Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync - Waning Crescent Moon, Autumn, & Luteal Phase

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Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync - Waning Crescent Moon, Autumn, & Luteal Phase · 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.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Reva Jean-Paul.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a trauma-informed somatic practitioner, menstrual cycle coach, and host for your show.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Today we are meeting for our weekly cycle sync episode.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: And this week we are working with the waning moon.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk a little bit more about the opportunities that we have this week, but before we do that, let's begin with a minute of silence.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: And in this minute of silence, you are invited to check in with the mind, check in with the body, check in with the heart and the spirit, and to notice how you're feeling.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Noticing what's going on in your inner world today.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And also maybe taking note of where you feel like you are in your inner rhythm, which may or may not align perfectly with the lunar rhythm.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's perfectly okay.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Our minute of silence will begin now.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I myself was just reflecting on what an interesting place I find myself in in my rhythm.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: This cycle was a bit unusual for me in regards to my menstrual cycle.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: I found that my bleeding time came much later than I had planned and anticipated.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And when I reflected on how my last bleed went, it made a lot of sense to me that this one was a little bit later than usual.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a very full cycle.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really feeling the spring energy here in the northern hemisphere picking up and bringing in forward momentum and energy and inspiration and opportunity.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's definitely come with its set of challenges.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: It can be very difficult to sometimes find the balance in our fast-paced world, especially if you are fortunate enough to work on things that are meaningful to you that you are passionate about, whether that's a hobby or a creative outlet, or maybe you do own a business or some sort of thing you do on the side.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I find that it can be really easy to overdo it.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And as I noticed myself overdoing it a bit, I made the choice intentionally to pull back, which I talked a little bit about in my last episode, and also in my mailing list, if you're um in my weekly email that I sent out last week, if you're on my mailing list.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so there is a bit of an unpredictable and somewhat wild nature that can come with this cyclical way of being.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you might want to stock up on herbs or Epsom salt or things that you know you might need for your bleed.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you might want to clear things out on your desktop or in your inbox, whatever it is.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is the time where you can really set yourself up for success, as I like to say.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: For me, I know that food, nourishing food is a really big priority for me.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that when I'm on my bleed, oh, it just makes it so hard to make those nourishing meals.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so, to the best of my ability, I try to prepare some food for my bleed this time of the phase, this kind of week before my bleeding time comes.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so that might be something that you you might want to explore as well.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: I also really enjoy a clean space, and so I use that sort of nesting energy to clear my office space and to, like I said, get my laundry done and not just wash it, but actually fold it and put it away, and to yeah, just really set my environment up so that it allows me to rest.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this isn't to say that you have to get everything done and that the house has got to be perfectly cleaned and everything's got to be perfectly organized in order for you to really enjoy your bleeding time.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: I've gone about it that way, and let me tell you, that was problematic too.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: To a certain degree, we do have to just do the best we can and to let go of anything else that we're not able to get to, and to trust that whatever really needs to get done will get done, and anything else that doesn't have that same urgency or that sense of priority, we can get to it another time.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: So please go gently in your preparations and in your nesting and in your wrapping things up this week because I know that I have been very guilty of pushing myself a bit too much, trying to prepare a bit too much.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: So something to keep in mind as you're moving through your rhythm this week.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is also a really wonderful time to let go of anything that maybe didn't go your way, and to maybe let go of anything that doesn't really need to get done, as I sort of just mentioned.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: I found myself really feeling this waning energy last week and at the end of the week as I was patiently waiting for my bleed and really feeling this drop in my energy and in my motivation.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: I had to have an honest moment where I really looked at my schedule and realized how many things that I put on my schedule that didn't really need to be there, and I found myself feeling frustrated with how full my calendar was.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so, of course, I'm not able to clear out everything, nor do I want to, but I was able to take out the things that I didn't really need to get done.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Took out the things that I didn't really need to show up for.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: I went to class a little bit later.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: I canceled something that I had volunteered for, and I'm blanking on what the other thing that I did was, but there was a series of choices that I made right there at the end of the week.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Was like, you know what, I just do not realistically have the energy and the stamina for this, and so I'm gonna have to say no.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that's another beautiful word to bring into this waning time is the word no, saying no to the things that you just genuinely do not have the energy for, and using what energy you have to focus on the things that matter to you most.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And as I said, if you had had a specific intention or vision or goal for the cycle, and it didn't quite turn out the way you want it to, this can be a wonderful time to offer yourself some compassion and some forgiveness, maybe if you feel like you're at that point.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Because at the end of the day, sometimes things don't work out the way as planned, and that's okay.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing that we can really lean into here this week is trust, trusting that things are working out exactly as they should.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I know from personal experience how hard it can be to really trust in life, to trust in yourself and to trust in the process, and so I encourage you to go about that process gently and lovingly.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I always like to reflect on nature, as I've mentioned plenty of times, because nature really does mirror these cyclical rhythms, and I think about when it's winter, how spring isn't like, okay, winter, like hurry up, I'm ready to start budding.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: You're taking way too long.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's not really happening in nature.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Rather, spring patiently waits for winter to reach its completion point.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: There is an inherent trust in this process of contraction and expansion.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so if we know that what expands must eventually contract, and if what contracts must eventually expand, can we begin to trust in our own natural process of contraction and expansion?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: This sort of closing and opening that happens as we flow through our lives.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: Some practical things to do this week to recap are to finish up and to complete things as you start to prepare for a clean slate with the new moon at the end of the week.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: If you are tracking your menstrual cycle and you know your menstrual, your menstruating time is coming up, this is a wonderful time to prepare for that, whether that's stocking up on herbs or preparing nourishing meals and putting them in the freezer, or maybe talking to a friend or partner or a family member about getting some extra support.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: This is also a wonderful time to let go of anything that didn't go your way and to maybe let go of anything that just doesn't quite need to happen right now.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself, and if you're able to, be gentle with others.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be coming to you again on Wednesday with a solo episode where we will be exploring breath work.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: I know I've been talking about doing this episode for quite some time, and it's finally coming, so I look forward to sharing that episode with you then.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: In the meantime, take care of yourself and take care of each other.