I want to address something that's been on my mind a bit lately...
I think it’s bloody wonderful that menstrual cycles are coming out of the dark after way too long hidden away but there’s one thing I’d love to see us all talking about a little more. Ovulation. The forgotten part of the cycle, or so it seems sometimes. And it’s easy to see why because often, particularly at the beginning of our journey towards getting to know our cycles and our bodies, menstruation (our periods) and the luteal phase (the premenstrual phase) get a lot of attention because they often call the loudest.
When things are out of whack they can come with shouty symptoms like pain, intense emotions, exhaustion, sensory overwhelm, mess and a whole lot of discomfort. And for a lot of people ovulation is easy, lovely even. A time of feeling great, happy, sexy, vibrant, energised and confident. I know I used to. And then I had a baby and turned 35 and suddenly ovulation has become really hard on my body and mind and a lot of my similar-age girlfriends have been saying the same thing. All of a sudden there’s been a shift and instead of having hot date nights, feeling super social and strutting about feeling our best, we’re cancelling plans and staying home because we’re exhausted, emotional, spotty, rashy, achy and struggling to sleep.
Sure it could be the early stirrings of perimenopause or the stress of early motherhood but I also noticed in my years working 1:1 with women as a Menstrual Mentor that ovulation depression and ovulation exhaustion were on the rise. I’d often prescribe what we started referring to as an ‘ovulation holiday’ on the day before or day of ovulation to rest, nourish, find joy and in doing so support the body to ovulate well and the feedback was always really positive. Exhaustion was avoided and energy was more steady and long lasting into the luteal phase.
So what is ovulation all about? Firstly, it's extremely important for the body which is why anything that says suppressing the cycle un-naturally is a good thing is a bit off. We need ovulation in order to produce progesterone throughout the second half of the cycle and progesterone (unless you’re super sensitive to it) is an anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, soothing, calming and healing hormone which our bodies desperately need in this often anxiety inducing, depression creating, exhausting, stressful, busy and overstimulating world. If we don’t ovulate we risk heart problems, bone density issues, inflammation and oestrogen dominance which can lead to a whole host of issues in and of itself.
So considering quite how important ovulation is for our whole being, isn’t it wild that most of us weren't and girls still aren’t taught a single thing about it?!
We’re not taught about how...
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Carly x
Moon Forest Flow | Wild Woman Club
Reconnecting to nature . Reclaiming the wild soul . Restoring the village
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