Let your inner rhythm guide you home
An invitation for deeper awareness, intimacy and connection
A note before we get started: Holding Threads launched one month ago! I feel so much gratitude for the opportunity to refine my body of work through these words.
If you have found any value in these posts, I would love it if you shared my publication with someone who might resonate with my work. Your trust in me means everything, and your referrals go a long way. Thank you!
A moment to acknowledge the many cycles we are apart of
This week we’re switching gears. I told you that I was going to write about community rituals and being in communal spaces, and I will, but something else is alive in me this week.
And an embodied leadership practice that I am experimenting with right now is taking action based on what’s alive in me and not what my mind told me to plan for. This is not reactionary, emotional, impulsive decision making. It’s a practice of deep listening for what wants to emerge in this now moment. It’s a practice in balancing intuition and logic while in a regulated state, which is quite revolutionary in our rigid, linear, reactionary culture.
For context, I am on day five of my menstrual cycle as I write this. For me, this is the beginning of Inner Spring. As you’ll see below, this time is archetypally full of fire and possibility. It’s also quite vulnerable. Like a sapling emerging from the soil; full of possibility and also quite tender to the elements. One way that I’ve learned to be with myself during this time is to follow the pulses of aliveness that ignite me. Maybe they will lead to something, or maybe they won’t. The end result doesn’t matter, but trusting the experimental process does.
For people who🩸and those who love them
This week we are going to wade into the shallow end of menstrual cycle awareness practices.
Before you flee because you tell yourself that this isn’t relevant to you, I want to offer an invitation.
Whether or not you have a menstrual cycle, you are a cyclical being. Perhaps you are not influenced by hormonal cycles. Maybe you are influenced more by the celestial bodies in the sky, or the seasons of the earth. At the very least, you are influenced by your circadian (sleep-wake) cycle. And most likely, you love someone with a menstrual cycle.
There is medicine in taking a moment to pause here, and consider how this information might be helpful in your own cycle awareness practice, even if you are just tracking how you change across the days, months, seasons or years. It can certainly give you some perspective for how to support your bleeding loved ones more intentionally.
Disclaimer: This post is a reflection of my research and experience in menstrual cycle awareness tracking for the last five years. I am not a medical doctor and none of this should be considered medical advice. Everything I've learned about holistic menstrual health, I have learned from the teachers tagged at the bottom of this post. This post is not about fertility or hormone health. Rather, it’s an invitation to see your menstrual cycle as a psychospiritual initiation guide in your life. Credit for the Maps of Menstruality (Inner Seasons) belongs to Red School, although their framework has been augmented with my personal experience and research.
I also want to name that as a cisgender, white, able-bodied woman, my lived experience will be one of privilege and access. Trans and nonbinary people, people of color, and people with disabilities and chronic health issues will have very different experiences.
This post is less about idealizing a ‘perfect’ cycle or ‘fixing’ any perceived brokenness you might feel as you read what these archetypal seasons can contain.
It’s a practice of meeting and welcoming your cycle as it is. When we are welcoming to our cycle as it is, we can engage in a deeper dialogue about our conditioning, the systems we operate in, and how to bring more integration into the structure of our society for people with periods from a place of acceptance and non-judgment.
An Overview of the Inner Seasons
I am going to give you a high-level overview of each of the archetypal Inner Seasons of your menstrual cycle. Refer to the resources list at the bottom of the page for further information.
If you do not have a period or your periods are irregular, you can track your cycles according to the outer seasons of our Earth and/or the moon cycles, which I have listed within each archetypal Inner Season.
Inner Winter
Cycle Days: 1-6. Bleeding time.
Moon Phase: New Moon.
Sleep: 8+ hours on first days of bleed, 6+ after.
Movement: Gentle on painful days, walking or light stretching/yoga. Cardio, high intensity bodyweight exercise, yoga, hiking after symptoms subside.
Archetypes: Oracle, Crone, The Seed.
Energy: Intuitive, sensitive, introspective, psychic, power, grounded.
Mood: Quiet, withdrawn, inward, mysterious.
Needs: Rest, Dream Time, Visioning.
Self-Care: Baths, heating pad, walking, ritual, eye mask, music/sound journeys, cave time, sensory rest, nature.
Business: Visioning, intention setting, inquiring.
Inner Spring
Cycle Days: 7-14.
Moon Phase: First Quarter.
Sleep: 6+ hours.
Movement: Resistance, heavy strength, pushing for PRs.
Archetypes: Warrioress, Sapling, Maiden.
Energy: Focused AND scattered, experimental.
Mood: Vulnerable, tentative, wonder, possibility, energized.
Needs: Encouragement, moving tenderly.
Self-Care: Castor oil packs, cold showers, sauna/sweating, HeartMath, nature, embodiment practices, meditation, exercise.
Business: Planning, organizing, admin, creation, learning new things, starting a new project or phase of project.
Inner Summer
Cycle Days: 15-21. Ovulation.
Moon Phase: Full Moon.
Sleep: 8+ hours.
Movement: Light strength & cardio, dancing.
Archetypes: Creator, Entelechy, Mother.
Energy: Sexy, playful, charismatic, confident, creative.
Mood: Luscious, bountiful, juicy, charming.
Needs: Connection, intimacy, touch, creative outlets, celebration.
Self-Care: Castor oil packs, cold showers, date night (solo or with partner), community time, nature.
Business: Networking, presenting, filming, new client calls, content creation.
Inner Autumn
Cycle Days: 21-28.
Moon Phase: Last Quarter.
Sleep: 9+ hours plus naps.
Movement: Light cardio, recovery, restorative yoga.
Archetype: Sorceress, Wild Woman, Priestess, Falling Leaves.
Energy: Untamed, discerning, incisive, boundaried, inward.
Mood: Impatient, intuitive, empowered.
Needs: Dropping the bundle, quiet time, comfort, stress management.
Self-Care: Nature, dance, sensory grounding (touch/smell), grace, self-compassion, meditation, embodiment practices, baths.
Business: Prune back, reconnect with vision, re-center, edit.
The Invitation: Begin Your Cycle Awareness Practice
Beginning a cycle awareness practice can feel overwhelming at first. If you have a history of painful and challenging menstrual experiences, it can feel like there is something broken about you that needs fixing urgently. I know this feeling well. I began my cycle awareness practice because my late luteal phase (Inner Autumn, right before bleeding) was emotionally chaotic and spiritually defeating for so many years and I was desperate for some relief.
The invitation here is to begin where you are. Literally. Right now. You’ll come to realize that just the practice of attending to and befriending your cycle as it is will be profoundly healing.
Grab your journal or a piece of paper.
Here is an entry-level tracking template for you to begin right now:
Cycle Day:
Three word check-in:
What do I need today?:
That’s it. Really, that’s all you need to get started.
I encourage you to adopt the nine attitudes of mindfulness as you begin this practice. They will serve you well in learning to notice, welcome and love your cycle exactly as it is.
Every cycle is different, so every cycle awareness and care practice looks different too. Personally my cycle is short (26 days) and my inner seasons don’t perfectly match up with the days listed above, so I’ve learned to adjust based on what I am feeling in my body. I encourage you to do the same.
Over time, you will be able to know exactly what you need to meet yourself and your cycle with kindness no matter which season you are in. And the more you do that, the more you will see how powerful your cycle is as a spiritual guide. But more on that later.
This is just the beginning
Radical personal and societal change begins with awareness. Give yourself time to be a beginner here. There is no rush.
When you are ready, I have shared several holistic resources below spanning the biological, psychological and spiritual health of your menstrual cycle. These are the teachers I have leaned on in my own cycle awareness process and they have such beautiful wisdom and visions to share.
As you might imagine, there is a ton of nuance that I am not able to get into in a single blog post. There is also a deep well of spiritual power in your cycle that I won’t articulate here just yet. If you have any questions or need support in developing a menstrual cycle awareness plan, you can schedule a *free* 45-minute consultation call with me here.
And if you are local to Sacramento, be on the lookout for a half day retreat this spring where we will be diving into this with more depth.
Our bodies and our cyclical nature are massive wells of resourcefulness and resilience and they are largely untapped, ignored and shamed in our society.
Heal, reclaim, live joyfully. Its your birth right.
May this post and all inspired action taken hereafter benefit all beings everywhere.
Warmly,
Emily, your soft natured womb philosopher who just finished a very intense Inner Autumn/Winter.
Resources
None of these links are sponsored. I love these teachers and their wisdom and use it often (if not daily).
Aluna Moon
The Goddess Awakening: The Power Of The Menstrual Cycle meditation course on Insight Timer was my first foray into learning the psychospiritual gifts of the menstrual cycle.
Each time I do this course I meet a deeper layer of nuance and beauty. I cannot recommend it enough.
Red School
In my opinion Red School is the leading educator on all things menstruality. Their vision for a menstruality affirming world is so expansive, and I firmly believe its possible in our lifetime.
They have many entry points to their work. Free options include their Hormone Harmony and Love Your Cycle courses.
When you are ready for a deeper immersion, I suggest their book Wild Power.
And if you’re an entrepreneur looking to integrate your cycle awareness into your business, their Your Cyclical Business program is phenomenal and they are about to kick off the next cohort in June!
You can find everything on their website.
Kristen Karchmer
If you’re looking for more support on the physical side of your cycle, I have found a lot of value in the work of Kristen Karchmer and her company Forever Brazen. Their supplements have been super helpful in managing my period cramps and her book Seeing Red helped me create a period-friendly lifestyle.
As with all things, it’s best to work with a functional medicine practitioner and/or naturopath to ensure your care meets your specific needs.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read. My prayer is that 1% of you softens at the idea of leaning into a cycle awareness practice. That’s all we need.
I’ll talk to you soon.
With love, E