NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors. Menstrual === [00:00:00] Cara: Hello, and welcome to this episode of floductivity. This episode is all about building the rituals and the toolkits around your menstrual cycle. Having these rituals and tool kits will help support your cyclical patterns and empower you to be the best version of yourself. This is a powerful episode and I can't wait to dive in. I will see you on the other side. [00:00:23] Cara: Welcome to floductivity, a place to inspire and empower beings to embrace self-love and self-development for an achievable balance of productivity. I share different ways to come back to your intuition through spirituality, self care, human design, cycle planning, wellness, and everything in between. [00:00:42] Cara: Thank you so much for joining me this week. If this is your first time. Welcome. And if you've been here with me before. Thank you so much for coming back. I'm so excited to join you in this journey. As we learn together. [00:00:53] Unlocking the Power of Menstrual Cycle Rituals: Exploring the Basics for Self-Care and Empowerment --- [00:00:53] Cara: Hello, and welcome to a floductivity today. We are talking about how to create your own toolkits, [00:01:00] your rituals around your menstrual cycle. Understanding how your body operates is the best thing you can do for yourself. When you create these toolkits to support yourself through each phase, it is the ultimate version of self care. If you're looking to take it to the next level, I have free and paid offerings caradempsey.com/cycle. One of my paid eBooks will help you navigate each. Phase that you have in your cycle. It has things about the general idea of what the purpose of that phase is for. And then there's of course, things like intentions, what you should focus your energy on affirmations. Self-love. [00:01:40] Cara: Self investment movement, nutrition. Your ideal week. And of course you can't go wrong without the Oracle and tarot card poles to help you navigate that season. So you can find the ebook and the Amazon printed planner. At Caradempsey.com/cycle. [00:01:59] Embracing Menstruation as Winter: Rest, Reflection, and Rituals for Empowered Living --- [00:01:59] Cara: Next up [00:02:00] is rituals for the menstruation cycle. The menstrual cycle is typically 28 days to 34 days long, and it is divided into four main phases. And when you look at the moon's phases and the menstrual phases, they actually relate To each other very well. [00:02:17] Cara: And so we are going to start with menstruation or winter. It's technically the fourth phase and it relates to the new moon. [00:02:25] Cara: And so the best way to get started, if you haven't started tracking your cycle. So menstruation starts. On the first day of your bleed. And so that is day number one. That is where you get started. I bled today day. Number one. Day number two day number three, and you count all the way up. Until you get to your next bleed. And so my menstrual cycle lasts typically between 29 days and 34 days. It just depends on life to be honest. [00:02:58] Cara: And so using my menstrual [00:03:00] cycle has really helped me be a less overwhelmed in my daily life because I can align my tasks with the energy that I have. [00:03:08] Cara: menstruation can go all the way up to day. Number seven. Depending on your cycle. And so it lasts between three and seven days, and this is the time that we need to retreat and reflect. To reach our greatest potential. if I am in the constant move and I don't leave time for rest and reflection. [00:03:28] Cara: Then this insight will not come through. And so number one in building my. Menstruation winter toolkit is making sure that I have extra breaks that I'm not filling my day with too much stuff. And so I actually start this idea about four to five days before my period starts, because I have such a swing in how many days my cycle actually is so that I'm not thrown off guard by having too much on my plate because my period came a few days early. [00:03:58] Cara: Another piece [00:04:00] to my toolkit and everybody is so different. Is that. I have changed. My hygiene for my menstrual cycle. I used to use tampons. And pads if needed. And the idea of a disposable product felt very wasteful for me. And so I started to use a brand called Thinx. And they are pretty much a menstrual underwear company and it is changed my relationship with myself and my menstrual cycle. I am actually able to be more aware and present with it. [00:04:38] Cara: And my body. And so the more I get to know my body. The higher, my intuition comes through. [00:04:45] Cara: I will put my favorite. Pairs the sleep shorts. If you're going to start somewhere, start with the sleep shorts, they are so comfortable in their amazing. But that is just something that I have done in my rituals that have changed my life. [00:05:00] Knowing that it starts with tracking. Then it becomes with awareness and then it's making the necessary adjustments as you go. in building my rituals and my routines, it's leaving room for growth and change. [00:05:14] Cara: that is something that I have done. I know other people use period cups or dis, and I have gotten a cup. I don't love the way it feels. but with summer coming up, I will report back if that changes. more things about building this toolkit for winter or menstruation is just giving your self time space to release trust your instincts, hibernate, avoid stress, and start to think about what you want to take action on. What are those intentions you're going to want to put out once your energy starts to build? [00:05:50] Cara: Because when your period. Ends and you go into the next phase. You're not gonna wake up with all this energy, at least I don't. And [00:06:00] so it's leaving space for this momentum to build up instead of being like, oh my period ended, I'm ready to take on the world. [00:06:07] Cara: So in my toolkit, it's making sure that I am nourishing myself in the right way. It is making sure that I am giving my body movement in the right way. So these are different pieces that I think are really important in building your toolkits. And so with movements, I do breath work. I do light exercise foam, rolling, walking outside. And so it's understanding my body and then seeing what I can do to support it. [00:06:42] Cara: Making sure that I'm giving myself love that I'm resting and that I'm taking the frequent breaks. And then self investment is a very big piece in my everyday life. And so this is when I read, I review courses that I've taken. [00:06:59] Cara: [00:07:00] And I release, what's not serving me. [00:07:02] Springing into Action: Harnessing the Energy of the Follicular Phase for Strategic Planning --- [00:07:02] Cara: the next phase is the follicular or the spring phase. This is technically the first phase. [00:07:07] Cara: And while it is the time where we should strategize and think about our next plan. I do think it's really important to start on your menstruation, even though it's the fourth phase and reflecting, what serves you? What does it so that when you take. Action. And you start to strategize in that for the follicular or the spring. You're clear about what intentions you want to step into. [00:07:30] Cara: the follicular. or the spring phase can start anywhere from day number four, up until day number seven. And it is approximately seven to 10 days. And so this is the time where your energy starts to emerge. You see how the phases and the seasons align. And so you'll notice that your energy will start to emerge. And this is the time where you want to get out and learn new things. maybe strategize on a new project.[00:08:00] [00:08:00] Cara: And so this is where you're dipping. your toe into these things that could ultimately turn into something bigger. [00:08:06] Cara: So leaving space to brainstorm and initiate plan. in my toolkit and my rituals, this is where I meal plan for my family. This is when I strategize my contents. This is when I go paddleboarding. When I go hiking because the ideas that I need to come up in this next cycle come to me. I don't have to go searching for it. And so that's the beautiful thing. When you align your toolkits. [00:08:32] Cara: With your phases that you're experiencing within your body, it's less work. You become more efficient. And so how many times where I've sat at my computer and then I'm like, what am I going to work on? And it feels hard versus knowing that the new ideas and the things I want to try will come to me. If I'm in the right environment. [00:08:53] Cara: And so my toolkit is going out in nature. [00:08:57] Cara: Being adventurous because that [00:09:00] aligns me with that highest vision of myself. [00:09:04] Cara: And so when it comes to that, self-love, that's just finding adventure, being curious, exploring new places, dreaming big. writing down, what do I need to do to accomplish this big goal of mine? So menstruation you're figuring out what that big goal is that you want. [00:09:22] Cara: Follicular is when you start to strategize, what action do I need to take for this to happen, do you see how manifestation and taking action on your goals starts to align that there's these different phases you need to slowly kind of go through to see what you're meant for. [00:09:39] Cara: And so when it comes to self investment, for me, it's listening to podcasts, reading books for exploration, trying new things. This is what I like to network with people. I start to reach out to people to see for a match energetically, to work together and move forward. [00:09:57] Cara: Whether it's my podcast, whether it's coaching. [00:10:00] And this is the time. If there's a course that you've been wanting to take something new that you've wanted and you've thought about doing this is the time to actually take action. And then when it comes to movement, you just want to be careful because your muscles are more pliable so you don't want to just jump into the hit workouts yet. [00:10:18] Cara: This is when you can do cardio, you could do running. You know, yoga is an always for me. You can circuit train, you can strength, train. And then of course, like I said, I love paddle boarding and doing things like that. And so these are things that are in my toolkit. What I know this time comes, these are the activities that I want to do. [00:10:38] Embracing the Summer Energy: Harnessing the Power of Ovulation for Connection and Creativity --- [00:10:38] Cara: and so the next phase is summer or ovulation? This is the second phase and it can start anywhere on day. Number 14. Today number 24 of your cycle. And it always depends on your cycle and mine changes every month. So knowing that you need to have flexibility of what your cycle looks like for you. [00:11:00] the downside is the only last three to four days. [00:11:03] Cara: Now this summer. ovulation energy does filter into the next phase. So know that it doesn't just abruptly ends. And to be honest, the first half of my luteal, the next phase is when I have the energy and the insight and the things that I can take action towards. So it doesn't end after ovulation, but know that it is the shortest of all the phases. [00:11:27] Cara: you want to maximize the power of summer. And use it to your advantage. This is a time where you have confidence and you can express yourself and speak the truth. Try to increase the connection between yourself. Your family, your social networks and doing the enjoyable activities like dance and yoga and girls night. This is the time to kind of get yourself out there. [00:11:53] Cara: And you want to maximize this peak energy, especially in the morning. [00:11:57] Cara: This is the time that you have [00:12:00] an extra boost of creative collaboration or goal achievements. So shine bright during this time, honor your strength within the movements and the practices to support. Others around you. And so this also translates to the full moon. [00:12:16] Cara: This is when I try to do my content, I try to record a lot of my podcasts. This is when I try to show up more on social media. This is when I try to tap into my creativity when I'm trying to think outside of the box and my offerings. [00:12:31] Cara: Again, every toolkit has different things to help support you. If you want to know more about specifically what each phase that you should do with affirmations, self-love intentions, self investment movements, reflection. These things are important in every phase. And if you want to be able to connect to that, [00:12:51] Cara: Again, head to caradempsey.com/cycle so that you don't have to guess, or that you have a menu to read off of my offerings are meant to be a menu. [00:13:00] What. I would feel good to me today. My goal is for you to be an ultimate connection with yourself and not have to overly think about it. So look at these resources and say what feels good to me today. It is not an instruction manual. Take what sounds good to you and leave what doesn't. And so when it comes to the intentions, it's. Communication it's collaboration it's being seen and showing up expands. Socialize. I work on manifesting my desires in taking that aligned action. This is when I really stand up and stand true in what I want. [00:13:36] Cara: When it comes to self-love. I am all about. Reading indulging what I love getting physical, moving that energy out because if it gets stuck and you don't actually have something to release it out. It can leave you in stagnation. And so moving and expressing your feelings is an important during this time. [00:13:56] Cara: And so the movement, this is when you could do the hit [00:14:00] workouts, you can do the interval running, you can do power yoga circuit training, so you can do more of those high energy workouts during this time. [00:14:08] Cara: When it comes to self investment. This is the time for you to refine your skills, take the course, manifest your desires. Have that one-on-one time with the people that you love most in your life and network with people and listen to podcasts. [00:14:22] Cara: So again, every phase it's just knowing what your body, your mind, your soul is craving and having a place that you can refer to that when this time comes, you can fully invest into yourself and not have to go searching. So this is the port of this podcast. Create those toolkits, have a place where you can tangibly look and say, I'm in my ovulation or summer. This translates to the full moon as well. Let's see where this aligns and just create something that's fully in support of you where you're at. [00:14:56] Cozy Fall Vibes: Finding Balance and Self-Care in the Luteal Phase --- [00:14:56] Cara: The next phase is the luteal or the fall phase. This is [00:15:00] phase three. And so this is my favorite phase. It is broken up into two sections. The first section is more like the summer or ovulation. And the second one is more like the winter. Or the menstruation. And so it's really important when you're in the luteal for me, my experiences I'm in this high vibe energy. [00:15:24] Cara: And then it dives really quickly. And if I don't listen to those signs that it's coming. And I don't nourish my body, my mind, my soul in the appropriate way, I will be left depleted. And so this is the one that I say, like pay attention to your body, because it's going to tell you some subtle signs and the more you get to know it, the more you'll feel the power of understanding your body because these tools will help elevate your intuition. [00:15:52] Cara: If you use them correctly. [00:15:54] Cara: So the luteal can start anywhere on day number 17 and go up today at number [00:16:00] 35 and it lasts 10 to 14 days. So it is the longest. Phase. [00:16:04] Cara: This is a time for resolution and introspection. It's refining your projects by zeroing in on the details. Prioritizing self care is so important so that you can tap into that inner wisdom of what your needs are. [00:16:23] Cara: knowing when it's time for hibernation comes before your period starts. again, for me, I have a very high energy, first half of my luteal and it dips down really quickly. And so that's when I was burning out the most is when I would. I try to continue to wave that high energy and the wave dropped and I'm still trying to go. And then I ended up depleting my energy. [00:16:48] Cara: Embrace the cozy vibes of fault, refuel your body with nourishing warm dishes. And again, it's building those toolkits of what foods best fuel [00:17:00] me during this time. And you don't have to live by this. Day in and day out. But it's knowing that when your body's trying to communicate with you, the tools that you can kind of go back to, to help bring that up. And that's the point, the rituals, the toolkits that you can refer to. [00:17:16] Cara: And so the intentions at this time is really focusing on the details. Completing the projects. Grounding yourself for me, this is a big one. I get so caught up in my mind during this time. And so having these grounding practices like breath work walking outside really helped me ground back in my body. [00:17:39] Cara: Because I can get too much in my head and then it overwhelms me of what I need to do next. And it's like, get in my body. And my body will tell me what's the next step. Not my mind. My mind likes to create too many things for me to check off the list. And this is not the time for that. [00:17:56] Cara: It's checking in to see what no longer is [00:18:00] serving me and releasing it decluttering. And so this also relates to the last quarter moon. And so it's the same idea. It's like, what can we let go? So we can call in the new, we need to make sure we. Create space so that the new wants intentions goals. What we're manifesting can come in when we release, what's not serving us. [00:18:25] Cara: So, this is a time where I just work on my podcast. I refine the details and I do the editing. When I edit my social media posts. This is when I clean out certain areas of my house. [00:18:39] Cara: Declutter. This is my favorite time. [00:18:42] Cara: If you ask me, this is the most powerful phase in your cycle, this is when my intuition is at its highest, but if I am in the constant move and I don't leave time for rest and reflection. [00:18:54] Cara: Then this insight will not come through. [00:18:57] Cara: I also make sure I'm planning for [00:19:00] menstruation so that I'm not left depleted during my menstruation. And so it's making sure. That we have frozen meals available that we have in our budget to be able to eat out that if there's any cleaning that needs to be done, it's happening now. And so then I can relax during right before for my menstruation and during menstruation. So it does take some planning. [00:19:23] Cara: So that we're not left overwhelmed during that time. [00:19:27] Cara: I also like this time to kind of sweat it out and detox. And so if I have access to a sauna, if I want to take an Epsom salt bath, and I want to kind of get some sweat out in the early part of my, luteal, I tend to try and. connect with that as well. [00:19:45] Cara: And then when it comes to the self investment, it's making sure I get physical again. It helps me get grounded in my body. I want to organize my goals. What am I going to be taking action on? When the next round of intention setting happens? [00:20:00] And then the most important thing for me is I go on a media detox. [00:20:04] Cara: My emotional vulnerability it's super high during this time. And so I can be easily influenced by other people and other things. I think it's really important that I set that boundary for myself, that I'm not leaning into social media too much. This is a great time to review those courses. Those books. [00:20:23] Cara: I try to avoid sugary. Foods and junk food. When it comes to movement, knowing that my movement in the first half of this phase is different than the second half. again, it's just being aware of my body and what it needs. So, if you're looking to be able to connect with this, I have, a paid resource that breaks all these things down. [00:20:44] Cara: Affirmation self-love intentions, self investment movements. How you can build your ideal week nutrition reflection. I even have Oracle and tarot card pulls to help you navigate these different times to [00:21:00] support you best. And then of course, Being able to create that self tool kit, something that you can print out and write it. I also have a printed planner on Amazon to help you. [00:21:10] Cara: I use this energy and becoming the best version of yourself. [00:21:15] Cara: So when you're creating these toolkits, it's just really important to leave room for growth and change and knowing that we have different phases. And so if you create a toolkit for each phase, it won't leave you in that. What am I supposed to do now? You'll know intuitively. Oh, this feels really good. [00:21:32] Cara: And so the first aspect is tracking and understanding your energy levels and what supports you best during these different phases. Once you have these toolkits, it's actually using it. It's knowing in this morning. I'm going to use this toolkit. And so just to give you an idea of my morning ritual, if I'm in my menstruation, [00:21:55] Cara: I do breath work. It gets me grounded. I don't have to move [00:22:00] my body too much and it just gets me into my body so that when that intuition really wants to spike, I can connect to it. And so I have a little meditation I do at the end. If I'm in my spring or my follicular phase, my morning routine. Is my Tibet and rights. It's. [00:22:18] Cara: Technically five yoga moves, but I've turned it into seven for myself. That have a correlation of an affirmation. To help get me kind of invigorated for the day. During, summer or ovulation. I also do my Tibetan rights, but I'll add in just a song for dance and I get into my body and I just try to build up that confidence that I already have. And so movement and dance really help. [00:22:46] Cara: And then with the fall, I go back to that breath work and that meditation, if I still have that energy. My Tibet and rights is how I kind of connect to that. And walking is [00:23:00] always acceptable for me and no matter what phase. And so it's knowing that there's different things for me to connect to my body in different phases and knowing what feels good to me. Try to incorporate these things that really support you into your daily routine. Especially when you can correlate it with the lunar or the menstrual phase. [00:23:18] Thank you so much for joining me this 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 subscribe or share this episode with a friend? That will help my show so much and I would be forever grateful. [00:23:35] Don't forget to head to caradempsey.com/cycle to get your free cycle vitality printables or to purchase your e-book. Along with the printed planner from Amazon, I would love your support. And if there's any resources that you would like to help support you in this journey, please shoot me an email. [00:23:54] And I can't wait to hear from you. If you want to learn more about the resources in this episode, check the show notes. [00:24:00] And all the links mentioned caradempsey.com/67. Thank you so much. And we'll chat soon.