Working consciously with your luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

Working with your luteal phase…..

This stage of your menstrual cycle occurs straight after ovulation & builds until menstruation (around day 15 of a 28 day cycle but varies). Those who bleed on the full moon (15th Nov) you’re in your late luteal phase now.

My luteal is about to begin soon. I swear to god the follicular & ovulation stages fly by too quick.

Like life I suppose….

We don’t appreciate the good times enough & before you know it the hard ones come round again!

It’s all cycles.

What else can you do but learn to consciously ride the wave!!

Anyway….the luteal phase.

This is the one we all dislike the most, the part of the cycle where we experience heightened PMS symptoms. We are tired, aggy, impatient, emotional, restless, bloated. We don’t perform at our at best, we don’t feel our best.

But this is a great time for self awareness, self care, for rest, reflection, for energy work, for emotional releases, for taking care of your needs & discovering the ones you’re not fulfilling. It’s a great time for SHADOW WORK!!

See the luteal phase is like the shadow, it is a part of us. We can’t ignore, we can’t deny, we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist or happen but like the shadow we sure as hell try to. We don’t like to accept it. We fight against it.

The more you find acceptance the more you can work consciously with both your luteal cycle and eventually your shadow self.

You can begin to use this phase to gain awareness & reflect on what it is you’re ready to release come your menstrual cycle.

Become aware of:

What annoys you?

What upsets you?

What is your emotional body telling you?

If you want to loose your shit with someone or about something…..why? What’s actually happened? What in particular has angered or annoyed you?

Work back. These emotions are telling you something. Maybe you are moaning at your children or partner, feeling under appreciated. But maybe if you owned this you would realise you need to slow down, take more time for you, need some extra help. Maybe it’s not actually the other person or the situation that is annoying you maybe it’s the fact your not attending to your needs. Or maybe that person or situation is annoying you and you need to make changes & adjustments. Ignoring your emotions won’t change anything but getting curious with them will.

Are you tired?

Are you craving things?

Are you bloated?

Are you feeling heavy or aching?

What is your physical body telling you? What do you need more or less of? Think diet & movement. What would feel good right now?

What parts of self are you judging?

What parts of your body do you hate or create negative self talk towards?

What thought patterns are running on a loop?

What is your mental body telling you?

Observe your inner critic at their best during the luteal phase. We feel crappy so they pipe up more.

If you use this stage correctly come your bleed it will be a full bodied release and you can literally shed it all. How well you take care of yourself during the luteal & menstruation phases will affect how much you flourish during follicular & ovulation. You’ll get so much more out of those fabulous feel good stages. Otherwise the exhaustion, the repressed emotions, the hormone fluctuations, the heavy mind, body & soul all carry over into the next cycle.

You will need to try and find some calmness among the chaos, some patience & stillness. You need more rest, you need certain nutrients, you need extra attention, you need to love your body in different ways during this stage of your menstraual cycle.

It can feel uncomfortable to be still in this stage. We usually try to continue to perform as we have during the previous stage ovulation. The stage where we have felt hot, energised, productive. We are resisting not feeling good. Which in turn makes us feel worse. We end up shouting at our family, feeling burnt out, suffering with more physical body pms symptoms, spots, bloating, aches, sweats. Your cortisol levels are sky high because you’re going against your body. If you give yourself attention, space, you can take care of yourself better.

Now I can hear you say that’s all well and good but shit still needs to get done. I have a job, I have kids, I have responsibilities. This is very true. So do I. But what you can do is be mindful & aware. You can not book too much extra stuff in. You can give yourself extra time and grace. You can incorporate an amount of time every day that suits you 5 mins - 3 hours. A daily commitment to self connection will be beneficial no matter the time frame. Whatever time you have use it. Choose you.

I remember not even having physical space to do this kinda stuff more than 2x a month. Life was busy but I had no self importance or connection back then. It felt uncomfortable to spend so much time on me. Small steps. Make a commitment today to show up and then watch it build the more realise how important & valuable it is to take care of yourself properly.

Now then during the luteal phase your shadow self will be present in different ways. You get to observe her during this time & notice so much. The thought processes, the emotions, the physical body.

Like she’s not deeply horny and desperately wanting external validation & attention that’s the shadow of the follicular & especially ovulation 🫦🫠🥵

She’s sad, angry, frustrated, fed up, insecure. She wants attention too but more nurturing than celebratory. She wants worship but in a different way. She wants safety.

Both want that attention from you but as our shadow is the parts of us we reject we will often search for these needs to be fulfilled outside of ourselves unconsciously.

Try & not reject your shadow, your desires just try to become aware, take ownership.

Some things I would suggest:

Nurture & nourish yourself

Daily grounding & self connection practices

Self reflect

Open up to the different aspects of self coming into your awareness

Listen to the subtle language of your body.

Move the energy (find some kind of movement)

Feel the pain

Listen

Care for yourself

Lastly allow your desires, so if you binge eat, loose track of exercise regimes, forget a few tasks on the to do list, project a little, over indulge in negative emotions…….let it go. Maybe take ownership & say sorry if you’ve been more impatient or irritable, I’m not excusing you being a total dick and using your luteal phase as a way to excuse hurting others. But again don’t shame yourself, you’re human. Acknowledgment & accountability will go a long way with the ones you love.

Helpful Herbs

Try incorporating some of the following in your teas, infusions & tinctures.

Dandelion - cleanse body of excess estrogen which peaks at this time.

Nettle leaf - high iron content helps to restore low iron during upsizing menstruation & combats fatigue

Burdock root - compliments nettle by assisting in hormone regulation

Ashwagandha root - promotes hormonal balance and reduces stress, anxiety. Helps your body adapt to hormonal fluctuations

Lady’s Mantle - regulating menstruation by stimulating progesterone production

Fennel - regulate hormones and reduce symptoms of PMS. Reduce bloating and inflammation

Ginger - total body health, reduces inflammation, most effective when taken throughout the month it’s helpful for preventing symptoms.

Lemon balm & Chamomile - ease stress & anxiety, the nervous system & are natural sedative

The above are ones I’m personally suggesting for the luteal phase but working with herbs and plants throughout all stages really does help.

I’ve also been recently using Moringa, Triphala, Tulsi, Tumeric, Ashoka, Arjuna throughout all stages. Plus loads of others. These all support me personally so I thought may be worth mentioning. I love working with herbs & plants!

Estrogen levels & how they effect you:

During the mid-luteal phase there is a rise in estrogen levels with a decrease at the end of the menstrual cycle.

What happens when your estrogen levels are high?

• breast tenderness.

• headaches.

• weight gain.

• light or heavy menstrual bleeding.

• worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

• fibrocystic lumps in your breasts.

• fibroids (noncancerous tumors) in the uterus.

• fatigue

Signs of low estrogen include:

• Dry skin.

• Tender breasts.

• Weak or brittle bones.

• Trouble concentrating.

• Moodiness and irritability.

• Vaginal dryness or atrophy.

• Hot flashes and night sweats.

• Irregular periods or no periods

In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle, estrogen affects the reproductive tract, the urinary tract, the heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, mucous membranes, pelvic muscles, and the brain. Estrogen regulates the growth, development, and physiology of the human reproductive system. This hormone also influences neuroendocrine, skeletal, adipose, and cardiovascular systems. Estrogen is an important sex hormone produced primarily by the ovaries in females and testes in males. Estrogen is a hormone that plays a role in both the male and female reproductive systems. In females, it contributes to reproductive and breast health, among other functions.

Final thoughts:

The luteal phase is not something we can avoid, like life there are always cycles some we enjoy and some we don’t but all that serve a purpose.

The different stages of your menstrual cycle serve different purposes. If you consciously connect and work with them and your body you will no longer resist the inevitable but embrace it maybe even enjoy it. Nah that’s a bit too far 😂

Understanding my cycles was a big part of working on my emotional & mental health. Our hormone levels and body chemicals change each week. These same systems directly impact your mental & emotional health. Ovulation is completely different to our period. The more I understood the body & its different systems the more I understand how I worked & could give myself what I needed when.

I know how I am going to feel physically mentally, emotionally & spiritually each week.

I know when I’ll feel the most creative & inspired. I know when I’ll feel mega social & full of energy. I know when I’ll wanna cosy up & chill. I’ll know when I’ll be tired, irritable, impatient & vibe alone. I’ll know when I need spend some time with my emotional body.

I know when to stop and when to go.

Periods don’t have to be problematic 🩸

My PMS symptoms have massively subsided but they still exist. Depending on what has been occurring in that particular cycle & how I’ve been living. They show me where I may be out of balance. Some months I’ll be more tired others I’m more emotional. Some I’m more spotty others I’m more horny.

If I have been experiencing an intense month maybe going through something externally or deep healing & releasing, this will always be refelcted in the intensity of my PMS & emotional state during that cycle. That’s not to say I go about being an emotional wreck. I am just aware my emotions are peaking at this time.

Knowing the symptoms you can begin adjusting your lifestyle to match this.

Thanks for reading,

Laura