Inner and Outer Seasons

This month's musings are around the parallels between the yearly cycle of seasons and the inner seasons of the menstrual cycle. Don't skip this one just because you don't have a menstrual cycle - this is relevant to all of us, since we are all humans living on this spinning planet. 

I've been noticing a theme in my sessions and in myself as we work our way through August this year. There seems to be a heaviness, a fatigue that people are experiencing. I was talking with my acupuncturist the other day and she said she's seeing this in her clients as well. It feels like a slump after the full bloom of summer, but it doesn't quite feel like fall yet. And it got me thinking  - this same phenomenon happens in the menstrual cycle as well. 

In Menstrual Cycle Awareness, we liken the four phases of the menstrual cycle to the four seasons of the year. The time of bleeding is considered to be the inner winter, the time before ovulation is considered to be the inner spring, ovulation is considered to be the inner summer, and the pre-menstruum, or the time before the bleed happens again, is considered to be the inner autumn. 

Our “Inner” seasons align with the predictable hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle, and are an easy way to illustrate the way these four phases of the cycle might feel to someone who experiences a menstrual cycle. 

At ovulation, there is a surge of hormones that drive the internal process of releasing an egg from the ovary. This is akin to the feeling of the summer solstice, when energy is high and we can all bask in the beautiful, long summer days. After ovulation occurs, there is a distinct drop in hormones. I call this the “Post-ovulatory slump,” or “The Day 18 blues" (Day one of the menstrual cycle is the first day of bleeding, and in a typical menstrual cycle, day 28 is the last day of that cycle before we bleed again. If someone has a 28 day cycle, then Day 18 is right around the time of late inner summer.) Different people experience this drop in hormones in different ways, but it's very common to feel some kind of heaviness, or a drop in energy or mental health during this inner late summer time. 

It seems that larger cycle of the yearly seasons has this effect on us as well. The excitement of early summer has passed, the summer solstice is behind us and the light has begun to fade, but it's still hot and it still feels like summer. School has started again, and there is a shift in lots of people's daily schedules. This transition is welcomed by some people, and dreaded by others, but it is a transition nonetheless, and I feel it needs to be met with awareness, compassion and care. 

In general, during the transition times between the inner seasons of the cycle, lots of people experience a time of disquiet, disorientation, anxiety or depression of some kind, before they land squarely in the next hormonal inner season.

Having an awareness of the parallel between how lots of people are feeling at this time of year, and how this experience feels inside the menstrual cycle gives us two things. First, a crucial reminder that we are intimately connected to the natural world around us, and second, helpful strategies to support ourselves at this time of year. This is a bit of menstrual magic that people who menstruate can share with those who don't. 

Menstruators get to practice this late summer slump every single month inside of our bodies. We can develop strategies and awareness around this slump to make it easier on ourselves, and when we land on a strategy for supporting ourselves through this internal transition, we can use that very same strategy to support us when we encounter this larger energetic shift in the cycle of the yearly seasons around us. When we share these strategies with our non-menstruating friends and family, they benefit as well.

Here's an example. I've found that having a lot of grace and kindness for myself as I feel this internal slump is key, and that communicating with my family and/or friends about how I'm feeling during this time makes a big difference. I sometimes wake up on day 18 of my cycle and experience the typical menstrual amnesia where I forget that this happens every month, and say to my husband, “Why am I so tired? I feel like I've been hit by a bus. And why am I failing at everything in my life?” And his kind response is “Is it day 18 by any chance?” We can then laugh about it, and I can pivot from being hypercritical of myself to “Maybe I just need a nap today.” 

The lesson I can take from this time of my inner cycle into this time of the year is “Maybe I just need a bit more rest right now. Maybe I don't have to push myself so hard in my creative projects right now. Maybe I can have some grace for the ebbs and flows of energy and confidence that we all feel as human beings." 

And so, I invite you into some self reflection, whether you menstruate or not. How does this time of year feel to you? What extra bit of self compassion can you offer yourself? What do you need more of, or less of, at this time of year?

If you have a menstrual cycle, how do you feel after you ovulate? What strategies or self care do you need at this time of your cycle, and can you apply those same strategies to this time of the year? 

I love hearing from you, so please do share your thoughts or experiences below.

I wish us all plenty of grace and self compassion as we transition into late summer this year. Let's meet Day 18, or the end of August, with kindness and lots of naps.