Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Big Feelings Under the Full Moon (and Why That’s Not a Problem)

Transcript

Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Big Feelings Under the Full Moon (and Why That’s Not a Problem) · 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: I am so always just so delighted to be in this space with you.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly do not take your time and your focus for granted.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: As we have so many options, so many choices, so many things we could be doing, so many things we could be streaming, as one of my mentors says.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And yet, what I believe to be a very wise part of you chose to carve out a little space, chose to press play, and chose to receive, receive the wisdom that this week's lunar rhythm is offering.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time here, welcome.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is truly a privilege to be able to share this feminine wisdom with you.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are returning, welcome back.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I do not take that for granted, the fact that you choose to keep returning to these episodes.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's face it, what I'm offering here in these episodes, it's different.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's maybe unique.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's maybe not quite on the mainstream working with the moon, especially in these phases besides the new and the full moon, although we are working with the full moon this week.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think those are phases that, especially the full moon, are phases that people can easily maybe not fully understand, but I think quite a bit of us understand that like if a full moon's out, it's gonna be kind of crazy.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I work at a public school here where I live locally, and I am always so just delighted, I guess, or maybe um just pleased to see that the staff at the school, they know that when it's a full moon, that the kids are gonna be a little something.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're either gonna be more ramped up, they're gonna be more emotional, there's gonna be more conflict, or I've seen it on the other spectrum too, where there's just a lot more fun, depending on how the full moon is is landing.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I say that to say that there really is something to this work.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that if we can all really learn how to attune to these these rhythms, how to work with these rhythms, that we can really embody a different way of being in the world, a different way of being that isn't attached to these binary, patriarchal, capitalistic systems that tell us that we need to fit in a box, that we need to be the same thing every day, that we constantly need to be producing and moving forward and taking action.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: I see more and more people getting tired of this.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's what has attracted you to the show and to these episodes is that you're really feeling into a different way to live your life, a way that is more sustainable, a way that is more true.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what we're doing here.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is the work, and it truly brings me so much joy and fulfillment to be able to share this wisdom with you.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly believe that this already lives inside of you.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not necessarily teaching you anything that you don't already know, I'm giving language, and I'm I'm naming what you are probably already on an unconscious level noticing and experiencing.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for being here.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again for pressing play.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we are going to go ahead and dive into this week's lunar rhythm.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Before we do, let's take a minute of silence.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're new here, this is something we do on every cycle sync episode.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And the intention here is to really create a pause.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: A pause in what I presume is a very busy day.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're working or you're taking care of children or you're taking care of adults, or you are really showing up and carrying a lot of responsibility, as many women do.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: In this pause, you have an opportunity to return to yourself, to maybe pull back your energy and focus that is constantly on everything and everyone else, and to give some of that attention and focus to you, even if it's just for a minute.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so, while you may be doing something, what I'll invite you to do is to see what it would be like to not do anything other than just sit and breathe and be and check in with you.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because how you are doing truly matters, and how you are doing ripples out into your families, into your community, into your workplaces.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And even though it's just a minute, and maybe we could do just like one more thing, or maybe I could optimize this minute by working on this one thing right now.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Can you just pause?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you're driving, maybe not.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're doing some chores or you've got something going on in the background, amuse me.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: See what it would be like to just pause here for a moment.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as you do, noticing how your body is feeling today, noticing how your heart is feeling today, noticing anything that might be swirling around in the mind today, and noticing how your spirit is doing today.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give you a minute to do that now.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share a little bit about what I noticed in that pause, and I share this to maybe help you have a better understanding of things that you can maybe take note of, and to also maybe learn a little bit about my cyclical experience, as if we're sort of having our cyclical experience in a vacuum and we're not speaking with other women, other folks about what our experience is like, sometimes we can think something is normal or abnormal for lack of a better word.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I always hope that there's something you can take away from my sharing.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Today, in this minute of silence, this pause, I began humming almost as soon as I press mute on the mic.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that feels right for me.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: It feels like an appropriate impulse for where I am in my menstrual cycle right now.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am cycle day 16, which means I'm in my inner summer or right around the ovulation phase.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I know I'm here because I track my cervical mucus.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And just today, before I recorded, I used the restroom and I observed some sticky cervical mucus.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so I know, okay, I am in that period of um what's the word I'm looking for here?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this window of ovulation.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I don't know exactly if I have yet.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: I suspect that it will be tomorrow, kind of going off of what I've noticed these last several months.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And really the only way to confirm that is through what's called basal body temperature, which I have intentions to start tracking.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have not yet.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it is something that I'm really wanting to explore this week, especially as I continue to move closer and closer towards having a baby.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm reading a book right now called Real Food for Fertility.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's by, I believe, I don't have it here next to me, but Lisa Hendrickson Jax, if I'm remembering correctly.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'll put it for y'all in the show notes.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been learning so much about food and a lot of other basic lifestyle um habits that can really support our fertility.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been leaning in, I've been trying new recipes, I've been upping my fat intake and my protein intake.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm happy to share today I'm feeling really good.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't always the case in this time of my cycle.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: I did have a day last week that was a bit rough hormonally.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that has subsided a bit as I've been more mindful about really managing my stress and being more mindful with my time, with my energy, beginning to let go of things that I don't maybe need to hold on to anymore, creating more space for rest, for nourishment.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's paying off.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: So that's always confirming to really um just note what's going well.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes it can be really easy to get stuck on what's going wrong and what we need to fix and what we need to change.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: So today I'm really, really noting and celebrating what's been going well for my cyclical experience.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that's very um sort of on theme, if you will, not just for today's episode, uh, but for ovulation as well.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting timing as I'm recording this week, slightly ahead of the full moon, but in the days leading up to it.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And as I am sharing about the full moon today, I am in the full moon of my menstrual cycle, that inner summer time, that ovulation time.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm feeling very aligned with today's energy, and that's why the humming sort of fits with our theme for today.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: This week we are attuning to the energy of the full moon.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes these lunar phases don't align perfectly with our Monday air time.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: And this week it almost couldn't be more aligned.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: The full moon peaked on Sunday, and with today being Monday, the day that the episode is airing, maybe not the day you're listening to it, that means that we are in it.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because the energy of the full moon isn't just one moment, it can be felt up to three days before and up to three days after the peak.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Last week we talked about what's been building as the new calendar year began.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And as we slowly gain more light each day here in the northern hemisphere, and now we've reached this peak of the cycle.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: The full moon represents culmination, it's a moment of the fullest expression.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: What you've been working toward, carrying, or tending over the last few weeks, and maybe even the last few months begins to come into view here.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, it can sometimes feel like a lot, especially when we zoom out and look at what's been happening collectively, specifically here in the United States, where many of our listeners are.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you're in another part of the world, maybe you're witnessing this too.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're somewhere else where you're experiencing this, experiencing this at a much larger degree.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're someone who cares, and you're here listening, so you probably do think that would be a safe guess, you might be feeling even more because you may consider yourself someone who is sensitive or empathic or perhaps intuitive.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: You might be noticing anger, frustration, rage, grief, fear, sadness.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: All of this is welcome here.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And just noticing some emotion arise in myself as I name that, as I acknowledge that.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So just taking a brief pause here.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a lot.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot here, and during the full moon, these emotions can feel amplified.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's actually research showing that heightened light exposure from the moon can impact sleep and emotional regulation.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we also know from trauma and nervous system research that when the system is already under stress, personally and or collectively, our emotional responses tend to rise closer to the surface.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And this doesn't mean that something is wrong with you.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: There is nothing wrong with this happening.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: What I believe it to be is your system responding so wisely and intelligently to the environment around you.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Everything that you are feeling and experiencing is a valid response for the oppressive systems that we live in.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this week I want to invite you into a gentle inquiry.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you feel ready.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you putting all of that energy?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because emotions are not meant to stay stuck inside the body.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're not meant to shove them down and push them off to the side and act like they don't exist.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: This can actually be quite problematic.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: You can think of energy, uh, excuse me, emotion as energy and motion.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Energy wants to move.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: When we suppress or bottle emotions for too long, research shows that it can increase stress hormones like cortisol and contribute to anxiety, tension, and even physical symptoms over time.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was just speaking with my students about this today.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: These are things that I'm teaching to third graders.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Planting these seeds in future generations.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think people forget that sometimes when we bottle things up, that they often come out in different ways.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: We might snap at someone we love.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: We cut someone off.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: We cuss someone out.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: We say something we didn't mean.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's just this sense of feeling unsettled in the body and in yourself.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's physical tension in the shoulders and the neck.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know I feel that so much.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we explode.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe we completely shut down.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: So the energy is gonna find a way out anyway.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is how wise your system is.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: So then the question becomes what would it be like to give it an outlet?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: One that's intentional, one that's healthy, one that doesn't harm you or anyone else.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: And this is especially potent with this full moon being in Leo.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Leo is the sign of creativity, self-expression, and the heart.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: It rules the inner child, play, and the courage to be seen.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are some ways you might work with this energy instead of against it?
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: You might dance.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: You might sing or hum like I did earlier.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to write.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to have a conversation with a trusted friend.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to cry.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to scream into a pillow.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to move your body.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you might want to go to one of those rage rooms.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know they have places now where you can literally reserve a room filled with stuff that you can break and people clean it up for you?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like$30.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've never done one yet.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've always wanted to.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I do always like to share that this is an option.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: There are outlets, there are ways to channel this energy.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And especially for anger and frustration in particular, anger and frustration are such powerful medicines, agents for change, really.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Anger is a boundary.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Anger is a no.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: This needs to change.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: So when we can learn to use it, channel it, express it in healthy and productive ways, we can actually use it to create more beautiful and meaningful and more, I don't know if positive is the right word, but we can use it for good.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I would be so curious for you to notice what you notice after.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So if you do decide this week to accept this invitation to find a healthy outlet for this energy, for any emotion that is here, maybe taking note of how you feel after.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: How does your body feel once all that energy has moved?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because from a somatic perspective, expression, it's not about being dramatic or chaotic, it's really about completion.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's allowing the nervous system to discharge, to release.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even really like the word release.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love the word discharge.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it allows the system to discharge what it's been carrying so that it can turn back to a point of balance, a point of harmony, homeostasis.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like support with this this week, I've included a few donation-based, trauma-informed, somatic meditations in the show notes to maybe help you move through this energy to maybe help you feel what is ready to be felt, and to perhaps maybe integrate what is present here underneath the light of the full moon.