One of the chapter headings of our first book, Wild Power, is “How the F*ck Do We Live Our Cycle in a Non-Cyclical World?” Like you, we’re no strangers to this challenge, having wrestled with it all our menstruating lives.
Because the truth is that most of us live in a culture that expects and often demands us to be in one gear, an eternal summer - essentially to be ‘ON’ 24/7.
But when we look to the natural world around us - we see that everything moves cyclically, from the trees shedding their leaves in autumn to the animals that hibernate in winter, to the moon pulling the ocean into its tidal flow, to the planets orbiting above our heads.
The results of imagining we can step outside of this natural intelligence are shocking; a planet pushed to the edge, millions of climate refugees, crops failing across the globe, and an epidemic of burnout (particularly amongst women in caring roles).
This is what drives our passion for menstrual cycle awareness. The simple act of turning towards ourselves each day and recognising where we are in our own personal ebb and flow throughout the cycle month, is a radical act that is working to build a more sustainable world.
Today we want to share three of the core shifts that become possible when we practise cycle awareness, for us as individuals, and the world. May they inspire you and your practice today.
ONE: We move from burnout to sustainable energy
When we look at what the myth of ‘eternal summer’ does to us physically it is shocking, particularly for women. Pushing through, overriding, and ignoring our cyclical call to rest and regroup all-too-often often ends in burnout, as I imagine many of you know all too well.
When we live according to the four seasons - the four modes of operating that are built into our menstrual cycle, we allow our animal bodies to ebb and flow, to have cycles of rest and action, like everything else in the natural world.
And when we practise cyclical self care - in the way we teach on our upcoming Cycle Power course - you can take this to the next level. You can get to know your own limits, boundaries and how to care for them in each inner season.
TWO: We move from shame to embracing ourselves as emotional creatures
Emotionally, the myth of ‘eternal summer’ demands that we show up in the same way every day of the month, when in fact, we cannot. This can leave us feeling like we’re always getting it wrong, or worse, that there is actually something wrong with us.
It’s hard to underestimate the impact of this chronic shaming of our cyclical nature. Is it any wonder that so many of us face great premenstrual challenges, when we live in a world that actively suppresses our emotional range… and in doing so, our full spectrum of power?!
When we look at emotional health through the lens of a life which honours our four inner seasons, we begin to claim the truth that we shapeshift throughout the cycle month, and that’s ok. When we embrace the daily practice of menstrual cycle awareness, we come to understand our sensitivity, our vulnerability, our truth-speaking anger as gateways to our power.
THREE: We move from disconnection to real belonging
The third fallout of being forced to live our lives in an imagined eternal summer mode is that we feel lacklustre, numb, and disconnected from the greater web of life. As our anger and vulnerability is suppressed so too is our joy, awe and sense of magic.
When we bend ourselves out of shape and squeeze ourselves into this myth of being eternally on, bright, and active we so often lose our sense of meaning - we are uprooted from earth's cycles, without a sense of home and place.
When we honour our four inner seasons, we give ourselves permission to be our wonderfully weird, utterly incomparable, totally unique selves. And our lives are infinitely richer as a result.
Cycle awareness teaches us to think for ourselves and to be ourselves. We become natural leaders; grounded in our own authority and knowing, which means we can’t be easily manipulated or controlled. We become conscious creators, sacred activists, rather than mindless consumers. And it’s exactly this kind of connection to our deep selves that creates real belonging.
In our Cycle Power course, we share the fruits of our work over the past two decades of piecing together a new language, a new way of being in this modern world, one that embraces our cyclical nature so that we can live a more spiritually fulfilling, physically vital, emotionally vibrant life.
