Power Of Your Menstrual Cycle & Creative Cycle: Part I

Learn how your menstrual cycle is your intimate connection with the Creative Cycle and how you can harness the 5 elements & 4 seasons to feel creative, vibrant & fully alive in this 2-part masterclass. In Part 1, learn how your menstrual cycle is related to the creative cycle, a small and powerful shift that will change your period, the strengths, qualities & best practices for the Winter and Spring of your period & what a menstrual break is & how to take it to connect with your intuition.

Transcript

Welcome everyone into our circle of meditators today.

My name is Wenling and I'm a mindfulness coach and I mainly work with women.

In our chat today,

We'll be talking a little bit about the creative cycle as well as the menstrual cycle.

If you've ever had or experienced a menstrual cycle,

Even if you no longer experience a menstrual cycle,

I want to give you a warm welcome and I want to also invite you to feel that today's space is a space and time for you to feel open to share anything you'd like to share.

Today is World Menstrual Hygiene Day,

So I think this is a great time and a great opportunity to share and to also raise this topic that is often ignored,

Invisible,

And at times even controversial as well.

Today's conversation will be about two main topics.

The first one is called the creative cycle.

And the creative cycle is this idea that there are certain pulsations or spirals in life and everything is cyclical.

But the creative cycle or the birth cycle is actually a process that is rooted in the five element theory in traditional Chinese medicine,

As well as the related healing modalities of qigong,

As well as acupuncture and acupressure.

And for me,

Based on my own experience working with and supporting individuals who have a menstrual cycle or who have had a menstrual cycle,

This is very intimately also connected with our physiological unfoldings in the body.

And the menstrual cycle,

Which is a infradium rhythm,

Is one of the many rhythms that affect us internally,

Just like the rhythms of the circadian rhythm,

You might have heard of this.

This affects our sleep and wake cycle.

So all of these rhythms are cyclical and there's this idea that they loop back to the beginning and there's no beginning and end.

There are peaks and troughs and there are rhythms and pulsations and ebbs and flows,

Just like our breath.

Here we have two different cycles that we will be talking about.

And the first one I mentioned from before is the creative cycle.

And the second one is the menstrual cycle.

So today I'll be sharing more about how the menstrual cycle,

If you're tuning in and if you have ever experienced a menstrual cycle,

Even if,

For example,

Right now you're experiencing an irregular cycle or perhaps you've not had your period for some time or maybe you're perimenopausal or even postmenopausal.

All of these will still affect how you experience your physiology internally,

As well as how you connect with yourself emotionally as well as spiritually.

So before we begin,

I wanted to invite all of us who are here in our circle today to take a couple of moments to arrive.

We're going to do a gesture which I first came across from one of my teachers.

She's called Dr.

Uma Dinsmortuli and she works a lot with Well Women Yoga to support women to reconnect with their cyclical wisdom and the rhythms that reflect great nature.

I'm going to invite you to join me as we place our palms together in front of the heart center.

And this is a gesture of gratitude.

In yoga,

We call this prayer palms.

And from this prayer palms,

We're going to form a diamond in front of the heart space,

Your Anahata chakra.

And take a breath in here,

Breathing in.

As you breathe out,

Send the breath from your heart all the way down along the heart uterus meridian,

Down into the lower womb space.

And inhale from your lower chakras,

Bring it back to heart.

Let's try that two more times and I'll show you this sideways as well.

So deep breath in,

Forming your heart or shining diamond in front of the heart.

And as you breathe out,

Send the breath down to the lower womb space,

The lower chakras.

And inhale,

We bring it back to heart.

Let's do this one last time.

And if your eyes are open,

You might want to do this with your eyes closed,

If that feels good for you.

Inhaling,

Connecting with your heart center,

Where you give and receive love.

And exhaling,

Sending the breath down to the root and the source of your being.

Here,

I invite you to let your palms rest on the lower belly area.

And this area in many different lineages,

Whether that is yoga or Qigong,

Is very sacred.

This area connects you with your deeper wisdom,

With your sensuality,

Your sexuality,

With your sense and identity of your inner cyclical patterns and rhythms.

As you breathe in,

Feel the belly gently expand.

And as you breathe out,

Feel the belly gently reside.

Let's try this for a few more rounds.

Every time you breathe in,

Imagine you breathe in fully all the way down into the lower belly area and maybe the fingers just slightly part.

As you breathe out,

Feel the breath gently leave your lungs and your diaphragm domes back up and the belly moves closer towards your spine.

One last time like this,

Breathing in deeply,

Diaphragmatic breathing.

And breathing out gently,

Releasing,

Letting go.

Taking a moment to acknowledge and witness this space to connect with this space.

And then slowly and gently from this space,

We bring it back into the front of your chest and pray your palms.

And if your eyes are closed,

Gently and slowly,

Let your eyes blink open.

Welcome into our circle.

Welcome to World Menstrual Hygiene Day and welcome to Insight Timer.

This is a great time.

What better time to commune and connect than today to chat about the creative cycle and the menstrual cycle.

Before we begin,

I would love to invite you to share if it feels good for you,

Two to three words to describe what's coming up for you right now.

Any feelings,

Sensations,

Emotions.

And usually I do this when I facilitate a circle here on Insight Timer.

We do a check in at the beginning and then at the end we do a check out.

Just like before we start on a journey,

We check in and then at the end we check out.

Alexandra has just shared calm,

Interested and curious.

That's great to hear.

We'll give a few more moments in case anyone else would like to share your two to three words.

And if you feel a little shy or if these words feel very personal or tender,

I encourage you to share these three words with yourself.

You might write them down.

You might share them with someone you love and trust and you might keep them for another time.

Tammy's words are tired,

Curious and hopeful.

We'll give just a few more moments.

I will also share my three words.

And my three words are rising,

Connected,

Curious.

Angela has also shared her words in the chat.

They are grateful and curious.

As we leave the space open to share your two to three words to acknowledge what's going on for you right now,

I want to invite you to share in the chat what brought you to our circle today.

What are you curious about so that for the rest of our circle,

Our time together,

Our conversation,

I can gently guide our conversation in the direction so that I'll be able to perhaps answer any questions you might have or to fill any curiosities.

Gada has shared in the chat,

Struggling with my health,

Nothing serious,

Struggling and grateful as acceptance.

Elise has shared in the chat,

Tired,

Stressed,

Surprised.

So in case you missed the question from before,

The prompt is to share in the chat what brought you to our circle today.

What are you curious about with regards to the menstrual cycle,

The creative cycle specifically?

Alexandra has just shared in the chat,

Curious what actions or thoughts could be of benefit to me during my menstruation phase?

Angela has shared how I can connect with an irregular cycle.

Tammy's sharing is connecting feelings and emotions I experience throughout the month with what may be happening in my body during my cycle.

Great,

Thank you so much for sharing.

Feel free to keep these shares coming and know that when you share these,

This is helpful for me as we continue our conversation.

So I know what areas to focus on as we continue to share and as we continue this dialogue in our circle of meditators today.

Welcome Bri.

Bri has shared in the chat how I can better manage energy throughout my cycle.

Yeah,

That's a great one.

Okay,

So we'll keep the chat open.

Feel free to continue to share,

To raise questions,

Share any thoughts,

Feelings or personal experiences.

In today's circle,

We are all equal.

I might know a little bit more about the menstrual cycle and about the creative cycle than you,

But today's time is really a space and time for connection and for us to learn from each other.

Stephanie has shared recently of birth control and trying to regulate,

Improving my diet and trying to minimize stress.

Thank you for sharing that,

Stephanie.

So it looks like many of us came primarily because of the menstrual cycle.

So let's do this.

We'll chat a little bit about the menstrual cycle and I'll use this as a segue to begin to introduce what the creative cycle is and how we might use the different phases of the menstrual cycle as a way for you to experience the different portions of the creative cycle.

Melissa has shared in the chat,

Hi Wenling,

Always felt that the cycle was interfering with my life.

And thank you for introducing a new perspective.

Thanks for sharing that,

Melissa.

Alice has shared in the chat,

Learn to accept all aspects of your body.

In the past,

Menstrual time was a time of rest.

Today,

We go,

Go,

Go.

And you need to love that part of you.

Thank you for sharing that,

Alice.

I think these two sharings from Melissa and Alice are a great prompt and a great way for us to enter into talking about the menstrual cycle.

So thank you everyone for sharing your curiosities,

Your challenges,

Your experiences and your insights from your own experience.

Now,

Before we start talking about the menstrual cycle,

I wanted to say,

Especially for those of you tuning in,

If you've ever had or are having a challenging experience with the menstrual cycle,

Know that your experience is unique.

And what I shared today,

They may or may not be relevant for you.

And they are general observations from my own experiences working with and supporting individuals with menstrual cycles,

As well as learning from my teachers who have also done the same for much longer than me.

So the most important thing is that acknowledging your cycle,

You are unique and you are sovereign.

This is the most important thing.

And if anything I shared today is not comfortable for you,

Know that nothing is personal and that your experience is the most important and that that should stay with you as well as your internal guidance.

So Melissa has shared in the chat,

She says,

I always felt the cycle was interfering with my life.

And thank you for introducing a new perspective.

I want to say that my own personal experience has also been like that as well for many years.

When I was not aware of menstrual cycle awareness,

I was not aware of the menstrual cycle as a reflection of the creative cycle.

I always believe that menstruation or the period was an inconvenience.

And at times for a long time,

I envied the male body because I wanted to not have that time of the month where I would experience a lot of inconvenience,

Discomfort,

Pain.

And fortunately,

I've had most of the time quite a regular cycle.

And right now I work with many clients who don't actually have a regular cycle.

So,

For example,

Individuals with amenorrhea,

Meaning they don't have a cycle at all,

Even though they are in the age of menstruation,

As well as individuals with dysmenorrhea.

So,

For example,

Painful periods or,

For example,

Periods that are irregular or spotting.

So,

I want to say that firstly,

The female body and not just a female body,

Apologies for my use of pronouns and as well as gender.

Know that nothing today is personal.

And if you don't associate with she or her and you choose to use other pronouns,

Please bear with me as I am still learning how to update my language to reflect individuals who don't identify with being women.

So the first thing I want to say is that the menstrual cycle is a reflection of something much greater than yourself.

And aside from the period itself,

Which is where most of us and most of society draws our awareness to,

There's a much bigger cycle or spiral in play.

So if we look at the seasons and if you've ever been in a place with more than one season,

For example,

Four seasons,

That is spring,

Summer,

Autumn and winter,

Just as within the times of the day,

We have sunrise,

We have midday,

We have sunset,

We have midnight,

As well as the moon cycles.

And you can see the beautiful tapestry I have behind me.

We have the new moon,

Which is not featured here,

It's closer to the top.

Then we have the waxing moon as it grows towards fullness.

We have the full moon in all of its luminosity and brilliance.

And then once again,

We have the waning moon as it moves towards the new moon.

So many things around us and nature itself is mostly cyclical.

And a lot of the experiences we have is actually cyclical as well.

And the menstrual cycle is one of these cyclical rhythms.

And this rhythm is slightly longer.

It's almost a month,

Around 28 days.

And know that this 28 days is an average.

So this average may not reflect your own experience,

Especially for those of you who are tuning in and you have an irregular cycle.

Or,

For example,

If you are perimenopausal,

So that is another time when your hormones are fluctuating and your cycle starts to become more irregular.

Or if you are breastfeeding,

You just gave birth,

So your cycle will also not,

For example,

Fit within what is considered to be a regular cycle.

So firstly,

Know that your cycle is unique and that your cycle is a reflection that you are part of something greater.

And you are connected to the source of everything that is around you.

You are as legitimate as the moon,

As the shifting energies of a day,

Of a year.

You are as legitimate as a bird,

As nature,

For example,

That also moves with the energies of the year.

Now,

Let's dive into the four seasons of the menstrual cycle.

And please bear with me if any of you have tuned in,

You're already very familiar with the menstrual cycle and menstrual cycle tracking as well.

Feel free to share your experiences in the chat.

If you know something and you want to share,

You are very welcome.

So let's start with the period itself.

Many of us are familiar with the duration of what is called menstruation or the period.

And this is typically,

Again,

This is just an average.

Your period might look very,

Very different.

It is on average around one to five or seven days where you actually experience bleeding from the womb space.

And this period is a time that is associated with winter,

With midnight,

With the new moon.

And this is a time for rest,

Restoration,

Cleansing,

Deep rejuvenation.

So think of it as this blood flow and this river that is flowing from within you.

It is flowing down to connect with the source of something greater than yourself.

And when we do this,

What actually happens is the blood is gently leaving or the uterus lining is gently being cleansed so that in the next cycle,

It can then,

With the help of the hormones in your body,

Estrogen,

Progesterone,

For example,

New lining can then reappear and can support you to sustain new life.

Whether that is in the form of a baby,

If you do choose to have a baby and if that is accessible for you,

Or in the form of your projects,

In the form of your relationships,

That is also new life.

So,

As I mentioned,

And also Elise mentioned just now,

In the past,

She says menstrual time was a time of rest.

Perhaps for some of us,

Yes.

And for some of us,

No.

And also in many cultures in the past,

What happens is women lived in community,

Close community.

And there was often this idea of an elder woman who was supporting younger women all together so that child rearing,

Taking care of children,

Domestic kinds of activities could be shared amongst this community of women.

And so no woman would be alone,

Especially during this time of rest,

Rejuvenation,

Nourishment.

So during your bleed,

Especially if you have a challenging bleed,

The first thing I want to invite you to do is to acknowledge this time as a time of allowing.

As a time of,

If it is possible,

Surrendering to your body and acknowledging that this is a time that your body is sovereign.

This is another thing that I would like to also spend a little time chatting about.

Because in modern society,

Very often we see our bodies as something we drive,

Just like a car,

Just like a tool that enables us to do things out in the world.

And many times we ignore the signals from within our body.

I wanted to say that the menstrual cycle is a very important indicator of your health in many different ways.

So,

For example,

If you have an irregular cycle,

It could point to some things like hereditary factors that you have,

Risk factors,

Or for example,

Things like nutrition,

Whether you are eating well,

Whether you are stressed,

Whether you are sleeping well.

So all these are closely tied together.

And your menstrual cycle,

For example,

If you've had a regular cycle and it's becoming an irregular cycle,

If you've always had an irregular cycle,

If you had a regular cycle and now suddenly you're not bleeding,

It points to something.

It is a sign in your body is trying to tell you something.

So the first thing is to acknowledge your body as a friend or even a roommate and you're living with this roommate and you want to,

If it's possible,

I want to invite you to start to acknowledge this roommate and to give some attention and some space and to allow this roommate to be with you in community.

Rather than saying,

No,

I take charge of my roommate.

I rule over my roommate and I am the owner of my body.

My mind is superior or I am superior.

I have my will and I'm going to use my body however I want.

And this shift,

I think,

Is one of the most powerful shifts that we can make.

Whether you have a menstrual cycle or not,

If you're tuning in and you don't have a menstrual cycle,

This is also a very powerful shift for you as well.

How can we begin to see our bodies as something very precious,

Something so divine and so important that allows us to go out into the world and to do the things we would like to do and to have the relationships we would like to have and to experience life for all it has.

All the sensations,

The smells,

The richness that life has to offer us.

We can only do this through our bodies.

When we talk about the period,

This is a great time for rest.

And typically,

My teachers,

Shani and Alexandra Pope,

They are founders of the RIT School.

So what they recommend during this time of the period is if it is possible,

Try to do as little as possible.

And this is a time of being.

In the dichotomy of what is called Yin Yang,

These are two equal forces that underplay everything.

And they are like the shifting energies of the day.

What is closest to the energy of Yin is allowing,

Is not arguing with reality,

But saying,

Oh,

This is what I feel now.

My body is telling me I need rest.

Okay,

I'm going to rest.

And even though perhaps I might want to be more productive,

I might not want to experience a painful period.

But this being is witnessing.

Just like in meditation,

Also very often in life,

There are challenging situations,

There are difficult emotions,

There is trauma that we might experience.

Being is taking the seat of the observer and saying,

I witness.

And perhaps in a situation,

For example,

Where you cohabit with your body,

You live in your body.

Imagine that.

So you're living in this house that is your body,

Including your menstrual cycle.

You say,

Oh,

I'm experiencing a painful period.

Rather than having the thought,

No,

I shouldn't have a painful period or I shouldn't have an irregular cycle.

The first thing is to say,

Oh,

This is what I'm experiencing now.

How might I work with this?

How might I embrace this situation and accept it as it is,

Even though I have hopes that it might be something different?

So in that present moment,

Working with the energies that you have and knowing that it will shift.

So this menstruation,

Just like we are not always in winter and we're not always in the new moon.

It is a cycle.

So in this period,

If it's possible,

Be as kind to yourself as possible.

Hold yourself with gentleness,

Especially if you notice lots of self-criticism coming up.

If you're someone who is often on the go,

If you've had lots of trauma or difficult memories associated with menstruation,

With menarche,

Which is the first time of your bleed.

For example,

If you go back many,

Many years during your adolescence and you have certain memories of shame,

Certain memories of guilt as associated with your menstrual cycle.

How could you go back to that experience and acknowledge and witness this?

And at the same time,

Hold yourself with kindness,

Hold yourself with this love and this forgiveness.

It's okay that I felt this way.

And there is no right way to be and not arguing with reality.

This is just as it is and we be.

So that is the true wisdom of being.

Within the wisdom of being,

The depths of the being,

On the other side of this being,

What we have is insight.

True insight into who you are,

What you bring into the world.

This period of menstruation is connected with the water element.

Water is closest to the source of everything.

And we are mostly made of fluids,

Of water,

And so is the planet.

So the water element in the creative cycle,

Even though it is a cycle,

There is no beginning,

There is no end.

Just like there's no beginning between the chicken and the egg,

Which one came first?

If I had to pick some element to start with,

I would say it is the water.

Because all of us came from the womb of someone else.

And you have gestated in someone else's womb for nine months in that watery environment.

So in this water,

You were born.

And in our period,

When you are having or have had a period,

That is a time that you reconnect with that sense of surrender.

And you allow yourself to receive,

If possible,

As much as possible.

Receive all there is to receive.

This could be joy,

This could be silence,

This could be pain.

And you witness,

You bear witness to your experience.

Not arguing with it,

Not challenging it,

Not saying that it should be something else.

You witness this so that you can let this be your insight.

This is a great time to connect with your intuition,

To receive insight.

If you are working on something at work or your personal projects,

Or perhaps you feel like you're stuck in a relationship.

It's coming to a place where you feel blocked and there's something that you can't quite move past it.

Use your connection with your period,

With the time of your bleed to receive.

Ask the question for which you would like to receive an answer.

And sincerely connect within.

And then be patient and allow the answer to surface.

So this is a great time to do that.

And because during your bleed,

This is a time because the menstrual cycle and the uterus lining is being cleansed.

It's really,

Really helpful during this time to avoid eating sugary foods,

Processed foods.

You want to keep the womb space warm.

So broths are very helpful.

Eating nourishing foods are great.

In general,

For example,

If you do eat meat,

Lean meat is very,

Very good and healthy.

If you cook chicken broth,

This is a good time to drink it.

In terms of exercise,

If you do experience a painful period,

This is a good time to practice restorative yoga.

Yin yoga.

Various different poses that can help to create a little bit of light movement without exerting yourself too much.

Because remember,

This is a time of rest and restoration.

If we look at the new moon,

If we look at the time of midnight,

If we look at the season of winter,

What is nature doing?

Nature is resting.

The animals are in hibernation.

The trees have shed all their leaves and they are sending all of the sap from the branches down in through the bark into the roots to prevent themselves from dying.

So it's really drawn everything into the source.

So you are reconnecting with the source and you don't want to exert yourself too much.

So if you're tuning in and you're someone who's like,

I really want to go,

Go,

Go,

Please,

As much as possible,

Try to take what is called a menstrual break.

And I know this sounds a little bit ambitious,

Especially if this is the first time you've heard of a menstrual break.

My own menstrual break is I,

Because I work for myself,

I've made the choice to transition from a full time job that has a fixed schedule to something that I can arrange.

And it took many years and a great degree of hard work and determination to reach here.

But this was my choice.

And now I,

Three days before the start of my period and the first three days,

Because I know that is when I tend to be the most tired,

Tend to be when I need rest the most and tend to be when I am most deeply connected with myself.

I choose to dedicate this time three years before and three days once my period starts for myself.

And I do as little external work as possible.

This might be,

For example,

Choosing to refuse social interactions at this time,

Choosing to do fewer,

If possible,

Chores,

Commitments to others,

If possible,

Of course,

With a great degree of support from your partner,

From your family,

From your friends.

And for other people,

For example,

For you,

This menstrual break may look different.

It could be,

For example,

Taking one week off and some women do that.

It could be,

For example,

Doing a yoga nidra every single day before you start the day.

So how you take your menstrual break or how you choose to allow yourself to embody being during the period of your bleed or even leading up to it will be unique to you.

So this is the only thing I invite you to consider,

To be open to trying.

And for those of you who are tuning in,

I would love for you to share because I've been talking for quite long and I would love for this to be more of an interaction.

Have you ever taken a menstrual break and what does your menstrual break look like or how would you like your menstrual break to be?

Let's take a few moments to share in the chat.

Phoebe has shared in the chat,

Bath.

What better way to connect with the water element than to be immersed within a greater holding,

Which is water itself?

Alexandra says,

I try to rest,

But I never had a name for it.

So I really like this.

And I even encourage you,

Those of you who are tuning in,

If you feel ready to share this with someone else and say,

I'm on my menstrual break.

Sorry,

I'm not available.

And since I've made the choice to do this and share this first with my partner and with my close circle of friends.

And now as well in my work,

I openly say that I'm on my menstrual break during these days,

So I won't be very,

Very social.

I feel like this is also a very important part of our role to educate others because as a community,

Those of us who menstruate,

We want to raise awareness of this.

There's never been a platform for us to say we should rest.

This should be common knowledge.

I would like my daughters,

I would like my granddaughters,

I would like other women that I support and the generations after me to have this right.

And also know that in some countries,

For example,

I believe in Spain,

In Japan,

There's actually also menstrual leave that you can take from your company.

So it's becoming more and more something that people are raising awareness of and that we are acknowledging in society,

Even though in some industries,

Especially if you work in engineering,

In tech,

And you are the minority,

Then it is something that might be difficult for you to talk about.

But I truly believe that we are at the brink of this revolution of this awareness.

We have all this information available and also we are this generation where we can make the future that we want to see.

And even if we did not have this education or information available from before,

We have the possibility to educate the next generation.

Tammy says,

Never have taken a menstrual break.

I've also recently resigned from working to explore creativity differently.

So finding practices that can support me during my cycle.

Loving the bath,

Phoebe.

Yeah,

I also love taking baths as well,

Especially during my period.

Especially if you're having a painful period.

I find that very,

Very helpful for me when doing a yoga nidra in the bath or in a pool.

If you have access to a pool,

That is very,

Very helpful to practice a flotation practice that can be really,

Really helpful.

There are other ways to connect with a sense of this water element.

Anything that supports you to practice surrendering,

Allowing,

Taking pause,

Relaxing into a space of security and safety.

That will help you connect with the feeling of trust and through this trust,

Receive insight through your connection,

Which is your intuition to something much greater than yourself.

Let's continue from this conversation.

Winter represents in the spectrum of yin yang,

The most yin,

The most still,

The most allowing and the most almost dormant.

As if things are in pause,

There's a sense of we have to wait,

Be patient.

There's an unfolding.

There's nothing to do yet,

Just to witness and to receive.

At this moment,

At the peak of this yin,

The darkest of the night,

The coldest of winter,

After the winter solstice,

What happens is yang energy in yin yang starts to rise.

My teachers call this dichotomy.

They call this via positiva and via negativa.

After via negativa,

We go descend into yourself.

Then we rise and you feel this energy begin to rise outwards from within you,

Outwards into the world.

You might have experienced this in the later days of your cycle when you start to feel a rising energy.

This energy is associated with springtime,

With sunrise,

With the waxing moon,

With the wood element.

After winter,

What happens is all the seeds that have been descended into the ground,

Into the earth,

After a moment when there's sufficient heat in the hemisphere,

With the right conditions of moisture,

Of wind to scatter the seeds,

Of rain that descends from the clouds,

The seeds start to begin to germinate in the darkness of the soil.

No one sees what happens,

But it's happening underneath.

Just like in your menstrual cycle,

No one can see what's happening in your womb,

But you can feel it and you are the one bearing witness to all this unfolding inside of you.

So think of your period as a time when the seed is gestating inside of you.

When your energy begins to rise,

This is when the seed and the grass,

The sapling begins to burst through the surface of the soil.

This is the energy of springtime,

Of this wood element,

And wood is associated with initiation.

If the time of the water element is this time to connect with your ideas,

To receive answers for questions that you're not sure of,

To connect with your heartfelt intention,

Then the wood element is the moment where you are like,

Yes,

Everything is clear and now I feel ready to fully connect with this intention and start to have my vision.

I start to play with the possibilities of what might be and how it might begin to manifest in the world.

From something inside of me,

It starts to come outwards into the world.

So it's not quite yet something that is real or tangible that you hold in your hand,

But already it's starting to show signs of life.

In the menstrual cycle,

This is called the follicular phase.

In this follicular phase,

This is when you experience the follicular stimulating hormones that start to rise and they support the release of follicles inside of your uterus that then help to support later on the release of an ovary or maybe two ovaries at the same time.

Sometimes that happens and this is why you have twins,

Non-identical twins.

So this is the beginning of that period.

So think of this time as in spring.

What do we experience in spring?

Sometimes there's a little unpredictability in spring.

Maybe it's very windy or perhaps one day it could be very sunny.

What happens is the weather or the temperature might be quite erratic,

So it's not so stable.

And this is a true nature of reflection of also spring energy because we're still experimenting.

Nothing is set in stone.

This is a great time to be delicate with yourself.

You feel the rising energy,

But don't rush in yet.

Slowly begin to feel your energy and allow this momentum to guide you so that you enter into the energy of summer,

Which is the next season.

And this is a great time to connect with your ideas and start to begin to take action on them by having a vision.

Translating the ideas from your mind into some possibilities out in the world.

How might I take action on this idea I have in my mind and how might it become manifest?

Or in my relationship,

If I want to take things to the next level with this person.

For example,

This relationship feels stagnant and I want to experiment with new possibilities for what this relationship could be with myself,

With others,

With the world.

This is a great time to do that.

So you feel and sense into,

Wow,

What might it be?

And some things that might be holding you back at this moment is if you might feel stressed.

Because at this time,

What happens for many people who experience a menstrual cycle is after some time of experiencing the bleed,

Maybe you have had a difficult period or maybe you've had to take some rest.

And very often at this time,

A lot of women experience feelings of guilt,

Productivity guilt,

Because maybe you've taken a break and you're like,

Oh,

I have so much to catch up on.

Or I'm so behind.

Or,

For example,

You have some ideas and you already want to execute them and you feel like,

Oh,

I'm so behind and I want to rush into the next phase.

So don't rush.

The important thing to do here is to still experiment.

If possible,

Play.

In springtime,

We don't see the flowers rushing to bloom.

Nature takes its time and things unfold at the moment that is ripe.

So imagine yourself as a sapling that is beginning to unfurl and you have all these baby leaves and they are beginning to unfurl.

And just like the waxing moon as well,

It is slowly beginning to reflect more and more and more light.

You're not rushing to come into full bloom.

You're not rushing to become the full moon,

Which is what many of us have been conditioned to want to be.

And not from ourselves,

From our external conditioning,

From the patriarchal society that values this productivity,

That values this go,

Go,

Go mentality,

That sees the male body as the typical body that should be how productive it is.

So don't rush.

Take this time and as much as possible,

Experiment and play.

Remember,

Also during this time,

If you start to notice that you're feeling stressed and you're indecisive,

It's an experiment.

It's a cycle.

There is no right or wrong.

Every different loop is an experience for you to spiral outwards into the world and you spiral back into yourself.

You spiral outwards into the world and then back into yourself.

So it never ends.

And if you're tuning in and if you are an entrepreneur,

You run your own business,

You're a yoga teacher,

You're a meditation teacher,

You're thinking of launching a new product or maybe a new program and you're grappling with various different ideas and feeling slightly stressed.

Oh no,

Which one should I do?

Take it easy and go with your feeling.

Experiment and play.

What if you could let go of the expectation that you already succeed,

That this launch is perfect?

There is no perfect.

Just like nature is not perfect.

And this cycle is never ending.

Remember that none of these ideas are yours.

We receive them from something greater than ourselves.

And remember what I talked about earlier on about the menstrual cycle and your body being sovereign and that you are a reflection of something much greater than yourself.

Same thing with your ideas.

When you receive your ideas,

If you start to realize that the ideas don't really belong to you,

Then that takes off the pressure.

Because if the launch is not as successful as you hoped,

If the relationship isn't going as you expected.

If,

For example,

You're not feeling as great or as energetic as you hoped.

It's okay.

It's not on you because there are so many factors outside of your control.

Just like,

For example,

A flower may not bloom fully with all the petals.

Or for example,

You can see my plant,

Monstera,

We call her Gwenda.

Not all the leaves unfurl in the same way and some of them look more sickly.

Some of them flourish and it's just natural.

So the same thing here,

Remembering your ideas,

Every single action of yours.

It is not you.

You are something much greater and you are a reflection of this thing that is greater.

So don't take things personally at this time.

And if things don't go as you hoped,

Remember it's an experiment.

Remember,

Play,

Have fun,

Put on the cap of the experimenter and see if you could observe.

Oh,

What can I learn?

How might I play?

How might I begin to experiment?

So in the same way,

At this time,

You also want to experiment with your food,

With your nutrition,

With how you move your body.

This is a great time to explore different and new ways of moving your body.

If you've always been running,

Try rowing.

If you've always been doing vinyasa flow yoga,

Maybe you try some Qigong.

So find different ways to excite yourself and explore new possibilities that might give you a connection with a greater vision of what the full potential of what could be.

And that is the true wisdom of the wood element and this follicular phase.

Any insights or any questions,

Any experiences you want to share so far?

Tell me a chat in the chat.

This is all so helpful as you're talking and receiving answers about how I can support myself during these times.

Again,

Know that these are archetypes,

So they might not reflect your current cycle.

They might not reflect every single experience of your cycle.

And also remember,

Every single cycle,

The previous season feeds into the next season.

Just like if yesterday you didn't sleep well,

Chances are this morning you might not wake up feeling the best.

You might feel grumpy,

You might feel sleepy or tired.

This is why I started with the water element with winter and your period.

It is so important to ensure that you have allowed sufficient time for yourself to rest,

To nourish,

So that you can show up better for yourself in the next cycle.

It is absolutely necessary.

It is a human right to rest.

Alexandra says,

So amazing and thorough.

That's good to hear.

That's great.

Okay,

So now we've come to this wood element,

Which is a time that I really love.

I also really connect with this vision and the wood element of starting to see the full possibilities of what could be.

So before we take action,

It's very important to connect with your vision and let this excitement,

Let this agency fill you up.

You want to avoid the stress and the strain of wanting to win and to perfect.

And that's the other side of the wood element.

When out of balance,

You might feel angry,

You might feel impatient,

You might feel stressed.

You might also feel guilt from the productivity,

Guilt from resting from the previous season.

But remember that rest is a human right that you deserve.

So you don't need to rest to show up better.

It does help you show up better,

But it is your basic right.