Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Waning Moon, Metal Element, PMS Wisdom

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Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Waning Moon, Metal Element, PMS Wisdom · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story podcast.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: I am always so delighted to be here with you to start the week off with you.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to this on Monday when the episode is airing, and to share this space where we can soften a bit and where we can explore the rhythms and cycles that naturally support us in that softening, especially when we can begin working with them instead of against them.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And for this particular phase that we're in this week, this is one of those phases where so often I see women working against this time, trying to resist the very medicine that this time of the cycle offers.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is also the last episode in our mini-series on the elements.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: As we've been moving through Taurus season over the last several weeks, we've been exploring the corresponding elements that are associated with the moon phase, the menstrual cycle, and the season.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we're closing out our series here today.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And before we go a little bit deeper into this element's wisdom and opportunities, I'm going to invite us into a minute of silence.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're able to, perhaps a moment of stillness and to continue working with this practice that I've offered over the last several weeks and some of the other episodes.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to continue working with it here today as Taurus season is a very sensory time.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we are working with that energy by working with our senses here.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll invite you as you feel ready to tune into your sense of sight and to look around your environment and notice five things that you see.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then beginning to tune into your hearing and becoming aware of four things that you hear in your environment.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then beginning to tune into your sense of touch and noticing three things that you feel.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then beginning to tune into your sense of smell and seeing if you can pick up on two smells.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then beginning to tune into your sense of taste and seeing what you may or may not be able to taste in your mouth.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you can continue to explore those senses as we take this moment to just be and notice.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll give you some time to do that now.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: A moment here to note anything that may have stood out to you.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I notice today I use the timer, and I don't always use the timer.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I just keep track with my watch.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I did that today, I realized, because I am very pre-menstrum.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm cycle 21, cycle day 21 today.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I can definitely feel that big change in my energy, this downshift, if you will, less of a desire to work and move projects forward, and more of a desire to slow down and to simply be.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so having that support that container created with the timer allowed me to sink back a little bit more in that minute.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I noticed my tail being more pulled towards the earth, my tailbone.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I also brought awareness into some cramping that I'm having right now.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I've got my heating pad here with me, and that feels quite nice.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: It does help quite a bit.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, definitely feeling the pre-menstrum vibes for sure.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's a warmly welcomed change.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a really full couple of weeks, and I've got a pretty cool, uh pretty full couple of weeks ahead as well.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: So really enjoying any bit of spaciousness and slowness that I can get, which is a wonderful segue into our focus for today.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: This week, as I mentioned, we're tuning into the energy of the waning moon, or maybe I didn't mention, but I did just now.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I did mention this is the final episode in our mini-series on the elements.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And as we've been moving through those mini-episodes, we've been exploring how each of the elements correspond with the particular moon phase and season and menstrual cycle.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: And today we're with the metal element, which is associated with the waning moon, the pre-menstrual or the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and with the season of fall.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest with you, this is my favorite time, both in the moon cycle and in the seasons.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe just because, like I was saying, I love the slowing down and the spaciousness of this time.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for some that may sound counterintuitive because for many of us, in regards to the menstrual cycle specifically, this can also be one of the most challenging phases.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it makes sense that this premenstrual time can be hard because, and this waning moon energy as well, because it is a transitioning energy.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Much like the wood element that we explored last Monday, we're moving from one way of being into another.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And there's an inherent instability in that transition as the ground begins to shift and move and change underneath your feet.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And as hard as that can be, there is so much medicine here.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna walk you through it today.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that I do want to name is that a lot of women experience PMS during this phase, during the premenstrual time.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And as someone who used to have really intense PMS, what I'd like to offer here is to see what it would be like to see your symptoms more as messages from the body rather than your body punishing you or something being wrong with your body.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Our bodies communicate through sensations.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: And those sensations are often messages that the body needs something.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: As I've mentioned, I got these cramps here today.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: I could be annoyed and frustrated with the cramps, or I could get curious about what the cramps are trying to tell me.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that varies for me, depending across each cycle.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times there's some emotion in there that needs to be moved.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's really just means I need to slow down and lay down.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times during this time, our body is asking for a different kind of support that is different than other phases of the cycle.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And there's actually a lot of science behind why we feel the way we do during this time.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: In the luteal phase, estrogen begins to drop.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: And estrogen, I know we've spoken about this here before on the show, estrogen helps to regulate your serotonin.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: It also supports mood and focus and cognitive sharpness, and it also acts as a buffer in the nervous system.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So when it drops, the nervous system has less of that buffer.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the nervous system becomes quite raw.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Researchers have described PMS and PMDD as a heightened sensitivity of the central nervous system to these hormonal shifts.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you feel more tender, more reactive, more sensitive, it's all part of your physiology.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: You actually are more sensitive during this time.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: You're not imagining it, you're not being dramatic.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's a real biological change.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And what worked in the follicular phase may not work now.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so you may need different foods, different ways of moving your body, different boundaries, different amounts of rest, different kinds of rest.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: The pre-menstrual body is asking different questions than the ovulatory body.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: And learning to listen to that instead of fighting against it is one of the great practices of cyclical living.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: When we're working with the metal element specifically, the theme that feels most alive to me is refining, re-evaluating, reassessing.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a superpower of the premenstrual time.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have a different filter on.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And through this filter, or rather, you can kind of think of it as like the rose-colored glasses of estrogen being taken off.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And when that happens, we can see the things in our lives that aren't working, the things that we want to fix.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe getting more clear on the paces that we've been, the places, excuse me, that we've been tolerating something that doesn't actually work for us anymore.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes in more extreme moments, you might feel like you literally want to burn your whole world down.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I have been there before.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And as extreme as those thoughts can be, there's usually at least one degree of truth in there.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because the system is more raw during this time, because we are more sensitive, we can finally see the areas of our lives that aren't working anymore.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: And we're not just seeing them, we're seeing them in like high definition.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: And the opportunity here isn't to act on every single one of those impulses immediately.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Please don't quit your job or end a relationship or move countries on day 26 of your cycle or do.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: The opportunity here, I feel, is really to gather information and to notice what isn't quite right and to let that information be helpful.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can carry what you've seen into the next cycle and slowly over time begin making different choices, choices that take you to somewhere new, choices that more accurately reflect who you actually are and who you want to become.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Refining is also about getting to the essence, to the truth, to what we actually value.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think the way a pearl forms slowly through pressure and irritation refined down to one small luminous being.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's a process of distillation, of letting everything else fall away until only what is most precious remains.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we get to do this too.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: In this phase of the cycle, as we've named, our capacity is naturally smaller.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: We have less energy, less estrogen, and less buffer to the nervous system.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: And in a way, that's a kind of forced clarity because we can't do everything.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: We can't be everything to everyone.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have the same bandwidth that we had two weeks ago.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that is very much a part of the design.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this week, you might want to ask yourself, what do I truly value?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: What is most important to me right now?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: What actually needs to stay?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And as we get clearer on what stays, we can also get clearer on what can go.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's thought patterns, commitments that drain us, relationships that aren't reciprocal, situations you've outgrown.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: The metal element is the master of this, distilling, refining, holding only what is most precious.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And we can borrow that wisdom for our own lives.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't talked much about the emotions associated with each element, and this definitely won't be the last time we explore the elements through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: But it feels important right now, especially to name that the emotion associated with the element is grief.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: So as we move through this waning moon time, this becomes a beautiful moment to reflect on grief, on your relationship with it, and maybe whether you've been giving yourself space to grief.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think for many of us, we're carrying some level of grief.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Just by virtue of being alive in a world that we're currently living in.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's loss, personal loss, collective loss, the grief of things not unfolding in the way that you you wished.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: So you also might want to explore this week how do you grieve?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: What is your relationship with grief?
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Do you give yourself time and space to actually grieve?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or do you move quickly to the next thing?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Grief is an active process.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's not something that just happens to you while you wait for it to pass.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that we need to be actively moving through.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And there are so many ways of doing that through writing, dancing, crying, talking, sharing stories, celebrating the life of what was lost, creating something.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Grief really asks to be expressed.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And in our culture, especially in Western culture, we aren't really taught how to grieve.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Many of us have to learn it in real time, often in the middle of needing to do so.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't know what an active grieving process looks like for you, that's okay.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is a time where you can begin to explore that though.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's something else worth naming here because this is also the end of a cycle.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes this phase brings up grief about a specific thing, maybe a vision or an intention or a desire you were holding for this cycle that didn't show up the way you wanted.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a pregnancy you were hoping for.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was simply that you wanted to feel a certain way and you didn't quite get there.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel that disappointment deserves to be honored rather than bypassed, and not like pushing it along in a spiritually bypassed into gratitude type of way before you've actually had time to really sit and be with it.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what I know to be true from my lived experience and from so many of the teachings I've read, and from so many of the women, the humans that I've witnessed and had the honor and the privilege to work with, is that when we become present with what is, when we stop arguing with reality and actually let ourselves feel the disappointment, something softens.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: An opening happens almost organically without us having to force anything, the body begins to naturally let go of what it's been holding, and that next cycle has more room, more space to begin fresh.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're feeling grief or frustration this week about your own life, about the world, about something that didn't quite go the way you wanted, what would it look like this week to make a little space for it?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's a creative practice, maybe it's a walk where you let yourself cry.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's writing a letter that you'll never send.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's lighting a candle for something or someone you've lost.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Taking your own time to explore and see what feels most right and supportive for you.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that is the metal element, and that is the last episode in our mini-series on the elements.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this series has been supportive and insightful for you.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: I will most likely circle back to these themes after I've had even more time to live with them and explore them more deeply.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to sharing more wisdom when I do.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also planting a little seed here.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to bring in a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner on the show to dive even deeper into these elements with us.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: So please keep an eye out for that or send this episode to your fellow Chinese medicine practitioner and let her know that we are looking for someone to come and share more wisdom on this particular theme.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you've enjoyed this series, I invite you to maybe share it with a friend or to maybe leave a comment over on Spotify if you're listening on Spotify.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Or you're super welcome to send me an email as well.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can find that in the show notes.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: And please let me know how this series landed for you.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: What are you taking away?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And how will you be integrating this wisdom into your day-to-day?
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also be offering a guided somatic practice this week, and you can find that as well as other information on our programs and offerings if you'd like to continue this work outside of these episodes.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for being here with me.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to connecting with you in the next episode.