A woman is a cycling being, not a being at the mercy of a cycle.
— Leslie C. Botha
During a recent radio program, one of Leslie’s callers asked her a simple, yet extremely profound question. “OK, I get that I am being effected every month by my hormone cycle. NOW WHAT?”
I thought Leslie’s suggestions were so useful, I included them in the first book of our Menstrual Health Education Series, Understanding Your Mood, Mind, and Hormone Cycle. I thought our readers might like a preview.
Five Steps to Hormonal Harmony
1. Acknowledge and Honor the natural flow of your hormone cycle
Your hormone cycle is the foundation of your being. Women are the center of the universe…. We are the creators of life; the healers and the wise women…never forget that. Understandably all that you encounter on your path will attempt to undermine you. Remember your history as a woman. Remember what our mothers and foremothers fought and died for so that our daughters will live. Your body is your own – not to be controlled. Do not believe that you are a deviant. Believe that you are the source of creation — because women are. We are the creators of tomorrow’s world. Women are the center. When women are taken out of the center – the whole world becomes out of balance…. and begins to self-destruct.
2. Begin to understand the behavioral changes that occur in the different phases of your cycle
Do not feel ashamed that you change throughout your cycle. It is a powerful movement – like a wave crashing to shore…. the water build momentum (pre-ovulations) crests into a wave (ovulation) and then retreats back into itself for renewal and nourishment (post-ovulation). Life is based on giving and receiving. We all give –and give and give…. we have not learned to receive and replenish. If we knew that this was important we could teach our children and partners. That is why our cycles are so important. They are a physical indicator of what happens to all other life forms. They remind us of the basic concept of life – to give and receive…. Watch a flower…. it sprouts, blooms and then with the first frost retreats back into the ground to replenish and to start the next cycle in the spring. Flowers bring joy to our lives…they can only do that because they are nurtured and replenished in the dark of winter. We, too, can bring joy to our lives as well as others – if we learn to replenish ourselves.
3. Know Your Physical/Emotional Changes
Once you understand your emotional/behavioral changes – explore them…learn how to use the change positively. For so long we have been indoctrinated that the post-ovulatory phase and the menopausal phase of our lives are
estrogen deficient – therefore weakening our abilities to act as “normal” human beings. Who defined “normal” anyway? The post-ovulatory phase of our cycle and menopause are normal phases of women’s cycles – and in understanding this – we can use them to our advantage. We have bought into a myth – and an industry has made a lot of, money off of our bodies…so the at we have become dependent on therapies, medications; statistics show that women are more prone to attempted suicides, drug and alcohol problems are rape during the pre-ovulatory phase. The unasked and unanswered question is why?
We are not connected to ourselves, our bodies – and we have fallen victims to a myth.
Chart your cycle. See the patterns develop. Then work with positive ways of getting out of a self-destructive pattern into a pattern that makes you a powerful woman. Do not stand alone. Surround yourself with other women of like kind. Read books, research the Internet, and go to women’s book groups. Do not be afraid to rock the boat.
Your boat has already been shipwrecked. You are doing this to save your life…. and that of your daughters and granddaughters.
4. Become Aware of other cycles in your life
Everything cycles…everything. When you understand this – your life will make sense. Our life is a journey and each cycle we go through is a process of becoming…and attaining our real potential. Do not be afraid…to let go of your control…and to trust the flow of the universe…. every life form on this planet that lives in trust thrives…those that allow themselves to be controlled succumb.
5. Live with the Lunar Cycle
You are a wise woman. Your grace and beauty comes from above and from below. Become aware of life around you…below you and above. Live with the lunar cycle…it guides all life on this planet – and governs the tides of waters on our shores and within our bodies. The ebb and flow of the tide – is a beautiful rhythm and one that we must learn to dance to in our own lives. Be aware of what phase the moon is in – it will either complement or contradict your hormonal phase. Pre-pubescent, pregnant and menopausal women have the gift of cycling with the moon. That knowledge alone is the true gift of live…. and is the reason why women have been called goddesses. It is time to reclaim that knowledge. It was taken from us many moons ago…and many women and men died refusing to give it up. Those that survived had to give it up. However, we can all know see that the knowledge that replaced this “knowing” is indeed killing us and our other companions on this planet. It is up to women to remember —for the sake of our daughters…for the sake of humankind.
