There is so much more to our menstrual cycle than a reproductive function. Yes it is that, and without it us humans would not exist. And while I could write a whole book on why culture has decided to view women's reproduction as a weakness and at the same time something to be decided by legislation. That is not for here.
Here is about how we can work more in sync with our body in our life and career. Why? Because our energy is different at different times of the month. And when we are aware and embrace that knowledge, we can lead a life of more ease, moving between our powers and vulnerabilities.
We can not expect to be the same woman throughout the month. Because we are not. And this is not a weakness, it is a power that we can tap into and thrive within.
Here are some quick questions to create some inner recognition.
Do You Know Why You -
- Feel creative and full of ideas at certain times of the month? That you feel that life is so full of potential!
- That there is a period of 8-10 days when you love communicating? And even if you are introverted (me!) this is when you literally come alive and are at your most social self?
- You blitz your To Do List in the same phase every month?
- Need to eat sweet foods as you slip into menstruation?
There are four phases, we call them seasons, in each month. Regardless of the length of your cycle we all have them. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each statement above represents, in order, some of the known patterns in those phases for women. Women have known these for centuries, we have just forgotten them.
Once you start to be aware of them you start to recognise a pattern each month. It includes how productive you are, what foods you eat, your choice of exercise, your emotions, what spiritual practices you keep or discard at different times, your mental capacity.
Creating an awareness of the whole month and knowing your own patterns means that you can optimise your energy and therefore your work and life around it. I shared this with the women of Back Yourself Mentoring a few months ago. One woman who had never heard of it before but immediately got it, synopsised it beautifully.
We can be kinder to ourselves when we know why specific tasks or projects flow easier or more challenging at differing times of the month.
Yes!! That is exactly it. Try to be out in the world living your vision and having big team meetings in the middle of menstruation. You are going against your own rhythm. It feels like an uphill struggle. Or if you are a mother and trying to be super organised, it will be much easier to organise that visit or holiday in Autumn.
You can be kind to yourself and say ah, this is why I feel like this.
It doesn't negate that you have to do certain things at times when you least feel like it. It does mean that you can be kinder to yourself. And instead of saying "Susan, what is going on with you! You are so overdue writing that newsletter". Instead I say "so I am in autumn and trying to be creative and write my newsletter is harder at this time. I can either wait until Spring or be more patient with myself".
Connecting with our inner rhythm means we can start to sync our work and life calendar. We can recognise when we will be in creative or productive energy, and work around it where possible. And when we have to deliver regardless of the season, we can be less judgemental to ourselves, and to others.
Personally I have been tracking my cycle for two years. It has been one of the greatest gifts I have given myself - accepting there is a cycle and rhythm, being kinder to myself and others, releasing physical pain, communicating and making decisions from a place of awareness and knowing when to optimise my work patterns.
I invite you to start tracking yours day by day. Day 1 is the first day of your bleed. You will start to see the patterns by the second month.
If you are interested to hear more and create a life long practice to connect with yourself and create ease in your life, drop me an email or comment below. I run intimate Connect Back To Yourself programmes for small groups of women so you can understand and tune into yourself.
