Welcome to your meditation for embracing your follicular stage,
Your inner spring.
I invite you to use this meditation series as a guide and source of inspiration to help you feel into your own experience of your cycle.
To begin this meditation I recommend sitting or lying down in a quiet comfortable place.
Option to let your body melt into a comfortable yoga posture.
Maybe place pillows under the knees and elbows while lying down.
Once you have found that position that feels most supportive,
Start to orient yourself to the space around you.
Moving your eyes around the room,
Slowly and simply observe the shapes and colors of the objects in your room.
As you do,
Count about three different colors that you see,
Perhaps out loud,
Then name about three different that you see,
Perhaps out loud as well.
Notice any sensations that encourage that felt sense of settling,
Like a stone drifting and sorting itself gradually into a soft bed of sand and silt.
Soften your gaze or flutter your eyes closed to turn your attention inwards,
Opening to your vast inner landscape.
Feel free at any time to open your eyes throughout our time together if that helps you feel more comfortable.
Notice if you are lying down,
Each connection point between your body and the surface beneath you.
Feel and sense the pressure of each of those contact points.
Let your mind wander to those points of your body now.
Feel the air on your skin,
At your fingertips,
Hands,
Elbows,
Knees,
Ankles,
Toes.
Is there tension in your body today?
Maybe as you exhale,
Easing into the unraveling of those physical knots.
Breathing in compassion,
Breathing out any sense of forcing things to be different right now.
Fully relaxing.
Continue breathing lightly and easily.
The follicular stage is a time after your bleed has ended where the hypothalamus in your brain signals your pituitary gland to release follicle stimulating hormone FSH.
This hormone supports the growth of follicles that house the eggs in your ovaries.
Throughout this season,
The healthiest egg will mature and be released during ovulation.
With this increase of potential new life,
Take a moment to notice if you can recognize this rising charge within you.
What has your internal energy felt like recently?
How is your breath today?
Fast?
Slow?
Shallow or deep?
Sticky or smooth?
Take a moment to explore.
Check in with your mind next.
What is the quality of your thoughts?
Uplifting and playful?
Overwhelmed and scattered?
Resistant and on guard?
Floaty and anxious?
And just observe.
Whatever you notice.
Making a little mental note.
If judgment or attachment to the thoughts begin,
Simply welcome it all,
Allowing it to be present and then breathe.
Continuing to explore.
Continuing the rotation of consciousness through body,
Mind,
And breath.
Just exploring.
During the middle of our follicular stage,
There may be a rise in estrogen which can encourage a sense of reconnection to our inner flame and fire.
You know that part of you that makes you feel like you.
Is there an image perhaps you visualize to help you connect to what you feel at this point in your cycle?
Maybe it's fire,
The stars,
Luminescent in a beautiful sky,
A glowing light,
Or something else entirely.
Feel into it.
That special image that you create from deep within your internal knowing.
This time is yours to celebrate the unfolding opportunities for play,
Experimenting,
And wandering.
Feel the pressure of the surface you are on.
Again,
Receiving feedback from the environment that you are held and contained here.
Noting these instances helps your brain perceive a sense of safety.
Reflect for a moment perhaps any gifts that have expressed themselves through your body this cycle.
Is there a natural motivator within you?
If not,
That is okay.
Hold your ideas,
Your impressions,
And your new tender sense of self.
Breathing in compassion and breathing out forcing.
Simply holding the tension of this rising inner charge and starting to contain it with each breath,
With each conscious pause throughout the day.
A reminder to feel your feet connected and grounded.
If it is more difficult to feel the lift of this season,
Hold yourself tenderly.
Maybe inviting a movement or a kind of hug by wrapping the arms in front of your chest,
Holding your opposite shoulders.
Be with this experience.
Breathe alongside of it.
Is there a part of you that needs something to feel safe?
Take some space here to listen to any part of you that wants to be heard.
And it's okay if there's nothing today that comes through.
Maybe you offer the words,
I am here,
I see you,
You are safe,
Or something else to this part of you.
Let it be natural and intuitive.
This insight brings a momentary pause to collect yourself and turn towards loving all parts of your being.
Even if it feels hard today,
It opens a door towards listening instead of closing.
This is what is here today,
Knowing that you are whole even if you are feeling fragmented.
Center,
Soften,
Relax,
And let go of needing to know what next.
You are learning the skill of holding the tension of illumination.
Breathing lightly,
In and out,
Easy breath in and easy breath out.
Know yourself as held in the space as grounded presence.
Offer a gentle thank you to your body for whatever has happened today or this week,
Embodying that source of compassion to yourself and leaning towards loving.
Feel your hands,
Maybe explore opening and expanding the fingers and then closing the hands into soft fists.
Open and close,
Open and close.
Breathing in as you open,
Breathing out as you close.
Recognize how you can experience those contrasting states of openness and containment.
Keep in mind this idea as you flow into your next stage of your cycle.
There may be moments along the way that ask you to embrace a sense of openness to new,
New thoughts,
Projects,
Habits,
Ideas,
Relationships,
And more.
There may be other times that ask you to contain that internal fire and heat and cool and contain to settle into a sense of comfort.
Allow yourself to honor the needs of your body.
Each stage of your cycle gives you feedback for how you are living and tending to your needs.
Carry these insights you have gained from this deep restorative practice as you continue to explore your cyclical changes.
Let's embrace a moment of stillness here,
The body breathing naturally,
Without effort.
And in a moment we will transition out of this practice,
Be with this transition fully.
If your body craves to move,
Maybe you invite a gentle full body stretch or joint rotation in the wrists,
Knees,
Or ankles.
Start to deepen each inhalation,
Filling the front of the chest,
Middle chest,
And lower belly.
Letting it exhale,
Letting it be long and fluid.
And then flutter your eyes open back to the space you are in.
Sense your body and the environment that you are in,
Bringing your awareness to all the sounds and smells and sights.
Welcome back.
Take note of your experience now.
Is there something that you need?
Maybe you want to tend to it now.
And continue onwards into your inner spring.
Thank you for taking the time and space to water and rinse yourself.
See you next time.
Many blessings.
Namaste.
