Hi, and welcome to Go With The Flow.
This is a great place to start. This information is also available on the homepage navigation bar (“Start Here”) with links to other great articles that break down the specifics of the phases. Head over there to read them later or stay tuned as I will be discussing them in depth in upcoming podcast episodes.
I found something. Something really cool, and once I tell you there is no going back. Do you want to know what it is? Okay friends, hold on for some wisdom that will course correct everything you thought you knew about women and the hormones that guide them.
The thing is- Women already have cycle awareness hidden inside them. The rhythms are already there.
I wish there was a better term to describe these natural rhythms and ebbs and flows of energy that when someone heard the term, they immediately knew what it was. But that’s where education comes in.
Cycle Awareness is the tuning in of what the body’s infradian rhythm is doing.
What is the infradian rhythm?
The infradian rhythm is the 28ish day cycle of a menstruating woman’s hormonal clock. Just like we have a circadian rhythm that is a 24 hour clock, the infradian rhythm is the hormonal clock in a menstruating woman.
The infradian rhythm is a cyclic set of hormones that causes energy changes throughout the month. Major shifts in hormones trigger ovulation (mid cycle) and menstruation (the beginning of the cycle).
What types of energy changes occur?
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Social
Sexual
Spiritual
How many times in a month do these energy shifts occur?
2 major shifts occur- Follicular(1st half) and Luteal(2nd half).
I like to think about it like yang and yin. Yang or outward energy is Follicular and Ovulation phases and yin energy happens during Luteal and Menstruation.
4 weekly shifts occur across the entire month
1st week: Menstruation (early follicular phase) Inward
2nd week: Follicular (late follicular, pre-ovulatory phase) Outward
3rd week: Ovulation (early luteal, ovulatory phase) Outward
4th week: Premenstrual (late luteal, premenstrual phase) Inward
Just like the earth has 4 seasons or phases in one year, we have 4 seasons or phases in one month with very similar energies that these seasons represent.
Because I live in a climate that has 4 full seasons, I see these phases line up with the seasons of the year and it makes so much sense this way.
You will hear me talk about being in Summer which is an intuitive way to express being in Ovulation phase or Winter which represents the Menstrual phase.
I have found that it sounds less medical and more natural when talking to my family, my teen son, and friends about my internal weather map to refer to a phase as Spring instead of “late follicular”. It isn’t code, it’s a representation of what is happening internally.
I have been practicing going with my flow for over 5 years. Now my friends and I quickly check in with each other by asking, “What season are you in?” This gives us a place in which to communicate and support one another.
The more we start to talk about our inner Seasons the more normal the whole hormone rollercoaster becomes. Why would I call it a rollercoaster if I am de-stigmatizing this whole thing?
Hormone chart visual
Reminds me of Six Flags over Georgia- an amusement park I used to go to in my teens.
The above chart looks alot like several rollercoasters, would’nt you agree?
All the hormones that make it all possible
Estrogen- produced in the ovaries. A feel good, growing hormone that builds to cause ovulation and drops and rises again all while growing the uterine lining
Progesterone- produced by the egg sac after the egg is released (ovulation). the balancer hormone that is calming and controls the estrogen and creates a healthy environment in the uterus for egg implantation.
Testosterone- a small surge around ovulation that has been understudied, yet plays an important role in energy and stamina.
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)- produced in the pituitary gland. Stimulates estrogen and triggers ovulation. It also regulates the menstrual cycle.
Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH)- produced in the pituitary gland. Stimulates the growth of the follicle on the egg sac and triggers it’s release.
These are the key players that create the hormonal orchestra that sets the stage for our own unique rhythms.
Cycle Awareness is understanding our 4 weekly phases and then tracking our menstrual days so that we can make the most of them!
These phases come with some pretty amazing abilities.
Main points to understanding your cycle:
There are 4 unique phases happenening throughout the monthly cycle and they look a lot like the seasons- winter, spring, summer and fall.
Your Energy shifts on every energy level throughout the monthly cycle
Begin Tracking your menstrual days and energy levels throughout the 4 phases
Cycle Syncing- Using your unique cycle to plan, socialize, reach personal goals, practice boundaries, travel, create, and rest, you will begin to live with instead of against the flow of your own internal calendar. I’m sure there is much more than that and I’ll do my best to cover all the topics cycle related.
What does cycle awareness mean for women?
Learning to do daily check-ins
Recognizing your shifting energies
Planning your activities to line up with your energy
Taking time out for transition phases
Knowing when to slow down and when to speed up
Understanding your abilities for brainstorming, collaborating, critique and edit and when to let it all go
Learning to fully rest
Practicing boundaries
When to host and when to ghost
When life doesn’t line up, make your small steps
What does this mean for the guys?
When you become aware of the shifting phases of the women around you, you will gain a new perspective in how to relate to women. Yes, women will remain mysterious. Not everything is hormones. But a lot is hormones.
Knowledge you will gain by understanding cycle awareness:
What a girl wants and when she wants it
What a girl needs even when she forgets what those needs are
When to plan that guys fishing trip/ski trip/poker night that syncs right in to the relationship naturally
Why she gets frustrated at the end of her cycle and ways you can support her
How to create healthy space in relationships and how to hold space
When to have the hard talks and when to hold boundaries and hopefully be heard
Best date nights!
Planning adventures together
In the workplace- when to collaborate, listen, work solo, and get feedback
Men operate like the Sun and women operate like the Moon. Both directly impact Earth. These two are in a cosmic dance. We have so much to learn from the parables created here.
Are you ready to live in harmony with your own biology?
…stay tuned and get cozy as I unravel Week 1- Winter phase
Go With The Flow,
Share this post