Wild body: the four seasons of your cycle.
Updated: Dec 14, 2020
Your body is wild.
The word wild comes from the Old English wilde which means "in the natural state, uncultivated, untamed, undomesticated, uncontrolled."
Sounds pretty good right? Especially that untamed part.
When you're not suppressing ovulation with hormonal-contraceptives, your body will cycle in it's own uncontrolled, natural, wild way.
Your cycle is your source of magic, giving you an opportunity for transformation and personal alchemy over and over again.
Your cycle is your sage, reflecting back to you your deepest knowings, longings, needs and desires.
Your cycle is integral to your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.
But so often we're taught to disregard our bodies wisdom.
To value rationality over intuition.
To ignore the subtle language of signs and symptoms that tells you: something is not right.
There are four distinct phases of your menstrual cycle and each phase has unique gifts and challenges.
When you learn to work with the shifting energy of your cycle, you enter a deep dialogue with your body, which allows you to engage your creative process and live more aligned with your own ebbs and flows.
Each phase of your cycle reflects a season of the earth, and so we call these seasons;
THE SEASONS OF YOUR CYCLE
Inner-winter / Menstruation
Your creative process begins in your unconscious - in the dark, and this is also where your cycle starts.
Your winter season begins on the first day of bright red bleeding. Where you find yourself pulled deeply into your body.
This is where the subtle magic of your cycle resides, in the quiet, unconscious self.
As much as your life will allow move slowly.
Rest as much as possible, and tend to your own needs first.
Your energy is contracted, called inward and you may feel introverted, tired and requiring downtime.
As your body releases, you make space for new opportunities, insights and dreams to come forth.
The gift of winter is clarity.
With everything blanketed in snow, you can see clearly everything you dream of doing come spring and summer.
Tend to your dream world, listen, ask questions and receive guidance.
In the quiet darkness, you are most in tune with your intuition.
The challenge of winter is prioritizing rest.
Accepting winters peace and taking time to restore fully without feeling guilty about not making progress.
Rest, sip nourishing broths, enjoy gentle soups, journal and dream.
Affirmation: "From my highest-self, I receive clarity and insight."
Inner-spring / Pre-ovulation
As your flow slows you emerge from winters sleep, refreshed and inspired.
As estrogen rises, your motivation and enthusiasm returns.
You begin to sprout new ideas.
You feel energized and invigorated- oh my gosh it's spring !
There is so much to do, and you want to do it all.
The gift of spring is the fresh start.
A chance to begin again, to dive back into your passions with fresh perspective and drive.
To appreciate the people you love.
To support the causes you care about.
The challenge of spring is staying grounded.
A sudden rush of spring - is dizzying.
When you feel inspired to dig into all your work at once, it's important to remember which seeds you really need to plant.
Engage your rising creative energy and bring more movement into your day, moving your body helps direct the extra energy and keeps your feet on the ground.
Affirmation: "With grounded intention, I sprout the seeds of new beginnings."
Inner-summer / Ovulation
Ovulation is the peak of your bodies creative, generative cycle.
Summer-time holds the BIG outward energy of your cycle.
In balance to winters quiet introversion, summer is expressive, social and enthusiastic.
Creativity is at your finger-tips and you have the energy to complete anything that you wish.
Your inner-summer season is about feeling radiant, achieving your goals and sharing your energy.
This is the season to commit to your work, go the extra mile and dig deep.
This is the time to fully show up and channel your big creative energy toward the work you want to see happen in the world.
The gift of summer is creative energy.
You are dancing with abundant, creative, generative power.
What will you do with it?
The challenge of summer is in channeling it.