First, the basics of the inner Season phases thoughout the menstrual cycle:
Women’s cycle awareness is the awareness that women operate in a monthly cyclical rhythm called the infradian rhythm. Yes, it has a name. The infradian rhythm is the hormonal clock that causes shifting energies every week of our monthly cycle. These four unique weeks match up to the yearly seasons and moon phases. It’s like we have a seasonal weather map written into our biology. Why haven’t we been taught this from puberty? I honestly don’t know.
If you are no longer bound by the menstrual phase(post menopause), follow along using the moon phases to keep yourself and your energies in rhythm.
To keep us all on track here is the quick refresher:
Click or visit the “Start Here” tab found on the homepage navigation bar.
Week 1/Inner Winter/Day 1-Day6ish/New Moon/Menstruation
Week2/Inner Spring/Day 6-Day 13ish/Waxing/Follicular
Week 3/Inner Summer/Day 14-Day19ish/Full Moon/Ovulation
Week 4/Inner Fall/Day 20ish-Day28ish/Waning/Luteal
Episode 05 Notes:
Hi, this is Go With The Flow: Women’s Cycle Awareness. I’m Jess Mujica and today we are talking about late winter: the second half of the Inner Winter week (days 3ish to 6ish) of the menstrual cycle.
I’ll do a quick check-in.
I’m on day 3 of my month, so it’s a great time to discuss the small burst of energy and what we can do with the last half of the winter week to set us up for the rest of our month.
The 2nd half of the Inner Winter week gets a small surge of energy as estrogen naturally rises in the early follicular phase around day 3or 4.
Thoughts may quicken and you may get a false start of energy. If not paced well can lead to burn out by Spring or early Summer.
Energy themes of late Inner Winter day 3-7:
Physical- small burst of energy around day 3, meaning you may feel like moving your body more.
Mental- increasing mental capacity
Social- may or may not have social energy, depends on the personality type and how socially demanding your late fall and winter was.
Emotional- may still feel a bit tender or teary. *Side note- Winter is the perfect phase for processing grief.
Sexual- energy may be rising slightly with estrogen.
Metaphors in the garden
The weather has given us a warm spell right in the middle of winter. This is a bit like day 3 in the cycle.
In that first glimpse of spring, gardeners get out in their yard and begin to envision what they will grow this year. They pull out saved seeds and seed catalogues and pick garden areas and timing of blooms and colors…
What seeds do I have saved from fall? We can ask ourselves this question. What ideas or projects have I let go of in fall that I want to do again. What new thing do I want to start?
We can use these themes in our inner winters to catch that first wave of energy and let the inner wheels start turning.
What new goals or projects do we want to begin? We don’t have to do anything with the answer and if we don’t have an answer yet, let it simmer.
“What have I lost that needs to be restored?” quote from Optimized Woman by Miranda Gray.
Was there a goal that got dropped along the way, (maybe last month, 6 months ago, 4 years ago) that you want to pick back up?
Hobby?
Project?
An adventure?
We don’t have to plan anything right now.
If you already know the answer to this and planning mode has kicked in (you will know because you may already be jumping to your calendar right now!), then begin looking ahead to plan it with your optimal seasons.
Story about planning in my Spring phase for the next month’s Spring phase.
Challenges:
When planning gets away from us
Over scheduling
Push through or flake out?
What can we do in the last days of inner winter when we are done resting, yet our energy isn’t fully there?
Review
Envision
Dream
Plan
Thanks for joining me today. Take care and…
Go With The Flow,
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