Happy 2024!
I'm slowly making my way back from my winter break and (just as I anticipated!) the break gave me the perfect opportunity to listen inward and take steps toward bringing some new and super exciting projects to fruition.
They're not quite ready to share with you yet, but I will give you two hints: community and accessibility.
I'll share more next week!
I'm trying not to rush out of this break; nature is still deep in winter and a big part of me wants to stay in my cocoon too.
In fact, I'm in my ovulatory phase, but I've been thinking how it feels more like a menstrual phase this go-round than ovulation!
I'm still yearning for quiet, dark, rest, time alone.
This point in the year has the same type of energy as the last half of your menstrual phase--the point where energy is starting to come back, but you haven't fully emerged into your inner spring yet.
Which is a classic point in the cycle when menstruators tend to push too hard, too fast, trying to get back to accommodating the demands of our modern world rather than slowly and mindfully reemerging in a way that still honors their cyclicality.
The world around us is moving quickly again after the holidays--there's a lot of motion and a kick up in "productivity" thanks to New Year energy and goals.
It can be tempting to want to jump in and kick into high gear too!
But take a cue from the still-hibernating animals, the still-bare trees, the still-dark mornings:
Move slowly.
Rest is productive.
And if you're also still feeling this call to hibernate a little longer, see how you can honor that, even just 1% more.
January is known as the month when period symptoms can be the worst, usually thanks to stress, change in routine, unstable blood sugar, etc. after the holidays.
But I also think a big factor is this sense of rushing, the lack of slowing down.
If your period or PMS symptoms are stronger this month, or (like me) you just feel the energy of the menstrual phase hanging on past the menstrual phase, see if you can give yourself 10 minutes of extra rest each day until spring is actually here.
Rest can look like lots of things, so work with what calls to you and what you can accomplish in your life circumstances.
It might be going to bed 10 minutes earlier, doing a 10-minute guided meditation, just sitting still for 10 minutes, taking an extra 10-minute break sometime during the day, or using a 10-minute break to simply daydream or focus on your five senses; adjusting 10 minutes of your workout routine to be a walk or slow stretching; adding 10 minutes of self-care to your morning routine; doing 10 minutes of bedtime yoga; etc, etc.
See how those 10 minutes can help you recalibrate your nervous system to be more aligned with the slow winter phase this part of the world is still held in.
See if you can move slowly in this early part of the year, even just for 10 minutes a day.
Please do hit reply and let me know if this small shift makes a positive impact on the rest of your winter!
And if you would like support navigating the worsened period and PMS symptoms in January, be sure to explore 1:1 holistic menstrual cycle coaching with me as your womb worker.