#17
Winter’s superpowers
Release and reset
Who doesn’t love the feeling of a fresh start? Healing after heartbreak, the first day of a new job, moving to a new city where no one knows your name. It’s the sweet feeling of starting over, and your period can feel just like this! Your hormones have wrapped up one cycle and are about to begin a brand new one, so the Winter phase provides a fantastic opportunity to begin again and rebalance your system.
As your body physically releases what it has built in your womb over the past month, take a moment to think about what you’d like to release along with it. Crappy self-talk? Your 4pm sugar habit? That babe on Tinder who hasn’t replied for days? Let it all go with your blood. You might feel the effect of this ‘release and reset’ in the size and shape of your belly and breasts, in your energy levels and libido, or in your emotions, thoughts and attitude. Work with this superpower by being clear on what you’re releasing and identifying what this new cycle is going to be about for you.
Rest and recharge at menstruation? But isn’t ‘period positivity’ and women’s empowerment about our periods and female physiology not holding us back? We can all agree that no one is interested in a return to a pre-feminist world where women were incorrectly considered less capable due to their biology. But the nature of all cycles is that there is a time for productivity and output (think you at 11am, in the zone and kicking butt) and there’s a time for slowing down and replenishing reserves (think you at 11pm, tucked up in bed and drifting off to sleep). A flower doesn’t bloom all the time and neither do you.
Think of your period as the pit stop of your month, an opportunity for you to fuel up with self-love and nourishment – and probably catch up on some sleep! We all have responsibilities that can feel like hurdles we need to overcome before attending to our own needs, and these won’t magically evaporate when you have your period! But if there’s one week of your cycle that I encourage you to prioritize yourself, this is it. It will be easier for those of us with access to systems of support and it may require a vulnerable conversation (or two) when asking the people in your life for help. Conserving energy in your Winter can lead to more energy in your Spring and Summer, so treat it as an experiment: use your period to press your inner reset button, fill your own cup and power-up for the cycle to come.
Gut instinct
Did you know that some indigenous communities would honour women’s menstruation as a time for dreaming and visioning for the tribe? Almost as if having a period was akin to becoming an oracle for a few days every month. As sensitivity increases, you have a direct line to an inner guidance that can supercharge your life and projects all month long. These creative thoughts, aka ‘period ideas’, can abound in your Winter phase! I often hear of women making big life decisions and coming up with solutions to problems that have been bugging them for weeks, poems and ideas appearing out of thin air, or inner callings or curiosities becoming clearer. When we slow down and tune in it’s easy to feel like we’re back on track, with a more solid sense of direction. The best way to access this superpower? You guessed it – taking time out (retreating to your ‘period cave’) and trusting yourself to reset, rest and retune.