Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Stop Consuming, Start Integrating: The Key to Real Change

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Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Stop Consuming, Start Integrating: The Key to Real Change · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story podcast.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I am extra delighted to be here with you today.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's been quite a few weeks since I've actually recorded an episode.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: The last several episodes were recorded well in advance.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to tell you, my nervous system quite loved that.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share some more updates with our cycle check-in.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: But before we begin, I do want to just warmly welcome you into this space.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, if you're just getting started with this journey, and truly believe that you have found your way to today's episode in your perfect right timing and way.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are returning, welcome back.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: I truly do not take your time and your energy and your focus for granted.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a world where we have so many options, so many things that you could be doing or consuming.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you choose to spend this time with me every week.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: It truly means the world to me.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel incredibly grateful and fulfilled doing this work.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for being here.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for walking this journey along with me.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: These Monday episodes, if you are new here, it's an opportunity that we have to attune to the natural rhythms and cycles, specifically of the moon.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe that as you begin to become more connected and more attuned to the rhythm and the cycle of the moon, of nature, the seasons, that you also begin to become more attuned to that natural rhythm that lives within you, too.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps you've maybe forgotten or been disconnected from it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that would make so much sense because we live in a very fast-paced and patriarchal world where the natural rhythms and cycles of life, of the body, of seasons, they aren't always honored.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think that there are more people, people like you who are probably listening to this podcast, who are.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think generally as a society, we don't.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have this idea that we need to be constantly producing, doing, showing up, efforting.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Heaven forbid, we slow down and pause and allow ourselves periods of doing less so that we can restore and rebuild our energy so that when it comes time to do and act, because there is a time for that, we're ready, we're resourced, we're able to really show up wholeheartedly because we've given ourselves whatever it is that we've needed to continue showing up at that at that level in that way.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because the truth is, if we're exhausted, if we're burnt out, if we're tired, if we're overwhelmed, if we're so stressed, it's really hard to show up for your life fully.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that is a big piece of the work that we're doing here.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: We are reclaiming a more natural, organic, sustainable way of being, which is the perfect segue into our focus today.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Before we do, let's take a minute of silence.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is something we do at the start of all of our weekly cycle sync episodes.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And in this minute of silence, you are invited to come into a place of more presence with yourself, whatever that looks like for you today.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're at work, maybe you've got something going on in the background, maybe you're doing some chores, some cleaning, maybe you're driving, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: My invitation to you here is to slow down and to bring more awareness into the present moment that you are in.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you can hear some other things in the background.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's something that you can smell in the air.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's something that you can taste in your mouth.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And also maybe bringing awareness to what you can feel in this moment.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's something in your hand, maybe you're sitting in a chair.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And in your right time, if it feels okay, perhaps you want to close down your eyes, or maybe you want to pause what you're doing and just have a moment to just be.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And in that being, noticing where you're at today.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Noticing how you're feeling, noticing your energy level, and also maybe sensing into where you are in your unique rhythm.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Our one minute of silence will begin now.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there was a physical sensation that you noticed.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it felt quite nice to just pause and be and really enjoy that silence.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was really uncomfortable for you, that minute of silence.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: So without judging or making it right or wrong, just taking note here of what stood out to you.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I felt like that minute went by really quick.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I also kind of noticed my energy level, which is quite low in this moment, which also makes sense because I'm cycle day 28 today, which means I'll be starting my bleed.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was like to say any hour now.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So who knows when she will actually begin.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: I have been getting a lot more clarity with the Mira Hormone Tracking app that I've been using.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I now have the full picture of my menstrual cycle, which feels really cool.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Granted, it's it's one cycle, so there's still more data to be collected and more information to be gathered and refined and made more clear.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll say, as of right now, I feel I feel assured that my ovulation was confirmed.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: There was a small part of me that was a little worried that I wasn't ovulating, and I am, and that is confirmed with actual data.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that feels really assuring.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: That being the follicular phase, which is going to be coming up here not too soon and not too far away.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I've started a new protocol that I've put together based off of some research that I've done and based off of some conversations I've had with my support team.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really curious to see how this new protocol will go.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've got things mapped out very clearly, and it's really now about more of a commitment to sticking with the protocol for at least three cycles to really actually see if what we've put together is gonna make a difference and hopefully bring my hormones during the follicular phase into a more optimal range so that some of those symptoms I've been experiencing, such as the head fogginess, the headaches, um, the nausea.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also get itching, and this is more to do with my histamine levels, which are through the roof, apparently, I learned.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, just starting to integrate everything that I've been learning over these last few months, integrating all the data that I've gathered, and slowly beginning to make some changes and making a commitment to stick with those changes.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also, I'll share a little bit more as we go into the episode, but I'm coming off of a wonderful break that I took.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: I had uh I had a nice week where my school that I teach at uh was on their spring break.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so I took that upon myself to just take the whole week off for a spring break.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I did work on some creative projects, which is always fun.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: But for the most part, I didn't have any clients, I wasn't teaching, and I had a lot of space just to really be with myself and to take care of myself.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you may notice a new energy, maybe a vibrancy, a vitality in my voice today.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's such a reminder to me of how important those breaks really are.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm looking forward to having a break like that once a quarter at the end of each quarter.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I've already got my one for June all kind of mapped out on my calendar, and I feel like I'll probably go to the same place because I I love this place so much.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm I'm feeling good.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm in a really wonderful space.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: I also, last update before we get into the theme, the invitation for this week.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: We've also officially brought on some support for the podcast.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd very much like to warmly welcome Laura to our team here.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Laura is our production assistant.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: She's gonna be helping out with the show notes and getting things scheduled.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: So super, super grateful for Laura's support.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that was one of the reasons I was able to one, really relax over this break and two, while I was able to get um so many of these episodes recorded and scheduled ahead of time because I wasn't doing it by myself.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: So to anyone out there that could maybe use that reminder that it's okay to reach out and get support and you don't have to do it all by yourself.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'll just leave that with you if it resonates with you, because it's already just in one month made such a huge difference.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, lots of lots of wonderful um updates for me.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for listening.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know you're really here to find out what's going on with this week's lunar energy, though.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into that.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: This week we are tuning to the waning moon.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting how the timing worked out with this cycle.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Typically, there's only one cycle check-in focused on the waning moon, but this time there are two, and that really stood out to me and made me wonder: hmm, is there something here for us?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a specific medicine in this moment that we are being asked to receive?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because right now we're a few weeks into spring here in the northern hemisphere.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: We are also nearing the end of Aries season, and there is a lot of fire in the air.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: I won't get into astrology too much, but there are a lot of the outer planets in Aries.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like seven or eight planets.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's this amplified energy of initiation, of action, of go, go, go.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And while that energy can be powerful and helpful, it can also be a lot to keep up with.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've been feeling like you're teetering on the edge of burnout, if things feel like they're moving faster, then your system can actually process.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: The waning moon offers us an antidote this week.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: As I was feeling into a theme for today, I stepped outside for my usual walk before recording.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is sort of how I get clear on what I would like to share.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I heard one word very clearly before even got my foot entirely out the door.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that word was integrate.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel this is something that we maybe sometimes hear in healing spaces and therapeutic circles or areas where people are doing this personal development work.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know that we always slow down to really consider what it actually means to integrate.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because we live in a world that is constantly asking us to consume.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: We consume content through our phones, TikTok, Substack, Instagram, whatever your app of choice is.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: We also consume food.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And because we don't have to go out and hunt and gather food like our ancestors did, I think it's it's easier to maybe over-consume food or to consume more mindlessly because we don't really have to work for it, so to say.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: We also consume experiences.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you're one of those people who loves to just go to events and you know, go to parties, and you know, you go do a day trip here, and you go do this thing here.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: And specifically with the food and the content, a lot of it is fast, convenient, and easily accessible.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not always nourishing.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's a difference between consuming something and actually allowing it to feed you, to nourish you.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And the same is true for healing.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: We can all have what I would call peak experiences, and this is all through Atira Tan's work on somatic integration, specifically with plant medicine and the teachings crossover very easily.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, peak experiences, it might be a powerful meditation, a breakthrough in therapy, a deep realization that everything suddenly makes sense, that feels like everything suddenly makes sense.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And those moments are beautiful and they're meaningful and they're important and they're very much a part of the process.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think we have to stop and ask ourselves: what are we doing with what we've received?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing with what you've received?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because without integration, we go right back to living our lives in the same exact way as before.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, this is another one of those fiery episodes.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Last one for every season.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: This topic gets me really fired up because I think maybe I saw myself stuck in these same patterns one time.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe because I just believe so deeply, and I I value our collective healing and growth and transformation so much.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so this topic is especially important to me because of that.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: We can continue to repeat the same loops, the same patterns, the same relational dynamics.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not because we didn't learn something, but more so because we didn't actually embody it.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I want to ground us into something really important.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Integration is not just understanding something mentally.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Integration, in its simplest terms, is embodied change.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's when the insight you had actually begins to shape how you move through your life.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And research in neuroscience and behavior change shows us that insight alone doesn't create lasting change.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's not enough.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the repetition, it's the emotional processing, it's the nervous system recalibration that truly allows something new to actually stick, which means it's not just landing in the body, or rather, which means if it's not landing in the body, if it's not landing in the nervous system, if it's not landing in a way that it's being practiced, then that insight is going to very easily and likely quickly fade.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll speak for myself here.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I love to learn, I'm always reading, listening, studying.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm not careful, I can fall into that trap of just consuming information without actually integrating anything that I've learned, applying anything that I've learned.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: And perhaps today I can share a personal example with you that feels very alive for me right now.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just coming back from what I would call a peak experience.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: I spent a few days in one of my favorite places, a place that shall not be named for now, because I truly love this place so much, and I feel like it's one of Northern California's best kept secrets.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe for now you can stay that way for a little bit longer.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: But either way, this place is is beautiful.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's gorgeous.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's a hot springs resort, and they have pools and trails and classes and a place where you can get bodywork done.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's pretty, it's not completely remote.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: There is a little town, but it's it's removed.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's got very limited um service.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's got very limited Wi-Fi.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I am there, I just take the opportunity to unplug.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not, you know, scrolling my phone, and I'm not checking email, I'm not watching TV.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have any of that extra stimulation.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for some people that can make me be really uncomfortable.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And for myself, I just prepare knowing that that's what I'm going to be getting into.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so I had planned to read and to work on a book, or rather, excuse me, to work on some music and to read a book, and to just really spend most of my time soaking in the hot springs, being present.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I chose to read the book, The Power of Now, and by Eckhart Tolle.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I had read it many years before, but I haven't read it in a long time.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: And within like the first few pages, I knew that this was the perfect book for me to be reading for where I was in my healing journey and for where I was in that specific place and time.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a land, a line in the book that landed in a way that really hadn't before.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that line said, In the present moment, there is no problem.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: And even as I say those words, I get these goosebumps all along my shoulders and outside of my arms.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: As I read that line, it it literally moved me to tears.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because in that exact moment, I could really feel the truth of it.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And even now I can too.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: As I'm sitting here recording this episode, I've got four walls around me.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm safe.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm breathing.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm alive.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing work that is meaningful to me.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: And when at the hot springs, I could really feel myself being connected to something that was so deeply nourishing in that presence.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I could just see so clearly how much of my own stress is created in my mind.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something that I've been sitting with for the past few months now.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: So this really felt like a culmination point for me, which was right around the full moon.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Go figure.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so much more I could share about this whole experience.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for today, I'll just stick with that being sort of the thing that stood out most to me.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so now my work is not to just remember that insight.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: My work now is to begin living that insight.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, my integration of this beautiful weekend I had is to continue reading The Power of Now.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've already begun working with my somatic therapist on these themes and topics and practicing presence in real everyday moments, which is so much easier said than done.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm in this exploration of how present can I be.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's important because it's not about just me understanding it intellectually, it's about really bringing it down into my body, into my nervous system.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I get to get real curious about what my life would look like, what will my life look like as I really live into this in the present moment, there is no problem.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've had this experience, and rather than just brushing by it and chopping it up as a beautiful lived experience, I'm really sitting with that experience, I'm reflecting on it, I'm meditating on it, I'm connecting with those peaceful, beautiful moments that I had there.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm letting that whole experience change me.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the piece I think so many women miss on the healing journey.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: We can easily move from experience to experience, a retreat, a session, a breakthrough.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: But how many of us actually pause long enough to let that land?
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: To let it reorganize us, to let it become a part of who we are.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes we can stay in this constant motion, this constant consumption, instead of allowing transformation to digest and to complete.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: So this is your invitation this week is to integrate.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you can ask yourself after you've decided on this one moment, this one insight, this one experience, how can I begin to live this in one small, tangible way?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And support so to support you with this this week, I'll be sharing a somatic meditation on Insight Timer.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's a trauma-informed body scam.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And while it's not specifically labeled as integration, the kind of somatic awareness used in the practice is exactly what allows integration to organically and naturally happen.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because the body is where change becomes real, y'all.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Another episode for another day.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: And by the next time we meet, we'll be stepping into Taurus season, an energy that is slower, more grounded, more rooted.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it feels like a beautiful container to continue this work of this week.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: So for now, maybe let the waning moon guide you inward.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe see what it would be like to slow down and to lovingly and gently and slowly allow all that you've already received to become a part of you.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to connecting with you in the next episode.