Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Weekly Cycle Check In: The Power of the Dark Moon: Embracing the In-Between

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Weekly Cycle Check In: The Power of the Dark Moon: Embracing the In-Between · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Reba Jean-Paul.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a trauma-informed somatic practitioner, coach for women, and host for your show.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Today is our weekly cycle check-in episode.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: And this is intentionally meant to be a shorter episode that is here to support you in aligning with the natural rhythms and natural rhythms and cycles.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Got a little excited there of the natural world and also of your inner world, specifically for the female body.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: I will say though, whether you find yourself in a female body or a body that uh does not identify or align with the female body, I truly believe we all have these inner rhythms and cycles that we are constantly moving through.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: And this mirrors the rhythms and cycles that the natural world is also constantly moving through.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: And we are such a direct connection and reflection of nature in this way.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think in our busy, patriarchal, fast-paced society, we forget this and connecting with these rhythms and cycles and integrating them into how you live, into how you show up, I believe can really bring so much, much needed harmony and balance to our world.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I really want to thank you for tuning into these weekly episodes.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: I've been getting some feedback from mostly those of you closest to me who have been tuning in locally where I live here in Sacramento, California, and been having some other listeners from other parts of the world too.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I do want to just thank you for your time and your energy.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: There are so many things that you could be consuming, and so many other things you could be listening to, and so many other ways you could be choosing to spend your time.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And you have chosen to spend your time in this way with me, maybe even week after week.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I want you to know how much that means to me, and that it's really about so much more than me, it's about the feminine frequency.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And this show is simply just a means for the feminine wisdom to come through, it's being channeled through my words and the things that I am discussing on the show, and it goes so much further than the impact that I might be making in my little ways here in my own community and in my world.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: To me, tuning into this show, me even creating the show and showing up here week after week, sharing the things that I'm sharing on this show, is all with the intention, I believe, to create more space for this feminine frequency to rise in a world that has tried to stifle her and quiet her and limit her ways of expressing herself.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: This is how we can bump up against the structures and systems that have been in place that keep her stifled and quiet.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you again so much.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have been gaining value from tuning in every week, I invite you to leave a review, to leave a rating, and to maybe even share an episode that really has touched you with a friend or a woman or someone who you know that you feel could really benefit from this wisdom and from this frequency that is emanating through what is being shared on this show.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I do want to sincerely thank those of you who have already done that.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I just invite you to continue doing that as you feel inspired and as it feels right for you, so that we can continue to support the feminine rising, bringing more harmony to our world, which, oh wow, what a wild world we're in right now.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds crazy, but I really believe that this is how we do it.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: At least this is how we can start, it's just talking about these things and exploring these things.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: And it'll be this week with um with the dark moon.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so we'll talk a little bit about the dark moon today.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: The dark moon is a phase of the menstrual, excuse me, the menstrual and moon cycle that um mostly the moon cycle that I feel is not as widely discussed.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: And before I go into the energy and opportunities, uh, let's talk about how this dark moon correlates into some of the other natural rhythms and cycles.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: I got a little excited and I and I already mentioned the menstrual cycle, so let's talk about that.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, in the menstrual cycle, to me, the dark moon is the two days right before the bleed comes.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that might feel a little bit different in your experience.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: After we learn a little bit more about the dark moon today, I'll invite you to tune in and to feel into how the dark moon is expressed through your menstrual cycle.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, if you're not bleeding or you're no longer bleeding, or you don't bleed, that's okay.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can still work with these lunar cycles by aligning with the moon.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: So you can just disregard anything I'm saying about the menstrual cycle if that doesn't connect to you or resonate with you and just fall back on the moon.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's a way you can work with that regardless of whether you're bleeding or not.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: In the lens of traditional Chinese medicine, this is associated with the element of metal.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: And we talked very briefly about this in last week's episode, but not too much.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: And another day I'll go into the superpowers and the opportunities that working with the element of metal can bring in.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And with the seasons, it is to me the one or two days right before the winter solstice.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of like this in-between space, right as the cycle is ending, and right as a new one begins.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we can think of this as kind of like a subliminal space, this space that's kind of in between things, where to me the veil can be really thin, and through the lens of the moon cycle, it's incredibly dark and mysterious.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: There is literally no light from the moon during this time.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: I was doing a little bit of research today before recording this episode, and I learned that the moon is facing the sun, and that the backside of the moon is what is being shown to the earth.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we see on earth.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: And so this is a really unique time where it is darker than other nights of the month because there is literally no light from the moon.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so as we enter this physical period of darkness in the natural world, we are invited to really sit with the darkness inside of ourselves.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: And the darkness, I feel, can sometimes have a bad rap.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: It can seem like it's scary, or maybe perhaps like a place that we don't want to go.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that makes a lot of sense, especially if going to those dark, mysterious places inside has been scary or overwhelming.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so if that is you, just know that that's perfectly okay.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And everything here is invitational.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I would encourage you to explore and play with this idea of the darkness within you just a little bit at a time at your perfect and right pace in your perfect and right way.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And as we get towards the end of the episode, I'll share a little bit about um how you can explore the darkness within you in a safe and gentle way.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: The moon is not able to shine all of the time, and so we can ask ourselves, how do I feel about not shining all of the time?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Can I allow myself to have a period where I'm not outwardly focused with my energy and with my expression in my busying around, in my doing, in my taking care of other people and showing up for the things in my life?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Can I allow this period of time where I can just rest and be?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that in our society, so many of us have lost touch with this ability of just being without working on anything or towards anything or even consuming anything.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because sometimes when we have these moments in between things during our day, whether we're going from work to home or we're on a break in between the things that we're doing in our lives, we so often fill these subliminal, these in-between spaces with scrolling, with TV.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And you can see this sometimes reflected when you're at the store and you look around, and I would say, in my experience, most people are on their phone scrolling, mostly scrolling, right?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's be honest.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I've definitely been there too, and this is something that I have really tried to be conscious of throughout my day-to-day.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: How am I spending these in-between moments during the day?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Can I allow myself to have a moment to just sit without checking my phone, without rushing off onto the next thing?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you examine how you show up in the in-betweens during your day, I think that can offer a lot of insight into how you might show up during this in-between phase of the moon cycle and maybe of your menstrual cycle as well.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: If that's something you're tracking and working with.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it was boredom or exhaustion or anxiety or numbness.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: If I didn't want to feel that, I would pick up my phone and I would scroll.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: And as I continued to examine that, I noticed and I knew deep down that it didn't really make me feel any better.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was just something to fill that in-between space.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so as I have started to unravel from the habits that I've been that have been formed around social media, it's allowed me to explore these in-between phases in a different way.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: I've recently decided to walk away from social media.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if I'll go back and maybe I'll do another episode about this another day.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: But since not having social media, I've really been able to, as I was saying, explore and lean into these in-between phases and been able to spin them in different ways, whether it's going on a walk or just taking a moment to watch the birds, or maybe there's a friend who I haven't spoken to in a while who's been on my mind and I've been reading, meaning to reach out to.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I reached out to this friend.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been finding myself going about my day with more ease and more resilience and more resource to continue showing up for the things that I'm doing, because I'm really taking advantage of these in-between moments throughout my day.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe that can help you see how these in-between moments throughout your cycle may also really benefit and support you too.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are wanting to explore this in-between phase of the dark moon, I'll share a little bit more about how you can do that.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And the one thing that I would like to share that can kind of help differentiate this dark moon phase, specifically when we're working with the moon cycle, is that the new moon begins because as the this episode comes out, we're gonna be talking about the week of uh February 24th to 26th.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that Monday to that Wednesday is gonna be the dark moon phase.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: I meant to say that earlier.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're in flow zone today.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So that is the dark moon phase, and you'll know that we've entered the new moon phase when you see that first little crescent of light in the sky.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: That is how you know we've moved from the dark moon to the new moon.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: So that is a really easy way over the next couple of days to track this dark moon phase is to go outside at night and to look around and see how dark it is.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: And if you'd like, you can take that as your invitation to honor this pause and to explore that darkness within you.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I will say on these shows, you might notice more of an emphasis on these waning moon phases.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: And that is because these are the more yin phases or the more feminine phases.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: And as I've spoken to many times and will continue to speak to you over and over and over again, is that in our fast-paced and busy and patriarchal world, this feminine energy is what I believe we need to bring more harmony.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are on that same path, you might also want to place more emphasis on these more yin phases.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: The dark moon being almost the most yin of all of the yin phases, again, because it's this mysterious subliminal space where we're invited to simply be.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing to do, nothing to work on, just simply being.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um examples of this is nature.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Look at what nature is doing, look at what a tree does.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: A tree is not striving towards anything, the tree is simply just standing and being.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can also take inspiration from your pets.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe if you have a dog or a cat, they have these moments during their day where they're not playing, they're not actively working towards anything, they're just being.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: So if that's something that you struggle with, I would invite you to find your inspiration from nature.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll say this too before we close out for today.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: If you're going a hundred miles per hour, seven days a week, and you're loving life and things are feeling great for you, then wonderful.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: I encourage you to continue going about what does feel right and supportive and helpful for you.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: However, if you find that you're in cycles of burning out, if you are someone who finds yourself feeling constantly stuck in that fight or flight, if you are someone who struggles with anxiety or depression, if you are someone who is struggling with autoimmune disorders or irritable bowel syndrome or even chronic pain, these are all indicators that something deeper is going on inside.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: And if we are getting those subtle and sometimes not so subtle messages from the body that something deeper is going on inside, then that is where we can really leverage and lean into these opportunities of the waning moon, of the dark moon, and of the new moon as well, which we'll talk about in our next episode.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm just reflecting on what the moon phase is going to be when the next episode comes out.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And we won't quite be new moon, we might be just on the other side.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll talk more about that when the time comes.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: But again, if this is provoking something within you, arising something within you as you hear these themes of being, of slowing down, of exploring that darkness within, then it's definitely something to be curious about.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I would encourage you to keep coming back week after week, and we'll continue working with these qualities and continue to explore them.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it's interesting, we're finding ourselves essentially at the end of a cycle.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's been about one full menstrual cycle for me and one full moon cycle since the show has started.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so this is kind of a moment where I get to reflect and check in with you as the receiver of what it's being shared on this show, and also where I can kind of check in with myself about what I do want to share and where the show is headed and how it's feeling.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: You may have noticed there wasn't an episode on Wednesday last week, and that's because I was getting ready to go into my inner winter.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're heading into my bleeding time, and I thought, you know, this seems like a really good time for me to pull back my energy and to take a little bit of a break here to rest and recharge and get clear on.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: What I'd like to create in the coming cycle.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: And as the listener, I thought that that could provide a really wonderful time for you to integrate and to maybe catch up on any of the episodes that you maybe haven't listened to yet if you've been listening regularly.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope that you were able to maybe get caught up on anything that you weren't able to listen to in the previous weeks.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that is something that I will very likely continue to do as I continue releasing the episodes each month.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: So in about a month, there'll be another Wednesday where I have taken my time to rest and where you'll have a little bit of a time to integrate and to maybe catch up on any episodes that you haven't listened to yet.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: So to close today, as we are entering now, as you're listening in this dark moon phase, I'll offer some practical and simple things that you can do to honor and work with this dark moon energy in a safe and gentle way.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: The first thing that I'll invite you here to explore is a meditation practice called Yoga Nidra.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And Yoga Nidra has something that I have been incorporating into my weekly and monthly rhythms over the last probably four or five months when I was having some challenges with burnout and getting sick and having some really big challenges during my inner spring and inner summer.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's the follicular phase and the ovulation phase.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And Yoga Nidra is something that I was able to really turn to that allowed me to rest and that really held space for me just simply being.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're curious to explore a little bit of that magic and that mystery, Yoga Nidra can be a wonderful way to do that.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll leave one of my favorite Yoga Nidras in the show notes over on Insight Timer.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: The next thing that you can explore and play with is dream work.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: And one day I would absolutely love and be so delighted to have one of my dearest friends and most wise women I have ever met come and talk about the power of dreams.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: This is not something I'm an expert in, though it is something that I do practice on and off for myself.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely do take note of my dreams, and if I have a dream that really stands out to me, I will journal about it, and sometimes I can meditate on it and gather insights and messages from my dreams.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: Dream state is also that kind of in-between subliminal state, and it reminds me a lot of that space that we can get into with Yoga Nitra.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: So paying attention to your dreams, journaling about your dreams, meditating on your dreams can be a really beautiful way to work with this dark moon energy.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: As I mentioned earlier, you could also use this time to do sort of a cycle review.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: And as I've shared, we've moved through a whole cycle on this show.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so maybe you might want to reflect on what have you learned over the last few months, or excuse me, this last month from all of these episodes.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: What have been some of your takeaways and some of your key moments?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: What maybe are some of the things that you're feeling inspired to explore from some of the previous episodes?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that sort of that sort of cycle review is something that I'm going to be doing as well.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I have some really fun and exciting things that I'm working on behind the scenes for the show.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: And as the weeks go by, I will be sharing more.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: So keep coming, keep listening, and stay tuned for how this show will continue to evolve and unfold.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing that you could do during this time, which ties a little bit into Yoga Nitra, is meditation.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: Meditation is such a wonderful way for us to at least uh begin to build the stamina of being able to sit and be with ourselves.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say that meditation doesn't always have to be something where we're just sitting and being still.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes movement can be very meditative, like walking or dancing or swimming.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so perhaps if you do struggle to physically sit still, perhaps you can explore simply being through some sort of movement practice, especially a walk in nature.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: That is such a beautiful way.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for me, that I've really learned how to simply just be.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's just walking in nature and listening to the birds, looking at the trees, listening to the wind, not worrying about anything, not taking pictures or videos on my phone, but just being 100% in the moment, which I know can be easier said than done.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that like most things, it's a practice and it's a habit, and the more we can do it, and the more gentle and compassionate and understanding with ourselves we can be when we don't do it, I think the more um success we'll find and the easier it can get over time.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: The last thing that I'll offer here is time alone, which again, I know can be easier said than done, especially if being alone doesn't always feel like a safe place to be.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so if that is you, I'll invite you to go gently and to maybe consider how you might be able to explore time alone in a safe way.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think that there's so much we can learn about ourselves when we allow ourselves to be in solitude and in silence if you're able to do that too.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: For me, I find my solitude to be such a recharging and a replenishing time where I can turn down all the noise from everything else that's going on in my life and to really tune into what's going on inside of myself.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes if we're so focused on everything outside of ourselves, we can really lose touch with what's going on inside of ourselves and how we're feeling inside really affects what's happening on the outside.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so the more connected and attuned to we can be to what's going on inside of ourselves, the more attuned and connected we can be with others and to life itself.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage you to explore incorporating some time alone.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: And for all my moms out there, I know, I know it can be easier said than done.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll challenge you here to get creative.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, a couple of weeks ago on one of my Insight Timer uh live meditations, one of the moms said she just locked herself in the bathroom for a little bit.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if that's how you have to find like one minute of alone time this week, then full permission to um again to get creative and to yeah, almost kind of like steal your quiet alone time.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um and maybe consider that it's not just for you and you're not the only one that benefits from it, but everyone else, everyone else around you benefits from it too.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes we can feel selfish about taking time for ourselves, about taking alone time, um, especially if you're a mom or a parent.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, I know that like when I show up for myself, I'll think about the students that I serve, the kiddos that I serve right now.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have any kids currently at this time, though I would like to have some.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: When I'm full and giving from my overflow, I'm able to give so much more to those kiddos.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm able to contribute so much more to my household.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm able to show up so much more fully for my friendships.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage you uh to consider looking at it in that way.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: How other people benefit from you honoring you and honoring that natural rhythm that is happening inside of you.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm gonna leave you there for this week.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: I hope that you found today's episode helpful and insightful.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: I encourage you to go gently over the next couple of days, and I will reconnect with you on Wednesday for the first solo episode of this cycle.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: I have a couple of directions I want to take it.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'll have it landed on the option that I'd like to share first yet.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: But again, lots of things happening behind the scenes and excited to share more as things come together.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: In the meantime, take care of yourself and take care of each other.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: Living the pain from your wooding from your wood thing with the face.