Myth-conceptions and Cyclical Magic
I've been interested in health and wellbeing, particularly women's health and wellbeing for many years, long before I studied menstrual cycle coaching and natural fertility education. One thing I have gladly noticed over the years is a dramatic shift in how we as women have come to view our bodies, and our menstrual and ovulatory cycles.
When I was a teenager, the menstrual cycle was something you tried to keep hidden from others, you dreaded it arriving and you were relieved when it finished. If you could avoid it altogether by using hormonal contraception (don't EVEN get me started) then even better! That was then. Thankfully we have, in many ways, moved away from this. A shift from pushing, overriding and denying the body, to listening, honouring, and even co-creating with it.
This is the essence of cyclical living - a practice that invites us into deeper relationship with our bodies, our energy, and our own inner seasons.
But as this beautiful, rewarding way of living because more visible and talked about (which I LOVE), I've noticed a few myths, or misconceptions (myth-conceptions if you will) circulating, that can pull us away from the true magic of this work.
So I want to gently unravel some of those here and invite you to return to the true meaning, and heart, of what cyclical living offers.
Myth-conception: Cyclical living is about controlling your cycle.
This feels like a good place to start.
Cyclical living is not necessarily about perfectly syncing your meals (down to the ingredients), workouts, or lifestyle to each phase of your cycle. It's not a rigid 4 week formula that can be slapped on every menstruator's life and be done. It's not even about doing 'Inner Spring' a certain way or trying to make sure your ovulation falls on a certain day of the month.
Don't get me wrong, there are some foods and general lifestyle principles that can be applied beautifully to some phases of our cycle but these are generalisations, and do not take into consideration all of the intricacies of our individual cycles. It's not about doing a particular workout on a specific day of your cycle, and in fact this approach can quickly become just another performance - another set of expectations to get “right.” But your cycle is not a productivity hack. It’s not a rigid four-week schedule to be maximised.
Your body is not a machine. She is a living, rhythmic, ecosystem with ever evolving needs and desires, influenced by your stress, sleep, nutrition, environment, and emotional landscape.
Instead of control or rigidity, cyclical living invites us to get curious - to observe, feel, and respond. To pay attention to what is real for you, not what we think, or have been taught, it should look and feel like.
Myth-conception: Everyone's cycle looks the same.
Some of the most transformative ideas for me personally in learning about my cycle, has been from learning some of the beautiful patterns and archetypes that can be mapped to the cycle. Such as our inner seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. These can offer transformative frameworks and language with which we can come to view our bodies and our cycles with a different lens and a fresh understanding. But what I've come to understand is that each of our lived experiences within these archetypes and seasons is unique.
For some, their Inner Summer can feel like a vibrant, high energy and magical time of their cycle. For one client of mine, her Inner Summer often felt overwhelming and uncomfortable. For some, the luteal phase (Inner Autumn) can feel deeply creative, while for others it can feel intense or really low in energy.
It's not a one-size fits all cookie-cutter experience. And that's the point. It's not about fitting yourself into a rigid model, and then feeling disappointed or like you've failed when it doesn't feel right for you. It's about getting to know your own rhythms, your own signals and patterns, and what that means for you and your body.
Cyclical living is a a conversation, not a rulebook.
Tracking your cycle is less about prescriptive answers, and more about building a relationship - to yourself, your body, and your true nature.
Each day, and each cycle, becomes an opportunity to ask:
What is showing up for me today?
What does my body need right now?
Where is my energy flowing, or not flowing?
Some days, or cycles, might call for creativity, connection, or getting down to business. While others, may invite us to rest, and release.
This is the beauty of cyclical living - there is no final destination, only layers of discovering, knowing and returning. It is not about perfection, but about permission. Permission to feel different from one day to the next. Permission to rest, expand, contract, and bloom. Permission to honour your needs today because they will shift and change.
If you're ready to start learning about your own rhythms and honour a cyclical way of living, I’ve created my free, beautiful 6-page menstrual cycle tracker to get you started - not as a system to follow, but as a sacred space to reflect, reconnect, and realign with your body’s wisdom.
You can use the cycle tracker to track your physical, emotional + energetic patterns; to learn your own inner seasons and how they feel for you, and remember how to attune to your inner world so you can move through your outer world with greater clarity, compassion, and flow.
Subscribe to my mailing list and receive a link to your free tracker.
