Why I Am Hormonal And Proud
I came across this article on The Guardian, shared by a life coach I follow and I wanted to share some thoughts and personal insight on the subject.
Firstly, it’s great to see a period positive article in the media. I’m glad that there seems to gradually be more awareness and a shifting of mindset within mainstream dialogue toward embracing and working with our innately powerful and very natural human experience. This is long overdue.
But I am sad to see many women still resistant to this, trying to fight against or suppress their menstrual cycle, trying to conform themselves to the “male norm” and deny the inherent power, freedom and creativity that can be found when living in harmony with their cyclical nature in all its stages.
But I can’t really fault their lack of knowledge. I was only introduced to the idea of working with (rather than ignoring or fighting against) my feminine cycle and its four phases a few years ago after attending a workshop run by life coach Claire Baker (who also introduced me to the Clue app). Not long after that, I came across the concept of feminine (and moon) cycles in books such as “The Way of the Happy Woman” & “The Book of SHE” by Sara Avant Stover, and of course, it was discussed during Reclamation (a sovereignty school for women) which I undertook with Stratejoy last year.
This is not just about the biology of a woman’s cycle. What was new and empowering for me was understanding these phases in terms of seasons and archetypes. And once I reframed my thinking this way, I could see the strengths and weaknesses within each phase and how to work with them. As an overview, the four phases can be described as:
- Menstruation/Winter — archetype of the Crone (who is wise). This is the beginning of our cycle where we tend to feel more withdrawn, introverted, low in energy, but if we give ourselves space and time for reflection, we can tap into our heightened insight, intuition and creativity. It’s a very yin phase. Interestingly, I found that when my menstruation coincided with the new moon, meditation was incredibly easy to just drop into and I felt blissfully, deeply connected within. My dreams also tend to be incredibly vivid during this time.
- Pre-ovulation/Spring—archetype of the Maiden. This phase is about renewal and rebirth, where we feel fresher, lighter, more extroverted, with a return of yang, action oriented energy.
- Ovulation/Summer — archetype of the Mother. This is a phase that many women love. Our energy is high, we’re physically stronger, more sociable, nurturing, productive at work, very yang, and more in tune with pleasure and sex.
- Pre-menstrual/Autumn —archetype of the Wild Woman or Enchantress. Also the infamous PMS phase. It’s a yin phase, energy is dipping and emotions can be heightened due to the drop in oestrogen & progesterone. But our emotions always originate from somewhere and if we give ourselves the space, we can access our inner wisdom and intuition. It’s the perfect time for journalling because “our usual self-censoring is ruptured, like a truth serum”*. Often issues or truths I’ve been repressing like to make themselves known during this time.
If you want to learn more about this, I HIGHLY recommend this article by Dr Northrup or the resources on Claire’s website. There are also fantastic books on this topic such as “Red Moon” by Miranda Gray.
Why it took me nearly half my adult life to even hear about this stuff says a lot about our patriarchal society to date, the oppression of true feminine power and the diminishment of something so integral to life itself. It’s been a gradual awakening of knowledge for me. A discovery of my own wisdom, power and creativity innate within my body. A pilgrimage towards self-compassion. As my own journey and growth continue, I truly hope the conversation, research and awareness also continue, as the article concludes:
To learn more: “We need to get more females into the lab” — as well as more female scientists, more female research participants, more recognition of the cultural bias that treats male bodies and brains as the norm. More education about our bodies’ rhythms and heats, and then a sense of satisfaction, perhaps, when we say: “I’m hormonal.”
