So this is a blog about the mind-body connection, about living well in a truly embodied way. If you're a woman, your hormone cycles can be a powerful gateway toward harmony between body and mind. Why? because the 4 phases - menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase - all have a distinct effect on how your brain works. And those effects can work for you or against you, depending on how well you know yourself and how willing you are to heed your body's wisdom.
As a woman, I've been waiting for science to clue into women's cyclical wisdom for years. In 2002, I was a junior in college, and had gotten my hands on Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, a big book by Dr. Christiane Northrup about women's health. Northrup (1998) explained how diet, lifestyle, and beliefs can affect female conditions like PMS, all the way on up to ovarian cancer. A PMS sufferer at the time, I grasped onto the idea that living more in harmony with my hormonal cycles could alleviate my moodiness. And you know what? It worked, like a charm. Since then I have been providing myself time to reflect, meditate, be creative, or whatever-I-feel-like (within reason) during the week before and the week of my period, and have come to experience these times as a resource, rather than a burden to me.
I am completely dumbfounded by the fact that the menstrual cycle (more accurately, and henceforth known as, the "hormone cycle"), continues to be an area of mystery, awkwardness, and taboo. That is, I find it dumb - dim-witted, nonsensical, and illogical - that this part of women's lives should be considered off-limits today. Which is why you never hear this:
"Hi yes Sally, I won't be coming in today, I'm not feeling well."
"Oh, that's too bad. What's wrong?"
"Got cramps, and feeling emotionally sensitive and in need of quiet. You know how it is, Sally!"
"Haha, yes of course dear. We'll see you in 3-4 days."
There's the 2nd-wave feminist approach that menstruation is merely a physical process, so women should gladly use pills and products to keep themselves in the game 24/7. But with science now showing variations in brain morphology and chemistry during the cycle, it's hard to deny that for many women, the menstrual cycle is a bio-psychological-spiritual phenomenon that truly affects their lives.
So it was with delight, but not much surprise, that I finally saw Alisa Vitti's (2011) Ted Talk, "Loving Your Lady Parts as a Path to Success, power & global change", in which she laid out the neurobiology the 4 phases of the hormone cycle. They are:
1) Follicular: with increased access to creative energy, a good time for starting projects;
2) Ovulatory: with hot communication skills;
3) Luteal: with an eye for detail; and
4) Menstrual: with increased connection between left and right brain, the best time for reflection.
I've been feelin' and writing about this for years. I will say that my own mental/emotional cycle doesn't exactly follow Vitti's model; for example, my follicular phase can feel more preparatory than all-out creative. All women have their unique version of this cycle. Vitti's point, with which I agree wholeheartedly, is that following the "blueprint" of your individual cycle can be a path to health, happiness and success. By listening to your body's regularly timed messages, women can discover a treasure trove of creative wisdom, power, and energy. Click next for tips on using the energy of each phase!
No comments:
Post a Comment