Welcome to episode 30 of the Curiously You podcast! Today we are speaking with women’s menstrual cycle specialist Sammie Flemming all about creating feminine alignment through working with our menstrual cycle.
Sammie guides people who are feeling stuck, stressed and overwhelmed into a life of calm, ease, connection and clarity. The unique part of Sammie’s work is that she weaves feminine cycles into her coaching, allowing her clients to understand their own rhythms.
Think about it: how often do you speak in any depth about your menstrual cycle? How deeply connected do you feel with your body throughout the month? Implicitly you know that sometimes in the month you are on top of your game, and other times you just want to retreat into your cave and indulge in self-care. Do you fight it, or do you work with it?
Those desires are not in your imagination. Sammie helps us understand, connect with and love our menstrual cycle, working in flow with it by adapting our diary and behaviours to best enhance our experiences at different points throughout the month.
You’ll love this episode if:
- You want to find ways to understand how to manage your emotions and body around your menstrual cycle;
- You’ve noticed at certain points in the month you are more energised and at other points more insular, and want to know what this means and how you can create ease and flow during these moments.
Time Stamped Notes
5:13 Sammie started to pay attention to her cycle 8 years in to taking the pill as it began to feel like it wasn’t working for her body any more. She noticed PMS, imbalances in her skin, tiredness and energy at different points in the month.
She would check in day-to-day, and noticed movement in her energy and body. This sparked her to see a naturopath. This was where she became connected to her cycle through being connected to her hormones. It eventually all became an emotional, spiritual and energetic exploration. It has been 6 years since she started working with her own cycle.
12:07 It can be hard to ascertain how your body responds and behaves due to your cycles as external influences such as seasons, sleep, sugar intake, diet and hydration affects mood. Once you start to know what your body feels like naturally at a certain point of the cycle, you can check in. If you’re not feeling a certain way, it’s an opportunity to check in and assess why you’re not feeling that way.
15:27 Broadly speaking, we experience our cycle within four phases based on a standard 28 day cycle. The easiest way that Sammie has learnt how to remember what these phases are is to give each a season that can be compared to climatic seasons.
Day 1, and essentially Week 1, is Winter. And, on the first day of winter which is the first day of your period.
You will most likely want to be insular, and feel a desire to rest, sleep more and to eat warming foods. We are at our most intuitive and psychic at this time. History shows that different cultures honoured women during this time as keepers of wisdom. If at all possible, it is best to slow down (within limitations) to allow body to rest and restore, this will allow your energy levels for the rest of the month to be higher. The more you explore how your body reacts, you can start leaning into certain things.
23:58 Week 2 is Spring. The days are getting longer and so you energy is higher; oestrogen is rising and women are starting to look more and more beautiful, which biologically makes sense as the body anticipating ovulation.
The body actually changes the skin to make it more radiant and the features become more symmetrical during the end of Spring. Women will feel more extroverted than they did the week before and this time reminds us just how connected we are to the planet. The archetype associated with this phase is the maiden and the virgin.
28:00 Summer, or week 3, is the time of our highest empathy. We are really connected to other people. Summer is similar to Spring, but we are even more extroverted; we find being out in the world such a joy.
The mother archetype is the association of super high empathy and a real nurturing vibe. Women can become too available and over giving during this time, so it is a great time to be aware of tendencies.
31:11 We experience Autumn the week before the menstrual cycle. The Archetype is the wild woman, and it is the part of us that is suppressed as a society. We feel energetically whole, and often ruthless, which can be channeled in a healthy or unhealthy way.
This time is best used to get things done quickly and efficiently. We may want to do a spring clean of the house, for example as we are generally less emotionally attached to objects and material possessions.
However, on the other side, this is a time where women are sensitive, and highly emotional which is where rest and gentleness is required. This is the time to articulate why you feel the way you feel.
36:26 The best way to start tailoring life for your cycle is in two ways: Download the free app called “Clue” – it allows women to track every single day what their mood, energy, sleep and how their skin feels. You will be able to notice your patterns, and have a clear snapshot of what is going on for you during your monthly cycles.
Another way is through journaling: make a note of what day of the cycle it is, and the feelings experienced in that day – physically, energetically, emotionally and spiritually.
44:02 Sammie has found that there is a lot of guilt and shame associated with Autumn and Winter – especially because as humans, we are resistant to slowing down, and showing rage and anger.
She advises to start to see magic in the menstrual cycle; how incredible the body is to shift and change. We must learn to work through the spectrum of emotions we experience, and match our actions in a way that aligns with them.
56:45 Discussions and empowered expressions on the cycle can lack true acknowledgment on the essence of the cycle. Sammie discusses how advertisements and portrayals of products to aid women during the cycle are completely misconstrued. Therefore it’s important to honour this change within the body first.
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