Part 5: Seasons Change to Fall
Part 5: Seasons Change to Fall
Luteal Phase: Of boundaries and letting go to a beautiful death
I totally understand if you don’t have 10 minutes to read today. Just click the play button and I’ll read it to ya as you do whatever it is you need to do.
Phase out with the waning moon Let go like the golden leaves Step back Receding on the outgoing tide Turbulent and rhythmic ~Jess Mujica
Hi friends, Thanks for joining me on this journey of Menstrual Cycle Awareness. I am enjoying practicing the awareness with all of you.
It is an everyday kind of practice and understanding the shifts and intricacies has been very rewarding. I still use my own notes and reminders and resource books when I can't remember what my current season holds. I hope you find this information as valuable as I do.
Today we will cover:
>What the hormones are doing
>10 Signs of Inner Fall
>Physical signs and symptoms
>Transition days and how to navigate them
>Questions to ask ourselves
>Natural abilities in Fall
>Creative energy
>Challenges in Fall are also the practices of Fall
>Facing the Dragon (the inner critic)I’m currently Day 29 and I have no more F’s to give. And I mean that in a light-hearted don’t look at me kind of way. Full disclaimer, I tend to curse more in my Fall phase. I go from princess to sailor as my husband so sweetly claims.
Thankfully for everyone around me I am tucked away in my husband’s office writing, hunched over like an old crone, keeping my cursing to my keyboard. But the crone phase is saved for the next phase (Winter) or is it today? See that’s the thing about the last days of fall they sort of meld into winter without really knowing. But if we look closely we can find the signs that tell us Winter is coming.
Okay, lets dive in, shall we?
Inner Fall: Day 21-28 of a 28 day cycle
*Remember all ladies cycles vary slightly in when these days occur. As I’ve been getting older I notice Fall coming earlier around Day 19.
Tracking and Journaling
No matter when Fall comes busting in, and demands to be noticed, tracking and journaling is the best way to know yourself and feel the shift so that you can coast into it rather than wake up with Summer burn-out.
What the Hormones are Doing
After Ovulation the ovaries are signaled to produce progesterone. This begins the Luteal phase or Inner Fall phase. Progesterone and estrogen together prepare the uterus to house the fertilized egg. If the egg is not fertilized the body signals to stop producing hormones and hormones plummet, decreasing steadily at which point the uterine lining sheds (menstruation).
This last rollercoaster ride requires some self care as well as slowing down to match the decreasing hormones.
If we have been ignoring our physical and emotional needs by remaining in Summer’s(Ovulation) outward energy, we might hit a proverbial wall around Day 21. This is a signal that we need to check in with ourselves and get a break.
Inner Fall
Day 18ish-30ish
Inner Fall is characterized by Inward, Waning Moon, Wild Woman, Fall season energy.
10 Signs of Inner Fall:
Feeling like you need to be alone
Feeling a bit ruffled
Tired yet wired
Zoning out or staring off into space
Problem solving
Organizing
Irritable
Hearing internal criticism
Taking things personal
Decision making is hard, near impossible
Some Physical Signs and Symptoms:
General fatigue
Headaches
Bloating
Breast tenderness
Insomnia
Cramping
Mental energy is low towards the end of this phase
*There are other physical symptoms that pop up as we approach Menopause which I will indulge in later.
Thankfully, they don’t show up all on the first day of Fall. Shew! If they do for you, then you have hit a serious Stop Sign. It’s time to go to bed and rest and spend time listening to what your body is telling you.
The Transition Days
Summer to Fall Around Day 21
Transitioning from Summer to Fall can be a delicate dance. Suddenly swinging from laughing, playing, doing all the things, being there for others, living it up and partying and then one morning we wake up and think, huh, where’s my mojo? And we might spend the whole day looking for it.
After feeling this abrupt energy shift, we need to have space to ask ourselves, “What do I need?”
I now mark my Day 21 on the calendar. Around this day I try to get some time alone and exercise is a great way to transition for me.
Just marking this shift brings awareness that you are now looking at the world through Fall colored lenses. The rose lenses of Summer (ovulation) can take a hike.
Take a moment and think of ways you can honor this change of energy within yourself.
Fall to Winter Around Day 28
Once again at the End of Fall phase we are faced with a shift. The energy deepens inward and we are called to truly rest. This is where I find myself running around tying up loose ends. An urgency before Winter (menstruation) phase kicks in.
Getting the last minute to-do list cleared so that you know you can fully give in to Winter and rest can be very rewarding. However; on the day before Day 1, this can also cause anxiety if your body won’t produce the energy needed to get the job done. If all energy is tapped out, then what?
Questions to ask ourselves
What would happen if we just didn’t do it?
So many deadlines we make for ourselves, that simply cannot be met. So we need to ask ourselves another question.
Can we drop the ball?
Just for today?
Can we let go?
I have found the last day before the bleed is the hardest place to let everything go. Other women I know find the hardest place to surrender is a day or two into Winter. They are already bleeding which is a sure sign that the body wants to surrender.
Can we ask for help?
We live in a d-i-y world and we take pride in doing it ourself, but at this point, it no longer serves us. Doing at 100% brings anxiety, irritation, exhaustion and sometimes injury. We get clumsy and stub toes, drop coffee cups, bang our heads and lose our keys. Let go. Go at 60% pace. Give yourself grace. Rest as much as possible.
Middle Fall Days Day 22-Day 26
Natural Abilities
Brainstorming energy
Problem-solving
Little or big “aha” moments
Organization skills
Great days to purge a closet
Re-organize an office
A natural critical eye on projects
Saying what no one else will
Creative energy
Giving ourselves alone time we may find that we have creative inspiration just waiting to get out. Nurture this time to create. Remember what you used to love when you were a kid and had time by yourself in your room? Coloring, reading, singing along to your favorite artist, or playing music? Whatever it is that you do, do it for yourself. Creating is a great anxiety outlet. And in Fall we have a tendency to criticize ourselves as much as others, so remember to just create for the sake of playing.
Challenges in Fall Are Practices of Fall
Really start to slow down
Find your boundaries
Let go of expectations of yourself
Let go of expectations of others
Take care of your basic needs (Water, exercise, vitamins, real food especially cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage because these help keep estrogen in it’s place, below progesterone)
Get time alone even if it’s uncomfortable
Find a creative outlet
Ask for help
Let go when you find yourself taking things personal
Remember you don’t have to respond to every text, every email, every question from your kid. There is a silent mode on the phone for a reason. The reason is Fall.
Facing the Dragon
As we navigate the last days before we bleed, we are faced with ourselves. The self talk gets louder and we question if we are good enough, do enough, if we are too much for people or not enough for people. We bash our self worth, our intentions, we question our past actions, our interactions, our worries intensify and we ask ourselves, what’s wrong with me?
We must face the ego/flesh (our inner dragon) and let ourselves dwindle. Faced with these questions we must remember that we are vessels. We have been created by God to be who we are. If we have wronged others, then we face that and ask for forgiveness. As far as ourselves, if we bash ourselves then we need to hear the truth of ourselves. WE are humans. We are certainly not perfect. We are still loved with flaws and all.
This is not the time to abandon ship, quite our jobs, leave our families, run away, or make any major life decisions. But it may be a call to revisit these feelings later in our most grounded phase of Winter.
As we head toward our Winter phase we face a kind of death. To ourselves and to our ego/flesh and to the world. Why? Because we are at rest. This is the ultimate in our cycle, this place of nothingness, surrender and death. I think this is a spiritual picture, it is a preparation to our actual death. We go through this process month after month of rising up and dying back. We get to practice aging gracefully and dying gracefully.
I feel there is so much more I could get into about this inner season but for today that’s all I can do. My brain is powering down. Day 29.
I hope you will read this and extend yourself so much grace to experience Fall fully and beautifully.
