to create, manifest, connect, collaborate and birth projects.
You may feel loving, caring, nurturing, present and radiant. Yet you can overgive, people please and martyr yourself.
The ovulation phase embodies:
- Summer
- Mother archetype (25 – 50 years)
- Full Moon
- Midday
- Third Trimester
- Fire Element
- Masculinity
Physiology:
Ovulation typically occurs midway through the cycle, around day 14 in a standard 28-day cycle. A dominant follicle releases a mature egg that begins its journey down your fallopian tube awaiting fertilisation. The egg remains viable for fertilisation for up to 12 -24 hours. Estrogen and testosterone peak and LH drops.
Sperm can live inside the vagina for up to 3 – 5 days depending on quality.
Ovulation Tracking:
A common way to tell is through your cervical fluid, which becomes clear and stretchy around ovulation, similar to egg whites. However, not all women experience this.
Here are other ways to identify when ovulation is happening which can also vary from person to person:
- Ovulation predictor tests
- Increased libido
- Heightened sensitivity in the breasts
- Basal Body Temperature
- Fertility apps – Just remember though, you’re human and not a machine!
- Cervix positioning
* I won’t elaborate anymore on these as there is plenty of information already out there these.
If you’re on a fertility journey or plan to be, you can read 9 Ways to Support Your Fertility Journey HERE.
Inner Autumn- Luteal, Days 22-28/29
The leaves are starting to fall.
This is your time to surrender, go inwards, process, reflect and let go.
You may feel intuitive, unapologetic, carefree and transformative. Conversely, you can also feel forceful, constricted, moody, self critical and judgemental.
The luteal phase embodies:
- Autumn
- Maga Archetype (50 – 70 years)
- Third Quarter Moon
- Afternoon
- Birth
- Water Element
- Femininity
Physiology:
After ovulation, the ruptured follicle transforms into the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. This hormone maintains the thickened uterine lining. If fertilisation does not occur, the corpus luteum degenerates, leading to a decrease in progesterone and the eventual onset of menstruation.
Your Life’s Map
Where are you currently at or if you don’t have a bleed, where do you feel you are?
So many women are stuck in their inner summer and always doing, doing, doing, even if they’re in their inner winter.
However, as you can see we are cyclical and it’s okay to change including your emotions and feelings!
You might like to journey with each season over the next month and journal what you discover.
This knowledge will then become a map to help navigate your life in years to come.
If you would like to journey deeper into enhancing your menstrual and feminine health then I invite you for a Womb Hara Massage!
Click on the button below for further information and bookings.
Blessings! I’m Melissa and I’ve got your back – and your front – in various aspects of womanhood.
From loss of identity to feminine disconnection, from fertility challenges to menstrual concerns and from menopause support to postpartum honouring, plus more.
I’m devoted to Sekhem Healing (Egyptian Reiki), Womb Hara Massage and Women’s Retreats.
I’m a proud mother of two boys, my husband calls me “nature woman” and I live by the ocean in Geraldton, Western Australia.
I have 10+ years of experience working with women and the feminine healing arts.
My experience is a fusion of formal education, workshops and solo learning but the greatest teacher has been my own healing journey.
