INNER SEASONS X NATUROPATHY: TOWARDS HORMONAL HARMONY
Women’s inner biology is in a constant state of flux. The question is: Are we to be governed by these changes, or move with them, optimising our function as we go? Working with women in a 1:1 space for many years means I have seen the oscillations in hormones take shape in us over and over again. There is no one more self-conscious than the woman just before she bleeds. And there is no one more ‘on point’ than a woman who is ovulating. And so, what does this mean for women who want to live in hormonal harmony? Let’s explore…
From a naturopathic and endocrine perspective, hormones change week-to-week as we move through our menstrual month. The start of our bleed is our lowest hormonal load. Then, as we increase toward ovulation, oestrogen is rising alongside testosterone. Then our gonadotropin-releasing hormones—follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH)—surge with oestrogen to trigger ovulation. This results in a drastic dip in hormones, which then begin to rise once again post-ovulation; progesterone now siding oestrogen to ready the endometrium for potential implantation. To then have declining hormonal levels when conception has not occurred. Phewf. A ride and a half if you ask me!
Our hormones each influence our brain, body, and behaviour distinctly and so each week we have the propensity to feel, think, and act differently given the changes happening within. Some of us are less sensitive to our hormone changes, or just don’t notice them. Whereas others are really thrown by their oscillations. This also has a lot to do with how balanced our hormones are. However, for the purpose of this write-up, let’s consider an alternative perspective for that. What if we could improve our experience by aligning with what was supposed to be happening within us? For example, slowing down and adopting practices like yoga in the late premenstrual and early menstrual phase might be beneficial for reducing premenstrual symptoms, with higher-intensity exercise shown to have more negative psychological effects than moderate intensity in the luteal phase.
There might not be any clinical underpinnings to our negative experiences. What if we were just acting in discord with what our body needed and was capable of at the point in time of the cycle? Research does suggest that for some women there is an abnormal response to normal hormonal fluctuations. So what do we do then?
Let me introduce you to our inner seasons...initially coined by The Red School. Consider that our hormonal changes mirror the seasons. There is inevitably a winter, a spring, a summer, and an autumn phase of our menstrual cycle. We are cyclical beings after all so this makes a lot of sense. Winter is around the time of our bleed, spring is moving towards ovulation, summer is ovulation and thereafter, before moving into autumn, which is our premenstrual phase. Having this analogy can be a game changer for realising what might be really helpful at different times of our cycle. See the below snapshot. Please know that the timing of each of these phases is completely individual and may differ for you. It can also be really useful to take the time to understand how you feel on each day of your cycle and what seems to be most supportive for you personally. This helps to improve your own body literacy. Below is to lead you on your own journey of self discovery, rather than tell you how it is to be.
INNER SEASONS
WINTER
Day 1 - 7 (during our bleed)
This is hibernation time.
Archetype: Wise woman, Crone, Visionary
Energy: Quiet, slow, inward, sensitive, emotional, release.
Activities: Any activities that slow us down, help us to go inwards.
Exercise: This is the time to charge up with slower stuff.
Nutrition focus: Blood building, repair and regeneration, easy to digest.
SPRING
Day 8 - 14 (during pre-ovulation)
Time to begin planting new seeds.
Archetype: Maiden, Goddess
Energy: Focused, creative, active, light, driven, refreshed.
Activity: Planning and organising the month.
Nutrition focus: Protein-rich, energising, antioxidants.
SUMMER
Day 15 - 21 (post ovulation)
A very outwardly expressive week of the month.
Archetype: Mother, healer, creatrix
Energy: Adventure, sassy, sensual, playful, flirty, social, giving.
Activities: Attending social and networking events.
Nutrition focus: Hormonal balance, blood sugar stability, gut-loving.
AUTUMN
Day 22 - 28 (late luteal phase)
An increasingly inward phase, and one where our triggers are at their height.
Archetype: Wild woman, priestess, enchantress.
Energy: Ideas, learning, edgy, inward, shyness, hunger.
Activities: Self-care and forecasting space in your calendar.
Nutrition focus: Hormonal clearance, comfort foods, anti-inflammatory.
What I know for sure is from my own work with women, and since being in clinical practice, there is significant benefit for using the inner seasons to guide lifestyle, nutrition and exercise choices throughout the cycle. Having women learn where they are at hormonally, attune to their own needs, and adjust aspects of their life accordingly has significant benefit for their overall experience of their menstrual cycle. The above is a great map!
To begin to tune in to our inner seasons and make adjustments as required, we first must track where we are cyclically and know when ovulation is. Using apps like Clue and Flo can be helpful, though an app that allows for you to enter your basal body temperatures (BBT) will be much more accurate at predicting your ovulation (any apps where BBT tracking is not used can never tell you when you ovulate, it is a guess). I personally love Kindara.
IN SUMMARY
We really can relate to our hormones in a more loving way. In so doing, we make adjustments to our day-to-day life with what we do, how we eat, and the way we workout that supports the hormones we have online at any one moment. What if we could move more easefully through our premenstrual phase, and really use the surge in our ovulatory phase? I created a free guide that expands on this write-up for you. It includes what our menstrual cycle is, the hormonal fluctuations, how we can track it and know when we are ovulating, and then the concept of our inner seasons we can use to have more hormonal harmony. It goes into greater depth for each of the inner seasons and elements we can implement for each. A beautiful tool to have in your pocket.
