The Menstruality Podcast - 125. Wild Power #6: The Inner Seasons of the Menstrual Cycle (Alexandra & Sjanie)

Episode Date: January 9, 2024

Welcome to our sixth Wild Power conversation. These ‘round-the-kitchen-table’ chats with Alexandra and Sjanie were first released in 2017 when we published Wild Power: Discover the Magic of the Menstrual Cycle and Awaken the Feminine Path to Power. They unpack the book’s teachings through powerful, practical and funny real-life stories and examples. Episode six is all about the  inner seasons of your menstrual cycle - where the initiatory action takes place. We call it the workhorse of your journey to come home to your Wild Power. In this episode you’ll:- Learn about the inner seasons of your cycle and the natural powers they hold- How to get into gear with them to capitalise on those powers- And how awareness of the inner seasons can reveal your strengths and vulnerabilities---Registration is now open for our 2024 Menstruality Leadership Programme. You can explore the curriculum here: https://www.menstrualityleadership.com---The Menstruality Podcast is hosted by Red School. We love hearing from you. To contact us, email [e-mail]---Social media:Red School: @redschool - https://www.instagram.com/red.schoolSophie Jane Hardy: @sophie.jane.hardy - https://www.instagram.com/sophie.jane.hardy

Welcome to the Menstruality Podcast, where we share inspiring conversations about the power of menstrual cycle awareness and conscious menopause. This podcast is brought to you by Red School, where we're training the menstruality leaders of the future. I'm your host, Sophie Jane Hardy, and I'll be joined often by Red School's founders Alexandra and Sharni as well as an inspiring group of pioneers, activists, change makers and creatives to explore how you can unashamedly claim the power of the menstrual cycle to activate your unique form of leadership for yourself, your community and the world. Hey, welcome back to the podcast. I hope your landing into 2024 is going as well as it possibly

can. And I'm excited today to get back to sharing this wild power series bonus series with you and today is episode six of eight and it's all about something which is really the backbone of menstruality of menstrual cycle awareness which is the inner seasons of the menstrual cycle so just as a reminder alexandra and sharni recorded this series of eight conversations actually back in 2017 when they first published their first book Wild Power and in it they unpack the book's teachings to help you to harness the power of the menstrual cycle and these conversations have been sitting in an old folder and we realized that they're so full of gold and we really wanted to share them with you. I'm very curious to hear how they're landing so if you'd like to let me, I always love to hear from you at sophie at redschool.net. And a little note again, just in

case you haven't listened to any of this series yet, the audio quality isn't as good as usual on the podcast. So please bear with us. And also we recorded these before we embrace more inclusive language around the menstrual cycle. So when Alexandra and Sharni say women, know that they're referring to women and everyone who has a menstrual cycle. Okay, I'll hand you over now to the wonderful Sharni Hugo-Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope for episode six of our Wild Power series. In our last episode, we explored the basic energy pattern underlying the menstrual cycle, and we introduced you to the two creating currents, the via positiva, which is connected to the first half of the cycle, and is what we call the way of the masculine, and the via negativa, which is connected to the second half of the cycle and is the way of the feminine.

And these two creating currents give rise to what we call the inner seasons of your menstrual cycle. And these inner seasons really hold the gold on your initiatory journey, on getting to know yourself. This is like the workhorse of your menstrual journey. And so we're going to unpack those four inner seasons today. Shani, would you like to begin by describing the four seasons, what we're referring to here? Yeah, so this is really a lens that you can view your cycle experience through. And we're going to map out how the phases of the cycle relate to the seasons as we describe them.

So I'm going to give you specific days, but please know that it isn't this specific as we all have different cycles and that our cycles vary from month to month. It's more about really noticing your own shift in energy. It's an energetic or a felt sense of when you're moving from one season to another. But hopefully as I go through and describe it, this will just give you something to begin working with. So let's start with menstruation. This is what we call your inner winter. And inner winter really begins a couple of days before bleeding and lasts throughout the time of menstruation. So that could be,

depending on how long you bleed, roughly day five might be when it ends. Then the inner spring is the pre-ovulatory phase of your cycle. So that starts from when you're finished bleeding and goes roughly to about day 11, day 12 of your cycle. Following that is the ovulatory time of your cycle, which we call your inner summer. So that's roughly day 12 to about day 19. And then the premenstruum, which we call fondly your inner autumn. And that is day 19 up until you return to your inner winter. So a couple of days before bleeding. So that will give you a kind of clear overview of these different phases as we describe them. So shall we begin, Alexandra, by just describing the kind of natural tendencies that we have in each season and the kinds of powers that tend to be present in these seasons

for us? Why don't we begin with inner winter, which is where it all begins and where it all ends. Yes, that's a good one, Shani. Let's begin there. So at menstruation, our tendency is to be more inner, to be more withdrawn into ourselves and you'll probably notice you have a greater need to chill to do nothing and you might just want to drift around and lie around and not have to attend to things and this is as it should be of course often we're not able to do this but actually that's a very healthy need and it is classically the great archetypal rest moment on the cycle really isn't it shani it's the moment we we rest and repair and remember who we are because you know when we go out into the world we kind of lose bits of ourselves we forget you know we get caught up in things and it's the place where

you come back to check in and just check how you're doing and and recover yourself and put yourself back together again and remember who you are and remember what's really really important for you these are the kind of key tendencies of this time. So think of it as a time where you kind of cleanse yourself of the month that's gone. You get to kind of clean the slate, which is so amazing that we can have this every month. And then you get a chance to just completely let go and rest. And in that resting, begin the renewal. In that resting, you're repairing things and then you're beginning the renewal process. And you are remembering who you are.

So there's this lovely revelatory quality to menstruation. Yeah. Is there anything you'd like to add to that, Shani? It's, I think the inner winter metaphor is such a good one for the season because just like in nature where you, on the surface, see not much happening, it looks like everything almost looks dead. Below the ground, below the surface, there is all this reparation and restoration happening happening and it's very much the same that's happening for us at menstruation on one hand we do nothing ideally

we kind of looks like oh sorry i just have to go in there on that do nothing i think really do nothing is absolutely the motto of menstruation. You know, it's all this rest and recreation happens because you're doing nothing. It's like the take-home message, isn't it? Yeah, completely. That is the key, do nothing. And do nothing and know that behind the scenes, in the background, there is this incredible bounty that you're receiving. You are in a profoundly receptive state and your whole system is being repaired, rewired, renewed. You are being put back together in the best possible way. As you said, Alexandra, you're coming back to yourself.

I like to think of menstruation as home base. It's like plug back in to me, to what really matters and fill my tank. You know, it's the pit stop in the menstrual cycle, the place where we come to be recharged, have our tank filled so that we can then go out into the cycle full and connected and full and with purpose and full and with meaning. So it's really, as you said, do nothing is the motto. And in doing nothing, you will receive the gifts of this season. Okay, so now our tank is refueled and we've remembered who we are, Shani. We're now getting out of menstruation, the inner winter of our cycle,

and we're going to move into the inner spring of our cycle. And Shani, what for you as a menstruating woman, you can speak for the archetypal woman now. What are you noticing as the signature tune of the inner spring? It's a word you often use, which I really relate to, is this rising affirmation. That's kind of quite central to this season for me is this rising affirmation, this feeling of yes, of possibility, of hope, of kind of renewed dignity.

It's a very sweet time and I feel I feel my lightness I feel quite unencumbered if I have bled well this season can feel really liberated I can feel very free and playful and willing to try stuff. Willing is a good word actually for the season. I've seen some of this. Yeah and also there's a lovely, I want to say, excitable energy. You know it's almost a little bit intoxicating. You've got to be, you know, as this

new life starts to surge through you it it's like a shiver almost. There's an interesting, I don't know what the word is, but when you come out of menstruation, I can't find the right word here, but as you come out of menstruation, you're still vulnerable. So initially in the inner spring, there there is a vulnerability but because of this sort of rising new life that generally speaking that vulnerability is can be managed and can be positive because there's a you have an openness you have a positivity cynicism hasn't arrived yet you know cynicism will sneak in in in autumn, won't it, Shani? So you really have a clean slate and you've got hope and you're optimistic.

And there's almost a little bit of a sort of Pollyanna-ish energy in the most lovely of senses. Isn't there? Yeah, that's very well described. Actually, I love the way you describe the entry into spring and how that vulnerability allows you to really let the full flow of this rising energy through you. It is, yeah, it's wonderful. It's wonderful that. a feeling of motivation, natural motivation and enthusiasm. I feel quite driven. It's really helpful. You know, as you said, this energy can be quite intoxicating, and it is quite a charge to hold, this kind of surge that comes up through, you know, through you.

And I found it really helpful to have something to kind of, somewhere to direct that energy because naturally you feel driven. So it's just a question of where are you driving to. So it really helps to kind of have or to find some sort of focus. And I think focus does naturally come to you in the season. If, you know, if you can be present to it, focus can arise. Like through that experimentation and inquiry and curiosity that's very present here, focus can naturally arise.

Yeah. Oh, it's very, very lovely and precious. And the quality of innocence is, I think, at the heart of it. That you've got an innocence again. And that's so priceless to cherish, that innocence. Gosh, if I was to say, you know, what's the catch cry of this phase? It's, you know, care for that innocent self because it's that self that is willing to go, yeah, why not? Why can't we do that? Because the old cynic isn't around now you have to come

yeah you could you see what yeah you can be really kind of uh foolhardy is that the right every every creative project needs a little foolhardiness to get off the ground so really cherish that uh lovely foolhardiness and so on and then you've got that as you say that natural motivation and focus to kind of really support you it's a super energy okay so now we've we've been moving through the inner spring shani and that initial vulnerability we've had is sort of strengthening more and more now and we're kind of stabilizing ourselves in this lovely fresh energy and now we're going to kind of just cross that line into the inner summer and I think I'm actually going to put it over to you because of course you're living

it in such a vivid way you know as an menstruating woman so I'll ask you to set off you know to do the initial thing on the inner summer just before we get into exploring inner summer I want to pause the conversation for a moment to share another story from one of the graduates of our menstruality leadership program this is really to give you a sense of what the program can bring if you're curious to come and join us this year in 2024. So today we're hearing from Kate Shepard-Cohen who's the founder of Menstrual Cycle Support which is the world's first non-clinical menstrual health service to be offered on referral through the GP surgery in the UK, which is absolutely amazing. So the doors to the 2024 menstruality leadership program, which starts

in March, are now open and there's a special early bird price which ends on February the 1st. There's a webinar that you can watch to get a taste of the program it's at menstrualityleadership.com okay I'll hand you over to Kate for a couple of minutes before we get back into the conversation with Alexandra and Shani hearing the information the cycle work as Alexandra and Shani teacher just gave me that safe holding to experience my trauma and so I started you know just that kind of penny drop moment of of the seasons of the cycle reframing the cycle as something that is positive and actually something to embrace and that it's your friends it completely changed I mean it completely changed my worldview. I mean, it completely revolutionized

every way I think about pretty much everything from my body, my mental health, how I operate in life, how I access my creativity, how I can be with my children and my partner and my family. It was a completely new worldview view and so it was completely life-changing and actually I feel like we're part of a wave that is going to be explored for generations and generations to come it's really exciting to be part of that at any stage you know to be part of and of this profound philosophy that is coming out of the red school in terms of cyclical living in terms of menstrual rest in terms of the void and seeing how that manifests actually practically speaking in the lives of those who've actually gone through the program

it's just incredible to see how it's now coming out in the form of the movement in all of the different fields. The word you use there, kind of stabilising yourself in this energy, I think that's quite significant because that rise and the dynamic rush that happens in the in the spring i think you start to kind of um land with it you sort of start to feel your way with it and the climate ties to it almost and begin to stabilize yourself with it so for me by the time it comes to summer i have a feeling of being much more grounded in myself and much more um stabilized like i've arrived like like uh actually it's like being carried by a river i have that feeling of um

i am now resting in the current in the flow there's a real sense of flow here, kind of a harmony and an ease. So I feel like I'm just going with the flow and in the magic. I'm in the stream. I'm in the groove. There's a feeling of rhythm and yeah, rhythm is actually quite a strong one there. It's like that feeling of being in the beat or being in the pulse this is lovely kind of movement that is effortless that i'm feeling held by so that quality of stabilizing i think is quite important um what alexandra you've spoken to so many women about this what are what are some of the other things that women say about this season you that come up with everything that you have said um and um this feeling of really being on the top of their game quality of invincibility yes and

and and if you have cared for your energy well if if your energy is good, this is where you're really at a peak of energy. And there's this incredible magnanimity, if I said that correctly, and ebullience, a feeling of generosity, like nothing is too much. It's just so amazing here. I mean, this is really superwoman territory. And your focus is now really on the outside world. So menstruation is drawn. And here it's not about you.

You know, you're just there. You can be there for everybody else and what you're doing. And it's a very capable time. I think women feel capable and competent and can get on with it. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. There is a feeling of I can do it all and a kind of general sense of being able to manage it all and multitask it all and handle it all. I just think of myself in the kind of uh as a mother and when I'm in this season honestly I can I feel pretty good as a mother it's the one time in this you know in the cycle that I'm like wow man I've got this sorted it doesn't last long I mean it's like juggling hot, you know, hot stones, but there is a feeling of, um, um, being emotionally

much more available to others. And that really supports parenting, my capacity to kind of really show up for others and also just physical energy. You know, we have so much more physical energy at this time that we really can do more. We really can be generous, you know, in a practical way. So our capacity to actually produce and do stuff and work hard. I mean, this is a time when, you know, I'm on fire when it comes to work. And I'll work at night and I'll work early in the morning because I can. And it feels very, very doable. And another thing that comes to mind as I'm listening to you is it's almost

like the opposite of that. For some women, this is the time of utter lusciousness and sensuality and pleasure. So it depends on your nature, really, kind of which way it goes. But for some women, it is all about beauty and pleasure and sensuality. And I guess the connecting theme here is this feeling of embodiment, of being in yourself. And we talk about it as the time to really show yourself,

to declare yourself. Shani, after all the glories of the summer glory of the summer woman of course that we are valued for and celebrated for that of course we as we often say to women of workshops well if you could hold this place all the time you know what would that be like and they go oh everyone groans it goes oh no terrible i'd just burn out i'd lose myself and of course that would happen but fortunately we have a menstrual cycle and the cycle turns and now we're crossing from this summer season we're now going to cross over into the inner autumn of our cycle,

the premenstrual time. And this brings a whole other tone in, doesn't it, Chani? And very particular talents that you have at this time. And our challenge really with these talents is that these aren't really the ones that are appreciated in our society. Now, in an earlier episode, we spoke about the second half of the cycle as drawing you back into yourself. Remember, we spoke about the inner light starting, the outer light starting to dim and the inner light starting to come up. And that's a way of describing this transition.

You're coming into yourself more. So some of the signature, let's just riff, Sharni, now on some of the signature, you know, of this inner autumn time. Well, something that's quite classic here is that you tend to feel more critical, more judgmental, more able to see what's not working, where things aren't quite right. You can see all the flaws, all the cracks. So that kind of critical energy really comes to the fore. And with that, the rising desire to speak that truth, you know, your capacity to be a truth speaker, it can be quite tricky to speak that truth you know your capacity to be a truth speaker it can be quite tricky to hold that down there is uh you know we we tend to be much more kind of reactive

and responsive and immediate so we want to just say things how they are you know call it call a spade a spade it's very it's very unlikely that we will. As I like to say, our polite, socialized self bites the dust at this point. And a somewhat more gutsy, tree-speaking voice comes bursting through. Really here at this time, we're becoming more attuned to, it's like we awaken other types of intelligence in ourselves. So we're more, I want to use the word shamanic really, but sort of intuitive. Our animal nature starts to wake up, so we can sense and feel things more. And we can know things without really knowing why we know.

It's not until later we're able to say, oh, that's why I said that. But we have a real instinctual, that's the word, we have a more instinctual knowing here. We have a clarity of sight. We really have sight here, like insight and sight. It's almost like if you're intuitive, you can be almost a little clairvoyant or you really can see into things uh see into things and as you said see what's not working it's an extraordinary power and should be really respected and cherished it's amazing this autumn time yeah and um you know if you think back to our description of the inner lights coming up this is the phase when that starts to happen. And with that, your own needs start to come to the fore.

Your needs start to speak more loudly. And you're probably wanting to have more time and space for yourself. And this power to say no becomes really crucial here to to say no to more, to create boundaries and space for yourself so that you can start to give yourself, give your own needs the time that they are asking for. I just really want to follow that up by saying that this is the time where you really clarify what your boundaries are, where you end and someone else begins. It's really fabulous like that. It's such an essential piece in our developmental journey. It just puts everything in sharp relief of who we are and who we're not. It's a fantastic power, that boundary setting thing.

I also just want to relate it very quickly to the in the spring which is sort of on the opposite side of the cycle how we were saying that's a very dynamic time and there's quite a strong charge that comes through you and how it takes time and practice and skill to channel or contain that charge. And the inner autumn is very similar. There is a strong charge. It's very dynamic. And you are channeling strong forces at this time, and it takes a lot of presence and slowness and pacing to be able to hold those forces.

So that's another kind of key thing about the inner autumn. So that. Well kind of key thing about the inner autumn. So that will shine. Yeah. We should, let's just have a little sort of reflective process right now. We'd love to just think about where you are in your cycle right now. And do you have a sense of what season you feel you're in right now? Just for a moment, think, do I resonate with any of that? And this, for me, just quickly, Shani,

just begs the question of what if someone listening right now isn't experiencing what we've just been describing and I just want to really flag up yeah and say very clearly that your experience of the menstrual cycle is there is an archetypal pattern that's pretty undeniable but you all have your own version of this and this is going to be affected by your character, your nature, your overall health, your life circumstances, how much you're able to care for the cycle and pace it, you know, so levels of stress in your life. It can be connected to the season of the year itself or the moon phase. That can really affect your experience of, say, menstruation or ovulation the moon phase so there are all sorts

of elements that come in um that can that can affect your experience and that is of course part of a bigger conversation yeah i think it's really important at this point to say while we've described a kind of archetypal pattern here this is not something that you need to imagine you need to live up to or to fit your cycle experience into. That's not what this is about at all. This is just a way of unearthing a potential that may be there and inviting you to start to pay attention, to really notice what it's like for you to notice what your version of this is. And that's our kind of task. If you like for you this week is to,

as you are practicing menstrual cycle awareness, to see it through this lens of the inner seasons. And just to ask the question, what season do I feel I'm in today and what are the energies or qualities that are with me today that give me a sense that I'm in this season so you're just really inquiring about your version of this so this is not I'll just say it one more time because it's really important this is not about you trying to fit your cycle experience into what we're saying this is about

you coming into a deeper relationship with what your experience actually is thank you for listening all the way through to the end thank you for being with us today for being part of this community gathered around this work this podcast around menstruality we'll be back on thursday for a beauty of a conversation with one of the most inspiring thought leaders in the field of women's health, sharing really personally about her own journey. I can't wait to share this one with you. And then we'll carry on with the Wild Power series next Tuesday. So until then, keep living life

according to your own brilliant rhythm.