Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power - Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Waxing Moon Explained: Energy, Themes, and How to Work With It

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Moon Phases & Feminine Power - Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Waxing Moon Explained: Energy, Themes, and How to Work With It · 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: If this is your first time here, welcome.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is such an honor to have you in this space today.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if this is not your first time, if you are returning, welcome back.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: It is truly such an honor to have you in this space as well.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: As you might know, if you've been here for a while, the work that we are doing here is about so much more than just cycle sinking or manifesting with the full moon or the new moon.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: What we're doing here is cultivating a way of being, a way of being that goes against the grain in our fast-paced, busy, capitalistic, patriarchal world.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: A way of being that truly honors the ebbs and the flows, the highs and the lows, rather than producing, performing, outputting at a constant pace, which goes against everything in the natural world.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It goes against the seasons, it goes against the moon.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: It goes against the biological rhythm of the menstrual cycle.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so this work is deep.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: This work is powerful.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: This work is really a reclamation, a reclamation of living in a way that truly honors all parts of you and all facets of you, and all of the things that come in between.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because I find, at least for myself, when I first approached this work, I only focused on the new moon and the full moon.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I missed all of these opportunities that came in between those two very important phases, yes.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel we can't really get the most out of those phases without honoring and working with the other phases in between as well.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So today we're going to be talking about the waxing moon, which is the moon phase that we are in as this episode is airing.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: So depending on when you're listening, we are talking about the week of January 26th.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And before we dive in, I want to get us started here with a minute of silence.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something we do every week in our Monday episodes.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is an opportunity to one pause because let's face it, you're probably really busy.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You might even be feeling a little overwhelmed.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: You may have been dealing with burnout either, if not currently, maybe recently or in the past.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: When we come to this work, I find that these are the things that we are so often grappling with and struggling with.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so creating these pauses throughout the day, while they might seem small, for me I find to be so powerful, even just one minute of pause.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so today I'm going to invite you, if it feels right for you, and if you're not driving, and if it feels something that is manageable for you in this moment, I am going to invite you to stop whatever else you might be doing.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're working on something.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe if you are driving, maybe you can just come into a place of more presence.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're doing some chores around the house.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're washing dishes.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know I often have a podcast in my ear while I'm doing meal prepping.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: If the tendency is to not stop, maybe noticing that too, allowing that to be okay.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I know I experienced that in one particular podcast that I listen to that often invites in a moment of stillness.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I notice that part of me that doesn't want to stop, that wants to keep going.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so learning to befriend and welcome that part in as well, because that part has very good reasons for doing what they do.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are able to pause, and again, even if you're not, just beginning to notice what parts of the body are making contact with either the chair or with the steering wheel or with whatever might be in your hands or underneath your feet.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: And seeing as you bring awareness to these points of contact, if you can maybe soften or relax or deepen your contact in some way.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And as you do that, I'm going to invite you to begin noticing your breath and to begin maybe slowing the breath down by extending the inhales and extending the exhales to be longer than the inhales.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if none of those things feel right, that's perfectly okay too.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just finding what does feel right for you in this moment again as we are really just invited to come into a place of more presence.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll begin that exploration for a minute, starting now.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right away, I began to hear the sounds of birds chirping outside of my window.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I listened to the birds, and as I listened to the birds, I remembered something I had learned a while back, I'm not sure where.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something that I've learned that is my system telling me you're on to something.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a feeling I quite enjoy.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And after I stayed with this sensation of sort of this tingling, it's less of a tingling and more of like a um like the texture of like bubbly water or something like that.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: And as I stayed with that sensation, again, this sensation that I really enjoy, I notice myself taking a yawn.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And yawning is, excuse me, something that I look for often.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: One, of course, within myself, it's something I'm tracking in my own nervous system.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And as an educator and as a somatic therapist, it's something that I'm tracking within the nervous systems and bodies and humans that I'm working with as well.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And yawning is a sign that the system is settling.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it was nice to experience that settling in my system as I begin to drop into today's episode with you.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: As far as my cyclical experience, I am currently on cycle day eight.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not sure what that means, that means I'm on the eighth day of my menstrual cycle.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: The first day of your bleeding time is cycle day one.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that means I started my bleed seven days ago, and now I'm on cycle day eight.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So my bleeding time is done and just barely done.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a time, oh my goodness, I really have to remind myself to take it easy and to not come out of the gate running.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: There is a real potential for burnout here and for overwhelm.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really tender time in my cycle and has been for about a year now.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's something I've been tracking and working with closely.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm going gently this week.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: I've luckily got a lot more space this week as well, enjoying probably the last spacious week before my uh teaching artist residency begins again, and I get back to my work with the public school system here where I live in Sacramento.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So just enjoying and yeah, also preparing as well.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a little bit about me where I'm at today.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I always like to share that because when we are doing cyclical work, if we're not talking about our cyclical experience with other people, it can become a bit isolating.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I personally find it so helpful for my own expiration to hear other people's perspectives and experiences and how they may or may not connect or correlate to my own.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that is my intention when I share.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: I do hope that it's helpful for you.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let's begin with this week's lunar rhythm.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, this week we are attuning to the energy of the waxing moon.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And by the end of the week, Sunday to be exact, we'll find ourselves under the spotlight of another full moon.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: So as we move through these days, I want to invite you into a gentle inquiry.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: What is building for you right now?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Especially as we've just moved out of Capricorn season about a week ago, and we're nearing the end of the first month of the calendar year.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, can you believe it?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is time?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: That alone places us closer to a more energetic new beginning with the, I believe, the midway point of mid-winter coming up in that first week of February, umbullock, if I remember correctly.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Then we have the lunar new year on the 17th of February.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then again, we have the spring equinox on March 20th, I believe.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: So again, we have this more energetic new beginning coming in the month to come.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: The waxing moon, the time that we're in right now with the lunar cycle, is a time of growth, momentum, and forward movement.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: In many cyclical traditions, this phase is associated with the element of wood, traditional Chinese medicine specifically, which is why I love connecting with trees during this part of the lunar cycle.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Trees feel like such magical beings to me.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: They begin as tiny seeds planted in the dark.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Slowly and steadily they root themselves deep into the earth while their branches stretch towards the sky.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Some trees take hundreds of years to fully mature, and I find that incredibly humbling and fascinating.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that really stands out to me about trees is how they harden over time.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Unlike softer plants, trees develop a strong outer layer, bark, to protect themselves from weather, storms, predators, and environmental stress.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: That hardening is less about closing off and more about resilience.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is such a wise, wise, wise intelligence that we see in nature and that we can also experience within ourselves.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this can be a really interesting theme to explore during the waxing moon.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: You might ask yourself, where might you be strengthening your boundaries?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you learning to protect your time, your energy, your creative life?
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've noticed this especially within my own inner cycle, this theme of protection, not in a rigid or defensive way, but in a conscious, intentional way that allows growth to continue.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe for you, what you're experiencing this week, if you're not in this particular part of your menstrual cycle, or if you're just not aware, that's okay.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Our cyclical experiences are so individual and unique.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so noticing what lands for you and maybe what doesn't land for you.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it could be less about a hardening and more about something coming into form: an idea, a desire, a dream, an intention that's begin beginning to take shape in the physical world.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you've been consciously tracking or not, something is happening here for you.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe something small, maybe something big, maybe something in between, and the potential to be meaningful nonetheless.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: One tool I've personally found helpful for gaining clarity around these phases is the Chani app.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you know your birth time and enter your birth information, the app can tell you exactly where the new moon and the full moons and other astrological transits are landing in your natal chart.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: This can offer insight into which area of life is being activated for you during a particular transit or phase.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, during the last new moon, I learned that it was landing in my communication and publishing house.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure which house that is.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, because I knew that I was able to focus my energy there.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why today I'm working on the podcast and recording some episodes ahead of time before I go back to my part-time work.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've also spent the morning clearing out my inboxes.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Later today, I'm going to update my email signatures and set some intentions about how I want to communicate and share my voice going forward.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: So you might enjoy exploring that this week too, and I'll link that for you in the show notes if that feels supportive.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're wanting to work intentionally with this waxing moon, some things you could explore.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe noticing what feels like it's coming together, or maybe also noticing what might be falling apart, paying attention to themes, patterns, and gentle direction from the universe.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Continuing to take small, steady, sustainable steps towards the life that you're creating.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Spending time with trees if you can, even if you're not able to get out in nature, even if you have a tree in your backyard or if you go on a walk, you can look at the trees.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I do when I'm in my neighborhood, and I don't necessarily want to drive all the way down to the river.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many beautiful trees right where I live.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: And as you connect with these trees, just by simply acknowledging them or looking at them, or maybe you're able to sit at the trunk of one and just seeing what they might teach you about growth, patience, and resilience, because they are such wise, wise, wise teachers in this specifically.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if you feel like you need support, grounding into this energy, because this can be a time of the cycle where it can feel like a lot.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: There's potential to be overwhelmed with so much energy building and so many things moving.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it can feel sometimes the growth, while welcomed and exciting, it can feel tender or overwhelming.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so if that's the case, I've included a few trauma-informed donation-based meditations for you in the show notes.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: And those are hosted over on Insight Timer, which is another free app that I highly recommend.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: I use this app myself every day, and it really helps me to stay consistent with my meditation practice.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many beautiful guided meditations.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've got quite the collection up there myself.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if you enjoy the app, there's lots of other insight timer teachers and classes and courses and all sorts of great stuff on there.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: I also do teach free events on Insight Timer from time to time.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you follow me on Insight Timer, you'll be notified when I do host those events as well.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: So wonderful app to explore.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Again, you'll find that all in the show notes.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: May you know that you don't have to rush this process, and that just like the waxing moon, your becoming is allowed to unfold in its perfect, divine, and right timing.