What is Cycle Awareness?
Hi, and welcome to Go With The Flow.
This is a great place to start.
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 an 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 which triggers ovulation and menstruation.
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)
4 shifts occur across the entire month
Menstruation (early follicular phase)
Follicular (late follicular, pre-ovulatory phase)
Ovulation (early luteal, ovulatory phase)
Luteal (late luteal, premenstrual phase)
Just like the earth has 4 seasons or phases in one year, we have 4 seasons or phases in one month.
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 or Fall, which is an intuitive way to express being in Ovulation phase or Late Luteal 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 “follicular”.
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 a rollercoaster, would’nt you agree?
All the hormones
Estrogen
Progesterone
Testosterone
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Follicular Stimulatin Hormone (FSH)
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
Your Energy shifts on every energy level throughout the monthly cycle
Begin Tracking your menstrual days and energy levels
Cycle Syncing- Using your unique cycle to plan, socialize, reach personal goals, practice boundaries, travel, create, and rest. I’m sure there is much more than that and I’ll do my best to cover all the topics cycle related.
Cycle Awareness 101
Be sure to check out the Seasons Change Series: a guide to cycle awareness.