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[00:00:00] Jenny Swisher: Welcome friends to this episode of the Sync Your Life podcast. Today we’re diving into how to really align your life with your menstrual cycle. I know this sounds crazy, but stick around and hear me out because I promise you it is completely possible. We should probably kick this off by saying this.

[00:01:14] Jenny Swisher: Our world is very much a man’s world. In case you didn’t know it, the circadian rhythm that we follow as a society, which is the nine to five jobs and school days, the five day work weeks, all of that is conducive to a man and his hormones. His steady state hormones. Both men and women live with circadian rhythms.

[00:01:34] Jenny Swisher: We sleep during the night and we’re awake during the day. So this makes sense on the surface. Until you start to understand female hormones, where you start to learn that we have another layer to our being. We are also infradian beings. We follow the moon. I will link up an episode that I did previously on women or lunar beings, but it is true.

[00:01:55] Jenny Swisher: Our hormone phases often follow the phases of the moon. In fact, close to 70 percent of women will ovulate within a 2 3 day window of the full moon, and the remaining 30 percent of women will ovulate closer to the new moon. I used to think that this was crazy myself, until I started running groups on Facebook of thousands of women through cycle syncing, and let me tell you, it is shocking and it is very, very true.

[00:02:17] Jenny Swisher: So that being said, we should look at ways to tap into these infradian cycles within ourselves when it comes to everything that we can control. We can’t control our workdays necessarily, or when our child goes to school and comes home, but we do still have a lot that is within our control. We can harness when we are most productive, when we are most tired and need rest, and when to leverage opportunity with various relationships.

[00:02:41] Jenny Swisher: So that’s what I want to talk about today. Let’s dive in. Number one, let’s do a quick recap of the four phases of the menstrual cycle. Technically speaking, your cycle can be divided into two halves, divided by the ovulation point. The first half of the cycle before ovulation is considered your follicular phase, and the second half of your cycle after ovulation is considered your luteal phase.

[00:03:03] Jenny Swisher: When your period begins, this is also known as day one of your cycle. Your hormones, your estrogen and progesterone are at an all time low for the month. They just completely hit the basement on day one of your cycle. During those first three days or so of your menstrual cycle is when most women feel the need to just chill.

[00:03:22] Jenny Swisher: I call it our sweatpants and chill time of the month. We want to throw on the comfy sweats, turn on the Netflix, and just kind of be an introvert for a couple days. But society has taught us that it doesn’t matter if you’re bleeding or not, the calendar is the calendar, right? We still have to socialize, we still have to press play on our workouts, we still have to push through.

[00:03:42] Jenny Swisher: Many women will push through their workouts on their periods, they’ll stick to their social plans, they’ll do all the things, and not adjust accordingly. Guess what? A lot of times, that’s within your control. You can simply say no. You can say no to the social activity, or no to the workout on the calendar, and instead, you can throw on your sweatpants.

[00:04:02] Jenny Swisher: Listen, you have the power to say no and listen to your body. If your body is feeling low, rest. It’s okay. Grab your warm heating pad if you need to, a cozy blanket, some Organifi Gold Tea and just relax. Okay. So let’s continue.

[00:04:17] Jenny Swisher: So around day three or four of your cycle, estrogen starts to gradually rise in follicular phase. Your FSH, which is your Follicle Stimulating Hormone, is now triggering follicle production to prepare for ovulation. As estrogen rises now for the next 10 days or so, we slowly become more and more ready to get out and about.

[00:04:35] Jenny Swisher: We feel rejuvenated, our energy comes back, we’re sociable, and we’re ready to tackle anything. This is a great time of the month to get things done. That closet that you’re wanting to organize? Do it now. The higher intensity workouts? Sure, perfect, great for this time of the month in moderation. The date nights?

[00:04:54] Jenny Swisher: You betcha. This is a great time of the month for that, for socialization, as libido also starts to rise and you’re feeling outgoing. And then, ovulation arrives. Some point around the middle of the cycle. It’s a very short lived phase of the cycle, right? Less than 24 to 48 hours. But it’s the powerhouse of the menstrual cycle.

[00:05:13] Jenny Swisher: It is the main event. Without ovulation, we don’t produce hormones like progesterone, and progesterone is queen. During ovulation, many women will once again feel tired, but for other reasons. Rather than low hormones, like at your menses, when you’re bleeding, now your hormones are sky high with estrogen shooting through the roof.

[00:05:31] Jenny Swisher: A sharp rise in LH, which is your luteinizing hormone, and oftentimes cervical mucus changes indicate ovulation is here. During this brief window of ovulation, your body will surge and drop hormones all within a 24 to 36 hour period.

[00:05:46] Jenny Swisher: It is working really hard. Therefore, it’s important to once again, listen to it. If you’re feeling exhausted during ovulation, take rest. Let your body do it’s thing. Remember, if ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle, and you’re used to pushing through, maybe it’s time to rest and see how well you feel after the fact.

[00:06:04] Jenny Swisher: I bet you might even be able to push yourself harder when it comes to those workouts and such, if you just give yourself the rest that your body needs. The truth is, just a day or so after ovulation, progesterone starts to rise to take over the luteal phase of the cycle. Progesterone is known as our calming hormone.

[00:06:20] Jenny Swisher: It aids in sleep, it slows us down as far as our go go go, and it exists to support the uterine lining during this time of the cycle. Progesterone, at this point, is produced by the corpus luteum, which is the follicle that wasn’t implanted during ovulation.

[00:06:34] Jenny Swisher: Once progesterone starts to gradually rise, which it will for around a week or so, you are in prime planning mode. To do lists are your jam at this point in your cycle, and socializing becomes less and less exciting. Because progesterone aids with sleep, you might find yourself craving that late morning sleep in, or you might even crave going to bed a little bit earlier to feel more restored.

[00:06:56] Jenny Swisher: Listen to your body. Now is also the best time in your cycle to plan for the follicular phase of your next cycle. What types of outgoing tasks and social events are you going to be doing in the next couple of weeks? It’s time to plan for them now.

[00:07:09] Jenny Swisher: As an example, I typically write out all of my notes for podcasts during my luteal phase. And then, in follicular, when I feel more outgoing and my energy is high, I record. Once we reach the peak of our progesterone, which is typically around day 21 of a 28 day menstrual cycle, both our progesterone and estrogen start a gradual fall leading up to our periods.

[00:07:30] Jenny Swisher: This is when most women start to feel issues creep in, things like PMS, migraines, lower energy, belly bloat, the list goes on. By the way, these issues are not normal. They’re common, but not normal. So make sure that you’re working with a functional practitioner in investigating root cause for yourself.

[00:07:49] Jenny Swisher: This last week of your cycle is a great time to prioritize slower exercise activities, walks, yoga, Pilates, mobility work. It’s also a great time to focus on eating foods rich in omega 3s. Foods like wild caught salmon for that anti inflammatory benefit heading into our period. In case no one’s told you this before, your period is an inflammatory response.

[00:08:10] Jenny Swisher: So the more we can do in our nutrition and exercise to reduce that inflammation, The better our period will be. And then, she arrives again. Our period comes back, and we start the cycle all over again with day one. We retreat for a couple of days with those sweatpants and chill to rejuvenate our souls, so that we can emerge again like the queens we are.

[00:08:29] Jenny Swisher: So what if you’re not naturally cycling? What if you’re listening to this and you’re on oral contraceptives, or you’ve had a hysterectomy, or maybe you’re even post menopause? Well, let’s break those down. If you are on oral contraceptives, you should know that you don’t have a cycle to follow. Because oral contraceptives suppress ovulation from occurring, you really have no highs and lows.

[00:08:49] Jenny Swisher: Instead, you just have steady state, super low hormones. So if you’re using a sugar pill week to have a pill bleed, by the way, I have a podcast about pill bleeds versus periods. You will see a drop in hormone and energy most likely as your body bleeds and sheds that uterine lining. If you are post hysterectomy or menopause, you most likely follow the energy of the moon.

[00:09:09] Jenny Swisher: So my question for you would be, do you remember when you used to bleed? Most women say, no, I have no idea, right? That’s totally fine. Most likely you still follow that red or white moon energy depending on which you are. So start taking note of when your energy is high versus low and pay attention to the various moon cycles.

[00:09:26] Jenny Swisher: It might surprise you. There is so much to learn here on this topic, friends. Like, this is literally just scratching the surface of this concept of aligning our lives and lifestyles with our menstrual cycle. I like Elissa Vitti’s book, In The Flow, which I’ll link up for you in the show notes. But once we know where we are in our cycle and where we’re most productive, outgoing, introverted, and so forth, we can plan our best accordingly.

[00:09:49] Jenny Swisher: Going on that date night and follicular phase is a game changer for your relationship. Planning your to do lists and your luteal phase will just feel right. Together, we’re And resting on your period will finally feel like you’re listening to your body. I hope these tips and this menstrual cycle overview helps you get an understanding of how your menstrual cycle, how your infradian rhythm gives you true superpowers.

[00:10:11] Jenny Swisher: While there are plenty of things that we can’t control, there is plenty that we can. And you will feel better for doing so. I am all about helping women live in alignment with their hormonal energy as it ebbs and flows. When we know better, we can do better. And now you know better. Just know this, friends. We have some really exciting announcements coming. Some new courses that are launching. Some new certification options that are coming. Some new physical products that are coming your way. So many awesome things to announce here by the end of this year.

[00:10:38] Jenny Swisher: So stay tuned to the podcast. I’ll be doing an episode coming up in the next few weeks about all of these different exciting announcements that are coming. I’ll also be doing a featured podcast on my holiday gift guide. I’ll be giving you all of my favorite biohacking tools and supplements and all the things that I recommend heading into 2024.

[00:10:55] Jenny Swisher: So many good things coming. I can’t, I can’t wait to share it all with you. So thank you so much, my friends, as always for tuning in until next time. We’ll talk soon. Bye bye.