I think of my menstrual cycle as my muse. I was always really fascinated with periods, but before I started working deeply with my cycle I had a kind of neutral relationship to it. That was until my menstrual cycle changed my life. 

It was positive in the sense that I thought of it as a healthy and welcome part of my life, but neutral in the sense that, I never thought of it beyond a biological function. When I dove heart-first into the deeper layers of my cycle, using The Five Daily Questions. And began understanding the 4 phases of my inner cycle in depth, it felt like coming home myself in a way I’d never experienced.

Today it is the foundation of soulful womanhood for me, as I use it every single day to lead life from my feminine center and nourish my cyclic body.

Feminine rhythms and cycles are initiations into a woman’s embodied spirituality, a doorway into the woman you came here to be.

When we talk about the menstrual cycle, often our first thought is menstruation, or our moontime. But our bleeding phase is only one powerful part of our menstrual cycle. Your pre-ovulation, ovulation and pre-menstrual phase each bring their own opening into your feminine psyche.

With awareness that each day of the month you journey through a different face of your Inner Woman™, you can sink into the hips of each phase and use them as a juicy doorway into your deeper truth, wisdom and embodiment.

Here is an overview of each of the 4 phases you journey through each month, if you are not on a hormonal contraceptive and have a healthy menstrual cycle.

Phase One – Inner Winter

Your Menstruation / Moontime, when understood and welcomed, is one of the most powerful times of your cycle. With your intuition at its peak, it’s perfect for connecting deeply with your feminine body and womb. Think of this phase as your inner winter.

It’s also the phase of our cycle that is often shamed, so it can take time to re-learn new habits and beliefs that reveal the womanly wisdom within our cyclic bodies.

“The uterus is related, energetically, to a woman’s innermost sense of self and her inner world. It is symbolic of her dreams and the selves to which she would like to give birth. Its state of health reflects her inner most reality and her belief in herself at the deepest level.” Christiane Northrup

How to work with this phase: The most simple, change-making thing you can do during your bleeding phase is to rest and slow down, particular on your first and second day of bleeding. The time you take for true stillness during your bleeding time is equal to the amount of inspiration and vitality you will ignite during the other phases of your cycle. So rest up, nourish yourself and let your instinctual body guide you. 

Phase Two – Inner Spring

Your Pre-Ovulation phase is the time that stretches from the completion of your bleeding until your ovulation. It becomes the inner spring time where you walk into the world with a renewed connection to yourself and a surging creative energy slowly rising.

Resting or slowing down during your bleeding phase is what allows the true potential of your pre-ovulation to occur. It is the feminine yang that sprouts out of the deep stillness of your bleeding phase. Where you can begin to bring form to your ideas and stretch your inspiration into the world with new creativity.

ow to work with this phase:  This phase is perfect for inspired action. Often we let our ideas and desires gather dust or be sidelined by life, but when we do we lose trust in ourselves. This is the time to go from inspiration to action; try new things, take adventurous leaps in life or work, or start new projects.

Phase Three – Inner Summer

Your Ovulation is your inner summer. Ovulation technically only occurs in a 24-hour window, but here in the context of your whole menstrual cycle, your ovulation phase is the fertile window of 3-6 days in the middle of your cycle.

Many women don’t begin to pay attention to their ovulation until they want to get pregnant, but besides the ability to conceive a baby, your ovulation also awakens your creativity, sensuality and sexual fire. It’s an amazing time for deepening your sensuality and using the sexual energy that is heightened at this time in an intentional way.

How to work with this phase: Nourish the creative and sexual energy that is at its height in your body with dancing, sensual movement and sensual massage. These things are wonderful at any time in your cycle, but it is vital for women to express the creative sexual energy that is present within this phase.

Phase Four – Inner Fall

Your Pre-Menstrual phase is one we sadly most hear about through negative talk about PMS. PMS is one of the very few ways we culturally voice women’s cyclic bodies, and it’s not a helpful one. Your pre-menstrual phase stretches from after your ovulation right up until the beginning of your bleeding phase. I think of it as the yin & yang phase, because it often will charge us to complete projects or do what we have been putting of while also pulling us deeper within to face our subconscious.

Your pre-menstrual phase is a wise guide. When you begin to pay attention to what comes up for you during this time, you become aware of what needs your attention and inner medicine in your life.

How to work with this phase: My favorite practice for this phase is breast massage. Taking the quiet time to gently and sensually massage your breasts, while connecting with your feminine body and how you are feeling is your most powerful guide here.

Where are you in your cycle today and what do you need most?

The world is waiting for women who don’t leave their feminine bodies by the door when they step into leadership in their life, community or business. For too long we’ve been starved for women who truly know their Inner Woman™ and use womanly wisdom to create their version of an amazing world.

Now I’d love to hear from you

What are your favorite ways to nourish yourself throughout your monthly cycle? Any specific practices you love? And what thoughts and beliefs do you have around your cycle? Share your experience in the comments below, I can’t wait to hear from you.