Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync – New Moon & Inner Winter: How to Support Your Body During Menstruation

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Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync – New Moon & Inner Winter: How to Support Your Body During Menstruation · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story podcast.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: I am feeling a lot of things today.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And also, yeah, I'm excited to be here with you today to close out this mini-series we've been doing here on these weekly moon phases and feminine power weekly cycle sync episodes.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been following around for the last few weeks, then today we're going to be closing things out.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're just tuning in today and you haven't had the chance to join us in this conversation in the previous episodes, know that this episode does stand alone.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are especially curious about the menstrual cycle and how to work with your menstrual cycle more closely, I would invite you to go back and listen to many of the episodes here on this show, but especially the last three.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: We have explored each phase of the menstrual cycle more deeply than we typically do in these episodes.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So lots of helpful information and insights for you to absorb and receive by tuning into those episodes.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: So as I said, today we'll close out the series with our focus on the inner winter or the menstruation phase.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And this is honestly, I love the inner winter and the pre-menstruum time.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this is another one of my favorite phases too.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll share a little bit more about why and what's happening in the female body during this time and how I specifically like to support myself through this time.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna just get right into it today, right after our minute of silence.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever it is that you're doing, whether you're doing some chores or driving or perhaps got something going on in the background, just seeing what it would be like to slow down, even if it's just a little bit, and come into a place of more presence with yourself, whatever that looks like for you today in the here and in the now.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we will begin this minute of silence here shortly.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're new here and even if you're returning here, taking this time to really tune in and to notice, notice how you feel, notice how your body is feeling, maybe noticing how your spirit is feeling, maybe noticing how your heart is feeling, your mind is feeling.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: So taking that time now.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I wish that I was on my period now.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just I'm ready to go into my red tent, my winter cave.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, I've still got a couple more days before that happens.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I did have quite a bit more space today.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: As I've shared before, I work part-time for the school district here where I live locally, and we are out of school today, of the day that I'm recording, and tomorrow.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I was able to really take some very much needed space today to really tend to my inner world and all the things that are percolating inside of there, allowed some emotion to move through and really just allowed myself space, space and time to to just be.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm already kind of noticing myself just very ready for that invitation of inner winter, which does ask us to slow down and to create space and to just be.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: As far as what's happening physically, my energy is definitely waning.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't really have too much cramping going on right now or over the last few days.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how the next few days go.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: As I've shared in the previous episode, I had to take, I didn't had half to take, I chose to take emergency contraceptive after a little accident incident in the bedroom with my partner.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't think that pregnancy happened.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I hope I would know if if that's what was happening.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm feeling very luteal pre-menstrum right now.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just tired and you know, I'm in my sweats today and didn't do my full makeup today.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, definitely feeling that pre-menstrum um a lot today.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, so that's a little bit about me.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share more things as we're exploring today's episode, and I think it'll be interesting to hear about how I transition into the inner winter from this time.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, today we're closing out this mini-series on the menstrual cycle with inner winter, which corresponds with the bleeding time or the menstruation time.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most people talk about menstruation as the beginning of the cycle.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And biologically, yes, that is true.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I've also come to really experience it as an ending.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a completion, a exhale after the cycle has ended, that bottom of the exhale after the cycle has ended.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the bottom of the breath.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: See, pre-mention brain.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um as I was saying, um, before interwinter arrives, I prepare for it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I have been preparing for interwinter um for the last few days, really intentionally.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: I will put rest on my calendar like a non-negotiable appointment.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Just put a big old block blue in there on my calendar that says rest or out of office or in or winter, whatever it says.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: I put it on there and it it protects that time for me so that I don't stick anything else in now.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Am I perfect?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I do do it.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: I also meal prep, so I was doing that yesterday.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: I did that today.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'll do a little bit more tomorrow.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I closed the loops on projects, so haven't done much of that today.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so tomorrow will probably be the day for that.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I will also clean up blue sins so that when the bleeding begins, I can actually rest.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like we all know we need rest.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: But what I feel like is not talked about as much is why it's so hard to get rest.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I do want to start at the top of the episode by just acknowledging that because I know for someone as myself who's always exploring this concept of slowing down, of, of resting, it's it's more about the things that are preventing me from getting that rest that I have to contend with more than the actual resting of it.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right now I'm in a mentorship group, and this month we're studying IFS, and it's been really interesting to bring more awareness into these different parts of myself.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And there is a part of me, I would say like a medium to sometimes smaller and sometimes large part of me that really does resist slowing down.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And when I get curious with that part, I find underneath it is often fear, fear that I'm not achieving enough, that I somehow won't reach my full potential if I like don't take this time to just rest.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: I also growing up, I heard the word um lazy a lot, like whenever we weren't doing something, you know, whether it's chores or, you know, going out, you know, my my my mom, I think especially would say, oh, you know, we're we're just gonna be lazy.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think she meant anything by it.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that word lazy, you know, that kind of slowly started to shape my beliefs around resting.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of seeing it as something that's essential or just a natural part of life, and in the process, I began to see it as something that you did when you were just wanting to be lazy, or that if you did, you were being lazy.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've also got some old attachment to workaholic identities and tendencies that I've been walking this path with for quite a long time, probably a decade.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's this other layer, this conditioning from the culture that we live in that only values productivity.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: We live in such a fast-paced, busy world where we're always supposed to be producing and showing up and achieving and moving towards something.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so, with all of those different layers, it makes sense that it's hard to rest because we don't value it and we're not modeled it, and we have all of these things that sometimes happen in our history that really do shape our nervous system and our identity.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And these things that get shaped and formed so early in life become very deeply ingrained in our psyches and in our nervous systems.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And unless you're doing the work of unraveling from those, they will just continue to rule you for the greater half of your life.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to start before I tell you how important it is to rest during this time.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to, you know, I have to acknowledge like why it is hard to rest.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, especially if you're a mom and if you're a single mom and if you're a black or brown woman, like there's there's all of these things that do make it very hard to rest.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't take away from how important it is.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: We really live in a world that celebrates women who push through their pain, and we are praised when we override the wisdom of our bodies.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, menstruation is the moment when your body needs rest the most.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this isn't just me telling you this, this is what our biology actually tells us and what our biology actually shows.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: During this time, estrogen and progesterone drop to their lowest levels of the entire cycle.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you can think of your body kind of going into like low power mode.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you know, like you have your phone, or um, you know, I have an electric car, and we get this little warning like, hey, we're getting pretty low on battery.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: We go into that low power mode to conserve more energy.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's essentially what our body is doing here.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: We also have the uterus shedding the endometrial lining, which it has spent the month building.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this really requires energy, oxygen, blood flow, and nutrients.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I always kind of jokingly and seriously say to my husband, you know, my body is literally ripping itself apart right now.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm tired, I'm crampy, and I'm gonna need some extra support during this time because our body, this is a significant biological event happening inside.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so the fact that we are conditioned to just carry on as if nothing is happening is insane because there is so much happening here.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And as that shedding happens, there are uterine contractions which help to release that lining.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: So there's this cramping that we also have to deal with.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on the balance of your hormones, sometimes you can experience more cramps and fatigue and changes in your digestion as well.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Research shows that there is also an increased communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain during this time, and this is perhaps why we may feel more intuitive, more connected to this deeper inner knowing, or sometimes feel a stronger sense of clarity.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the body, iron, magnesium, and mineral stores are being used more rapidly in order to support this process of shedding and clearing out.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: And this is sometimes why fatigue, dizziness, and cravings for more grounding foods can also show up during this time.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So your energy drops during this time are not because you're lazy or unmotivated.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's because your hormones are literally reducing your available energy.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just about indulging here, it really is a biological component that is required to support the female body going through this phase.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll kind of switch gears here and talk a little bit about how I support myself using the four, the lens of the four bodies through this inner winter time.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as I said, physically hormones are at the lowest.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: So during this time, I really stop pushing and I start listening even more.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: If I need to take extra sleep, I take it.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say if the alarm goes off at five and I snooze it without even thinking and sleep till six.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if I don't have to be at work till nine, it's fine.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I have a little bit less time to do other things.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I gave myself that extra sleep that my body needed during that time.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't do any heavy workouts during this time, which I have to contend with because of my own body image issues, challenges, perceptions, if you will.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know that physically, because I am so tired, I'm I'm not interested in any of those kinds of workouts.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I mostly do yin yoga during this time.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if I feel like I do want a little bit more, I will do some walking or sometimes I'll do qi gong during this time as well.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And occasionally towards the end of my cycle when my bleeding has get um gets lighter, I will go on a swim.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I like swimming here because the winter time is associated with the element of water.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I haven't talked about this much on any of the previous episodes.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's an element that goes with each phase though, and I try to weave that element into my care in some way.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: So physically, that might be a yoga practice or a qigong practice that is focused on the yin element.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if I do long walks, sometimes I will go to the river by my house and I'll do my long walk or along the river so I can connect with that element of water.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: I also take a lot of warm baths during this time, and that helps with the cramping and also helps me to rest and also helps connect me with that water element.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as far as food, I'm focusing on nourishing and warm meals that are easy to digest.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing too spicy, nothing too um fatty, just nice soups and stews and specifically grass-fed beef, roasted vegetables.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: I really try to minimize the carbs here as well.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: If I've planned well, I have meals prepped and frozen ahead of time in the freezer, and I've got some soups that I've frozen for this upcoming bleed.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: I do have one ritual around food, and that is a grass-fed burger.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Try to get one every single cycle, and I've really narrowed down the best place in town for me where I can get good quality meat, other ingredients good quality as well for the right price, just the way I like it.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm already looking forward to that burger.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And my bleeding hasn't even started.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, I'm ready for my inner winter.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: I also minimize sugar and processed foods, and they still will get a cravings for chocolate and sweets during this time.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I usually, not always, but often, as much as I can, I will try to make these almond flour brownies that I um got the recipe from the Mooncycle cookbook.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna link that in the show notes for you.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: That cookbook has done wonders for my food, and it has really helped me to optimize the food that I'm eating at each phase, and it it helped me do it in such an easy way for something that was so overwhelming.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, oh my gosh, where do I start?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: This cookbook is a great place to start.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll leave that for you in the show notes.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: To help with cramps, I also will use a heating pad here, and I've also got a lot of space for naps.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: If I have to work, I'll try to take a nap in between things, or sometimes we'll even just like close my eyes, even if it's just for like five or ten minutes.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I really try to see rest as not being lazy or weakness.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's how my body is actually going to begin making and storing and preserving energy for the next cycle ahead.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, spiritually, menstruation is often referred to as an altered state of consciousness.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Many women experience vivid dreams, intuitive downloads, and an increased connection to this inner wisdom.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I have not experienced those so intensely as I have read about other women experiencing.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, whoa, that has never happened to me.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that it's really about creating up space to be able to access these deeper states of consciousness.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're scrolling on your phone or watching TV, which I sometimes fall into too during this time.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Then it's gonna be a lot harder to access that state of consciousness.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this is not something I've mastered yet, and because it is something that I know, I'm always trying to create more space for this.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's a bath with no music or no podcast on, or if I'm on my walk just listening to um either no music or something like really soft and ethereal that doesn't have a lot of stimulation or sound.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also try to stay off social media, even if it's just for a day or two.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And the TV thing is is tricky because I love to to binge a good show on the couch.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I've also got a good book, The Red Tent, next to my bed.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I do try to let that be a place, um, or rather an alternative for more stimulating things.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: So again, still still working on that one, because I'm a modern woman, y'all, and it's something I'm open to, and I definitely want to create more of, and I think being in nature can can really help with that.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: So even if I'm just outside or maybe I'll tend to my plants, um, I will do that during this time.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I will also do blood rituals during this time, where I collect my blood from my period panties, and I will give the blood as offering to my plants, sometimes to the earth or the land or the trees in my neighborhood, and that really helps me to connect with the power really of our blood.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is uh research now coming out to show that there are uh stem cells in menstrual blood, and they're now starting to explore how they can use these stem cells for healing and for other things as well.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: So excited to see where that research goes.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you that are like, oh my gosh, ill, I hear you.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was there at one point too, and it did take a bit of time to be in a place of more comfort with really working with my blood in a very spiritual and intentional way.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: I also really love to do yoga ninja during this time, and I do love to do an oracle card reading, and I'll usually pull one card for each phase for the cycle ahead.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And for the past year, I've used the Sacred Cycles deck, and it really does help me to receive guidance for the cycle ahead and to set the tone for the cycle ahead too.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna put that in the show notes for you today as well.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, mentally, this is where I feel the most relief.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: The intensity and the pressure from the pre-menstrual phase has softened the chatter quiets, and I can really just be so easily during this phase.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if I can just fully retreat into my red tent, even if it's just for a few hours, my mind becomes calm and clear.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: And when the when I do have things that come through, if my mind is kind of racing and busying, it's often on a lot of the issues and challenges that my psyche is trying to sort out.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I do pay attention and really try to notice anything that is standing out that does maybe come through the mind when it's feeling a bit more chatty during that time, and allow myself to receive that so I can really use it to help steer me in the cycle ahead because I believe that's that's what it's coming up for.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, emotionally, I often have a lot of grief come up during this phase, and it's not necessarily because um something is wrong.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think just because this is just a natural time of releasing, that the releasing also comes through tears.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: I will find if I don't have enough space, if I have to work more than I would really like to during this time, I can have a lot of friction and grief come up there as well.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I do definitely cry a lot more during this time.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's not from grief or frustration of having to work.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's from reverence because what I can also connect with during this time on a spiritual level is the sense of mission and meaning and purpose.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: And those are the best words that I can use to articulate it right now.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: But when I'm really able to connect with that, oh, it just moves me so deeply.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just almost kind of like in awe of this magic and wonder and mystery and power that is the female body.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that is also deeply spiritual to me as well.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like the emotions here are really just kind of like that water element, right?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so they just need to flow.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I try to give my spell myself space for them to flow.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how I support myself through the inner winter, and that wraps up our mini-series on the menstrual cycle.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: I hope these last few episodes have helped you to connect more deeply with your body and your inner wisdom.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be back on Friday with another solo episode on getting to the root.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: If I said I was gonna have that in the previous weeks, it's coming now.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: I've been meaning to share it for weeks and it's just not ready yet.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: So trusting in the timing, and it'll definitely be out for you on Friday.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then by the time we meet next week, we'll be in a new uh new uh new cycle, moon phase-wise, and we'll also be in a new season, we'll be in Sagittarius season, and I haven't really decided where I want to focus for Sagittarius season, so I'm still feeling into it.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there will probably be some more time off during this time, just with the slowing down of fall and moving into winter and the holidays, and yeah, I can feel myself contracting into myself a bit more as well, too.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I definitely will do is we'll keep the Monday episodes going.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: But as far as our guest episodes and some of our solo episodes, you will likely see those taper off a bit in the coming weeks.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And not to fear, there will be more coming soon.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: But just the way that we have to allow for this period of rest and restoration and visioning with our bleeding time, I also apply that to my life and and to my practice and to my art.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've had a very expansive year.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've put a lot of content out this year.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: I've made a lot of art this year, and yeah, that that all needs to be followed up with a period of rest and restoration and rebalancing.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned for that.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, we will keep meeting here every Monday for now, and I'll definitely see you this Friday as well in our next solo episode.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you need nervous system support this week, I've linked a few meditations as well as the Moon Cycle Cookbook and the Sacred Cycles Oracle deck for you in the show notes.