Want More Energy? A Guide for Women
You’ll Have 450 Chances Over Your Lifetime to Get It Right.
What if, by honoring your menstrual cycle, you gained more energy by doing less? What if you knew the best times to enjoy quiet solitude at home and when to be more social? What if you could choose when to go on a first date or a date night to be at your most magnetic?
Women have approximately 450 menstrual cycles during our lifetimes. It’s never too late to embrace our natural rhythms for productivity and rest. I’ll confess that cyclical living is new to me. I first read about it in Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms by Kate Northrup.
If you are a woman who is not menstruating due to pregnancy, nursing, a hysterectomy, illness, or menopause, there is a different cycle for you to track. The lunar cycle rules ocean tides and the flow of fluids in our bodies. The moon symbolizes the divine feminine energy. Our moon has eight phrases when is wanes, waxes, is full, and disappears from view. Both the moon and women’s hormonal cycles last about 28 days. (Men’s hormonal cycles, like the sun, last for 24 hours.)
All women can benefit from the wisdom of our cycles and the moon. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup, “... since ancient times, many cultures have referred to women having their menstrual periods as being ‘on their moon.’” She is the author of the pioneering book, Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, and Kate’s mother.
Plan your month by your cycle and the moon.
I’ll be honest. I never learned about the four phases of my menstrual cycle until I tried to get pregnant in my thirties. In my mind, there were two phases. The annoying time when I was bleeding and when I wasn’t. I also didn’t know much about the lunar cycle.
INWARD TIME: Menstrual phase. New Moon. Winter.
What’s going on in your body? Phase One: Menstruation
Women shed the thickened lining of the uterus from our bodies through the vagina during menstruation. The first day of bleeding is the first day of your menstrual cycle. Three days to one week is the average length of most women’s periods.
What’s going on in the sky? New Moon
Between Earth and the sun, the moon is difficult to see because it receives no direct sunlight.
How to honor your body during this phase
Kate Northrup calls this phase when your energy is at its lowest, “The Fertile Void”. Honor your desire when menstruating to turn inward, rest, and reflect. Can you take a day off? Take a long exhale. Permit yourself to pause and to settle in stillness in a society that prizes doing.
Now is the moment to be more introverted. Create ease, calm, and serenity. First, make sure you are not over-scheduled during your period or at the New Moon. Busy doesn’t equal productive. Who says you can’t make a date with yourself? A long bath with Epsom salts. A nap. Meditate. Take a gentle walk in nature. Practice moon salutations, restorative, or yin yoga if you feel depleted.
You’ve heard the phrase “sleep on it.” If you have issues you need to ponder, save them for during your menstrual phase to “bleed on it.” Farmers plant seeds on the New Moon, and so can you.
Journal about what happened in the previous month. Set intentions for the upcoming month or moon cycle. During the dark nights of the New Moon, plant the seeds for what is to come. What feelings do you want to invite into your life? What can you do to feel that way? What’s been working and what hasn’t been working? What actions or thoughts do you want to stop doing, which didn’t make you feel good? Release what is no longer serving you. (These questions are all inspired by The Desire Map.)
Take alone time to receive a dose of stillness. Retreating is a necessity, not a luxury, for women. The modern age encourages us to push all the time. At times, we need to do nothing to create ease now, and increased energy and productivity later in the cycle. Remember this key message from Kate Northrup: “Deep, true creative doesn’t emerge despite the deep pause; it emerges because of it.”
OUTWARD TIME: Follicular phase. First Quarter moon. Spring
What’s going on in your body? Phase Two: The follicular phase
Following menstruation, your body begins to grow an egg. You also experience rising levels of estrogen, testosterone, and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH).
What’s going on in the sky? Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, and Waxing Gibbous Moon
Waxing Crescent Moon: The moon gradually becomes more visible when lit by direct sunlight on its journey around the Earth.
First Quarter Moon: The moon is now half dark and light. It traveled a quarter of the way around the Earth since the new moon.
Waxing Gibbous Moon: The visible moon grows bigger than half and less than full.
How to honor your body during this phase
Now you can emerge back into life. You are more sexually attractive to others during this time. Now is the perfect time for a first date, date night with your spouse, or to attend a social event. Spend time with your friends. You are also more receptive to ideas and your creativity now. Try or start something new. In your work life, make plans, brainstorm, and take action to bring your project to life. Kate Northrup calls this phase Emergence.
OUTWARD TIME: Ovulation. Full Moon. Summer
What’s going on in your body? Phase Three: Ovulation
A follicle releases its egg in your ovary midway through the cycle. During this period of peak fertility, the egg survives for 12-24 hours and dies unless it meets a sperm. Estrogen and testosterone levels also reach their height.
What’s going on in the sky? Full Moon
From Earth, the sun fully illuminates the moon.
How to honor your body during this phase
You will receive an extra boost of energy and be magnetic, both of which help your intentions to become manifest. Kate Northrup calls this phase visibility, which is the best time for you to connect with others and be visible. While the moon illuminates the night sky, attend a party, social or networking event, or go on a date. Focus on communicating, collaborating, and being out there. Schedule a speaking event. Ask for a promotion or nail an interview for a job. Take a long, deep inhalation to connect with the energy. Choose a more vigorous form of exercise. If you do yoga, practice Sun Salutations or vinyasa.
INWARD TIME: Luteal phase. Waning Moon. Autumn.
What’s going on in your body? Phase Four: The luteal phase
This luteal or premenstrual phase lasts about 14 days. The ruptured follicle forms a structure called a corpus luteum, which increases the quantities of progesterone.
What’s going on in the sky? Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter Moon, Waning Crescent
Waning Gibbous Moon: The visible moon begins to get smaller.
Last Quarter Moon: It is now half-lit by the sun on the opposite side and has moved to its third-quarter position.
Waning Crescent Moon: On the final leg of its 360-degree orbit, we see less of the moon until we see none at all.
How to honor your body during this phase
As the moon finishes its cycle and dwindles in the sky, finish what you started. Kate Northrup calls this phase culmination and suggests less inspiration, and more perspiration. You are in another inward time when you can slow down, take care of details, and finish things. Finish what you start instead of starting something new. Preserve your energy with the introverted activities you love. Read a book or spend quality one-on-one time with a close friend.
Next steps
You now have a system to care for yourself, which will help you ride the ebbs and flows of your life. Plan your calendar to honor where you are in your menstrual cycles. If you don’t, the moon’s cycles are predictable, and Googling “moon cycle for [insert month, year]” will show you where the moon is on her journey. Either way, you’ll know when to put yourself out there and when to decline.
Begin to develop a stronger connection with the rhythm of nature and your body. Track your energy along with the moon and your cycle to see if patterns emerge. Tonight, I invite you to step outside to bask in the moon’s glow, if possible.