NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors. Kay'aleya hunnybee === [00:00:00] Kay'a: just because I'm on hormonal birth control doesn't mean I'm actually healing my body. [00:00:04] Kay'a: It's not healing those underlying conditions. It's essentially masking those symptoms. [00:00:08] Cara: This is an interview. You don't want to miss Kaia. And I connected a while back through a business program and we've stayed connected through our accountability group. [00:00:17] Cara: We dive into some really important women's health topics. If you should consider getting off birth control and how. To begin the process of cycle tracking and even exploring the idea of natural contraception. What does a normal cycle look like? And what are some common signs that we need support in our menstrual health? [00:00:37] Cara: We also dive into our sexual wellbeing and how pleasure is our natural birthright. Kaia is an herbalist and integrative health educator specializing in menstrual, hormonal sexual and reproductive health. She holds a master's of science degree in therapeutic urbalism. She is a certified women's herbal educator. And this pursuing [00:01:00] certification as a woman's health coach. [00:01:02] Cara: As a trained yoga teacher and experienced massage therapist with a background as a doula and student midwife, she brings a uniquely integrative lens to her work as a womb centered herbalist. This is such a powerful interview and i can't wait to dive in [00:01:17] Cara: Welcome to floductivity. The podcast that guides you on a transformative journey towards spiritual wisdom, self development and healing practices. All aimed at elevating your intuition and aligning you with your soul's purpose. I'm your host, Cara Dempsey. And I'm thrilled to have you joining me today as we learn together. [00:01:40] Cara: Hi, Kaya, welcome to the show. [00:01:41] Kay'a: Yay. Welcome to you. [00:01:44] Cara: you are one of the first people that I've like known in business, but know personally. So I, I really like how this podcast episode's gonna go. [00:01:53] Kay'a: Me too. I'm, I'm excited to be here. Thanks for inviting [00:01:55] The Essence of Self-Care: Sunlight and Self-Love --- [00:01:55] Cara: Well, I all, you're welcome. Well, this has been a hot topic [00:02:00] in what I wanna bring to light for women. But before we really get into this, I wanna know your favorite self-care practices that are a little bit indulgent. [00:02:09] Kay'a: Mm-hmm. you shared questions to prepare me before this, and I thought this was an interesting question to start with. That really is. Important. It's something that I think a lot of us we neglect in our lives, is to actually give ourselves moments of self-care. And I think when I was thinking about how to answer it, I was like, in terms of indulgence, it's like, I think it's indulgent to when the sun is out, go outside for like five minutes, just take time outside for five minutes and lay down. [00:02:33] Kay'a: One of my favorite things to do is to lay down in the sun and just open myself, receptively up to the sun to receive just what I think is like sun medicine. I know that there's literal vitamin D and there's other things from the sun rays that are wonderful for me, but I just feel like that warmth and that vitality that I receive it's like a recharge. [00:02:52] Kay'a: And even though it's only five minutes, and most of us actually could do that at some point in our day. It does. I can imagine that that would feel indulgent for some [00:03:00] folks of like, what, you're gonna take five minutes out and go outside and just lay down? And it's like, yeah, I put my tech away. this is just receiving the sun. [00:03:07] Kay'a: that's one that I wanted to share. I feel like that is an essential one. Right now it's raining outside so it's hard for me to really embody and feel it. But on the days that it's sunny, it's pretty sweet. And even to be able to do that, like I've done that for almost for over 20 years. I started doing that when I was, when I was in college and I remember people being like, are you okay? [00:03:23] Kay'a: 'cause I'd like lay down So I'd like lay down on concrete. Like other people would be like walking in and outta buildings and I'd just be laying there. But even in the winter, I lived in Colorado and it's sunny in the winter. And so just to like give myself those moments, I guess it's a deep rest, but it's also that receptive energy and even in the winter we can do it, you know? It's not something that's only summertime. [00:03:43] Cara: Yeah, I love that so much because I think that's the thing is like self-care, so many people think it's like selfish or like, what do you mean take five minutes out of the day? And so just hearing things like that, it's so nourishing and that's what self-care is. So it's when I ask this question, I love all [00:04:00] the different answers I get because I get answers like this, and just in my mornings, I'm not laying in the sun, but when the sun peaks through, I stop what I'm doing and I just, like you said, receive. [00:04:13] Cara: There's something about it that's so powerful that I'm like, yes, give me that vitamin D. Give me that energy, that life force energy. And so that's perfect. I love that answer. [00:04:23] Kay'a: Yes, and I did wanna share one more that I think is, is. Actually pretty easy too to incorporate, but is a whole new routine to bring into one's life that I love and that I learned when I was studying Ayurveda. So I studied Ayurveda like over 10 years ago now, and it was something that was encouraged for us to do on a daily basis. [00:04:41] Kay'a: So it's like a daily practice in Ayurveda. There's all these daily practices. It's a lot to take on all at once, but it's beautiful. Basically self-care practices that support general optimal health in overall. But one of those things is body oiling. I don't actually currently do it every single day, but I did for years. [00:04:59] Kay'a: Now [00:05:00] I kind of do it a couple times a week, but it's actually warming up some oil. So actually, like I use coconut oil or olive oil, depending on the moment and what I have. And sometimes sesame oil. So it just depends. And you can do herbal infused oils too, so that's really lovely. And that feels even more indulgent to me, but just. [00:05:16] Kay'a: Honestly for me, just the basic, you know, coconut oil or something, if it's summertime or sesame oil in the winter time is a little bit more warming. And then just heating that up in the morning in like a double boiler. Or I just like put a jar honestly in some hot water and heat that up just so it's like not cold, like so it's warmish and then oiling my body and actually like my whole body, it's like a self-love practice and it really doesn't have to take more than five minutes to do. [00:05:42] Kay'a: So it's like just gently, you know, like the entire body though. I'm talking your belly and your breasts or chest and your arms and your neck and even your face if you feel comfortable doing your face too. And it's just, yeah, it's so many things. I mean, from an Ayurvedic perspective, I think it's called Abhyanga [00:06:00] which is, I don't know how that translates, but it's essentially self oiling. [00:06:03] Kay'a: But another thing that I've heard it talked about, I can't remember the Sanskrit word for it, but it's actually love, like body oiling can be considered to be offering love to yourself. I see it that way. I feel it that way when I'm doing it. [00:06:16] Kay'a: It's kind of like this, like love that I'm offering to my body, to my, the cells on my skin. And then just on, just, just feeling grateful, you know, like having the moments of gratitude in that. And sometimes I'm not as conscious to be like, oh, I'm grateful for this part of my body and stuff. But like just having that practice feels really good. [00:06:33] Kay'a: And then I usually take a shower afterwards. You can leave it on. Some people do, but I usually take a shower afterwards and it's just like my skin just feels good. and it's something I think a lot of, even people with oily skin, this can be really useful for. So it's not something that's like, oh, only if you have dry skin. [00:06:47] Kay'a: But I do tend towards dryness. So it is especially supportive for me. so there's the quality of the love, but there's also the quality of like, it's known to support your immune system. And when I think about your oil in your body, you're also self massaging a [00:07:00] little bit. It's not like intense self mass massage, but like self massaging. [00:07:02] Kay'a: So you're helping your lymph move, so you're actually helping like, the waists that are getting stuck in different places move in your body. And so there's a lot of health benefits too. Anyway, I could talk about that. I feel like I could talk about that for like a long time, but it's such a beautiful practice that's actually really simple. [00:07:17] Kay'a: It does take a minute to get into the routine of doing it and to like, feel like oriented to wake up and do that in the morning. But it feels it is really special. Yeah. So that's another [00:07:27] Cara: I love that so much. I've known about the practice for quite a while. I've had a lot of people in Ayurveda tell me about it. And even if I'm not doing that practice, I will. Change that intention. Like even when I'm putting my face oil on my face of being with that whole idea of love behind it. [00:07:45] Cara: And it's also helped me build that self-confidence in certain areas of my body that I may not fully love and accept when I'm rubbing oil. 'cause I do use oils, a moisturizer. I use coconut oil 'cause my skin is super dry. I do, I [00:08:00] put that intention of, you know, I love and accept this part of my body and it, so it's helped bring this overall idea of self image. [00:08:10] Cara: And I feel like that's the first big start. And anybody that's like having a hard time with the way they look or the way they feel you kind of gotta love yourself first before if you're trying to have a transformation with your body. that really helped me on my, I. Weight loss journey and a lot of that stuff. [00:08:27] Cara: So I'm glad you brought that up. you know, I had a recent episode about, the Art of Living, which is an Ayurveda center, and they talked a lot about the different oil massages and things that you can do with that. So bringing these self-care practices to yourself at home is huge because you can go on a retreat and have these ideas and you're like, yes. [00:08:46] Cara: But then if you're just coming home and you're right in the same mundane tasks and not having that intention, it's just ultimately having that intention of like, this is me. I love myself, I'm caring for myself. It's indulgent in [00:09:00] the best nourishing way. So I love those, those are really both beautiful practices, so thank you for sharing. [00:09:05] Kay'a: You're welcome. Yeah. I like the reflections that you shared too, and I do think that. In our journeys, in our bodies, those of us who have a form who are, you know, identify as women or have bodies that have breasts or chest and, the womb bodies that I am often focused on, we're really acculturated to dislike parts of our bodies. [00:09:25] Kay'a: That's like a real reality that almost every one of us faces. I mean, probably every single one of us faces. yeah, I think just any practice where we touch our bodies. I was, um, having a conversation with my mother-in-law. I guess I'm gonna bring this up. Okay. Anyway, she was saying that she never, ever touches her breasts or her I know. [00:09:44] Kay'a: Here I am. Yes, I'm on video. She never touches her chest. In her whole life. Like, it's like it's a place that she's thought of as off limits. it was where she nursed her children and it was a sexual relationship with her partner. That's like where she had her sexual relationship with her partner. [00:09:58] Kay'a: And it's not like hers. She [00:10:00] doesn't see that as a place that she like touches. And I was like, you don't even do like you know, self checks and stuff just to feel and check for any kind of anything going on there. She was like, Nope, I do mammograms, that's fine. And I'm just like, wow. [00:10:10] Kay'a: So there's just no relationship with that part of your body. And that, to me it kind of blew my mind and I realized that she's not alone. I think that's what I'm saying is like, I know she's not alone. in high school I was taught to do the, the self exams. [00:10:23] Kay'a: So I feel like I just have always at least done that. And then, you know, the last 20 years or so, I've just like cultivated a really loving relationship with. This part of my body that, I could easily judge. But to have just this acceptance relationship with, it doesn't have to be like going all the way to love immediately or to like, but just like I have a relationship with this part of my body. [00:10:42] Kay'a: I accept this part of my body. I embrace, I connect with this part of my body. Even that, [00:10:47] Cara: I actually read something in my morning pages today, and it was like, and acknowledgement creates movement even if you're not actually taking the steps. And so acknowledging your body and [00:11:00] knowing that we don't have it. We're not here. you know, acknowledging this beautiful vessel that allows us to be in this human form. [00:11:09] Cara: It is like that first step, but I definitely relate to your mother-in-law a lot in that and just, I don't know if it comes from a place of withholding or I don't know where it stems from, but it's definitely something I'm gonna reflect on because the last few years on this, just journey, spiritual journey, just understanding that, we have to love ourselves to really thrive in this life. [00:11:33] Cara: it's taken, relearning how to love ourselves, not having that judgment and not really just putting ourselves down, when we look at it. It's just even starting with the acknowledgement of this is my body. What does it do for me? How can I love it more? How can I nourish it, [00:11:49] Kay'a: Yeah. [00:11:50] Navigating the Transition: Freedom from Hormonal Birth Control --- [00:11:50] Cara: one of the big questions that I had on the beginning of my journey was realizing that hormonal birth control was really messing with my [00:12:00] body. when I would go to the doctors, they were trying to just put me on different birth control, and I just got to a point where I was like, I'm gonna get off. [00:12:06] Cara: But then I found that I really had no support in figuring out what the heck to do after that. And so if someone was trying to consider getting off birth control, what would be some suggestions for their journey on that? [00:12:21] Kay'a: I'm curious first, like what, what were the symptoms that you were experiencing that were, that were coming up for you, that you were noticing? [00:12:27] Cara: let me transport myself back to that time. Life was just overwhelming. this was right around the time we found out we had mold in our house, so I was detoxing my whole body. there was a lot of things, a lot of reasons why I was getting off. And it was the time where I was also looking into household products that were probably disrupting my hormones as well. [00:12:46] Cara: So I was just in a full, like, let's reset, let's detox, let's get all this crap out of my body. no matter what I was eating, I was holding on weight. I was sluggish. I had rashes, [00:13:00] which is, still an ongoing thing, but I ultimately know why, they come up. my immune system, Ultimately, I feel like the biggest thing was my immune system was in horrible shape. That was one of the biggest ones, and I just could not feel and stay healthy, I just felt like I was in like an angry place. [00:13:17] Kay'a: Yeah, it's interesting. I feel like there's a lot of different side effects that people could be experiencing on birth control. So, and I think a lot of times it's like you're saying, passed off when you know, in their medical doctor's office, and it's kind of like, oh, I'm experiencing this. [00:13:30] Kay'a: Oh, so let's try a different birth control. And so you're like, you're passed between the different hormonal birth controls. they're like, oh, well maybe you can do the non-hormonal copper i u d or something like that. Like there's options that are there within that framework, but they're still limited to these kind of like forms of birth control that are outside of you versus inside of you. [00:13:47] Kay'a: And have you actually cultivating your own relationship with your cycle. So one of the things that's interesting is that I would never say to somebody I. You should get off birth control. I would never say that to somebody. There's no reason for me to say [00:14:00] that. I think a person has their own journey and for some people it's perfectly appropriate for them. [00:14:05] Kay'a: They feel very comfortable, they feel safe, they feel like, you know, their body is fine. They're not experiencing side effects or any that they are experiencing. Weight gain is a huge one that's very, very common. But yeah, mood swings, different kinds of depression can be a significant one for people. [00:14:19] Kay'a: There's some people that it's just the hormones just really mess with their body and it just doesn't work out for them. and there's also risks, you know, associated with hormonal birth control. There are longer term risks. I encourage anybody who's on it or considering it to just look into that. [00:14:31] Kay'a: 'cause I feel like those are glossed over as well. it's not the worst thing in the world for a person to be on hormonal birth control. it's something that, it is the appropriate choice for some people, for sure. And for a lot of people who don't have like the resources or the. [00:14:45] Kay'a: Ability, the time in their life to like bring in a new practice. It can be just kind of this like easier path. insurance can pay for it, can just be like something that you don't have to think about. A lot of people have really busy lives and don't have the time, but for people who are feeling curious [00:15:00] interested in coming off their hormonal birth control or birth control, whatever they're on, there are a lot of things to consider, so I don't feel like I can get into everything in this space. [00:15:09] Kay'a: But for the most part, someone coming off of birth control it's not like a lifesaving drug or something. It's like, you know, you can come off of birth control, like in relationship with your, it's great to talk to your doctor about it, it's your choice and how you wanna do it, you can come off birth control and generally almost everyone within six months will start cycling normally again. [00:15:26] Kay'a: Definitely within a year, almost everyone will. That is not true for every single person. Some people end up, you know, realizing, oh, I have this underlying thing going on. They might've actually been put on birth control. That's another thing is that some people were put on birth control because they have some kind of condition, and it might've been something like P C O Ss, or it might've been something like hormonal acne that was really intense, or it might've been endometriosis and or really intense menstrual cramps and pain, you know, pelvic pain. [00:15:51] Kay'a: So there's different reasons that, you know, not everybody's just using it for contraception, actually. In fact, I would say there's definitely a lot of people using it for contraception, but [00:16:00] at least equal the amount, if not more, who, you know, they go to their gynecologist or just their P C P and they're given it for, you know, some hormonal issue. [00:16:08] Kay'a: unfortunately, one of the things that I think. fortunately, one of the things that is happening right now is that more and more people are realizing and learning, and it's kind of trending. The information is trending that, oh, just because I'm on hormonal birth control doesn't mean I'm actually healing my body. [00:16:24] Kay'a: It's not healing those underlying conditions. It's essentially masking those symptoms. So for a lot of people, they're like, oh, I'm fine. Like, I'm good. I don't have that menstrual pain anymore. Or, oh, like, yeah, I've got these periods because I have, my bleeds, when I stop taking my pills, I, bleed. [00:16:38] Kay'a: or they're not bleeding ever. 'cause some people have that kind of birth control. It's all, there's all different kinds, but then they come off of it and maybe it's 'cause they're trying to conceive. A lot of times that's what will happen is somebody is like thinking about conceiving, they're like, they've been on birth control for 10/15/20 years even. [00:16:54] Kay'a: And then they come off and then they start to realize, oh, I actually. I'm noticing that I have these [00:17:00] same symptoms I did as a teenager or as in early twenties, and as I did in my early twenties. So that could be the really intense menstrual cramps or that intense, you know, second half of their cycle potentially, which is oriented a little bit more towards endometriosis. [00:17:13] Kay'a: But then there could be like major hormonal, mood swings or challenges. yeah, just mental states or irregular cycles is a huge one. That is a huge p a huge thing that comes out, you know, that a lot of people realize, oh, that wasn't just my teens. Like, that's still happening. [00:17:28] Kay'a: so yeah, there's a lot of different things. I guess I'm just talking about all these ways that hormonal birth control is used, but also once you start to learn, like once you do come off of their birth control and you start to learn, oh, there's the, it's underlying things going on, then it's like, what do you do? [00:17:41] Kay'a: And a lot of times if you go to your gynecologist or your, or doctor, their answer is, well, pretty much you have to go back on hormonal birth control. That's kind of like the main answer, unfortunately. thankfully there's lots of people out in the world right now who are like looking at other integrative and holistic and natural solutions to things. [00:17:59] Kay'a: it's an [00:18:00] interesting conundrum. I feel like there's so much that could be said in this, if someone's coming off, generally it's gonna be an easeful process. Generally. They're gonna come off, they're gonna start cycling at some point within the first six to 12 months, often before that, and they can start to pay attention to their cycle. That first step. I can talk about it in a minute, but for those folks who don't, can find support. I will just give the, Shout out to many people in the world who are supporting people who have irregular cycles, who have menstrual challenges, who have hormonal imbalances. You know, like there are a lot of different options that are not given to us in our conventional medical system that are available. [00:18:34] Kay'a: And well, I would, oh yeah, there's a lot of stuff on my podcast. yeah. I'm happy to share resources if there's more specific things that people have, you know, challenges with or, you know, referrals to people who have more specific practices clinically. [00:18:46] Kay'a: But yeah. I think another thing I wanted to say is like when you're coming off hormonal birth control in general, yes, there are some things you can do to support yourself getting, I think vitamin D is a big one vitamin D and B vitamins are both really, really helpful. Coming off birth [00:19:00] control. I can't remember. [00:19:01] Kay'a: There's like something about when you're coming off hormonal birth control. It's really interesting that your d actually decreases. why does that happen? I don't know, but it's a thing. So, um, supplementing at that time is probably a good idea. [00:19:12] Kay'a: And then I always love to support liver function just to help the body. just move through any of the excess just moving the hormones out of the body. Shifting and changing there's a lot of adjusting that's happening. So liver support could look like nutrition. [00:19:27] Kay'a: That could look like eating lots of leafy green vegetables that are brassicas, which is your, um, kale, collards, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, you know, all of those kinds of vegetables I would say, and or adding in beautiful herbs to support your liver. So lots of, some of my favorites there are Shara, I love Shara so much. [00:19:45] Kay'a: Milk thistle. Everybody kind of knows about as a, liver, support and dandelion, dandelion root, we've talked about dandelion before, but it's like, you know, it's like one of those common weeds that almost everybody knows and it's like such a powerhouse, hormonal support for us. [00:19:59] Cara: [00:20:00] would you make a tea with the daily lane route or what would you do with it [00:20:03] Cara: if, you were a beginner at, at using [00:20:06] Kay'a: I would work with a person to figure out what would work for them. if they're not gonna make a tea, then using a powder and adding that into a smoothie is probably an easier way. Or just doing capsules is an option. I don't love capsules personally. [00:20:20] Kay'a: Um, I just feel like you never really know how long they're on the shelf. It's not always like the best, because once a herb is powdered, it kind of like goes bad more quickly. So you just wanna like, either powder it yourself, which you can do in like a coffee grinder type of thing. Not with your coffee. [00:20:33] Kay'a: Not your coffee, coffee grinder, but like a separate coffee grinder that you have for herbs. Herbs and seeds and stuff like that. grinding it yourself and you can add that even into like oatmeal or something. Like, you just add it into things, soups, stews, like whatever you want to, yogurt, even just to get it in. [00:20:46] Kay'a: So that's one way that's probably a little easier for some folks, but, If people were inclined to make a tea with dandelion, yes. There are different ways that you can do that. The best way to get the most medicinal benefit would be to use the [00:21:00] root that you kind of like buy in bulk. You buy the cut and sifted root and then to make an actual decoction with it. [00:21:05] Kay'a: So a decoction is a simmer tea, and it's essentially you're, decco ting it for probably around 15 minutes. bringing it to a simmer and then just simmering it for 15 minutes and then straining it and drinking that. So, in my mind I would also add in some other herbs depending on what somebody was going through or just to make it taste better. [00:21:23] Kay'a: So like ginger could be nice there, or like other herbs that people like that are roots, roots or seeds you could add into that. [00:21:29] Cara: well I love all that. I mean, I will touch on the reason I was on birth control was because of my cycles were always inconsistent. They would last like 10 days. There were super heavy. And so there was definitely a way in my life where it supported me. Looking back how I supported myself nutritionally was probably one of the biggest reasons why my cycle was so bad. [00:21:55] Cara: like you were saying, yes, my birth control definitely masked it. And then when I [00:22:00] came off, I was relearning how to support my body in a healthy way that wasn't, and I'm still doing it. That's not. Withholding, the indulgent foods, but still supporting myself in that nutritional way that's helping. [00:22:14] Cara: I am not a doctor and I don't have any background in this, but [00:22:17] Embarking on the Journey of Cycle Tracking --- [00:22:17] Cara: my personal experience was learning how to care for my body in the process of actually learning what a cycle is and what the phases are. And so if someone was to begin the process of cycle tracking, what would be your Guidance for them? [00:22:35] Cara: And I know you have a free, offering around that too as well, so plug that as well. [00:22:40] Kay'a: Okay. Yes, I do. Yeah, so I, about 15 years ago I discovered something called Fertility Awareness, fertility Awareness Method. And I actually read, um, Tony Weschler's book taking charge of your fertility. [00:22:54] Kay'a: I can see it on my bookshelf. So I actually read that book and it's a big book. I [00:23:00] read it cover to cover, and it changed my life. I had never heard of fertility awareness or cycle tracking before. It was not a trending thing at that time. Let me just tell you. No one I knew was cycle tracking. Now it's a thing that you can find all over a TikTok or all over Instagram. [00:23:13] Kay'a: However, at that time it was completely new to me and I was a midwifery school and I was learning also about fertility. there were a couple of other books that we were suggested to read that also talked about this same concept. It's also called Natural Family Planning. It's a different way of looking at it. [00:23:27] Kay'a: And so some people who are more oriented towards conception or who might be kind of like advocates of contraception will refer to it as natural family planning. However, you can work with fertility, you can work with that method. As contraception, and that has been my sole form of contraception for the last 15 years. [00:23:45] Kay'a: So I will say, and I, I haven't had any babes, I can't be like, oh, it's a hundred percent effective. But the studies have shown that fertility awareness when used correctly, is over 99% effective. That's actually like more, I believe, [00:24:00] than the birth control pill. I can't remember what the exact numbers are for the birth control pill. [00:24:03] Kay'a: I didn't pull up those numbers before this, but I believe it's actually higher. So it's like, a real thing. what I would suggest, yeah, is checking out fertility awareness. And so fertility awareness is really simple. It's so simple. It does take time. It takes a patience, it takes time. It takes. Consistency in order to actually start to implement it. But it's really simple. It is just tracking signs in your body, so you are literally tracking every single day your basal body temperature. So use a basal body temperature thermometer and you're tracking your basal body temperature and you're putting it onto a chart. [00:24:37] Kay'a: And I do, in my free guide, I have like a starter chart for folks. So my free guide is at herbal your cycle. And it's literally a guide to fertility awareness, starting it in your life. There are people who have used that guide. I've had it out for over a year, and I've had people come to me and tell me that they started to use it over a year ago That's how they're working with contraception. They've come off of their birth control, they're now using fertility awareness. And I [00:25:00] just love that even just using that guide, I mean, some people need extra support. You can use the guide if you want to, and I've got lots of resources on it too. So that is a great, a great starter guide. [00:25:08] Kay'a: So on there I do have the chart. So you're gonna track your basal body temperature and you're gonna track your cervical mucus. Those are the two non-negotiables. And your cervical mucus is literally like, I usually just track it every time I go to the bathroom, I just check on my, on my toilet paper for any, anything that's there. [00:25:22] Kay'a: And some people will do, they'll actually, place their fingers inside their vagina to check out the cervical mucus that way too. But you just wanna be doing either the toilet tissue or the in internal check and you wanna do the same thing the whole time. You're not gonna be switching back and forth between those two. [00:25:38] Kay'a: And you literally are just checking for what's going on there. So you have, everybody is different in terms of what their patterns are. And so you'll get to know your own body while you do this. Some days you're, you're gonna have your dry days, which for you, they're dry. For you, what that looks like for you. [00:25:53] Kay'a: It doesn't mean that you're paper dry and you feel like sandpaper. It could be that there's some kind of like a little bit of discharge there, [00:26:00] but it is simply like your dryness. And then as you come towards your fertile window, as you head towards ovulation. Because of course we have these phases of our cycle, and I know that's a whole new thing for some people too. [00:26:10] Kay'a: But you share about that I believe a lot on your podcast. So anybody listening to this probably already knows about the phases. But you know, we've got menstruation, we've got our follicular phase, we've got the ovulation, and then we've got our luteal phase. So that's the general menstrual cycle. [00:26:23] Kay'a: So as we're on our follicular phase, we're usually having our, you know, we menstruate. Obviously that's not dry. You can keep track of your blood, like how heavy your blood is and what the texture is like if you want to. That's actually giving us great information too. So me as a clinician, I love to know like all of these things, but that's helpful information potentially. [00:26:40] Kay'a: And then you usually have, depending on how long someone's follicular phase is, there's usually some dry days in there. Some people have shorter follicular phases, so it just depends. Some dry days in there and then you'll start to see your mucus changing. Often if there's a healthy ovulation happening, you'll start to see your mucus changing and it'll be like a little bit creamy. [00:26:58] Kay'a: You might see some like rubberiness, you [00:27:00] might see some creaminess. It might look a little bit like yogurt or cottage cheese. That's totally like it is not abnormal to have some of this stuff. Some people think that they have recurrent yeast infections every single month because they're like noticing their cervical mucus 'cause they just have copious amounts of it and it can be completely normal. [00:27:15] Kay'a: So if you're not having itching, inflammation, redness, like if it's not smelling yeasty, it might just be your cervical fluid. So like let's just put that out there. Anyway, as you're heading towards ovulation, then you get to this place where it's like the peak point, and it is so amazing. There's this clear fluid, and sometimes that fluid can actually be stretched. [00:27:34] Kay'a: It's stretchy. Sometimes it's just a small amount of clear, fluid, fluid, but sometimes that fluid can actually be stretched pretty far. It's like egg whites and people talk about it that way, is like the egg whites before they're cooked. That kind of like really gooey, clear fluid, and that can come out of your vagina. [00:27:50] Kay'a: So here we are. I'm just sharing all about it. so that is like you're tracking that and and you're also tracking your temperature that whole time. And then as you ovulate, once you ovulate, [00:28:00] that really stretchy fluid, which is your most fertile time. Actually start to die down, you'll start to have actually like more dry days. [00:28:06] Kay'a: you might get a little bit of like the creaminess and then head towards dry, but then you're tracking your temperature too. And your temperature will go up and it doesn't go up a ton. It goes up just, I can't remember how much, but it's like a few points of a degree. That's why you need the basal body thermometer, because that actually does decimal points. [00:28:21] Kay'a: So you know, you're checking and it's just your temperature goes up and for at least three days your temperature is staying up. Then you know, you've ovulated, you know you've ovulated and then it continues to stay up. I mean, I really suggest like doing this for at least three months to get to near your cycle before you start, like trusting this as your birth control method. [00:28:38] Kay'a: and maybe even longer depending on the person. 'cause some people's cycles can be complicated, but, Generally in a normal cycle, the temperature's gonna stay up until it, until your hormones drop, right before you menstruate. It's going to kind of go down enough that you notice that something is changing. [00:28:53] Kay'a: You'll probably also feel it in your body. So that time when it's staying up, after those three days, and you know, you've ovulated, it is safe to have unprotected [00:29:00] sex. If you are, if you know that you're not gonna end up with a, you know, sexually transmitted infection or something that is like so liberating. [00:29:06] Kay'a: Oh my [00:29:06] Kay'a: gosh. [00:29:07] Cara: Yes. the theme of this podcast episode is just getting to know your body and then being able to support yourself at that, and then ultimately having that satisfaction of being like, okay, okay, now that I know my body is doing this, I can be more safe with that now. [00:29:25] Cara: I remember having this conversation with someone, and this was before I really even had any awareness of like what a menstrual cycle was. And unfortunately I was probably still in my mid thirties when I had this conversation, but someone brought up that they like double ovulate. Is that something that you've heard of [00:29:42] Kay'a: That. Okay, so there's a couple things that can happen. So that's one of those more complicated cycles. However, what will not happen is that you won't have that rise in temperature for three days. You won't have that. Twice. what could happen is that two eggs could be released and it was, it's usually within that same 24, 36 hour period. [00:29:58] Kay'a: It's not like this happened a [00:30:00] week ago and now it's happening now it's usually in that same period and then you're gonna watch for your temperature rise. So that's really important. there is something, a phenomenon that can happen or the body will start to try to ovulate and you might start seeing your fertile mucus, but you're not gonna fully ovulate. [00:30:15] Kay'a: That could happen. And then maybe something wonky goes on, you end up kind of getting dry days again, and then you finally have your like real ovulation. So what you can see, and sometimes that happens in perimenopause or with irregular cycles, but often more in like perimenopausal years or even puberty years, that can happen a lot. [00:30:30] Kay'a: so that is what you'll potentially see is like this trying. Then not happening, and then maybe, the real happening. you're not actually gonna ovulate twice. There are multiple eggs that can be released. Yeah. Okay. But it's in the same period of time. that's how twins, those, um, what are they called? The kind of twins that are not the same from the same egg. [00:30:49] Cara: Okay, that's good because like, that still haunts me a little bit in the back of my head was like, is that a possibility? So that makes me feel a lot better that it's not like two separate times. It's just, it's [00:31:00] like your body's like, you're gonna ovulate, wait, nope, we're gonna wait a little bit. [00:31:03] Cara: And then it's a few days later. So thank you for clearing that up. ' [00:31:06] Understanding Menstrual Energetics and Signs You May Need Support --- [00:31:06] Cara: I've always used, the idea of cycle tracking and the more of the energetics, because my energy fluctuates a lot during my cycle, but I'm also a manifesting generator that's something in the human design world that like, I get crazy bursts of energy and then when my energy's kind of coming down in my luteal phase, it's a huge drop. [00:31:29] Cara: And so kind of what I'm asking is, Are there signs that we need to look for in our menstrual health that we would maybe need support in? Is if there's a huge downside of energy or different things with our menstrual blood that comes to mind when I ask that question. [00:31:47] Kay'a: I mean, there's a lot if you're tracking your, I was just talking about, specifically fertility awareness. I'm obviously very passionate about it. I also suggest, adding in barrier methods like a condom for instance. If you feel comfortable and you wanna have sex [00:32:00] during your fertile window, there's a lot more to know about it than what I just shared. [00:32:03] Kay'a: But the basics are there when you're tracking your cycle, this is what I love, like when you're tracking your cycle, whether or not you wanna use it for contraception. If you're tracking your cycle, you're getting information, that's kind of what you're, what you're kind of alluding to here is like, when we track, we can symptom track alongside that. [00:32:17] Kay'a: So we're not just checking those signs. We can also track our symptoms. So it could be, like I said before, like paying attention to your, the blood that's coming out, the menstrual blood that's coming out. It could be your moods, it could be your pain, it could be your potentially, any kind of soreness that you might have in your breast or chest. [00:32:34] Kay'a: It could be bloating, it could be diarrhea, it could be constipation. It's like all of those signs and symptoms are telling us something. a lot of fatigue. It could be depression, anxiety, all of that is telling us something. So absolutely, there are so many things, and actually it's more than I can really go into here, but I do have a list of signs of imbalance that I wanna mention here. [00:32:53] Kay'a: And I actually have this also in my guide so that if anybody is interested, they can just go to this list. I have a list of cycled [00:33:00] norms and then I have a list of cycle imbalances in there. But I'm just gonna go through the imbalances here. Again, that's herbal womb.com/track your cycle. So short cycles. [00:33:08] Kay'a: So short cycles are, less than 25 days. So by cycles, I mean from the time you're bleeding all the way till the next time you're bleeding. I'm not talking about your time, of your period, I'm talking about like that entire menstrual cycle. So 25 days or less can be a sign of some kind of imbalance happening. [00:33:24] Kay'a: Sometimes that can be normal for people, but sometimes that can be an imbalance. So it's something to look at long cycles, longer than 35 days consistently. Occasionally, we're gonna have a random weird cycle here and there that can be completely normal. Even one a year can be completely normal to have one of these weird wonky cycles. [00:33:41] Kay'a: But when this is happening consistently, you're like, Ooh, oh, it's, it's 37 days again. Oh, it's. 41 days. Oh it's 21 days. And like all of that, that's when you wanna start paying attention and being like, okay, something's going on here. I actually have a client right now who was just saying like, she was like, I think my cycles have always been short. [00:33:57] Kay'a: She was like, they're 21 days. And I was just like, oh, that's [00:34:00] interesting. But she doesn't remember, she was on hormonal birth control her entire twenties into her early thirties and she doesn't really remember what her cycle was like before that. 'cause she was a teenager. And so it's just like hard for her to remember. [00:34:11] Kay'a: And so I'm just like, oh, interesting. They're just shorter. She wasn't even tracking till the past few years. 'cause now she's trying to conceive. So I think now she's realizing they're short. They may not have been that short. They might have gotten shorter. So it's, it's interesting. It gives us information. [00:34:24] Kay'a: And it's also helpful, I will say, to, to think about what were your cycles like earlier and have they changed? That's another thing to notice if things are changing, that's something to start paying attention to. and then of course, like intense pm m s so intense. I mean, some level of mood shifting and changing fatigue. [00:34:41] Kay'a: A little bit of bloating, like all of that can be to, and even a little bit of cramp, just a little bit of cramping. Not like intense, you need to be in your bed and you can't go to work type of cramping. But like, noticing. ' cause literally our uterine lining is getting ready to, and then shedding, like it's a thing in our organ that's shedding. [00:34:57] Kay'a: So some of us will feel that more than [00:35:00] others. It's okay to feel that, but we don't wanna be in agony. We don't wanna be lying in bed. And certainly if it's longer than just, a couple, few days, stretching out into like your entire luteal phase and you're noticing like, pretty intense pain or irritation you're having nausea you're passing out. [00:35:16] Kay'a: Like it's so amazing to me. Now that I've been hearing more and more stories, I'm just like, wow, some people don't even realize that that's not normal because it's what they've always experienced. So understanding your own body and writing those symptoms down and then sharing them with someone. Who isn't you? [00:35:31] Kay'a: So they can kind of like feed back off and be like, oh, that doesn't happen to me. I don't pass out because of my menstrual cramps. I'm not on the floor in my bathroom when I'm bleeding. That's helpful, right? Because some people are just like, this is everybody. so those, types of things. Anxiety, depression, all of that kind of stuff. [00:35:46] Kay'a: Especially if it's really intense because there are definitely, there are even mood disorders that can happen that I think are very often overlooked and important to, to consider significant diarrhea or major constipation. So like if you're really got a [00:36:00] lot of loose stools, you're losing a lot. You know, it's very common for, depends on the person, but some people tend towards some loose stools, like that first day or two of their cycle. [00:36:09] Kay'a: That can be totally common. There's the energy's going down in the body, the cramping is happening, our body is just like, get it all out. that can be a normal feeling, but if it's like really a lot, that could be something to look at. And for sure if there's like. Major constipation, especially for like multiple days. [00:36:25] Kay'a: It can be kind of normal to have a little bit of slower stool right before you bleed, but if there's like a lot of constipation, that's something to look at too. cyclic headaches are migraines, like really significant, especially if they're significant. You might have a little headache here or there, but if you're consistently every month having really significant migraines, you're unable to do things. [00:36:43] Kay'a: essentially, that's saying that there's something imbalanced here. There's some kind of hormonal response we're having that our bodies are not adjusting well to. So figuring that out and just like working with someone, you do not have to suffer through these things. [00:36:54] Kay'a: There are things that are possible for you. So those kinds of things. Yeah, like significant cramping. I think [00:37:00] I already mentioned incapacitating pain, like it's so wild that endometriosis is becoming, of course, more of a trending topic, but. there are people with endometriosis who have incapacitating pain that is lasting for, I mean, even if it's just around their menstrual cycle, but they're passing out or they're, or they're puking or it's lasting for a week or two weeks of their entire cycle or even potentially their whole cycle, unfortunately. [00:37:24] Kay'a: And there's people who are not diagnosed for, like, I think the average in the US is at least seven years that they go from provider to provider, not actually being diagnosed with endometriosis. I'm not saying that just 'cause you have menstrual pain, you have endometriosis, but if you're having that level of intense extreme incapacitating pain and your provider is not giving you some sense of like a direction to go in, go check out another provider, I, I highly recommend it. [00:37:49] Kay'a: Like that's important. like I said, the cyclic breast or chest pain, a little bit of discomfort. Premenstrually can be totally normal, just a little bit. You like, notice your breasts or your chest just kind of [00:38:00] like starting to, um, have a little bit of fiber tissue. Some people have that more often than others, but what that can show is that there might be like a holding on to more hormones essentially in the body and not kind of like getting them out. [00:38:11] Kay'a: So these kinds of things are helpful. It's just helpful information. Gives us more clues into what is happening. Clots in your menstrual blood. So you want your menstrual blood. Ideally, in an ideal world, we want our menstrual blood to be the bright red you know, you basically like start bleeding. You might have a little bit of spotting. [00:38:27] Kay'a: You start bleeding. It's a bright red color. It's essentially fluid. You're not like having lots and lots of clots. although it can be fairly normal to small little clots, small little clots are fine. But once they're larger than a quarter, that's giving some information. [00:38:40] Kay'a: So that's helpful information to know. Then you just want it to be flowing and then, you know, it kind of like flows. Maybe there's a little bit of like on and off towards the end 'cause that's sort of normal and natural. but it stays red for the most part throughout. And then by the time you're done, you're done. [00:38:54] Kay'a: what we don't wanna see, we don't wanna see spotting in your ltil phase, if there's any spotting in your lute phase, that's [00:39:00] something that is really good to pay attention to as well. And that's just like a little bleeding or spotting, definitely something you'll look into. But what often happens is that there can be brown blood earlier on and that is something to, to take note of. [00:39:12] Kay'a: And there can be brown blood at the end and that's something to take note of. So those are there's just good information. It's not like there's something horribly wrong at all. It's often just like the position of the uterus or just like needing more pelvic circulation. [00:39:24] Kay'a: But these are things that can be helpful. I mean, I could go into this forever, but there's yes. Significant bleeding, like menstrual flooding, like you're, like you were saying, you're bleeding so much. Like some people end up having to go to the ER because they're bleeding so much. That's the time to like pay some attention to what's going on. [00:39:39] Kay'a: Or if there's just like really a lot of blood coming out, insomnia, sleep problems, especially in the second half of your cycle, if that's happening, there's probably an imbalance happening there. Very light bleeding. If you're only bleeding for one or two days and it's super, super light and it's just a light pink, definitely something to look into. [00:39:54] Kay'a: You might be having anovulatory cycles. There's a lot here. It's a whole world unto itself. and yeah, if [00:40:00] you're having a lack of ovulation, so if you are tracking your cycles and you're not actually ovulating, you notice, oh, that's not happening, but I am bleeding a little bit. [00:40:08] Kay'a: It might be just like a breakthrough bleed type of thing happening. That's just like, because your uterine lining is. Building up forever. It's like basically you might have a tiny bit of bleeding, but it's not a full menstruation. Definitely something to look into. there's a grouping of some imbalances. [00:40:21] Cara: Yeah. No, that's so helpful. And I mean, there was definitely some things pinging, I was like, okay, because I feel like the more conversations I have with people, they're like, oh, well this is just the way it is, and. Eh, you know, and I'm like, okay, I mean, I feel like maybe investigate a little bit or just, like I was saying before, having the awareness is really the first step. [00:40:41] Cara: And then it's just trying to figure out what can help. And while I can't say that I have endometriosis or anything of the level of that, or P C O S, but I will say that when I began to kind of reel my energy in at the end of my luteal phase before my menstruation, [00:41:00] A lot of my menstrual symptoms went away. [00:41:03] Cara: It was like my body was like slow down. But like I was saying before, my energy is high, I can do a lot. And because I wasn't listening to my body, uh, when it was saying like, yes, we can get a lot of stuff done in this time period, but you need to listen to the signs of like, Hey, menstruation is coming. You need to pull back a little bit. [00:41:24] Cara: I would have intense menstrual symptoms when I wasn't listening. And so I think it's just, again, having that awareness and saying, wow, I feel extra tired. My period's not here yet, but this might be a good time to rest, or this might be a good time to take my home and work life tasks and make 'em come back a little bit so that I can nourish myself a little bit more. [00:41:48] Kay'a: I love that. I think especially for people who don't have. Major imbalances going on. Definitely. Especially like if you're feeling moody, if you're feeling tired, if you're experiencing menstrual cramps, but it's not to a such an [00:42:00] incapacitating place that you're passing out, then yeah, absolutely. [00:42:02] Kay'a: cycle sinking lifestyle like you share about on your podcast and just, I know is really, really important to you. And it's something that I've just as I've been tracking my cycle for so long, I just, I just listen. I've just learned to listen more and more. 'cause I'm just like, oh, that's where I'm at. [00:42:18] Kay'a: You know, it's okay for me to feel this way. I'm going to just respond to it. And knowing that everybody's a little different, like. The, I think one of the things that's a little challenging about the cycle sinking movement that's out there is that people are like, oh, in the follicular phase you're gonna feel this. [00:42:31] Kay'a: And then in your ovulatory phase you're gonna feel this. But some people actually, when they ovulate, have a little bit of cramping and feel a little foolish. Like that can be a thing. So for some people it's not gonna be their time to like be in the limelight. It might be better for them to do that in their follicular phase or in their early luteal phase. [00:42:48] Kay'a: Even act right after they ovulate. So I think it is about, like you're saying, like listen to your own body. You can get some guidance from the concept of cycle sinking and then just really respond to like, [00:43:00] what is your body asking for? And then the more we respond to including food, like we need more calories and, and in incre and also carbohydrates, especially in our luteal phase than we do in our follicular phase. [00:43:11] Kay'a: So it's like actually listening. I'm not saying go eat some sugar. I'm saying like sweet potatoes, you know, like eat some healthy carbohydrates. We need more of them in our luteal phase. A lot of people are just like eating exactly the same thing throughout and that can be a challenge too. So I think all of it, like lifestyle, food, relationship to yourself, paying attention to your cycle, all of that feels important in terms of really en encouraging more optimal menstrual health throughout the cycle. [00:43:37] Kay'a: Yeah, [00:43:38] Kay'a: and it's not gonna fix everything. If you've got, if you've got like major imbalances, there's probably a little more to support you, that's more targeted. So you can target more if you've got major imbalance that's happening, however, like you're saying. Yeah, absolutely. I think inflammation is such a, this is, I could just go on and on, but like inflammation is such a huge. Piece of the puzzle honestly for so many of us, and we live [00:44:00] in an inflammatory world essentially. Like, so there's tons of things that are contributing to that. But if we're able to respond to our bodies to rest, to give ourselves good foods, colorful foods, support ourselves even more, the inflammation that happens, that's natural actually around our menstrual cycle. [00:44:17] Kay'a: 'cause there is like our prostaglandins are, are being activated and there's just like a little bit of in inflammation that's happening because of course our uterine lining is letting go. It's like a thing that's happening. So the body's responding to that. There's a natural inflammation that happens. [00:44:30] Kay'a: But the more that we can kind of encourage this easeful cooling movement, the better we can feel. Yeah, [00:44:37] Cara: It's understanding the energetics of our body and not forcing ourselves to do things that don't feel good. For sure. And that's been like a lesson in my journey of it, of like not thinking I need to be on and do all the things all the time. But yeah, it's a personal subjective. Thing. just like you were saying with the grounding foods, that was a huge [00:45:00] thing that changed in the support of myself. [00:45:03] Cara: And thinking back of when I first started to get my period, I passed out all the time. Like there was just so many things that were leading toward just like not caring for my body in the right way and knowing that like I had some eating disorders at that time and like I was just depriving myself of like basic human care and that fully was affecting my cycle. [00:45:27] Cara: it's paying attention. I really appreciate all the wisdom that you've brought on. Is there anything you wanna kind of touch on before we hear about how listeners can find you and all your offerings at all? [00:45:38] Embracing Sexual Wellbeing and Pleasure as a Birthright --- [00:45:38] Kay'a: well, I guess I would love to touch because there was that question on sexual wellbeing, and I'd like to talk a [00:45:43] Kay'a: little bit about sex, [00:45:44] Cara: Yes, I would love that. Yes. Dive in. Dive [00:45:48] Kay'a: well, it does have, it has everything and nothing [00:45:50] Kay'a: to do with menstrual health. but you had mentioned, you had asked the question preparing me around how can we tell if there's anything that's amiss in our sexual [00:46:00] wellbeing essentially throughout our lifecycle? Like, I think is an important thing to question and I'm just really into, I believe that pleasure is a birthright of ours. I believe that we as. Folks with wombs as folks with clitoris, like have a superpower and orgasms are important, and feeling pleasure is important and really like connecting with that part of our bodies and in a way that feels healthy. [00:46:24] Kay'a: Of course, you know, there's trauma and there's challenge and a lot of people have like a lot of things going on. Of course, honoring and acknowledging that and having a relationship with our sexuality is healthy. It's healthy. So in our menstrual cycles, I'm sure that you're aware of this as someone who cycle syncs but as you come towards, as you get towards your, if you're having like regular menstrual cycles, if you're in your cycling year, still, As you head towards your fertile window and towards ovulation, because of all that cervical fluid I was talking about, it starts to feel juicy in there. [00:46:56] Kay'a: there's some, invigorated energy because of that [00:47:00] juiciness, and so we can often start to feel a little bit more of our libido, like showing up. We might be like, Ooh, like things feel good. I feel excited, I feel good. I feel I, I'm like heading more towards like a desire and that's really, really a healthy thing to feel. [00:47:13] Kay'a: People might also feel that around their menstruation. Some people feel that, some people don't, but like the kind of the moistening essentially of the vaginal tissues can feel really good. taking advantage of those times in our cycles I think is just something to put out there. Like I said, if you are in your fertile window, that's a time with contraception that you absolutely would wanna be using a barrier method like a condom if you're going to be having potentially fertilizing sex. [00:47:36] Kay'a: And it's a beautiful time to. Embrace in your life. Like when we have it, like in our cycling years, when we have that energy and that beautiful cervical fluid coming out. Like, let's use our natural lube. Let's use it. You know, it's beautiful. You also had prepared me with a question around perimenopause, and so I do wanna quickly touch on, you know, how libido can change as [00:48:00] our, as we get older. [00:48:01] Kay'a: I mean, a lot of times in puberty there's like kind of a push-pull time. There's a lot of sexual energy that can come out. We have no idea what to do with it. We're just like, how do I use this energy? because we didn't have it before, right? And then all of a sudden we do, we're like, this is so much. And so creation, creation, creation, energy. [00:48:16] Kay'a: And then, you know, our cycling years kind of like, I don't know. We get used to it. And then also some people have more libido than others. That can be totally normal. It can be a totally normal thing for your libido to be completely different from your partners, for your libido to be completely different from your best friends. [00:48:31] Kay'a: It can be totally normal. However, there are ways to like enhance and support it. I'm not gonna talk about those right now, but as we head continuing through the our, through our phases of life and head towards perimenopause, which then goes towards menopause, right? So perimenopause being that like potentially, you know, two to 10 year period, it's often like anywhere in that range up to 10 year period where our bodies are starting to transition from being cycling bodies into no longer cycling bodies. [00:48:57] Kay'a: There's a lot of symptoms that can come up there, but one of the [00:49:00] things that can happen is your libido can change. And there's a lot of reasons that that can happen, but there are ways to support that. Noticing a change in your libido is good information. It's good information sometimes. Your libido will increase during that time because our, our bodies are, there's so much that's happening hormonally during that time. [00:49:16] Kay'a: the hormones are going kind of in different directions at different times, so sometimes it will increase, sometimes it will decrease. And so really paying attention to that and getting supported in that. Sometimes your vaginal tissues get a little drier. That's another thing. You're not creating as much of that cervical fluid. [00:49:31] Kay'a: And so sometimes that isn't as present. So there's a lot of areas around that, that we could go into at different times. But just to say, even postmenopausally, even when you're not having your cycling years, even when you're not, you know, getting that beautiful cervical mucus happening and maybe when your vaginal tissues are just a little thinner and drier, there's still so much that is possible in terms of really healing up and supporting your vaginal tissues. [00:49:57] Kay'a: Lube is a really beautiful thing. [00:50:00] Using different herbs and different oil blends. There's like a lot that's possible in there and I just, I guess I'm just gonna end with pleasure is a superpower and it is our birthright and that we get to experience our whole lives. It doesn't matter for recycling or not, I'm just gonna say it. [00:50:14] Kay'a: It is not all for creation of, [00:50:16] Cara: yeah. I'm glad that you touched on all that because it is really important and it's something that. When I started to share the phases of my cycle with my husband, there's a purpose to it in all aspects. Hey, I need more help during this phase. You might wanna take advantage of my libido during this phase. [00:50:38] Cara: So it's, understanding that our bodies are important, and if we're sharing our household with a partner, it's also important sharing what we're going through with them too, because there's times we need support and there's other times that it just can be beneficial for everyone around us. So I appreciate you sharing that so much. [00:50:57] Kay'a: A hundred percent. Yeah. [00:50:59] Kay'a: Hmm.[00:51:00] [00:51:00] Cara: Well, let's dive into how listeners and viewers can find you and your offerings, and of course, your podcast too. [00:51:09] Kay'a: Yeah, I mean, I would say the best way to find me is my podcast. That's definitely, if you're a podcast listener, it is a wonderful resource. I now have over 80 episodes, I dunno, by, by the time this airs probably 86 episodes. And so there's a lot there to dig into. And I do solo episodes and interviews, so there's kind of like, depending on what you're going for, a lot of different topics. [00:51:29] Kay'a: that's Herbal Womb Wisdom is the name of the podcast. You can find it anywhere. Herbal Womb Wisdom, if you wanna find me on social media, Instagram is the main place that I hang out. It's at Herbal Womb Wisdom. I, I just made it really easy at Herbal Womb Wisdom. and then my website is herbal womb.com and you can find out. [00:51:45] Kay'a: And I, like I said, that Track your cycle guide is free. And if you're interested. In learning any more on this and actually really getting some support on starting to implement tracking your cycle and exploring natural [00:52:00] contraception, including some herbal allies. So not just fertility awareness, but also fertility awareness. [00:52:05] Kay'a: And if you're really curious and you do wanna guide, dive deeper into that with some support and learn about, you know, oops, I did, maybe I had potentially fertilizing sex. What else can I do? And you wanna do that naturally with herbs. I'm actually gonna be offering a course coming up this fall, on natural contraception. [00:52:21] Kay'a: So come connect with me whether that is on the podcast, whether that is on Instagram, if you get the, the enough track, your cycle guide, you will get updates. Yeah, that is, that's how you can find me. [00:52:31] Kay'a: Before we end, I just, wanna show my [00:52:33] Kay'a: flower. there's the beautiful Dalia reminds me of the flowering, our flowering bulbs, honestly, our [00:52:40] Kay'a: beautiful womb [00:52:41] Cara: Thank you so much for showing that. You, Kaya. I appreciate you coming on. [00:52:45] Kay'a: Yeah. Thank you Cara. I loved being here. Thanks. [00:52:47] Cara: Perfect. Well, of course I'll have all your juicy details in the show notes and I appreciate you coming on here and we'll chat soon. [00:52:58] Cara: Thank you so much for joining me this [00:53:00] week. If this was your first time. Welcome. And if you've joined me for previous episodes, thank you so much for coming back before you go. Could you share my podcast with a friend? [00:53:09] Cara: And consider leaving me a five star review those reviews help build my audience and i'd be grateful for your support [00:53:16] Cara: I was so excited for this interview with Kaia and happy that she came on to bring her knowledge all about womb wisdom. [00:53:25] Cara: If you want to find out how to connect with her, check the show notes and all the links mentioned. At caradempsey.com/80. thanks for being here and we'll chat soon