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Weekly Cycle Check-In: The Waxing Moon & The 3 Ps for Sustainable Growth · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Reva Jean-Paul.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a trauma-informed somatic practitioner, coach for women, and host for your show.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode is a weekly cycle check-in episode.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: And in a moment, we're going to talk a little bit about the lunar energy that we will be working with in this upcoming week.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: We are talking about the week of March 3rd.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it is March.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Time is already seemingly flying by in my world.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Curious to know how the first little bit of the year has been for you.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're also feeling like, oh my gosh, wow, I can't believe it's already March.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Before we talk about the lunar energy of this week, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that I haven't done a solo episode on Wednesday for not just one, but two weeks now.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: In addition to doing the show, I'm also seeing clients teaching in our um, excuse me, in my teaching artist residencies, as well as taking four art classes at a local community college here where I'm at in Sacramento, California.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: So needless to say, my plate is very full and I'm still settling into my rhythm for this show.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: I do have a focus and a format that I'm going to be introducing with this new cycle that we have begun.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: At the time that this is being recorded, it is currently the new moon.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: At the time I'm recording it, but by the time that you are listening to this, it's going to be a few days after the new moon.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And anytime there's a new moon, if you're on my mailing list, you get this reminder every month.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: But the new moon is always a beautiful opportunity for us to restart and to begin again and to maybe start or begin something.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, I'm going to be playing with introducing a theme or an area of focus for us to really lean into with each cycle.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: And each of the solo episodes as well as the guest episodes will be an additional layer of support, an additional layer of education that you can use to help support yourself as you're moving through this particular theme or focus.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Now I'd like to plant a seed here just as we're coming out of the new moon that just passed last week.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: By the time you're listening to this, for the theme that I'm going to be inviting in for the next moon cycle, maybe even for the next two moon cycles.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I've chosen this theme because as of March 1st, we have entered into a Venus retrograde.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And you might be wondering, what the heck is a Venus retrograde?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are, that's okay.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: I will not be diving very deep into astrology on this show.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: However, astrology is something that I use and supports me in so many ways on my healing journey.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it is something that is connected to a larger natural rhythm and cycle that we all move through collectively.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it can be helpful to tap into these greater rhythms and cycles and to connect with the opportunities that they offer.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And this Venus retrograde is going to be asking us, inviting us to review our relationships.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that might sound a little scary.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And from the astrologers I've listened to, they've assured me there's nothing to be afraid of here.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are afraid, that's okay too.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Your fear and your anxieties about what this period might bring up are very welcome into this space.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly why I'd like to explore this theme over the next moon cycle, maybe too, and to not just review our relationships with other people, but to really review the relationship that we have with ourselves.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because how we relate to ourselves is more often than not how we relate to other people.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so if reviewing your relationship sounds like it might be kind of scary or uncomfortable, perhaps maybe you could start by simply just reviewing the relationship that you have to yourself.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: And in the coming episodes, we'll talk a little bit more about what this means and how to do that in a way that feels right and gentle and supportive for you.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: And interestingly enough, as I have really cultivated this deep and compassionate and loving and attuned relationship with myself, menstrual cycle awareness and cyclical awareness in general has been a really beautiful way to deepen that relationship with myself and to come into relationship with myself in a way that is more authentic and more real about where I am at biologically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: And when I have really, as I have really learned to honor and work with the natural rhythms and cycles that are happening both within me and the world around me, it has significantly, again, deepened the relationship that I have with myself and also really just shifted the relationship that I have with myself in a way, not to keep saying the thing, same thing over and over again, because I know I can do that, but it's it's a more authentic way to relate to myself when I am honoring the ebb and the flow of my energy and of my focus and of my emotions.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so as we are being invited to review relationships with others and ourselves, I'm gonna really invite you and encourage you to lean into these weekly cycle check-in episodes as an anchor for you to really attune to the rhythms and cycles again that are happening inside of you and all around you.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about the lunar energy that we are working with this week.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: This week we are working with the waxing crescent moon, and we're also going to be working our way into the first quarter moon.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And by the end of the week, we're going to be in the waxing gibbous moon.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if this is all new for you, that's okay.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: The most important thing to remember here is the waxing moon.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: And as I mentioned, with the waning moon, an expression that you can use to help you remember is wax on, wax off.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Last week we were waxing off, and this week we are waxing on, which means the light is building in the moon, and the energy is building, and other things might be building as well.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: If we're talking about the menstrual cycle specifically, in the menstrual cycle, this waxing moon time correlates with the follicular or the pre-ovulation phase in the menstrual cycle in the female body.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine, this time is associated with the element of wood.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I talked a little bit about the element of wood and how to work with it in, I believe it was our first weekly cycle check-in episode.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so what's really cool about these weekly cycle check-in episodes, if you find you're wanting more on a particular phase that we might be in at a certain time, you can always go back to weekly, um, excuse me, to previous weekly cycle check-in episodes, because there's a good chance that I've already talked about it.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so much to say about all of the different phases, and I will do my best to try to offer new information with each weekly cycle check-in.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: But please know that the information that I've already shared is very valuable.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or rather, I hope you find it to be valuable, and it'll always be there for your reference to go back to if you really want to dive even deeper than what I do today into the lunar energy.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, as I mentioned, around this time we are seeing an increase in light, and that is the light in the moon.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: So if you go outside and you watch the moon over the week, you will see that which eat with each night, there's just a little bit more light and a little bit more light and a little bit more light.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And as that light is building, the energy is also building.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when I say the energy is building, to me, this is like the collective energy that we're all sitting in.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: This is also the energy behind any intentions that we may have set with the new moon.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So the energy collectively is increasing as the light is increasing, and any energy or momentum, perhaps is a better word here to use here, um, behind any intentions or goals that we might have set with the new moon, that momentum is starting to build right now as well.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: And interestingly enough, in the female body, estrogen is starting to build during this time.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: So again, we're having the increase in the light of the moon, we're having an increase of the energy collectively.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: We might be experiencing an increase in the momentum towards whatever it is that we're working towards in our life.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say it doesn't have to be a particular goal, it could be something more personal to you, maybe a personal issue uh that you might be moving through.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: You can also work with those with the moon cycle and any of the other cycles that we'll be talking about.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: And also estrogen is increasing in the female body.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, this, as I've shared before on the previous episode, can um be a period where we're very vulnerable and where we we can be susceptible to doing too much too soon.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so, if that's you, I know that's certainly me, and something I really have to look out for during this time, then I would really encourage you to go back and listen to, I believe, again, the first weekly cycle check-in on the whole show and to hear a little bit more about my experience working with this time and um how to deal with some of the challenges that can come with doing too much too soon, especially if you find yourself to be burning out or feeling overwhelmed as we reach the full moon and as we reach the end of a cycle.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: However, there are some other things that we can explore with here as well.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll learn this about me.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love alliterations.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna offer an alliteration today to play with during this waxing moon time.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: The first word that I'll offer here is plan.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: This is a wonderful time to plan and to get ourselves organized.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is the tending to your garden.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's gathering your garden supplies, getting new soil, getting your seeds, maybe pulling out the weeds from your garden.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: This is a time where we can maybe take stock of the resources that we do or maybe don't have, and put a plan together in place using the resources that we have, and also seeing where we might need more resources if we find that we don't have enough.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: And resources can be the energy that you have, the physical energy that you have, or perhaps maybe it is connected to the finances that you have.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: This is a great time to look forward and feel into how you can plan for future sessions or future uh future trips, or maybe you want to go on a retreat this year, maybe you know you really want to find a great therapist this year, maybe you know you really want to go on a solo adventure this year.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: I would be super curious to know what it is that you are dreaming into.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And hopefully, with the new moon, you had a little bit of time to really again kind of sense and feel into where it is you want to focus your energy.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Where do you want to invest your energy for this cycle?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't know, that's okay too.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Again, this is a time where we can start to figure out what those things are and how we might go about doing those things.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: With the increase and estrogen and with the increase in energy, we have the focus and the clarity that can be so helpful during a planning process.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: So we are invited to really lean in to that clearer, uh, more focused on details energy.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: The second word that I'll offer here is pace.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Pace yourself.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: There's no need to do much do too much too soon.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: And often I find when I am doing too much too soon, it's because I'm operating out of fear.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's usually because I'm afraid that if I don't get things done fast enough or soon enough in a certain kind of way, then whatever it is that I'm envisioning and desiring won't happen.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I invite you to maybe soften that story if you're able to, and to maybe set a mini intention here to pace yourself.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if that's something that you struggle with again, I would invite you to go back and listen to that first weekly cycle check-in where I really go a lot deeper into this idea of pacing ourselves.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'll offer an analogy that I shared in that episode because I think it's so helpful.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: I know it was really helpful for me.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: The analogy of a rosebud.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is the equivalent of the life cycle of the plant for this phase that we're in currently.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: When you think of a rosebud, it's so tender and so fragile and can be easily overwhelmed or disturbed or distressed if the weather's too cold, or if someone comes by and and knocks it too hard, or other things that might happen to rosebuds in their days.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: But the idea is here that we are in a very vulnerable, very tender, very early growth stage.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: And to honor that, we really want to pace ourselves, slowing down and being mindful about how you are using your energy and to maybe remind yourself that you you don't have to get it all done right now.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: There's time.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: And with that, I'll offer the other word, the last word that I'll share to complete the alliteration.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that word is pamper.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: This is a wonderful time to pamper ourselves, specifically when we're working with the follicular or the pre-ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: With that increase in estrogen, we have this um this deeper connection to beauty and to play, and we might want to do things like get a massage or maybe get a facial or to maybe do some at-home self-care things.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know that's what I love to do during my inner spring time.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: This can be a great time for us to take a spiritual bath or a flower soak, or maybe you just treat yourself to a little day trip, or I don't know, you'll have to feel into the ways in which pampering yourself feels most right and supportive for you.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think in my experience, the pampering can really help with the pacing.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: If I have a lot of that building energy and that building momentum, and I'm not really knowing like where to direct it, and if I just kind of throw it anywhere, then I'm kind of just scattered and I'm all over the place.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I find if I really want to put that energy somewhere during this time, I really try to put that excess energy to myself after I'd done some of my planning and my spring cleaning.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: If I still have that energy, I'm like, okay, now I'm gonna do something for me to really honor that somewhat yin energy that we're still kind of working with here.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because this time is still kind of a yin energy to me, through the way that I've been experiencing the cycles over the last, specifically over the last maybe four or five months or so.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Once we reach the first quarter moon, which is going to be happening, I believe on Thursday, we're at a point of action.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're invited here to make a decision, to make a commitment.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so, as you are in this early planning stage where you're pacing yourself and you're really pampering yourself, ideally, by the time you reach that first quarter moon on Thursday, you have the clarity that you need to move forward with whatever decision that you need to make.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, for example, if you are really wanting to work on your early childhood experiences, you know there's a lot of stuff you haven't processed from your childhood, and it's affecting the way that you show up in your relationships, and it's causing anxiety and maybe even depression, then you would use that early spring time, this waxing moon phase, to research and to find different options for you to consider.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then by the time you reach the first quarter moon, you could make the decision.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, okay, wonderful.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I've done my research, I've looked at these five therapists and practitioners, and I've met with these three, and I've really liked this one.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: So now it's time for me to make a commitment or to make a decision and to move forward with this therapist or practitioner that I've chosen.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a little example of how you might play with these energies through uh, or rather, in your healing process.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: I hope today's episode has been helpful and insightful.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: We will continue to explore these different phases as the weeks go by.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like always, I invite you to keep coming back and to keep tuning in.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you found today's episode valuable, I would invite you to leave a rating or a review, or to maybe even share this episode with a friend.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: Here on this podcast, we are really holding space and creating space for the feminine frequency to rise within not just women, but within everyone, within our entire collective.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: Because in our fast-paced, linear, patriarchal world where we are literally seeing systems crumble right before our eyes, I truly believe this is the medicine that our world needs.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And it starts with tuning into these natural rhythms and cycles, creating more sustainability and more of a rhythm in the way that we live our lives.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: I feel it can create an amazing ripple fact in our families, in our communities, lovingly and gently inviting everyone to settle into a more sustainable rhythm, a more sustainable pace.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And would be, I would be, excuse me, so grateful if you would do that.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Help me spread this message, help me to put more of this frequency out into the universe.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I will continue to do the same.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: I will for certain be doing a solo episode on Wednesday that's going to be dropping us into this theme, this focus for the next moon cycle, maybe for the next two.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: And again, we're going to be working with this Venus retrograde energy.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: We won't be getting into the astrology, but we will be exploring the relationship that our we have with ourselves and also the relationship that we have with others.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I look forward to connecting with you then.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for tuning in and being here today.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, I had already said I look forward to connecting with you on Wednesday.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'll close today by saying, in the meantime, take care of yourself and take care.