Women's Moon Wisdom

How can we take cues from the lunar moon phases to better understand our own cycle?

We have all been conditioned to believe that we need to perform at the same level day in and day out.  We tend to just think about our circadian rhythm.  Our solar rhythm.  That is our 24 hour clock. Yet, for those of us who menstruate, It’s not the only clock we run on.  Just like the cycles in nature - there are many cycles at play at the same time.  We also have an infradian rhythm - our menstrual cycle.

Sacred Cycles:

White Moon Cycle is when you have your period with the new moon and ovulation with the full moon.

Pink Moon Cycle is when your period is during the Waxing moon phase and you ovulate during the Waning Moon phase.

Red Moon Cycle is when your period is during the full Moon and you ovulate during the New Moon.

Purple Moon is when you menstruate when the moon is waning and ovulate with the waxing moon

Resources:

I mentioned the book "Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World” by Elinor Cleghorn.

Free Journaling resource to anchor into each phase of your cycle: https://www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/journalprompts

And reach out on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/womensmoonwisdom/

In this episode, we are going to touch on the use of breath work to help minimize period discomfort.  We will even do a breathing practice together that you can do when you are experiencing period cramps or honestly, anytime you need to calm your bodyMind.  

Period cramps, why do we have them and what is going on?  During your menstrual period, your uterus contracts to help expel its lining. Hormone-like substances called prostaglandins trigger the uterine muscle contractions. They help the uterus contract and relax, so that the endometrium can detach and flow out of your body.

Some of us experience more period discomfort than others.  A simple way to navigate the day before your period and first few days of your period is with stress relief techniques.  And a simple technique that you can do wherever you are - deep breathing.  

Resources:

Want to watch this breathing practice instead of listen?  Check it out on our Youtube Channel Here.  https://youtu.be/0kum1j3ur_o

Want to dive deeper with daily breath work, meditation, and movement practices that shift with each day of your cycle?  Check out the Cyclical Living Self-Care course here.  https://www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/begintoday

In this episode, we have a special guest, Aria Everts.  Aria is an expert in transforming the lives of Conscious Leaders through Spiritually Integrated Coaching. She gets to the root of blocks, so that one’s deepest life purpose can be experienced with serendipity and flow. Her clients include founders, authors, TED speakers, scientists, and creatives who believe together we can create a world where all life is honored. 

Aria and Rebecca discuss the topic of ritual and how to integrate it as a spiritual practice into your daily life.  They share personal practices to help give insight so that you can create your own ritual.  This conversation will offer you opportunities to explore creating moments of sacred space in your day so that you may weave in more intentionality.  

Resources:

In the episode, we mention Aria's free ritual resource.  You can claim your Sovereignty Ritual here.  https://ariamae.com/

How good are you at setting boundaries?  And…  How good are you at committing to them when you set them?

In this episode, we’re talk about setting boundaries.  What that looks like, how to set them and how to honor them.  Part of optimizing our cyclical nature is about getting clear about our boundaries and honoring them.  And this is especially true for us within our cycle when we shift into the more inward focus part of our cycle - the luteal phase and menstrual phase.  This half of our cycle it is especially important to have our boundaries in place when we naturally feel a bit more sensitive and overwhelm and stress can get the best of us.  

As we shift through different seasons of life, it’s important to reestablish what they look like, because as our life evolves, so will the things we need more structure around evolve.   With so many things fighting for your attention, its important to set boundaries for our physical, emotional, energetic, and mental well-being.

Resources:

I mentioned the planner that I love to use.  It's from the company Archer & Olive.

As mentioned during the podcast, I have a free cyclical living resource for you.  Download your guided reflections to access your hormonal strengths through each phase of your cycle here. 

And let's connect on instagram.  @womensmoonwisdom

In this episode, we're going to dive into success - what does success look like to you?  We'll also discover an opportunity to realign, envision, and gain clarity in understanding your definition of success so you can step into the life you are dreaming of and be in alignment with your higher Self.

I’m pretty sure that for all of us, success is something that we all strive for in some way. As much as we say we want to be successful in our career and life overall, if you don’t take the time to truly envision what it looks and feels like, and most importantly take action, then success will be that much more difficult to achieve.

Finding some inner clarity as to what defines success for you can only then help you put more purpose into your days and lead you to living in alignment with your higher self, your true nature.  And part of finding inner clarity is asking yourself what is your vision of success, what does it feel like and… what is your why?

Resources:

Want a 15 minute guided visualization for success?  Check out my online business mentor's free audio here. https://dg101.isrefer.com/go/before/rebeccarankin/

Want to grab my free journal prompts to help you align with your needs and desires each phase of your cycle?  Grab it here.  https://www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/journalprompts

I'm not sure about you, but I am such a sucker for love stories and in this episode, I’m going to share my story of how I once went on a first date - and didn’t realize it.  This episode is a bit of a more personal share and my hope in sharing this is that it’s a) entertaining b) opens you to possibilities.

In my 20s, I wasn’t necessarily looking for a committed relationship.  In fact, I was terrified of them.  I wanted to travel the world and didn't want to feel tied down and mostly, feared being rejected.  I would come up with some reason why I needed to end a relationship or self-sabotage the relationship so that it would end on its own.  It was rooted in deep feelings of not feeling worthy of someone's love and attention.  And certainly a fear of them discovering who I really was when I was just discovering that.

Well, that all changed when I went on a first date without even realizing it.

Resources:

I'd love to hear your love story and connect.  Head over to my website and grab my free loving-kindness meditation to help strengthen your feelings of acceptance, compassion, and kindness towards yourself and others.  www.rebeccarankinyoga.com 

Hormone health can sometimes feel like an abstract concept..  You hear about balancing your hormones and preventing hormonal imbalances, but what does that actually look like as far as your everyday life goes.  In this episode, we're going to look at the 5 pillars to hormone balance and some practices that you can lean into today to help support your female biochemistry.

As a certified women’s holistic hormone health practitioner, there are five foundational aspects that we lean into to support a woman’s journey towards overall hormonal well-being.  The more that we can be educated about lifestyle choices that can improve our health and well-being, then hormonal health isn’t an abstract concept. 

When you’re more aware of how the everyday choices you make or don't make effect all the different systems of your body, then there is a bit more motivation behind your actions.   

The 5 pillars to hormonal balance. 

Resources:

Exercise is not just about getting healthy for health’s sake. It’s not about exercising because you think you ‘should” or your doctor told you “should”.  If that's the case, it becomes just one more thing on your never ending to-do list that you need to get done today.  

Think of your movement practice as this tool to tap into your power, your inner fire, your spirit, that which allows you a clearer connection to Source, the Universe, God, Creator, your Higher Self.  Whatever belief system that you resonate with.  

It’s more about when you’re feeling good, you have the energy to create the life you’ve been dreaming of.  

When your body is working better, you feel better.  When you feel better, you are more open to opportunities.  You get better at cultivating joy in your life.  You can connect more with others.  It’s not about ‘getting healthy’ because you think you ‘should”.  It’s the steps that allow you a deeper connection to your body, you r mind, and your spirit.  

It’s allows a deeper connection to Love with a capital L.  

And for those of us with female biochemistry, we probably have all had those times when one week we are crushing our fitness milestones only to find that the next week we hit a wall.  

Syncing your movement practice with your cycle allows you to A) stay consistent and B) optimize our hormonal advantage so that we don’t get burnt out.

Resources:

What is the current lunar phase?  Check it out here

Want to sync your movement and self-care with your cycle?  Check out the Cyclical Living Self-Care Framework course here and receive lifetime access to these yoga, movement, breath work, and meditation practices to help you sync with your cycle and take advantage of your hormonal, cyclical nature.  https://www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/begintoday

There are times in our life that even if we are mindful of setting boundaries we still end up with a lot on our plate.  It happens to all of us.  And when we start to take on too much and our boundaries start to get compromised, we can feel overwhelm creeping in.  And then the voice in your head starts to spiral into  ‘how am I going to get this done?  I don’t have enough time?’ 

Even using all the time management skills you have and making check lists and to-do lists, and spread sheets to manage projects, it can still give us this sense of overwhelm.  That feeling of heaviness that sits on our shoulders as we work towards whatever our end result is.

My mantra found me. Yes, it found me at the exact time I needed to hear it.  “Let it Be easy”.   

This mantra found me while I was listening to a podcast by my digital course mentor, Amy Porterfield, where she was interviewing an author, Susie Moore, who wrote a book called “Let it Be Easy”.  (Susie Moore now has a podcast called "Let it Be Easy")

While hustle culture might slowly be fading to a thing of the past, it doesn’t mean there aren’t seasons of our lives that we hustle.  We still have times where we are hustling to get things done.  And this is when the mantra comes in.  Let it be easy.

Resources:

I'd love to connect, you can join my newsletter at www.rebeccarankinyoga.com

Also, here's the Cyclical Living Framework that I mentioned:  www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/begintoday

At the time of this episode, it’s the summer solstice.  A time that often represents freedom and happiness.  It can be a time where we strengthen our friendships.  We can think of it as a time that represents optimism, positivity, hope for the future.  It represents life and the endless possibilities that await.

And with all of that being said, it can be an easy time when we get swept away with all of the things. 

Do you feel this way? 

Like you are saying “Yes” to everything?

And when we say “Yes” to it all we can easily lose our sense of self.  In the summer, it’s easy to stay up later than you normally would or go out more often.  Routines are thrown to the wind and we allow ourselves freedom to go with the flow. 

And there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that as long as at the root of it all your staying grounded in your sense of self, in your needs, and desires. 

In this episode, you'll find my 3 tips to not lose your sense of self when you take on too much and you say 'Yes' to ALL the things!!

Resources:

I mention episode #15 to help you stick to your morning ritual.  You can find that here.  

I also mention my syncing your self-care practices with each phase of your cycle.  If you're interested in learning how to do this, check out, Women's Moon Wisdom Self-Care framework course at www.rebeccarankinyoga.com/begintoday