We live in a male driven society, where we constantly need to perform at 120 percent and we women think we need to go along with that. We often think that we are not respected when we ask for a time out/ time off during our menses. We as women have this emotional depth and wisdom within our bodies. We are the channel for creative energy, birth, a host for life and death. Rather than embracing that we are blessed with our blood, we try to control it and start taking anti-conceptives to still be able to perform above our capacity and not be owned by our moon, rather than living it with confidence and grace.
Our moon, is an opportunity to consciously check in again and reflect on the previous month. It is a mirror of how we have been living our lives. This often can be confronting especially when we suffer from hormonal imbalance, strong bleeding, strong cramps, or premenstrual syndrome (PMS), we then take the easy way out to pop a pill, to not be feeling what we have to feel.
Nowadays there are many different approaches to natural anti-conception. The App Natural Cycles has been approved by the US government for instance to be as accurate as the pill. Here you measure your temperature on a daily basis and observe the cervix, the rise and fall in your curve will give you detailed information on where you are at in your cycle.
I personally have been off anti-conceptive since 7 years and have been using the BBT (Basal Body Temperature Chart). Anyhow anti-conception is a whole topic on itself.
Today I would like to go deeper into the menstrual cycle, explaining it week by week. Did you know that we go through 4 inner seasons? This helps us to understand our shifts in moods, needs and wants, being more in control of our own life. Being able to own and navigate the stormy waters within.
1st Week: Inner Winter and starts with the offset of your period until the end of bleeding (1-6 days)
2nd Week: Inner Spring, the pre-ovulation phase, starting around day 7-13
3rd Week: inner Summer - your ovulation phase during day 14-21
4th Week: Inner Fall - during luteal phase, around day 22- 29
Season: Inner Winter This is often seen as the time of inward reflection and a time of metaphorical death, where we become this wise woman. The inner winter starts with the first day of the bleeding and on a more spiritual level the bleeding is seen as the womb crying because the egg hasn’t been met. This is the time when you want to really focus on nourishing yourself, taking a step back and not over doing it. It is an emotional phase and energy levels and hormones are at an all time low. This truly is a time to give to yourself and not to others, so using the inner winter to be more self loving and this often means to not do everything at 120 percent. Tips: cuddle & snuggle time with your partner, going to the movies, taking a bath, writing, reading, being in nature and maybe sleep a little more. Put on some red, as a sweet reminder for you to slow down. Season: Inner Spring This season is all about rebirthing, renewal, cleansing and having a fresh start where we become this young maiden shining goddess. It starts with the end of the bleeding. Oestrogen starts to rise again and so are your energy levels. This is the time of your month where you want to focus on starting new projects, planning and organising. In spring everything starts to blossom around us, all the buds, the plants are holding the life force for reproduction. The same is happening within us in the pre-ovulation phase we are preparing for procreation. Tips: take time to schedule everything, don’t overdo it, explore the new energy and see where it takes you, trying out new things and we can become more physically active again. Season: Inner Summer Things are starting to heat up, metaphorically and literally. Energy starts to increase and you might feel that you become more outward going and expressive. It is summer time! This is the time of the wild women enchantress who is trying to pursue and attract opposite sex. Energy levels are at an all time high, so go ahead be more social, untrue your relationships, be more active and make sure to ask for what you want! Research has proven that this is the best phase for us ladies to ask for things in our relationship or at work. Tips: be that wild women, go along with the hormones and enjoy being in the moment. Season: Inner Fall This is the season of going more inwards again, whether the egg has been fertilised or not this is a period of reflection, nurturing and mothering. This is the time for you to harvest the fruits from summer. Time to wind down. Externally in the season of fall we might notice that things start to shift and change due to the elements of movements. Things are also moving and shifting inside of us and we might notice that we become agitated more easily when there is excessive demand. Tip: don’t overload your agenda, make sure to schedule some me-time, be creative: draw, write, read At Her First Bleeding A Woman Meets Her Power. During Her Bleeding Years She Practices It. At Menopause She Becomes It. Traditional Native American Saying