Day 74: Cycle Syncing- Yoga & MOTUS
I’ve been reading about cycle syncing workouts for a few months now, and everything I’ve read just reaffirms what my body already tells me every month. That for a few days before my cycle starts, and during cycle week, I have to slow down and be more gentle with myself.
There are several phases that as a woman, I go through every month. For decades we’ve simply been told that women are moody, sensitive, that our moods change like the wind blows, and that we shouldn’t give it a second thought. In fact, as a woman, I’ve been dismissed more times than I can count because of that one thing alone: that I can be emotional and depending on where I’m at in my month, that could make me unreasonable. It’s infuriating, being invalidated every single day of my existence since I got my period, because some old guy decided long ago that it wasn’t worth the effort of figuring out why.
Well, now we know why. It’s because these phases are literally how our bodies work. They don’t simply affect us, our period’s do not simply last 3 or 4 days and then everything is the same as a man. No. That’s not it. These phases are how our bodies do the amazing things that they do. And paying attention to them properly, and changing how we eat, how active we are, and what projects we work on in alignment with those phases, can make our lives so much better. From our stress levels, to the severity of our PMS symptoms, mood swings, creativity, social experiences, weight fluctuations, and productivity- everything we do is part of the cycle of phases we go through. Like the pull of the Moon on the ocean, it changes depending on the lunar phase. Women have always been associated with the Lunar Phases because we are the same.
I think it’s time to take that back.
Right now, I am in my Luteal Phase, which is the phase before menstruation starts. The Luteal Phase is the longest phase of the cycle, it begins as soon as ovulation ends, and lasts right up until cycle day 1. Estrogen and Progesteron are rising in the first half of this 10-14 day phase, and falling rapidly towards the end of it. This means that we often want to finish out projects, we may go on cleaning sprees to tidy up the house or our bedrooms, we focus heavy on our projects and getting the details nailed down and polished up. Socially, we may be feeling more introverted. A night in with take out and a movie being the ideal Friday Night. Our metabolisms actually pick up during this time, which is why we want to eat all the time. We may often feel sugar cravings right about now too, because blood sugar rises and falls a lot in the phase with our hormones. Nutrient dense meals are the cornerstone to smoothing that out, think fall time foods- pumpkin, sweet potatoes, roasted cruciferous vegetables.
The kicker to that last part is that I instinctively do this, I always get out the bone broth and make massive pots of soup or huge roasts full of every kind of vegetable I can fit in there, either right before or during my cycle.
Exercise Wise, the Luteal Phase is perfect for doing Pilates, Yoga, Walks, and moderate Body Weight training. It’s not a time for intense or hard hitting workouts. Think restorative flow, or a gentler, short pilates based workout. Which is exactly what I’m doing, so I’m right on track.
The rest of the phases, are as follows:
Menstrual Phase– (3-7 days) The most familiar phase that the world knows about, when we actually bleed. Our hormone production is at it’s lowest, our energy is at it’s lowest, and we feel our lowest. A time of great rest and slowing down. Emotionally, we are our most soft, intuitive, and maybe vulnerable. This is not weakness, this is a literal hormonal plunge into cold water, we simply do not have the chemicals in our body to be energetic or happy go lucky. Journaling, reading, writing, or art that you can sit with, are all great activities during this phase. Socially we may not want much of any interaction, or only enjoy company that is deeply invested in snuggling and doing nothing. Exercise, we keep to a minimum, gentle stretches before and after bed, maybe a short walk for some fresh air. A complete day of rest might also be needed. I know I often find myself spending an entire day in bed or on the couch on cycle day 1. Foods need to be deeply nourishing and warming. With the hormone drop often comes a feeling of cold, like you can’t get warm. Warming spices, roasts, stews, and hearty, bone warming meals are the best.
Follicular Phase– (7-10 Days) Your uterus is renewed! And so is much of your energy. Many of us feel like a Brand New Babe crawling out of our troll tunnel. At the beginning of the phase, we still have relatively low hormones and can be a little sleepy. As we get closer to Ovulation, our hormones ramp up and we get a little more bouncy energy. We feel really motivated, have new ideas, and want to start projects. Socially, we want to try new places, meet new people. Our metabolisms are just a little sluggish as our hormones try to gain their footing, so we tend to crave lighter foods, salads, lean meats, lots of fruit. Workouts that feel adventurous are great right now, maybe hike a new trail, or try a new workout class, begin a program.
Ovulatory Phase-(3-4 Days) The shortest phase in our month long journey. Many of us feel peak confidence right now, we’re flirty, outgoing, communicative, we feel our best and most beautiful. For some, it’s a little different, and we don’t feel that fantastic, but rest assured our hormones are doing a lot of work to make us attractive to our peers. Pheromone levels are high right now because that Uterus wants a baby. If there is ever a time to really focus on Hydration and fiber rich foods, it’s this phase. With our hormones at their peak, it’s important to flush out the excess with water and keep our bodies cool inside. Our bodies prefer lighter carbohydrates, fiber, and water right now, so lots of seeds, nuts, fruit and vegetables. Since our energy levels are at their peak, now is the time to do that intense workout that has you sweating and gasping for breath. Lift heavy, move more, push yourself.
There is a ton more info on this all over the internet and many books published about it too, but this website has been my favorite: How To Cycle Sync
It seems that intuitively I’ve been sort of following along with this already, slowing down and recognizing how my cycle is affecting my energy levels and the foods I eat, as well as my performance in my workouts. Going forward, I’m going to tweak the Valkyrie Squad schedule when and where I need to, to optimize my growth as a Valkyrie, my strength and my form will improve drastically when I line myself up with the phases of my body.
So today is another Yoga day for me. I’m going to hit the mat after I take Yrsa for a stroll in the sunshine. And then begin prepping a few things for turkey day, and get a nice soup going for the night.
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