Cycles, Rhythms and Self Care
I have found a book that will likely alter the course of my Journey. I came across it in the 'You May Also Like' section while looking at cookbooks (the hubby has requested a Christmas Wishlist!). It's called Moon Time, written by Lucy H. Pearce, and is about the way that women have cycles in their bodies and this affects the way they live their lives. I am so relieved to find this book because I, like so many others, have tried to function 'like a man', to be consistent in what I do, how I eat, how I function, the way I think and feel in the world - but it hasn't worked for me. Somehow, I've always felt I've failed when I try and like there was something wrong with me for changing so frequently. Pregnancy and motherhood has exaggerated these cycles to the point where I can no longer ignore them; I can no longer be in environments, relationships, or routines that expect sameness day in, day out.
The reality is, women are different, and this book is helping me to see how that can be a good thing, a gift in fact when we come to understand our own rhythms and work with them instead of denying their existence. After the introduction and first chapter, this book has already inspired me to apply this to my eating and wellness journey. I realise now I am coming up with new habits, which is great, and trying to be consistent which is great, but the reality is my energy levels, my tastes, my moods, my thoughts alter throughout the month, so that what works one day (or minute, or hour!) no longer works at a later point in time.
I've put my inability to be consistent down to laziness, childishness, sabotage and so many other things, when in fact I can't thrive on consistency! Women don't need consistency. What we need is flexibility. What we need is to get to know our changing patterns and honour them; adapting everything in our life to flow in harmony with this inbuilt gift, our inbuilt cycle.
I now aim to embrace my changing cycle, to let it happen joyously, and plan my world around it. It is my world. It is the reality I live in. I want to understand what serves me when, and alter my environment, diet, lifestyle, relationship interactions and activities to suit. I've been looking for the 'one thing' in each of these areas that feels right - and wondering why say, a habit, fits but then later it doesn't. And when it stopped feeling right I'd just throw it out the window and presume I'd gone wrong somewhere. Really, what I need is a series of different habits that I use at different times of the day, month, year, my life, that I can chop and change as I chop and change through the tides of my life.
I'm going to start monitoring my energy levels change, my body changes, my impulses and mood fluctuations throughout the month and the seasons. This is what Lucy's Moon Time advocates. But seeing as I am on a wellness and health journey, I am going to also monitor when I want to cook, what I prefer to eat at different times of the month, how much energy I have to devote to food prep, or exercise, and how social I want my kitchen and dining experiences to be at different points in the month and year. Then I'm going to come up with a flowing, evolving, adapting routine for my life that fits with my cycles as a woman. I can't wait to see where I'm being led.
The reality is, women are different, and this book is helping me to see how that can be a good thing, a gift in fact when we come to understand our own rhythms and work with them instead of denying their existence. After the introduction and first chapter, this book has already inspired me to apply this to my eating and wellness journey. I realise now I am coming up with new habits, which is great, and trying to be consistent which is great, but the reality is my energy levels, my tastes, my moods, my thoughts alter throughout the month, so that what works one day (or minute, or hour!) no longer works at a later point in time.
I've put my inability to be consistent down to laziness, childishness, sabotage and so many other things, when in fact I can't thrive on consistency! Women don't need consistency. What we need is flexibility. What we need is to get to know our changing patterns and honour them; adapting everything in our life to flow in harmony with this inbuilt gift, our inbuilt cycle.
I now aim to embrace my changing cycle, to let it happen joyously, and plan my world around it. It is my world. It is the reality I live in. I want to understand what serves me when, and alter my environment, diet, lifestyle, relationship interactions and activities to suit. I've been looking for the 'one thing' in each of these areas that feels right - and wondering why say, a habit, fits but then later it doesn't. And when it stopped feeling right I'd just throw it out the window and presume I'd gone wrong somewhere. Really, what I need is a series of different habits that I use at different times of the day, month, year, my life, that I can chop and change as I chop and change through the tides of my life.
I'm going to start monitoring my energy levels change, my body changes, my impulses and mood fluctuations throughout the month and the seasons. This is what Lucy's Moon Time advocates. But seeing as I am on a wellness and health journey, I am going to also monitor when I want to cook, what I prefer to eat at different times of the month, how much energy I have to devote to food prep, or exercise, and how social I want my kitchen and dining experiences to be at different points in the month and year. Then I'm going to come up with a flowing, evolving, adapting routine for my life that fits with my cycles as a woman. I can't wait to see where I'm being led.