Rest is Revolutionary
taking rest days when i menstruate
To my wonderful clients,
As many of you know, I am now certified as a Menstrual Cycle Coach. On an individual level, this means I help menstrators navigate their cycles by learning to work with the natural cycles of their bodies, rather than pushing against them as they move through their lives. On a macro level, the work of a menstrual cycle coach involves advocating for and increasing awareness of all the cycles of our lives and in the natural world around us to improve the sustainability of our communities and our planet as a whole.
In short, I will be following my own advice, and taking three days off every month when I am menstruating. This allows for the rest and rejuvenation that my body needs. I want to model what it looks like to listen to and prioritize my body’s wellbeing, so that you may find ways in your life to do the same.
If you would like to understand more about my philosophy and reasons behind this scheduling change, please read on!
The menstrual cycle is just one example of a totally obvious, natural cycle that is mirrored everywhere in our natural world: The cycles of day and night, the cycles of the moon, the seasons of the year and the cycles of life and death. In each of these cycles, there is a birth (sunrise, springtime) a period of growth and blooming (midday, summertime) a time of harvest and decay (sunset, autumn) and a time of death and rest (midnight, winter).
In the menstrual cycle, there are four seasons as well: Pre-ovulation (inner spring), ovulation (inner summer), pre-menstruum (inner autumn), and menstruation (inner winter). This cycle repeats itself over and over and allows for birth, growth, blooming, harvesting, decay and rest, and by its repetition, it is sustainable.
Can you imagine living a life where it was always noon? We all know what it’s like to not sleep for a night - we feel horrible, imbalanced, irritable, emotional, exhausted, even ill. Imagine being asked to do that for your entire life! The expectation on menstruators is to pretend that their monthly internal cycle is not happening, to soldier onward, to mask our body’s messages that are sometimes quite debilitating, to put on a smile and keep working, keep managing every aspect of our lives as though it is high noon and we have plenty of energy to spare.
It’s no wonder we are out of balance, irritable, exhausted and ill.
We live in a society where capitalism has taught us that our value comes from our productivity, our youth, having high energy and outward facing energy, and so we push ourselves to meet these expectations at the cost of our health and wellbeing. We have been taught that there is only one acceptable direction for our lives to move: forward and upward. Rest, rejuvenation, inward reflection and just being are not seen as valuable. This applies to our work, our relationships, our family life, our fitness, and our mental, emotional and physical health. We are fighting a loosing battle if we continue to buy into the fallacy that this is “progress.”
This misalignment in our culture affects our planet as a whole as much as it affects our individual lives. Our society and our economy exploits the available resources until there is nothing left, never leaving time for rest, for retreat, for reflection or rejuvenation. The state of our planet is a clear indicator that we have not been working with the natural cycles of our earth (birth, growth, harvest, decay, death and rejuvenation), rather, we have been pushing against them for far too long.
We have placed value only on birth, growth and harvest. This is a “taking” mentality without any regard for giving back, or reflecting on what we are doing.
I believe that what I do in my own life affects my community and affects the world I live in. I believe that as I work more cyclically, both my business and my life will be more aligned with my authentic human nature, and will therefore flourish.
As you know, every time you come into my studio to work with me, I ask you not to focus on outside influences, but to listen inward to your body’s messages. I teach you to listen to the natural give and take inherent in your body, and I am going to do just that with my body. This is not only to make my life more pleasant and sustainable, but to model this type of living in a society where it is extremely difficult to find these examples.
If you find that you are feeling resistance to this idea, I invite you to notice where in your life you are putting pressure on yourself to carry on when you really want to just stop and rest. Where are you pushing harder than you need to push? Where are you ignoring the signals from your body? I invite you to look inward at where this resistance is coming from. Which phases of the natural cycles of our world can you relate to? Which phases do you find the most comfortable or uncomfortable? If this idea intrigues you, where can you add a little bit of give and take in your own life? Where can you add a little bit of rest, and not feel bad about it?
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I appreciate all the work you do to show up for yourself in our sessions together. I commend you for the ways you listen to your body. I support the changes you are making in your body and in your life that bolster your wellbeing and support our community and our world as a whole. I appreciate that you support me as I do the same.