Our Cyclic Nature

The best thing about being a woman is having a monthly cycle. 

Yes, I said it, you read that correctly.  I love my menstruation cycle.  Well, I should say I have come to love my cycle.  I know, I know, I was once like you and so many other women.  My period was just something to be endured.  I even called  it “the Curse”, saying “women must have gotten the short end of the evolutionary stick– not only do we have to deal with cramps, bleeding and PMS but we can’t even write our name in the snow!” (full on pout face).  Ah, but I’ve since been converted and I hope I can help you see the beauty and power in your cycle too.

Now I won’t be able to get to every colorful, beautiful petal of having this flowering cycle here.  There is just too much info to include on just one short page of a website.  But I will be posting books and resources I have found helpful in my continuous studies of womanness/humanness on the “Links” Page.  You can also check out my blog; on which I post musings, helpful tips and experiences.

I can also tell you even if you have completed your monthly bleedings (as with menopause and hysterectomy), you still have a cycle– you are still cyclic by nature.  Being cyclic is Being a Woman.  Therefore this short amount of info here is for you as well.  It is for ALL women from the 1st menses through, well frankly, death.  Not to be morbid but once you bleed your cyclic nature is realized.  You are a "woman" until you die.  Even if you have undergone physical reassignment surgery, energetically you are still cyclic.  You now have a very unique opportunity to fully embrace non-duality- bringing both female and male energies together in one human.  It is only how you harness the power of the cycle as you flow through it that changes.  Let me explain.

There are four phases to a menstrual cycle.  These four phases are reflected in many different avenues– the 4 seasons, the 4 phases of the moon, the 4 stages of life as a woman, the 4 phases of a monthly cycle.  See, you are even more connected to Mother Nature than you realized.  And if having menses is connected with flowers, birds, animals, the silvery light of the moon, rainbows, the beauty of nature around us , truly with life itself; how can it be “a curse”.

The 1st phase Miranda Gray has named “the Dynamic Phase”.  I will be using the phase names from Miranda as she has been one of the most influential to me in understanding the cycle, and to me they make sense.  This is the phase most of us love, being production oriented as society is.  Based on a 28 day cycle, this phase roughly begins 7 days after bleeding has started.  (I say roughly as each woman’s cycle runs differently– you may enter this phase on day 3 of bleeding or you may start on day 5 and you no longer see any sign of blood.  Remember every woman is different, that is what makes being a live so much fun– it is in discovering how alike we are and yet how different.  So the days are just rough examples for convenience sake.  You can discover where you are in your cycle by reading/exploring Miranda’s book “The Optimized Woman”.)  Like the increasing light of the waxing moon, this phase has all kinds of energy to be seen, be out in public, to get things done.  Also called the Maiden phase of a woman’s life cycle, this phase has “New Beginnings” energy, like that of  new spring flowers just beginning to bloom.  You know, the energy teenagers always seem to have, who can leave the house in the dead of winter in just a sweatshirt and not be cold.  You can harness this energy as the optimum time to start new projects (like a new diet or exercise regimen), use affirmations, logical problem solving and reasoning, multitasking, socializing, creating strategic and tactical plans, investigate details (research), analyze data– also known as type A stuff.  This is the phase to “get it done”.

Now since this is a very production oriented phase, Deep Tissue massage  (Lora's Precision) with it’s clear cut objectives and goals to achieve is a great choice of bodywork– naturally channeling this energy.  With your body teeming with this power backed energy, you will be able to handle more pressure, more techniques and achieve even deeper stretching and greater range of motion.  Another optimum treatment for this phase is our Face Rejuvenations.  Designed to enhance our natural beauty by relaxing the facial muscles using traditional face products to massage with, these treatments give us our best face to present at social functions.  And of course, Therapeutic Massage is as good as always.

The next phase is our “Expressive Phase”, also know as the Mother phase.  This phase begins around day 14.  Ovulation occurs during this phase.    We are moving from an outward, productivity focused time to one that is more nurturing.  Those moments of exasperation at others not moving fast enough give way to understanding and a desire to help them.  This is a great time for team building activities and staff meetings focused on coordination.  This is the phase of communication and inner awareness/patience to get what you what/need by the gentle persuasion of others.  Like the full moon, we feel full and complete within ourselves giving us this as the best time to work on relationships, as this peacemaker energy flows through.  Be careful though, this energy can have you agreeing to too much, like extra work or responsibilities in an effort to help others. 

Luckily this is also the phase of fun and celebrating life.  This phase ‘s natural appreciative attitude encourages us to try something new and fun.  Body wraps are the ultimate in fun, lots of benefits with just a touch of indulgence.  What could be better than to be wrapped in chocolate or indulging in the smell of the sea.  An added Face Rejuvenation treatment completes the full body “makeover”- having you glow from head to foot.  Perhaps rejuvenation is not need but more a deep nurturing is in order.  Reflexology provides a deeply relaxing session while working just the feet, encouraging all the systems in the body to return to homeostasis.  Hot Stone Massage also provides that deep penetrating nurturance the body and soul could be craving at this time.

The 3rd phase, and one most women struggle with, is the “Creative Phase”.  This is where the hormonal fluctuations can get the better of us and PMS raises it’s ugly head.  But this phase can actually be quite beautiful, as long as you understand it.  One very important point we need to cover here– the inner and outer focus of our energy during our cycles.  During the Dynamic and Expressive phases we are outer focused.  Our energy is geared to production and relationships, all things outside ourselves.  But the next 2 phases, beginning here at the Creative phase, are more inward focused.  Importance shifts to contemplate our needs, not necessarily the needs of others.  Hence the building tension during this phase.  As we delve into our needs, we have the opportunity through this phase to understand/accept/heal our deepest fears, desires and needs.  But at the same time we can have the tendency to “kick the snowball” as Miranda puts it– pushing one small thought down the mountainside and fall deeply into vortex of self devaluing and depression.  We have to understand and remind ourselves especially during this phase that thought is not necessarily reality.  Reality is only what we buy into.  The best part about these ups and downs though are, as Miranda says “The Creative phase gives us the opportunity to drop our emotional and mental baggage so we don’t have to take it into the next month.”  How nice it would be to not have to carry so much around?

In appreciation of the deep meditative state the can be created from these ups and downs, as well as meeting our deepest needs, combination treatments such as Reissage and Bach Flower Massage help take the edge off.  Balancing of our energetic state along with the therapeutic massage to soothe our bodies, Reissage is truly the best of both worlds.  But if our nerves are more frazzled and others just seem to be pushing any button they can find, especially those that would normally take a sledgehammer to push are now pushed with just a feather, the Bach Flowers have a remedy for that.  Combined with therapeutic massage, Bach Flowers calm our minds and getting us in touch with our deepest emotions, helping us “put the baggage down.”  Marconics is another that helps us “put the baggage down”, but this on a completely energetic level as we release karma. *If your emotions are frazzled and PMS reins supreme for you at this time, I do not recommend deep tissue techniques such as Precision as your nerves are already on high alert, the deep pressure can create more of a feeling of pain.  Just a relaxing Therapeutic Massage would perhaps be a better choice.

With the first sign of steady bleeding, we enter the 4th phase, the “Reflective phase”.  Here “we stand in our internal world, directly opposite the outer world awareness of the Expressive phase.  We are at the lowest ebb of the tide, that still point of rest before the water starts to move again gaining momentum with the incoming tide.” -Miranda Gray.  We need this stillness in order to be our most productive during the Dynamic phase once again.  As the acorn buried deep below the snow pack waits for spring thaw to sprout, this Reflective phase provides us with an ability to be deeper in meditation and achieve a deeper more restorative relaxation.  Our intuition runs high at this time, providing us with all the inspiration and ideas needed for our life path, to be carried to fruition during the  next Dynamic, Expressive and Creative phases.

The “Quiet” Therapies are the optimum to receive during this time.  Those that enhance our natural stillness at this time.  These are therapies that can, at times, be the hardest to describe how and why they work, we just know they do.  Reiki, a deeply personal energy therapy, helps us to delve deeply into the meditative state, balancing and clearing our energy so our intuitions can be front and center.  A Crystal Therapy Session encourages the body to immerse itself into stillness by recalibrating the energetic system to a more balanced, calm state.

Our Menses Ease package is specially designed for those woman who are looking to actively get in touch with their cycles.  Sometimes the best way to discover each phase’s changes and how they relate to you is to physically experience them.  This package includes 4- 1 hour sessions, each one to be experienced during a different phase of your cycle.  Not to be confused with our series, you must choose a different treatment each time.   We have discussed here different treatments that support each phase.   And the package must be completed within 5 weeks– within one menstrual cycle in order to have the maximum benefit.  For more information or to help with choices, email Lora here.

This is all well and good.  But what if you have a very disruptive, uncomfortable or downright painful menses.  I know if you have Dysmenorrhea, Fibroids, Endometriosis, any painful condition associated with your menses really; it can be hard to even contemplate a positive, loving relationship with her.  When pain is involved, we add another highly effective treatment to the mix: Mayan Abdominal Therapy.  This technique, founded by Rosita Arvigo, in the tradition of ancient Mayan abdominal massage techniques, repositions the internal organs in the pelvic bowl.  When the internal organs may have shifted, there may be a restriction in the flow of blood, lymph, nerve signals and chi- all of which may be contributing factors to the pain.  In these cases, Mayan Abdominal Therapy will be added to each of the 1st 3 sessions- no matter what is chosen.  Addressing the pain comes first and allowing the flow to flow is paramount to a healthy cycle.

 "If a woman's uterus is out of balance, so is she." Don Elijio Panti