An Intro to the 28-day Infradian Rhythm (your period)
Despite what we as women may have been told, we do not just bleed during our periods and ovulate. It’s called a cycle for a reason. Until last year I had NO idea our bodies were capable of such magic. The more I share what I’m learning about the 28-day cycle, the more I realize that so so soooo many of us were never taught about the magic we hold. Society tells us that having a period is something to be ashamed of. That our pain and PMS is just another thing we have to deal with and shut up about and that there’s nothing we can do to fix it. Perhaps get on hormonal birth control like the pill, but that topic deserves its own conversation.
I have been on a journey for almost a year now to connect to my body through tracking my cycle. It’s possible to sync your food, exercise, work, and play to your cycle and experience all kinds of magic that you didn’t know you were capable of. Cycle syncing helps you to benefit from the natural rhythm of your biochemistry and to keep your hormones balanced, which is a perfect cocktail to feeling your best. Since cycle syncing, I have so much more compassion for myself when I’m feeling different throughout the month. As women living in a patriarchal society, we’re forced to live our lives following the 24-hour clock (circadian rhythm) when in fact, our bodies and hormones are changing every single day for 28-32 days. You’ll notice that the 24-hour clock aligns with the male hormonal cycle, but that’s just not the case for us women. It’s impossible for us to live the exact same every single day and expect the same results. And that’s a good thing! There’s so much to benefit from throughout the month as our hormones change.
Our cycle typically lasts 28-32 days if your hormones are balanced and split up into 4 phases. We have the follicular phase lasting 7-10 days, the ovulation phase 3-4 days, the luteal phases 10-14 days, and the menstrual phase 3-7 days. It’s easiest to begin tracking your cycle during the follicular phase since day 1 of your period starts on day 1 of your cycle. In my opinion, thinking of each phase as the four seasons helps me to memorize them best: follicular - inner spring, ovulation - inner summer, luteal - inner fall, menstruation - inner winter. The way that you eat, move, work, and play, should change during each season to avoid adrenal fatigue, and help keep your hormones balanced. When you eat in accordance with your cycle, you can even eliminate the PMS symptoms that you feel the week leading up to your period.
During the follicular phase, your hormones are still low following the end of your period but will begin to rise (specifically estrogen) towards ovulation. This makes it a time when you’ll feel ready for a fresh start and it’s a good time to prepare and plan. When ovulation begins, estrogen is at its peak, and testosterone declines, You’ll naturally feel more social, energetic, and confident. At the beginning of the luteal phase, you’ll still be riding the waves of ovulation, and progesterone will rise. This phase is where you typically would feel PMS symptoms which is caused by too much estrogen not getting flushed out of the body and not enough progesterone. The luteal phase is a time to complete any lingering tasks, and you’ll naturally feel the urge to tidy up and maybe even get some deep cleaning done. Finally, during menstruation, hormones are at their lowest point and your uterus sheds its endometrial lining. This is the time to rest, reflect, and look inward.
If you are a person who bleeds, it is vital to your overall health to have a regular and healthy period. We’re taught to cover up any or all our symptoms with medications, but that’s not helpful long term. I like to think of having a regular period and ovulation as a Roth IRA account. If we aren’t putting in the work not to keep our hormones balanced, we could grow older and risk having osteoporosis, heart disease, breast disease, and dementia.
The 28-day infradian rhythm has become something that I am deeply passionate about and I love to learn more and more about it. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you have about our inner magic. If you would like to work with me more closely, feel free to complete the form on my website to schedule a free consultation with me and we can work something out as I am a practicing health coach. :) I’d love nothing more than to work with you and support you on your cycle-syncing journey.
I’ve learned so much from the book “In the FLO” by Alisa Vitti and I reference her work a lot. :)
