Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Ashley Greene Khoury & Olivia Khoury: Listening to Our Female Bodies, Period

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

Vinos, it’s time to normalize the conversation around our periods and menstruation, and today on the pod, Ashley Greene Khoury and Olivia Khoury join Kaitlyn to talk about all the “taboos” and get real when it comes to our periods, period. Ashley and Olivia’s journeys with their own cycles led them to found Hummingway, a company that provides menstrual products that can help you through our whole cycle so that you can thrive no matter what time of month it is. The three chat about the myths and facts about our periods, what it’s like to work with your sister-in-law, and the cutest story behind Ashley and her husband Paul. ADORE ME - Shop intimates now on AdoreMe.com. BOLL & BRANCH - Get 15% off your first set of sheets when you use promo code vine15 at checkout. THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW - Search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. PROGRESSIVE - Get a quote today at Progressive.com. TALKSPACE - Visit talkspace.com and get $100 off your first month when you use promo code vine at sign-up. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Talkspace, visit Talkspace.com and get $100 off your first month when you use promo code Vine sign up. Hey, everybody. You're listening to Caitlin Bristow's podcast, Off the Vine. Take it away, Bree. Wine. Lots of wine. Hey, be on the mic, turn it up. Let's go.

Hey, ramen, Pino, ready for the show. Everyone's welcome. So come on in because OTV. to begin. Welcome to Off the Vine. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow. I'm definitely known to not shy away from talking about my period, aka my Karen, and all the ways it affects my body, my mind, my mood leading up to it.

We get into that. I am so excited to have Ashley Green, Corey, her married name, who played Alice Cullen in the Twilight series, but she does so much more. And her sister-in-law, Olivia, Corey, and we are diving deep into the period. and how it affects the body. They give us all sorts of tips and tricks. They co-founded a company called Hummingway. Hummingway sells research-backed menstrual care products designed to promote mind and body

wellness. They have a website with so much information and advisors. You have to check it out. I don't know one single person who enjoys getting their period, especially when they're painful, emotionally and physically and draining and throwing us all for some major effing hormonal highs and lows. But maybe we should learn to appreciate what our best. body does all. We'll get into all of that. We talk about something that is so stupidly still taboo for

some reason, but period pain, menstruation, and giving yourself what you truly need during the damn moon cycle. It was such a fun chat with both of them so informative. So get ready for the twilight zone. Huh. Period. See what I did there? Enjoy. Hello, loves. Hi. Hello. How are you guys? Hello. How are you guys? Guys. Good. How are you? So good. Thank you. One second. I am so cuted out right now by my fiancé. I have to tell you what he just said. One sec. I have to read it. So cute. Okay. I love when they're cute. I love it. It's a very rare occurrence. And I was like, I'm taking a screenshot and remembering this forever. Like when we talk about babies, he's like, I'm scared of babies, but like from six on I'm going to be great. And I was like, well, I love babies. So he's going to be. going to see one of my best friends in Nashville and they're doing like a Christmas celebration tonight and he gets to meet the baby. And he literally said to me, okay, I practice how to hold a baby today on a YouTube channel with a water bottle. That's freaking adorable. That's cute. That's cute.

He's so nervous. He's so nervous. And he, like, I was, this is one of my best, best friends. So I was like, you wear a mask around this baby. I don't care if you feel 100%. like you make sure you're feeling good and then he's like I practice with a YouTube video I'm like you are so cute right now did you also learn CPR while you're at it oh that's my husband is like the opposite where he's like get me babies I'm like just back off just give me a second but he's like so ready he's like I'm going to be the best dad ever and he's just very unafraid that's so cute see I love that oh I have major major baby fever but again I've been saying that for like 10 years so I need to calm down as well.

Hey, well, I feel like you're the busiest person alive, which I'm like, I don't even know you're like, I'm so proud of you, which is like, maybe you were to me to say, but I'm like, oh my God, you're absolutely crushing life right now and maybe the busiest person alive. Thank you. I just, one of my girlfriends just sent me a message being like, are you resting? And I'm like, I actually am. I'm busy, but I'm really good at shutting my brain off when it's time to sleep, which is nice. I have like the gift of sleep.

And so when it cut like 10 o'clock at night, I'm like, I'm out. done sleep it's well it's so important right like i didn't when i was in my 20s i was like i only need five hours of sleep and realize that i'm a much happier person when i get eight hours asleep like i was operating fine but yeah i mean i totally agree just function better as a human being you feel better i'm also on like day seven of not having wine which is really wild for me and like drinking green juice and i'm not really sure who i am or where i am right now but i feel pretty good so you feel like your insides are clean i feel like my insides are clean i feel like my are becoming clean, especially after doing a podcast tour. I'm like, I need, I need this.

But I'm so excited to have you both on the podcast. Thank you. Some people have put two and two together. I'm sure that your sister-in-laws. So Olivia, you, did you introduce Ashley to your brother? How did this work? No. We each other through my brother. Ashley and Paul. Paul's his name. They've been friends forever. So I've been new Ashley before they got together. It's a really good story, too. I don't know if we have time to tell it, but as shit. I want to know. No, go for it.

My story with Paul? Your story of meeting Paul. By the way, fun fact, I was super intimidated by Olivia before, like, when Paul and I first started dating, because I was like, oh, my God, is your sister going to like me? That stuff is real. Like, in any other circumstance, like, before we got together, I was like, oh, yeah, cool.

And then, like, as soon as we got together, I was like, oh, my God, what does she hates me? Totally. But we hate her. We don't. We love each other. We decided to marry ourselves. into a company but yeah paul and i were just homies for like five years so he moved into a house

with someone who i was also best friends with so i was like the one chick and there was like five or six dudes and it was very much like i was like you know you don't it's not really a better terms of this i'm like you don't in the friend circle like basically like this is how we're all homies and then he came into that group we became best friends and then like after a couple of years one day i just like he came i got my house and he came over for the first time alone without any of the dudes, and we talked for like two or three hours, and I was like, oh, yeah, I'm going to date you. And it just, like, shifted everything. What a beautiful foundation to start on as friends.

Like, that's so, I love, I think that's, like, so romantic when people start as friends and then fall in love. I think it's so sweet. Yeah. I always thought it was weird until it happened to me. Because I was like, how do you go from being platonic, truly? And then all of a sudden, you know, you want to make out with this person. But it's real. It happens.

I agree. I actually felt that way about Jason when I met him. I was always thinking in my mind that whoever he dated, I was like, oh, she's going to be so lucky. Like I always thought of him as like, I met him while I was going through a breakup. So I always put him in the friend zone. And it shifted for me too once we just like talked one time for the same thing. Like a couple hours, it just shifted something. And I was like, oh, wait, I don't actually want you to be with anyone else. I want it to be me. That girl is horrible for you. You don't want her. it is so it is really nice so it makes everything so much easier and i'm like we're the annoying people who are like oh yeah our relationship's pretty easy but i think it is because like we started with like him seeing me date you know guys and he dated girls and he saw me at my like wild side and then you know why it now so it's like it works yeah it's just like true it's true love what they say i want to just circle back because i don't even know if i said thank you when you said you were proud of me that actually meant a lot so thank you for saying that was

I'm so excited to talk to you both about what you've done because obviously I talk so openly about my cycle and the discomfort and pain I go through. And I know we did the giveaway between Do and Hummingway. And I told everyone I was going to be podcasting with the two of you to see if anyone had questions. Olivia, I'm sorry, but like the amount of questions about Twilight. I was like, I read something that someone said I was doing a live with someone. And in the comments, someone was like, I hate Twilight fans. This has nothing to do with Twilight because it was just like, you know, they're still so invested. But like, even when it has nothing to do with Twilight, they're like, what have you seen Jasper? And I'm like, it is kind of, for me, it's incredible because obviously I'm like, the fact that people still care this much is like, you know, we just went to a fan event, which I went with Jackson and Kellan. And it was like wild to still have people that are like shaking and so excited about these characters that we got to play. Oh my gosh. I mean, people, It was such an impactful, like, it started, I don't even know how to explain it, but I remember, okay, so I would, I lived in Vancouver and the cast, you guys filmed there, right? Yeah.

Yeah. So I, I remember serving, like, a bunch of you at restaurants, I remember serving, like, Robert at this restaurant, Earles. And I remember, like, I know Earls. You do? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay, so I used to work there. And then what I'm trying, the Opus Hotel, did you stay there?

I didn't stay there. He might have. Okay, because then a bunch of you came in and I served you there at this like club called 100 nights and everyone was so nice and I was like, that's, that's my memory. I like never got into the twilight thing back when it was, you know, 10 years ago. And I watched it like three years ago and went, I get it. I get it now. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. I did that with, by the way, I did that with Harry Potter recently. I was like, I don't know. Like I just don't naturally watch. I said if I, like, I just don't watch, like, films that I'm in, like, Twilight and Harry Potter and, like, any trilogy, like, I just, like, am not instantly, like, I want to go see that. Yeah. But I watched it over the pandemic and was like, oh, I get it.

Yeah. I like it. It's nice. It's nice because then you're like, yeah, exactly. I'm in it now. Okay. Well, tell us about how you both decided to get into business together and what got you excited to create Hummingway.

It started about three years ago. And I, for me, Olivia and I kind of have, like, our. are different stories of how we kind of met in the middle. But I got off every prescription that I was ever on. And one of those was hormonal birth control. And ironically, that was the one that, like, messed me up the most whenever I had to come off of something I'd been on for so long. And all of a sudden, I went from having, you know, I've been on birth control since I was,

like, 16. And so I never had any real symptoms. And then I got off of it and was like, oh, wow, okay. And, like, had every symptom. Like, I had hormonal acne. And I'd always had clear. skin and had no idea what to do with it. And I had crazy mood swings. God bless my husband for like being, you know, kind during those times. But like had, you know, and the cramps were unbearable.

And so like I kind of, you know, as you do go back to my healthcare provider and they were just kind of like, well, we can put you back on something that's hormonal or you could take acutane. And I was kind of like, well, what, like, is there anything natural? And why am I feeling this? Like, what is the root cause of the issue? And it was just very frustrating. And for me, super lonely and embarrassing, even though now I'm like, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, but at the time, I think so many of us, I'm, you know, almost 35. And so the fact that I had no idea what was going on inside my body as a woman, I was just really ashamed of it. And, and then I finally was just like, this is ridiculous and ended up asking Olivia, if she could kind of walk me through

some of the things that she's done, because she grew up in a very, she had a homeopath for a mother. Like I grew up kind of like Western medicine, Dr. DeVest, and she grew up as like, you heal yourself and you find out what's going on. And so I was kind of like, please help me. And so, and so, yeah, I kind of, that's how like we kind of started the team up and maybe you can kind of tell your side. Yeah, I think we just realized that there were so many people out there that all had different issues or experiences relating to their cycle. And there weren't a lot of answers out there. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which is PMDD. It's pretty much PMS on steroids.

It's essentially it's not a hormonal imbalance, which a lot of people think. It's a sensitivity to the hormone, just the natural hormone fluctuations that are happening in your body. And so I went to my doctor's similar story. They said, go on hormonal birth control. It'll balance your hormones, which we kind of now know that it doesn't. It just shuts them off completely. or mood stabilizers, and while that probably works for so many people, I came from like my mom

who I've never really taken any drug ever. So I knew that I was going to have to figure out a way to manage this holistically. So me and Ashley kind of, it kind of happened at the same time. So we decided to go on this journey together of finding ways to like balance our bodies through herbs, adaptogens, and then most importantly mapping our cycle, not just our period, but like all the different phases and events that happen and mapping our diet and our exercise, even our social schedule, our sex schedule to our cycle. And it kind of helped us so much that we wanted to share this knowledge with the world and like team up with medical advisors and just like learn more and take people on this journey of learning more about our bodies.

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That's Bolandbranch, B-O-L, and Branch.com. Promocode Vine 15. I just love, you know, normalizing conversation around periods, menstruation. The second that I opened up about it, I realize how many other women struggle with it. And I don't know, it's so crazy how, you know, It used to be so taboo. And even back, my mom would tell me back in like, I don't know what year it was, but they used to actually cover pads up with like brown paper bags because they like made so much shame around women have their periods. So obviously we've come a long way and still obviously have a long way to go with certain

things like that. But it's crazy that now we can like have a podcast and talk about it. And you can be like these female entrepreneurs who are just figuring it out and helping other people, do you feel like the conversation around periods has changed or do you still think it's a taboo topic for people? Listen, I think it is certainly shifting in the right direction. I still think as a natural resting state for most people, it is still a bit of a taboo thing. I found similarly that when, you know, myself or Olivia would talk to our peers about anything surrounding the menstrual cycle and we kind of told our stories, people opened up like floodgates.

So I feel like we're kind of in this space where people are still a bit shy to start the conversation most times is what I find. But then once we kind of we initiate, it's like, oh, my God, I experience this too or what's going on in my body or, you know, and we found too, like I've learned so much because we have kind of started this conversation that I didn't realize that the people who menstruate, you know, everyone is so different. And everyone has such different symptoms and they experience different things. And they're all pretty normal. it's just that we don't we don't talk about them so I think you know that's a long winded way of saying you know I think we're moving in the right direction but I think there's still a lot of work to be done yeah absolutely I'm I'm always just like curious I mean everybody's bodies are so different and we all go through such different things with that I get severely like

depressed when I'm on my period I have like my anxiety is way more like through the roof than usual I get like the crippling cramps and so many like awful things and I keep thinking like is this just clockwork is this something we have to go through every month because a lot of doctors are telling us well you either like go on birth control or these things and you know it's just part of like being a woman is it part of being a woman or is this what you are like trying to no yes no i mean yeah that's the the frustration is that i i think we were kind of program myself included to believe like you know it's a curse when you start your period and basically once you start it you have to deal with it for the rest of

life and you try as hard as you can to mask it with perfumes or this or that and small tampons that are carryable in the size of your hand like all of these things have conditioned us to believe it's something to be ashamed of or it's something that's taboo and condition us to believe that all of these symptoms we're experiencing are normal and are kind of there's no way around them and that's truly not the case it's just that there hasn't been enough time and effort and studies done there's I mean it's no secret now there's a huge gender data gap so there hasn't been enough work done in that space to be able to give us the answers we need, but no, but you experience these symptoms because there's some form imbalance. So if you can kind of, or most

of the time. Yeah. So, you know, if you can correct those imbalances, generally, like what I found with myself personally is I'm super sensitive to sugar and inflammatory diets. And if I change certain things in different phases of my cycle, generally my cramps are lesser. Like I can not kind of pinpoint and go, oh, these are the things that trigger me to have more or less severe cramps. And so it's, you know, it's, it was frustrating, but now once you start understanding it, it's really exciting to be able to kind of go, oh, I can control this now. Yeah, it's almost empowering because you're like, this is my body. I'm the one who has to understand it. So what do you recommend people do? Like, do we journal to figure out what kind of

foods and exercise and what kind of things, you know, affect our period? What, what are your suggestions for that? I would suggest first tracking your entire cycle. So whether that's clue or whether that's on a journal. I love clue. It's an incredible app. You can like, what is it? Clue? Clue. It'll change your life, truly. You can even put in, like, if you're meditating, you're sleeping, how much sex you're having, you know, any discharge symptoms, and it'll give you kind of information and feedback, and it'll help you track your cycle and figure out what phase you're in. And just to like break it down for cycle-sinking purposes, there's like four phases and it's menstruation, which kicks off everything. And so it's bleed to bleed.

And then after menstruation, you go into your follicular phase. And that's kind of when a lot of us might, like, feel like our best selves. When you have more energy, our estrogen is like increasing. So that's when I do a lot of hit workouts or try to take podcasts. And then ovulation is when you feel kind of sexier. A lot of people like to think. You have a lot of estrogen. For me personally, I actually experience a lot of pain because when the egg is coming out of the follicle, it actually ruptures.

And so I actually have been used. using our product during ovulation as well. And then after ovulation, it's the ludial phase. And that's when a lot of us experience that PMS, that extreme depression. And so doing things with your exercise and your nutrition and eating differently, exercising differently, socializing differently, and just having this general awareness, it sounds like a little crazy, but I swear to you will change it so much instead of just being like, oh, I'm so crazy.

Why is this happening? And then just getting your period the next day, you know. You're like, okay, these feelings are temporary. I can handle this. I know what's going on in my body. And that alone will make you feel like so much better mentally. And I can speak from that. So that alone.

You don't even have to do that much work. Just track your period. And then get into it. Yeah. Yeah. I found in the last probably two years I've been really invested in having more knowledge about my body and my cycles because I've noticed. I haven't been on birth control since I was like 25.

and I just have been suffering so bad that in the last two years, I'm like, I got to take control and you're right. Just even tracking it has helped me feel not so crazy or more aware of what's going on in my body and the timing and everything that's going on. And I'm obsessed with your quote, get up and go, isn't always the right medicine. Because over the years, I just feel like we've all been conditioned to just power through, power through. And we need to listen to our bodies and hormones.

I have, you know, the benefit of kind of controlling my mind. schedule most of the time. So I have, you know, the privilege to let my body rest and stay in bed or do what I need to do for my body. But what do people do when they have these go, go, go careers or they can't just shut it off and relax? Yeah, I mean, I think that everyone's so different. And that's why, you know, getting in touch with your own body is so important. And that's why for some people, birth control might make sense or getting an IEP might make sense. Or if you do have more time on your hands and you can put a lot of focus into your cycle or you make it your living like we did, then you can do that. So I think it's like so subjective and really

figuring out what works best for you. And so I think that there's just having more awareness and even if you are busy and you are on the go, just checking in with yourself. That's why we even have like a check in section on our website where you can kind of put in how you're feeling. And then our advisors will like give you advice. And it's really nice. Just I think even if you are super busy, like we have time to put facial serums on we have time to you know take a shower so just like take a second to check in with your vagina and your body and all the good thing yeah feel supported that's so incredible i mean we've touched on how you got into business together but i don't think we exactly said what hummingway is yeah so you know hummingway is as a whole company that aims to kind

of rewrite how we deal with reproductive health and the way that we aim to do that is by offering non-toxic solutions for menstrual cycle symptoms that really look at targeting the root cause of an issue. And then the other part to it is we have an educational platform called the regular. And so we wanted to provide solutions that we're going to be good for your body and we're going to kind of look at what's causing the initial issue. But we also found that one of the biggest issues is the lack of education and the misinformation and the stigma surrounding it. And so we really wanted to kind of be a two-prong company that also gives you this platform that we have a medical advisory. We work with a lot of different specialists and made sure to kind of scientifically

back and fact check everything. But then take that and then put it in something that is approachable and that is digestible for people. Because I think that's the other thing too is that, you know, there is a lot of information out there and it can be confusing and it can feel overwhelming. And so our goal is to go, you know, we're going to do the work here and give you things you know that you can trust that make them approachable and make you excited about being your own health advocate. So I think it's, you know, I'm not saying Western Madison is bad and doctors certainly aren't bad, but I will say that they are not set up and don't have the bandwidth to be able to research your body and tell you what is really going on inside. And so if we can kind of act as that

middle round and that buffer of saying, okay, here you go, learn about yourself, write them down, go to your doctor, be your own health advocate, you will likely have a much more successful visit. And you also have period patches. Yes. Tell me about these, because I have them packed in my bag, ready to go. It should be in about T-minus four days now. Can't wait. Yeah, no, for sure. So as you'll see, they're transdermal patches.

You can kind of figure out what works best for you, whether you want to use one or two or four, depending on how, you know, your pain is. And it's a transdermal patch that has CBD, lemongrass, which is that amazing smell, ginger, menthol and black pepper. And they all kind of work together to help push that main pain relieving ingredient, which is CBD through the body. So you can feel pain relief sooner. I think a lot of the times when we were in our research, we were taking a lot of supplements. And while that was great, again, if you're super busy and you just don't have time to do that, you want to feel pain relief soon. So that's why we decided to do transdermal because it'll go directly into your bloodstream and you'll

feel that relief. And so that's that's them. You can sweat and shower with them. They last 24 hours. Don't wear it over 24 hours. And then recently I mentioned earlier, I'm now using mine during ovulation for anyone out there who I've now realized so many people experience ovulation pain. You can use it twice, twice a month, which is great. So it's really a cycle, a cycle patch, the cycle suitor. That's her. That's amazing. Yeah, that's a game changer right there. And let's talk about discharge for a second because a lot of people have felt shame around that as well when really that's, isn't it a good thing and your body's doing what it's supposed to do if you have discharge? Yeah. And especially around, you know, when you're ovulating

is when, you know, I'm excited to see that because I know that my body's doing what it's supposed to, right? And so like, but for the longest time, I actually just listened to someone else's podcast and she was like, I've been ashamed of the thing that's going to help me get pregnant because we you know no one teaches us this way but basically that discharge especially around ovulation is what takes the sperm brings up and allows you a lot of pregnancy to happen and so there's a lot that you can also learn about your body with discharge it really is kind of you know they say now that the period is a fifth vital sign and I think your discharge plays into that and can tell you if you have infection or or you know if you're healthy or anything else that's

going on so yeah discharge is not a bad thing guys that's some of my girlfriends will be like yeah i don't ever wear underwear i'm like how wait how do not wear underwear that can not happen for me and i'm okay with it but i just never understood that yeah i have some friends like that too and i'm like good for you you're probably just a much more free human than i am but i'm with you we're like i need i need to point to yourself yeah yeah i was like i'm not going to call you out but if you're if you're pointing to yourself olivia she's like damn it kately don't call me up this is a podcast i was pointing myself because i wasn't going to say it out loud it's okay it's okay I don't care. It's fine. She's a free being.

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Visit Talkspace.com and get up to $100 off your first month when you use promo code Vine, sign up. That's $100 off at Talkspace.com, promo code Vine. I always wonder why I don't take a more holistic approach to my whole life because I do it for my dogs. And I am so set on doing that for my dogs. And I'm like, why am I not paying more attention to what I put into my own body in that way? And I mean, it is partly how you grow up, of course. But I always wonder, I'm very open about being on medicine for anxiety. And it's changed my life. And, you know, sometimes that can work for people. And sometimes it doesn't. But I also am starting to realize that.

all of my anxiety and depression does come around my period. So I'm wondering if there's a way for me to even cut down or like the amount I take or eventually not be on it and just be able to control, you know, that time of the month for me and how that makes me feel. I just wonder if there's a world where I could do that. Have you ever talked to your doctor, whether, you know, whoever it is about PMDD and the possibility of having it? Because oftentimes, like, if you have like a mood disorder.

order. Like I was almost diagnosed for like bipolar, but it wasn't the same because it would happen like clockwork right before my period. And so that was the main thing that was telling me, okay, this is related to your menstrual cycle and it's not just like all the time. And that was really helpful. And then, you know, we're working towards making more products that help with mood related issues. But for me, like my biggest savior that helps a lot with my mood is adaptogens and magnesium. Again, it's really hard. If you're like really on the go and like really setting up this kind of ritual for yourself, but it's worth it if you want to kind of lean yourself off any sort of medication you're taking or do like a hybrid, which you're kind of saying you might

want to do. Yeah. Really helpful. Yeah. I think that's interesting to try for myself just because I have noticed, okay, no, I'm not like, I'm not like this all the time. And I mean, no shame around people who are like that, you know, feeling like that all the time. But mine's definitely hormonal but um i haven't i don't know why but i haven't talked to my doctor about that but so many people have suggested that to me because i have all of the symptoms of that it down to like i did a instagram post today about the chin hairs that i get like i get here in random freaking areas where i'm like what is how long too right they just grow out of nowhere yeah my hair grow like Like all of a sudden an inch will grow out of my chin and it takes me a year to grow an inch out of my head.

I don't get it. I feel you on that. Yeah. I think it's definitely something worth looking into for sure because it does sound like if it's specific around when your period comes that that very well could be. And like we're kind of working also with different partners at Hummingway to like we did something with Open that practice breathwork and like, you know, meditation and not everything. Because I was on colonnipin for a long time and finally was like, again, the same realization. where I was like, I haven't ever looked at what is really causing these, like, what is triggering these and what am I doing or not doing? And, you know, worked really hard, but was able to come off

that. Again, this is not saying that everyone can, because I know there's certainly different levels of anxiety, but mine were generally, like, triggered by something. I wasn't like in an anxious state all the time. But, but yeah, it's definitely, it's pretty cool what you're capable of if you just stop and pay attention to yourself and your mind and your body. And I think we are in such a space. Listen, this is the one positive probably the thing that COVID did is that I think it forced people to really stop and breathe for a second. And like I realized I was in this rat race and like putting myself in that position too. Like I made the choice. But I was just like, wow, why are you overworking yourself and feeling like you have to constantly be able to go? Like just breathe for a second.

And all of a sudden I was like all of these things I was dealing with started to kind of dissipate. Yeah. Isn't it nice when you can that is, I always said that there's always a silver lining and that people can see that from COVID, everyone was forced to, you know, take a back seat to the craziness and be like, okay, I have to sit down and sit with myself. A lot of people got to know themselves better in that time. And I think that was obviously a really important time to do that. There's so many myths and facts out there about your period. So I have a little period myth or fact buster, whatever you want to call it, between the two of you. And I'm just so curious about some of these questions. So I have the right answer, I think. So I'm going to see if you two know,

but myth or fact, you can't get pregnant while on your period. I would say that you can't. I don't think you can. So you can't, technically, you're only really most fertile around ovulation, which typically is between one to three days. I know on Clue, it gives me six days of when I'm most fertile. And I personally, I've never been on birth control. So I've always used tracking my cycle as a form of birth control and knock on wood. And so I'm going to go ahead and say myth. What's, we have a live. I'm like, there's like always, there's always like an exemption. And I'm like, great, we're going to be screwed. But like in my, in my humble opinion, myth. No, it is, it is, yeah, you're right. Right. You can't, you cannot get pregnant on.

Or maybe, I don't know which way you, you, if that is in your sex, fact, then, right? You can't get pregnant on your period, fact. It says it's a myth, but I think that's because there's like an exception. Like maybe somebody was just like spotting and thought they were on their period. That was a dumb one. Let me go to the next. Well, I have to say that.

Well, let's ask one of our advisors on an IG live. We'll keep that question for someone. Yeah, for sure. Because the internet is a dark hole and it never tells you. Well, and that is true. Like, if you are, if you are kind of like spotting the period and you're not actually, or mid-cycle, and you're not on your period, and then you think you are and you have sex, then you can get pregnant.

Very true. Okay, yeah, ask you to one of your advisors. Okay, this says you should not wear a tampon during your first period, nor should you, if you're a virgin. Not true. False. Myth. Yeah, that's a myth.

Okay. But I've heard that. Let me, we're going to circle back to that one and tell you about my first tampon experience later. Oh, okay. Is this a little confession you might have for me? it could be okay great i have so many confessions but oh i love that we we will i'll make time for all of them okay your period can actually get worse when it's colder weather

i don't know that's cool though okay i mean i feel like heat does a help with your symptoms sometimes if you you know we obviously hot baths and hot water bottles so perhaps you would feel it more But I don't think it doesn't actually, like, control the amount of prostaglandins that are produced inside your body. You just might be more aware. Yes, you're right. Exactly. I'm like, screw the internet. You guys have the facts here.

Okay. On average, you will spend nearly 10 years of your life on your period. I'd have to do the math. Probably. Sounds right. It is a fact. It depends how long you live for, but I think it sounds right. Yeah.

The average woman has about 450 periods in her lifetime. you would think we would know more about them you would think we would have better options yeah menstrual sinking aka getting your period at the same time as the people you spend time with has been found to be mostly coincidence i think that's true yeah i think it's true yeah dark chocolate can actually help us on our periods dark chocolate helps everything all the time so i'm gonna go with yes it is it says it's a fact it's says it's rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, and that means it can help a bit to ease period cramps, but let's use the patches too.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Or not as you will feel the impact. Yeah. Okay, now I need to hear your confession. I can't go on without knowing the tampon story. So because, like, we had, I, like, heard this that, like, if you were a virgin and, like, you use the tampon, that it would take away your very.

her identity and my mom was kind of like I don't know like we didn't like really go on deaf and talk about these things like she definitely never was like be a shame but like we didn't really openly discuss menstruation periods tampons um so of course she gave me a pad on the tampon but I was like I want to use a tampon because I'm a cheer I don't know I was like active so I decided to do it on my own definitely didn't read the directions so and so I just like put the tampon like I was like I'm not shoving this up me so I just like put it in between my the lips and then like put my panties on and like was going in my day and first of all I was so sore because like you're not just supposed to have that but then obviously it like didn't work and it was just a really

horrible experience all together and I have never really told me on that but I was like this is we should though because I would imagine that other people have had this experience if you just don't know where it's supposed to go what you're supposed to do and you've never had anything up up there oh I know I always think about that and it's such a fragile age to like ask for help or especially if your parents come from a generation where they didn't talk about it, where they were made to feel shame around it. And that's what's obviously going to be great about our next generation because my mom was really, my mom like sat outside the door and coached me through everything.

And she was like, literally was like, I'll come in there if you want. And I was like, no, mom. But that isn't the case for, you know, a lot of people. So I think that that's, you're probably not alone on the where to put a tampon story. And I'm sure so many other people have one similar to that. yeah we should put that actually like do something on our our site to to help just like diagrams and like because i don't know like my first instinct was not to read the directions in the box i didn't even i don't know i didn't think about it nor would those directions have really helped me that much i think they would have been confusing yeah especially i don't even think um like sometimes girls at that age don't even know there's two different holes one that you pee out of one that you would put a tamp on in or have sex with like you wouldn't know at that age oh yeah that you know where to even put it or how it's yeah they make it very uh i know and i know now i recently had to uh learn how to use a menstrual cup and that was like a whole other journey for me but i haven't tried yet and i want

to so badly but i feel like this is just my experience but if my i have my period it i can't even use a super tampon because that gives me so much like my cramps are so much worse so i'm scared to put something like that up there if it's going to make anything worse i actually and this is my experience but it because tampons also give me i feel like worse cramps and this like it's like a it puts like the pressure in the right places i feel like and so it actually relieves my cramps a bit more which i didn't anticipate it's good to know and it's just like i feel like it's what okay like the idea of like having to like insert it and like do all that everyone's like oh my god gross But I will say the cleanliness level, like once, you know, you get everything in and wash your hands is so much better than a tampon.

Oh, is it? Yeah, there's nothing that, like, comes out. There's no string and worry about it to pee. Like, it's kind of genius. Right. There's a website, too, called Put a Cup in it. That kind of asks you a bunch of questions to kind of figure out what cup might be the best for you because you don't want to, like, get a cup too big because there's cups for people like that have already had babies and they might use a bigger one. You don't want to accidentally use one that's too big for you.

And then you're like, no, I'm never trying this again. So it is good to just do like a bit of research. I suggest silicone too is a personal fave. And also period underwear, we were talking about COVID. I discovered that in COVID, which was really great for me to like free bleed and actually feel it. Because I feel like I'm, you know, I just turned 30 and I've never really felt the blood come out of my body. And that was really incredible experience. I had that in my questions to ask you about.

period underwear because I was like just so curious to know if that like for head is there ones for heavy normal light everything everything they've and they've come a long way oh wow yeah and then tell me what was the site about the cup again put a cup in it put a cup in it okay okay so good put a cup in it put a cup in it I love it that's amazing um okay so a couple people had questions I don't know if Olivia you have a confession he wanted to share a Yes, she does. Yeah. I do.

It was funny because, like, when they asked me to think of an embarrassing story, I, like, don't get embarrassed, which is why I'm a great person to always talk about periods. Like, all my friends now are like, I have a problem with my period. I'm like the period friend. Totally. This story was really embarrassing at the time. Now, in retrospect, it's not because I learned something new about my body. But I had a new sexual partner.

And after the first few times we had sex, I, you know, would come home and notice this really, you know, fishy, fishy smell, like even through my pants. And it was itchy and there was just something going wrong. So I went to my OBGYN and I had a bacterial vaginosis because the new sexual partner threw off my pH. And so he gave me antibiotics. And I really liked this guy. So I was like, I typically don't take antibiotics, but I was like, give them to me. I want this to go away fast. But then antibiotics killed all the bacteria in my body. So I got a yeast infection. Then once I got rid of that. I got the BB again. And so this happened for like a month and a half until I got on the internet and I was like, and this was a while ago, I was on a deep Reddit thread and discovered

boric acid, which is like a natural chemical compound of boron that kind of acts as an antifungal. And it's a suppository for it. So everyone out there listening, make sure you put it in, don't swallow it. And it was the magic pill. And it was funny because like I just, this guy thought I was playing hard to get, but like really, I just couldn't hang out with him because you could just smell me from a mile away. And it was so embarrassing. And the fact that, you know, I don't know how long ago this was, but it wasn't just like, what do you do for a BV and all these natural things popped up? At one point, I did a tampon in a probiotic and tried to put it in me. So it was a journey. And I also did read that like, you know, there's a lot of people out

there, a lot of women out there who this was going on for like six months. And they couldn't figure out a way to get rid of it. And it's just really important to kind of like, you know, be in tune with yourself or go to the doctor because if you do go a long time with the BV, it can lead to reproductive health issues. So I just wanted to tell that one to help anyone out there. It's okay if you stink. Just like, go get it.

It's okay. Well, okay, I don't know if you saw me just nodding my head. I did. I did. That same thing happened to me. Exactity, I was, I think I was 12. 21 or 22, exact same thing. And I know I told some of this story on my podcast years ago.

So I don't know if people will remember or not. But that same thing happened to me. And I am such an open book that I told this guy that I was with. I was like, something that's happening down there. Like I can't and I need to take a pill. And I went on this antibiotic. Same thing happened. I got a yeast infection.

And he broke up with me because he thought I was lying to him and thought I had an STD. And I was trying to take a pill. and like get rid of an STD. And he was like, just tell me the truth. And I was like, oh, my God, bacterial vaginosis, I swear. He's like, that sounds made up. That's not real.

And it was because you were having sex with him. With him. It was his fault. Yeah, jokes on him. It was his fault. Yeah. Yeah, that exact same thing. I went through the whole thing.

And then I got a yeast infection and then the BV came back. It was the whole thing. I was going to this little walking clinic in Vancouver every like couple weeks. just being like, what is going on with me? And I was like, all my, at the time I was dancing and all my dancer friends were like, yeah, you smell. And I was like, I know. And I was like telling them so well, I was the one being like telling them everything. But oh my gosh, it's so, I'm glad you told that story because I bet so many people have suffered from that. And also, Ashley, weren't you on punked? Yes. That's also an embarrassing.

Did you get punked because I don't remember seeing it, but I just did my research and it said you were on punked. Yeah. Well, so I, a long time ago, one of my first acting gigs, I punked Justin Long with Jonah Hill and I was like one of the paid actors for it. And I was so nervous. But then after like Jonah or Jess Long was like, I thought you actually were nice and liked me. I was like, I am a nice person, I swear, but I also punched your ass. But it was, it was great. And then years later, one of my friends punked me, but they never ended up airing it.

But they, like, destroyed a, like, car for it. It was bad. I think it might have been one of the more expensive ones that they did. And they never aired it? What a waste of budget. I know. I was like, damn, all right, can I get that car? Like, that's crazy.

Like, they dropped it basically, like, when we were in the restaurant, they act like someone I come out to like tell my car and took it up and while I was talking them it just like on the ground and I was like be cool be cool be cool be cool yeah well I was just like I mean I like I get very like when I like I think I'm one of those people like when I have high adrenaline I just get like really still and calm and like you know and like if I've been like a car wreck or whatever like I'm not human like I don't like scream about it so I was just kind of like wanted to throw up and like scream at everybody but was just like don't you're in public also and people know who you are so hold it together probably why they didn't air it

they're like she was way too calm yeah you you're um like on location filming something right now right me no i am done for the year i was in europe um amazing yeah i went to europe for like part work part play but i took my my mom my dad and paul all went up and did the whole european thing yeah it was incredible i was like yeah but we were just talking Olivia and I about like you go on vacation and I was exhausted when I got back because we did so many things but it was because they had my Paul my mom my dad have all never been to Europe so I was like oh my God we're going to do this and this and like a little A type so I like set everything up and like there were tours and dinners and breakfasts and all this stuff and they were like oh we love an A type

I am so the opposite but I need those people in my life because you're amazing thank you My hotel was always like, you need to just relax. It'll all just happen how it's supposed to. And I'm like, it happens because I plan it. Yes. Yes, that's so true. We all need one of those friends. Okay, last question before I let you go, and this is kind of for me.

How do you explain things to your partner about your moods and about PMS and about all of the cycle? Like how, I'm sure actually your website could actually help with that. Oh, yeah. That's definitely something we want to expand into to have like a section four. or people's partners or parents or whoever's surrounding the person with the uterus. But we, I mean, Paul really had no choice because his sister and his wife decided to embark on this journey. But I think it's about like, if you can explain to your partner or wherever is around you that them understanding these things will help with the relationship as a whole was

helpful for Paul. So I was like, listen, I'm sorry that I act this way at this time, but like now I can because I can understand it. I was like, this is what's going on. And he kind of feels empowered now that he knows when he's like, oh, you're a ludial face. Like he gets where I'm at when I'm there. And so it feels good for him to be able, you know, to be supportive with that. So for me, it's been a really great experience. You just have to, you know, hopefully the person that you're with is understanding enough and open-minded enough to kind of, you know, speak about these things. It took Jason a while, but he understands it so, like, I mean, it's still hard because I really, am you know responding in different ways reacting in different ways you know it's so hard but at the

same time it's nice for him to not feel like it's his fault or be defensive like even for them to just understand or acknowledge helps so much yeah definitely and like start positioning it and this is what I think we should we should do with you know young people is like position this is like a really incredible experience that your body goes through and like recognize and highlight what we are capable of and that we create life within us. But with that comes these fluctuations and these hormones. And so, you know, having people understand that and be kind and considerate towards that. For me, it's been really helpful.

I love that. That's really beautiful. I love that. And tell everybody where they can, you know, go to your website, Instagram, all those things. Yeah, we're at our hummingway.com. And it's definitely more than just like a page you can shop. We have like Ashley said, our educational platform, the regular. we have our cycle check-in quiz and then definitely follow us on our Instagram, which is our

Honeyway as well. And we have tons of IG lives. And yeah, just follow along. We're like creating in a community. It's more than just a product. It's a community. So join us. I'm, I love this. And I know Ashley said I'm getting you're proud of me, but I'm proud of both of you and so excited because I'm going to join the community and be a part of that. Is there a certain time that you go live or is it just different all the time? It's different all the time again because like they're all doctors. We have to like kind of work around their schedule. Tomorrow is 1 p.m. PST with an OBGYN. And she's absolutely incredible. Yeah. So just follow along. Yeah. I'm going to tune in and follow along because I am quarantined here for a few more days. And I am so fascinated and love now this kind of information and

just like getting to know myself more and more every time. So thank you for what you do. And thank you for coming on the podcast today. It was so great to talk about you and finally see you in person on Zoom. Your face. Yeah. No, thank you so much. We were so so excited about this. And I know you're crazy all over the place, but we are so excited to live in here. So thank you so much. And one of these days, we will have a glass of wine together. Yes, I would love that. I would love that. I'll be back a lot. Because you're in L.A., right? Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Thank you both so much. Thank you. I'm Caitlin Bristow. I'll see you next Tuesday.

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