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222: How to cultivate Menstrual Cycle Awareness with The Red School

Aug 26, 2024

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Understanding Menstrual Cycle Awareness

This episode was...unplanned. :-) A couple of months ago I interviewed Dr. Louise Newson on the topic of menopause. Dr. Newson is a medical doctor and focused very heavily on Hormone Replacement Therapy as a treatment that everyone who menstruates should at least consider, and I knew I wanted to do an episode with someone who doesn't hold that belief as well. I found Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer of The Red School, and really appreciated their book Wise Power. As I usually do before recording an interview I read their other co-authored book Wild Power, and I realized there was a 'missing' episode on the topic of Menstrual Cycle Awareness. We can't really talk about being aware of the changes that are happening to our bodies during menopause if we don't know what has happened to our bodies throughout our menstruating years. When I read Wild Power I felt a deep sense of sadness that I was just discovering this now, as my own years of menstruation wind down - but also a deep sense of hope that I can help Carys develop a much closer relationship with her own body than I had with mine.

We'll answer questions like:

What phases does my body go through each month?
How can I start becoming more aware of these phases through Menstrual Cycle Awareness?
How can I align my activities with my energy levels, creativity, and arousal - even in the real world, which wants me to go-go-go all the time?
How is my inner critic aligned with my cycle, and how can I use its knowledge to help me?
How can I navigate Menstrual Cycle Awareness if I've had a difficult relationship with my periods and with fertility?

I'd encourage you to listen to this episode if:

You menstruate and want to better understand how menstruation affects your life
You're raising a child who will menstruate and want to prepare them to feel 'at home' in their bodies
You love someone who menstruates and want to be better attuned to them
You're raising a child who will never menstruate, but you want them to appreciate menstruation and know how to effectively support people who menstruate.

In other words, everyone will get something out of this episode!

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Alexandra and Sjanie’s books (Affiliate Links):

Jump to highlights 00:46 Introducing today’s topic and featured guests 03:39 Menstruation is the monthly process where the body sheds the lining of the uterus, and it also brings emotional, psychological, and even spiritual changes. 17:18 Menstrual cycle awareness is about understanding and respecting our natural rhythms, which can improve our well-being and productivity by honoring the need for rest and reflection in our lives. 31:20 Recognizing and respecting your menstrual cycle can improve your well-being by allowing you to adjust your activities and manage your energy more effectively. 40:10 The inner critic gets stronger during the pre-menstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Knowing this can help you take better care of yourself and manage parenting challenges. 53:09 Menstrual cycle awareness can help with personal healing and self-care, even for those who face challenges like heavy periods or grief, by fostering connection with one's own body and experiences. 58:52 Wrapping up the discussion References Alfonseca, K., & Guilfoil, K. (2022, July 19). Should people of all genders be taught sex education together? Educators weigh in. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://abcnews.go.com/US/people-genders-taught-sex-education-educators-weigh/story?id=87021246

Andrews, S. (n.d.). Should schools separate sex ed classes by gender? NextGenMen. Retrieved from: https://www.nextgenmen.ca/blog/should-schools-separate-sex-ed-classes-by-gender