Episode 6: The Mind-blowing Magic of Menstruation Ft. Laura Carmody, Menstrual Empowerment Educator

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Sureya: Hello everyone. Welcome to Nectar Sex and Soul. I'm Sureya Leonara and today I am super excited to have Laura Carmody as a guest here today. She's a menstrual health and empowerment educator, and she has played such a hugely pivotal role in my own relationship with my menstrual cycle and how I structure my work, my relationship with my body, my relationship with my partner, and so many other facets of my life; how I structure those in connection with my menstrual cycle.  It's changed a lot of things for me. It's really helped me to feel more vital, and in alignment, and to move with the natural cycles of my body rather than working against them.

She is such an incredible wealth of information and is just such an incredible woman, and so I'm so grateful and honored to have her here. And Laura, thank you so much for being here. I would love to give you space to introduce yourself and share a little bit about the work that you do.

Laura: Thanks Sureya, thanks so much for having me. I just love to hear that about the way that the work has impacted you. That's super beautiful and yeah, I'm just excited to be here. I am a menstrual cycle educator, and I'm basically super obsessed with periods, all aspects of menstruation; I love to talk about and share about and learn about.

I really, really love to support people as they are cultivating their own relationships with their cycles and creating a relationship with their bodies, with their blood that is really empowering, that is healthy, that's holistic. In this work, I do my best to bridge the ancient teachings of sacred menstruation that help us to develop our own practice of connecting with our cycles in a way that feels authentically sacred to us; that is connected to our ancestry; that is connected to the roots; and bridging that with a modern understanding of the science of menstruation: what is actually happening physiologically as we move through phase to phase and how can we best support our bodies to live in balance hormonally, and to really support ourselves to thrive in our cyclical bodies.

So I love to do this. I work with people primarily in their adult lives, and I'm also learning how to teach puberty education. So in the near future I'm going to be bringing this work to youth which I'm really excited about. And yeah, that's a little bit about me. 

Sureya: Mm, thank you so much for sharing that.

And I love so much that you're working towards bringing this more towards the youth because I think there's so many things that we don't learn about until later in life, sexuality being a huge one as well. So, that's something that I've also wanted to bring more to the youth- more empowering sexual education.

I can just only imagine if I had somebody like you in my life by the time I was coming into puberty, how much that would have completely changed my understanding of that beautiful, but challenging time. Having the right supports and the right understanding to navigate that differently would have been so empowering. So I love to hear that you're moving in that direction. 

Laura: Yes. Yes. It's so important and yeah, same. If I had someone like you that was talking to me about sexuality when I was moving into that part of my life, it just would have been life-changing and the people that we work with, I know that you work with so many people who have different traumatic experiences with their sexuality, and I work with many people who have different traumatic experiences with their womb and with their cycles; and what would that look like if there was actual education and empowerment that was starting at a really young age? It would just be totally transformative. So it's really cool that that's the direction that we're headed.

Sureya: Absolutely. I think they're both really under-talked about topics and often very shamed topics. I think coming into our menstrual cycle is such an incredible rite of passage that often just gets swept under the rug and isn't celebrated. Same with coming into our sexuality, so it's really beautiful when we can bring this to people younger in life, rather than having to unravel a whole lifetime of conditioning and trauma, and not having the right tools to relate with this, so thank you for doing what you're doing.

 Laura: Yes, totally. 

Sureya: I would love if you could just share a bit about some of the ancient roots of the sacredness of menstruation and a little bit of the menstrual mysticism piece of things, and how ancient traditions have inspired the way that you carry out your work. 

Laura: Ah, I'd love to. So whenever we talk about the ancient rites of menstruation, I always like to invite people to just imagine to yourself- you can close your eyes if you like or just bring into your visualization- what it must have been like to be a super, super ancient primordial human, at a time before modern technology, certainly before we had the ability to communicate with each other in this way; maybe it was even before we could communicate through spoken language in general.

Right? What would it have been like at this time to menstruate?  Our ancestors obviously noticed that we were bleeding for three to seven days out of every lunar cycle. Menstruation is not something that can be ignored. It's not something that can be missed. It is very obvious. It is very in your face. You are bleeding out of an orifice of your body and you don't die. That's not something that happens in nature otherwise, bleeding like this and not dying. It's actually quite the opposite that we gain greater health, we gain greater vitality, we can even gain greater insight and intuition and direction.

 So our ancestors obviously noticed this, that we were menstruating, and they also noticed that we were menstruating in synchrony with the moon. In fact, our ancient ancestors, they used to bleed, many of them, in alignment with the dark moon, which is the two to three days before the new moon, when there is no moon visible in the night sky and then the new moon comes and there's a little sliver that's visible.  Many people used to bleed in alignment with the lunar cycle in this way. One thought on why that might have happened in evolution is because if you are bleeding with the dark moon and you have roughly a 28 day cycle, which is the same cycle of the moon, then you may be ovulating about 14 days later, which is going to be the opposite side of the lunar cycle, which is the full moon.

And this is going to be the time when there's going to be the most moonlight available in the night sky, and you're going to have the best chances of going out and successfully finding a partner to procreate during your ovulatory window; so it would make sense that primordial humans, they found this flow that was most beneficial for them in terms of procreating and continuing to have human lives here on earth.

What that means then is that every single time there has been a dark moon, there have been people that have been menstruating under the dark moon. For the entire history of human creation there have been people that have been bleeding under the dark moon, and it's thought actually, that this may have been the first ceremony that any humans ever took part in, is coming together and bleeding under the dark moon.

Of course we'll never know that; it's like a chicken and the egg scenario where, was childbirth or sexual union one of the first ceremonies that humans ever took part in, or was it menstruating under the dark moon. Who's to say? These are all rites of passages that were certainly revered in ancient times more so than in our modern world, generally.

 All of these things were respected. Menstruation and bleeding together was deeply respected.  In these times when people were menstruating, they would retreat into some sort of structure, often called a menstrual tent or a menstrual hut. It may have also been a cave, some sort of very primitive, basic urban structure where these people would go and simply bleed, simply menstruate.

They would retreat from their otherwise normal life, their roles and responsibilities, and they would just be together to bleed into the earth, to rest, to dream, to receive guidance and intuition, and it was believed that this was a really, really important piece of it -to receive the guidance and intuition to divinate; that this was an essential part of the ceremony of menstruation.

And it was believed that when menstruating, we had greater access to the higher realms, to our higher selves, to spirit, to your ancestors; however you understand that energy that when we're menstruating, we were more able to access communication with those realms, and it was respected. It was revered. This was a place where people would go into to have the time and space to be able to bleed together.

For various reasons in our patriarchal world, that's not so much of a practice anymore. In some places that is still a practice upheld in the more oppressive way, and in other places in the world, in the communities that we're a part of in the United States, there is a reclamation of these places that's happening, often called the red tent where people are once again gathering and reclaiming some of these ancient stories; reclaiming some of these teachings that are often called the blood mysteries, and once again starting to gather together and menstruate together, and just talk about the experience of it. So yeah, it's a really amazing thing to see so many modern people that are reclaiming these ancient practices and finding ways to honor and be with their menstruation. 

Sureya: I love that you are helping to revive that. It's so important.

Speaking to the fact that this was a ceremonial space that was revered, that was honored, and seeing how far we've come from that as a culture that oftentimes our period can be looked at as like, this huge pain in the ass that we just need to deal with and push through. There's been a loss of the reverence of that time as sacred for a lot of people, and I think our culture doesn't often respect the space that is required to really honor that time and the purpose that it's here to serve. So I love the way that you describe PMS. Could you explain what you say PMS stands for and how that connects to this.

Laura: Yeah. So I love to reframe PMS into "please make space", just as a reminder to all of us that this is a time that we really can benefit from slowing down and creating space for our process, whatever that looks like for us individually, and being open to how that process might change from cycle to cycle.

When we were just speaking about the importance of receiving that intuition, that guidance, that direction, in order to drop into that space, we do have to slow down and really create that container so that we can be present with our wounds, so that we can be present with our blood, so we can be present with this guidance that is coming through us. In our modern mainstream very fast-paced culture we are expected to go, go, go all the time. If we are in that state of productivity or just constantly doing, we're not going to be able to slow down and listen to this subtle guidance and notice these subtle, energetic shifts that are occurring for us as we move through these different phases of our cycle. The shifts are spiritual and energetic, and they're also very real, happening neurochemically in our bodies and our brain, and are literally changing the way that we feel, the way that we think, the way that we communicate and relate with other people. These are very real changes that are happening in our bodies and in our spirits. So if we remember during PMS time, please make space, time to slow down and to make space for whatever it is that's coming up for us, that is one of the pieces that can help us to receive the guidance and intuition that our womb may be speaking to. I believe that menstruation is an altered state of consciousness. I believe that we are, as we cycle throughout the four different phases that we have in our hormonal cycle, that we are continuously moving into different perceptions, different ways of relating with our reality.

I believe that this is really one of our superpowers as people who carry wombs, is that we are consistently receiving different ways of looking at things, different ways of understanding situations, different ways of perceiving our reality, and this is such a gift. However, we really have to slow down to be able to receive the medicine of that gift, in order to be able to notice these subtle shifts. It is a shift away from the mainstream narrative of our culture, which is very fast paced, and allows us to slow down and, honestly, on a physical level as well. A lot of the symptoms that can be associated with premenstrual time and menstrual time, for many people, quite a few of them can be alleviated by slowing down and really just making time to rest and to do nothing during the PMS and menstrual phases, so just like that literal idea of resting, that's a big part of it as well.  

Especially for those of us that are just starting to move into the idea of whoa, my period can be something that I can connect with in a sacred way, that can be a really awesome doorway into it ,is just creating some sort of container for you to rest when you are getting ready to bleed, and while you are bleeding. It sounds simple, it might even sound frivolous, but it is a huge doorway into health, into deep insight and just into a new way of relating with yourself and your body.

So yeah, take this space, take the space you need. 

Sureya: Yeah, I can personally attest to the positive impact that's had on my life since taking your menstrual mysticism course, so I now schedule three full days off for myself, right leading up to my bleed time and the first couple of days of bleeding, and really, I probably would benefit from taking even more time off, but I always at least give myself those three days. PMS, I think with, with the veils being thinner, with the fact that we are picking up on all these little details and subtleties of our reality when we're in that space, if we're still in go mode and we're not giving ourselves the space to slow down, I think that's where a lot of that irritability can come in of nitpicking and noticing all the little things. Like for me, I start to notice everything that's out of place and that can feel really bitchy when it's coming from a context of like, oh, I am in overdrive, and I'm pushing myself when I should be in a yin state. It's actually a gift that we have, to be able to see what's out of place, and to be able to pick up on these things, if we are giving space to allow that gift to come through. 

Laura: Yes. Yes, absolutely. That's so key. And I always invite people to notice what the things are that are coming up for you during your PMS state and pay attention to that, because that is your body speaking to you.

And it doesn't mean that it's a literal interpretation. A lot of people relate that they feel very annoyed by their partners when they're pre-menstrual;  it's something I hear all the time and something that I've experienced myself at certain times as well. And so whenever I say that's your body wisdom speaking to you, I don't mean necessarily that that means verbatim, like, oh, if you're feeling annoyed by your partner, during your PMS phase that probably means it's not right and it's not working. Maybe it's something a little bit different. Maybe you need to have space to be by yourself during your PMS phase. You need to create space to express your emotions, and write or dance, or get a massage, or take a bath; whatever that is for you.

So notice the triggers and also go deeper below the surface of just the triggers, and it's like, okay, what is this communicating to me here? What am I not giving myself? What do I need more of? Or what do I need less of, as well? 

Absolutely. That's such good insight. I often say that one of the biggest downfalls of so many relationships is not enough time and space apart, and so that's a beautiful time to take some space, to come home to yourself and to tune in with your body, and to tune into that yin field. On that note of our culture not really respecting the yin fields, this isn't even just for when we're menstruating and for women, but also for everyone. Nature goes through its cycles and its seasons.

We watch the moon go through all of her phases, our relationship to the sun changes throughout the year, and we, as a culture, tend to operate in this yang, go and do, fiery, action-oriented state most of the year because we have the technology that allows us to do that. We have artificial lighting, which I believe that's one of the things that's also thrown off our cycles being in tune with the moon. Is that right? 

Laura: Yep, absolutely. 

Sureya: So we have artificial lighting, we have all these ways to heat our homes, and to be able to continue in this yang state of doing, rather than needing to slow down like we had to when we were in such deep connection with the rhythms of nature. Nature has been doing this for billions of years and we could learn a lot from nature to stay in connection with those rhythms and to recognize that we go into burnout when we don't take that yin space.

So I think honoring our menstrual cycle in this way, and honoring that yin time can also help the collective to start shifting towards there is a time and a place for everything, and it's not like our entire month, our entire year, is not just a one size fits all approach where we should just be behaving in the same way on autopilot throughout the year, throughout the month, but rather paying attention to what does my body need right now, and how can I live more deeply in alignment with the seasons so that I am giving my body this time to replenish and recharge in the winter, in that more yin season, so I have the energy to step into the more yang seasons of spring and summer. 

Laura: Yes. Yes, completely. I think that finding your own connection with sacred menstruation, it's such a personal thing, but one of the really key threads that I see woven through so many people's journeys is that it brings you into connection with the cycles of nature in a way that can't be ignored.

As you connect with your blood and this process, it's just so human. It's animalistic, it is so happening in your body. It stains. It's in your face. It can't be ignored. It's connected to the earth. All of a sudden you start noticing it's connected to the moon. It's connected to the cycles of the seasons, as you described.

Our hormonal cycles are so connected to these cycles as well. So talking a little bit about our hormonal cycles and how those show up in our dominant culture… I'm going to use some generalizations here and I want to preface that everyone's cycles are very nuanced and varied.

And so I'm going to speak in generalizations in terms of people who have penises and people who have wombs and those two hormonal cycles, however, everyone is not the same. You know, within those two categories, there are so many different variations, but just in general, people who have penises operate on a 24 hour hormonal cycle.

People who have wombs operate on a 28 day-ish hormonal cycle. However long your cycle is, it might be anywhere from 24 to 34 days or even longer, depending on the person. So let's talk about a 28 day cycle. Like, wow, that's dramatically different 24 hours versus 28 days. And what I mean by that is, for men and people who have penises, they go through generally the same cycle every day.

So you can think about this in terms of this. They wake up in the morning, the sun rises, the sun is out, generally testosterone and stress hormones are highest at this time. First thing in the morning. A lot of people are familiar with this; the idea of morning wood. Maybe some men just feel like they're ready to get up; they're ready to go; they're ready to take the day on; they're ready to work out, or go to work, or whatever it is. It's just the same day after day after day, it's pretty consistent in that same level of energy. And subtly throughout the day, there's going to be little bursts of cortisol, one of our stress hormones that are going to come out in smaller amounts throughout the day to keep the energy, to keep the focus. And dwindling steadily, as well as the testosterone dwindling steadily throughout the day, until by the time the sun is going down, gonna start feeling more inward, more tired, less interested in outward engagement, and getting ready to go to sleep. Wake up, same thing. Testosterone is highest, stress and sex hormones are highest. Let's go. Same thing, day after day after day. Now for women and people who have wombs, this is not at all true for us. We are not the same day after day after day. Rather we are operating on this longer 28 day cycle where we have four distinct phases that occur in our hormonal cycle.

Menstruation is just one of them. As we are moving throughout these phases, there are ebbs and flows in our hormones and the way that we feel, the foods that we want, the way that we want to communicate, the emotions that we have, the type of support that we need, our energy levels, how we want to exercise.

All of these things are going to vary greatly depending on what phase we are in and where our hormones are at in each of those phases. Our cyclical pattern isn't going to be the same every day, but it's that we start having patterns that are happening on this larger scale, over the course of our entire 28 days.

If you think about our mainstream culture, it's pretty easy to see that it's a lot more closely related with the masculine cycle, which is wake up energy. First thing in the morning, go work your job at like nine o'clock or whatever it is, and then wake up, the same. Same day, same time, and do the same thing over and over again.

And that works really well for a lot of men. That works really well for a lot of people who have penises, and that maybe doesn't work so well for a lot of them. It's even more challenging for people who are menstruating and cycling as they don't have that same energy day after day after day, their needs are changing dramatically as we move from day to day and phase to phase, like the moon.

So instead of the sun with the masculine cycle, we can look at this feminine hormonal cycle as more closely related to the moon as it ebbs and flows through her cycle of 28 days. So what does that mean then for those of us that are cycling and menstruating in a time where our world is really, really not created for it? For a lot of people, it means that we get incredibly burnt out.

It means that we try to show up the same, day after day after day. We try to work the nine to five. We have so many responsibilities, and we don't take space to slow down. We don't have the proper education to understand what's happening physiologically and hormonally. So we have to go out of our way to understand what is happening in the cycle of ovulation and menstruation.

It's hard to learn these things and to disengage from this productivity mindset that our dominant culture and that capitalism has created for us to live within. The good news is there are lots of ways that we can do it, and definitely learning about our body and learning about our hormones, gaining cycle literacy, and body literacy, is one of the first steps that we can take. Then as we start to understand, okay, this is what phase I'm in, and I'm going to feel more energetic during this time. And okay, now I'm moving closer to my period. This might be a good time for me to focus on my internal world and to put less time outward, socializing or whatever that might be. As we start to gain this cycle literacy, we can actually start to build our lives around where we are in our cycle. And this is really what allows us to get out of this state of trying to show up in the masculine cycle and really embrace our cyclical nature.

And just try to live from a place of overflow instead of burnout. Which I know that Sureya, you and I have both dealt with in our own ways, in our own bodies and stories; in many different ways. It's a practice of taking our health into our own hands and gaining this education so that we can create a life that's based off of our cyclical nature instead of what our culture is telling us that we need to do.

Sureya: Absolutely. Yeah, it is such a powerful act of reclamation of the wisdom of our body and what it means to do things in a way that is in alignment with our personal body’s language, rather than being wrapped up in the conditioning and the pressure to keep going in the way that society tells us we should.

I've noticed for myself, I've had to do an enormous amount of deconditioning around that toxic productivity mindset that you should always be productive, you should always be doing, always be going, and to really listen to my feminine body, and to learn how to do things in a more feminine way. Because the thing is, we have to be cultivating both our masculine energy and feminine energy. If we repress one, we automatically dilute the other. And so what we see a lot of people operating through is actually this very distorted yang energy. True masculine energy is not in overdrive all the time. That happens when that energy is dominating the feminine energy, the feminine energy doesn't have space to express.

We're not taking the time to slow down and listen, and there's a scarcity mentality to it where it's like, I don't have time to rest. I've got to get it all done now. I've got to jump on every opportunity while I can. What if nothing better arises? There's this obsession with progress that devalues anything that is not productivity oriented.

I know so many people that feel guilty about resting or that shame other people for resting or slowing down. There can be this judgment of being lazy or something in a culture where everybody is really striving and chasing. So actually, our ability to do and to bring forth that yang energy to get shit done is actually deeply replenished by going into that yin field, and by taking time to rest and recharge.

We are so much more potent in our action when we allow ourselves to be immersed in that yin field. That's been one of the biggest teachings that I've received from the Taoist lineage that has helped me to work through burnout. It's so huge to know what is right for our body because, like you said, like we live in a very masculine oriented world.

What works for men is going to be very different than what works for women, and what works for one person is going to be very different than what works for the next. All of our bodies are so different and there is no one size fits all approach. 

Laura: Yes. Yes. I see that within my own cycle all the time.

If I don't give myself the space to slow down, and to rest, and to take really good care when I'm pre-menstrual and menstrual, I see it a couple of weeks later in my cycle where I would typically be in my go out there, get stuff done, go for it energy. I'm not going to have that same zest and energy if I wasn't able to go deep into that restorative yin state, and that's such a good reminder. 

Sureya: Absolutely. I always liken it to the inhale and exhale. We have to have both to make a complete breath and it would be silly to try to prioritize one over the other.

They really need each other and support each other. And I think people really understand this when it comes to like, we're not going to go drive our car around on an empty tank. That's not going to work. Obviously we're going to fill our tank before we go drive around. I think this is one of the easiest ways to look at how that yin and yang energy interact.

I think being able to learn the language of your body and honor that above and beyond anyone else's expectations, and what the rest of society and culture is saying you should do is such a powerful act of rebellion and of truly honoring your body and how you are going to show up as your best self in this world.

Laura: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And there are so many amazing educators out there who are sharing this information to help us understand, now what is happening with our cyclical bodies? How can I support myself, hormonally? What is happening phase to phase? What are the different foods and exercises? I have lots I can share about that as well.

It's not necessarily hard to find once you are immersed into this world of menstrual health. There really is a lot out there, but for those of us that haven't been immersed in it yet, it is incredibly hard to find, especially because it's important to remember that even when it comes to scientific studies, for example, most of them are not done on people that are cycling in the childbearing years or in the menstruating years, because it's seen as like too many variables because of the way that our hormones are always changing. It does make it a little bit more complicated to track some of these changing variables.

Most often this research has been done on men or on post-menopausal women. So even when we're reading studies about health and how to take care of our bodies, it may not actually be relating to your body and what you're actually going through in this time. So if we're looking for answers in mainstream medicine and culture, in general, we're really not going to get them.

It's really, really awesome to see that there's so many amazing people that are reclaiming this information. It's good stuff. 

Sureya: Absolutely. Could you speak a little bit more to cycle literacy and how that can impact the various different aspects of your life?

Laura: Yeah, totally. So we talked a little bit about how we are always progressing through our cycle and as we progress through our cycle, our hormones are always shifting. Primarily there are four phases which are the menstrual phase, the follicular phase, the ovulatory phase, and the luteal phase.

In terms of physiology, what is happening here is that our body is consistently trying to create a healthy environment for pregnancy. During the menstrual phase, we are releasing the endometrium lining. During the follicular phase, the endometrium lining, which is the uterine lining, is starting to grow and thicken again, and the ovarian follicles are starting to swell in preparation for ovulation. During ovulation, a mature egg bursts out of the mature follicle on the ovary. Then, during the luteal phase, which is also the premenstrual phase; the beginning of the phase, the endometrium lining is remaining intact and continuing to grow in case there is a potential pregnancy.

If there is not a potential pregnancy, then we are going to start to move towards menstruation. Eventually, at the time of menstruation, that endometrium lining is going to shed, and that cycle just continues and continues and continues. That's a very basic level. What is happening physiologically is our body is consistently trying to create a healthy environment for pregnancy.

Now whether or not you ever want to get pregnant, this cycle is so important for health, for a number of reasons. Moving through the cycle of ovulation and menstruation, it is literally adding time onto our lives. When our hormones are at a balanced level, we are upping our bone density, we are encouraging our brain health, we are improving our metabolic rate, we are improving the robustness of our immune system, we are in this constant spiritual cycle, energetic cycle of death and rebirth, and we always have the potential to tap into the energetics of that cycle as well. There's so much to be gained through the cycle of ovulation and menstruation.

That's a really, really important piece to remember as we are diving into cycle literacy and learning about our bodies. Even if you never intend to get pregnant at any time in your life, it's really, really essential for overall health to be moving through this cycle. And anything that you're doing to improve your fertility health, it's going to improve all of your health and your longevity.

We want to be fertile. We want to be encouraging the cycle of ovulation and menstruation, and we want to be encouraging hormonal balance because it encourages balance in all of the systems of our body. When we shut down our fertility, we are shutting down one of the main vital systems of our cycles.

As we learn about what's happening neurochemically, what's happening physiologically in our ovaries and our uterus; as we move throughout the cycle, we can start to adapt our whole lives around these phases. Generally what I like to think about is, during the premenstrual and menstrual phases, these are more so times for ourselves.

These are really great times for being at home more, maybe spending more time focused on your own personal process, whether that's your emotional process or your creative process or your mental process, whatever that might look like for you, really just focusing on your inner realms. And when we move into the follicular and ovulatory phases, these can be a time of more outward energy, outward focused socialization, expressing yourself out there in the world; maybe even a time where you're a little bit more mentally focused and more able to get stuff done in an effective way. These are generalizations. Everyone's cycle is a little bit different. As you begin to track your cycle and you start to track how you feel from phase to phase, that's really the main way to start adapting your life based on where you are in your cycle, because there's going to be subtle changes and nuances dependent on your body and, and what you like, and what you need.

So a really big part of cycle literacy is like, well, I want to learn about what's happening scientifically, but also I want to learn from my body. And cycle tracking is really what allows us to do that. So each day, taking the time to just write down what you were feeling physically, what you were feeling emotionally.

There's a lot that we can learn in terms of like, you can adapt your exercise based on your cycle. You can adapt your food based on your cycle to support the hormonal balance that's already there. But there's also a lot of things that you're just going to learn through your own experience of cyclical nature.

And then you can start to adapt your work. You can start to adapt your your relationships. You can start to adapt really, every aspect of your life based on where you are in your cycle. So if you're the type of person that it's really helpful to take a few days off whenever you're menstruating, you can schedule that in.

You can plan for that and you can create the space that you need. And again, this is completely what allows us to move from burnout to overflow so that we are noticing what our needs are as we move from phase to phase.

We are really learning from our cyclical nature. We are looking to what's happening in our body and attempting to mirror that in our external reality as much as possible, to reflect from the cycles of nature. We see it work so well in the earth. We see it work so well with the moon. There's really no need to reinvent the wheel. In this culture that we've become so indoctrinated into, we're learning how to bring that cyclical nature back in.

Sureya: Absolutely well said. Deepening into that topic; gestation really does bring through so much potency where the wombic void is that fertile space from which all life arises. It's that space of emptiness, that hole is pure potential from which anything is possible.

So there's a reason, when we go into meditation or when we go into a space of no minds, of just connecting with the body, or taking that time for ourselves to just be yin, and to rest, some of our greatest inspiration can come through. A lot of people will have their best ideas come through when they're in the shower or when they're driving because there is this kind of meditative space of not really doing so much, and the mind has that space to relax.

If we're always trying to fill the space because we're trying to get somewhere or be productive, we're actually kind of working against that because it's the spaces in between that really replenish and reignite and fuel that inspiration to continue perpetuating our action. There's such a richness there.

There's such a deep, deep richness in recognizing that we need that pulse of rest and work, doing and being, and inhale and exhale through everything we do.