Loosely Speaking
Join three best friends turned business owners for real talk on life, relationships, and leveling up. We dive into everything from entrepreneurship and personal growth to spirituality and wellbeing, sharing authentic stories, big laughs, and practical insights along the way.
Whether you're navigating your career, building meaningful relationships, or simply figuring out adulting, we're here with the conversations and encouragement you need. Nothing is off-limits.
Think of us as your go-to gals for honest advice with a sprinkle of spiritual vibes.
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Loosely Speaking
The Menstrual Wonderland: Understanding Your Body's Natural Rhythms
Ever feel like you're fighting your own body? There's a reason - and a better way forward.
Meet Georgia, founder of Shakti Seeker and our first-ever guest on Loosely Speaking. She's revolutionising how women understand their menstrual cycles, transforming what many see as a monthly inconvenience into a powerful framework for living authentically.
Georgia shares her personal journey from being a "masculine woman" constantly on the go to discovering the profound wisdom of her cycle. Like many of us, she reached her mid-twenties knowing surprisingly little about her own body. After stopping hormonal birth control, she began noticing profound changes not just physically, but in her entire approach to life.
We dive deep into the four phases of the menstrual cycle and how each phase offers unique strengths. Would you believe your entire life could improve by planning important presentations during your confidence-peak days? Or that giving yourself permission to rest during your bleed might prevent burnout altogether?
The conversation takes fascinating turns through practical advice for coming off birth control, ways to educate younger generations without shame, and even the science behind why some women find their attraction to partners changes after stopping hormonal contraceptives. Plus, Georgia shares beautiful ritual ideas for celebrating first periods and honoring our cyclical nature.
Whether you're struggling with period problems, considering natural birth control methods, or simply curious about working with your body instead of against it, this episode offers wisdom that's been forgotten in our fast-paced world. As Georgia puts it, "We're not learning anything new - we're remembering."
Ready to reclaim your cyclical nature and discover how your menstrual cycle might be your greatest untapped resource? Listen now and join us in this powerful conversation about feminine wisdom and embodied living.
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Welcome to Loosely Speaking, the podcast where three best friends turned business owners come together to chat about all things life, relationships and leveling up.
Laura:Each episode, we share our perspectives on what it's like being women in business, balancing everything from work and relationships to society and self-care. And from time to time, we welcome the best in the biz to share their insights with us.
Madi:Think of us as your go-to girls for real talk, big laughs and a sprinkle of spiritual vibes. So do whatever makes you feel good while you tune in. Let's get the conversation flowing.
Lauren:Welcome back to Loosely Speaking, where nothing is off limits. We're back and we have something fun for you guys. Today we actually have our very first special guest, g from Shakti Seeker, and I'm gonna pass the ball straight over to you, g, so you can give us a little bit of an intro about yourself and what you do fantastic thanks, lauren.
G:So yeah, I'm G or Georgia and I am founder of Shakti Sikha, which is a women's wellness wonderland in terms of menstrual cycle. So I educate women about their menstrual cycle, reconnecting to their cycle, learning how to track for natural fertility and, overall, just understanding how to harness the power of their cycle and just seeing how wonderful it is.
Lauren:So we're all so, so excited to have you here today, because this is such important work that you do. If not, you know one of the most most important fields. I think, um, of course, I'm going to feel that way as a woman, but yeah, all three of us have been, in more recent years, beginning to understand the importance of us connecting to our cycle, and all three of us have been moving more towards more feminine ways of doing things and not being in our masculine. So much so, being able to be educated on this topic today is so incredible. We know little bits and pieces, but we're dying to ask you all of the questions and I love how you described it as a wonderland as well.
Lauren:It's such a beautiful way to think about it. So thank you.
G:Well it goes over everything we do in life, like our cycle really is at the core of our health in terms of everything that shows up, and listening to that and taking on all the signs and the symptoms and the challenges and addressing the root cause rather than just being like, okay, I've got a headache, that's just because I'm dehydrated, like having a look at okay where am I at in my cycle? How can I nourish myself during this time? How can I support myself? Through food, through movement, whatever?
Lauren:it is.
G:And then adding in, of course, that layer of rituals or self-care to really put you at the center and prioritize that, rather than just automatically reaching for a neurofirm because you've got a headache yes, yes, it's almost like the biggest life hack that's not that well known about or spoken about.
Lauren:until recently, I feel there's been a bit more of a resurgence. Um, and then people like yourself coming into this work. I thank you for doing this and, um, I guess, before we get into the science behind it and the tips and tools that you have around ritual and self-care, can you share it with us a little bit about your story and how you got to the place that you're up?
G:yeah, definitely so. My story in terms of becoming a coach started back when I was 24. I was a full-time primary teacher and I was what you call a very masculine woman. I was just on the go all the time, booking holidays. Every school holidays I would be overseas. I was just constantly dating new people or doing something new, or just my calendar was just forever booked. I couldn't sit still and I liked it that way until I really started to realize that my body was just giving me all these challenges. I was always bloated, I was over-exercising, like I could not slow down, I had headaches, work was very stressful, my skin was just inflamed all the time and, as a result, I was just cutting out food and being restrictive and I just realized how detrimental it was to my health as a whole. So then I started exploring more of my cycle and I looked at okay, what's going on in my life right now? That is really holding control, and it was. I was on hormonal birth control.
G:And this isn't to say that that is a negative for me.
G:at the time, I realized that I needed to stop because it wasn't serving a place in my life, right then, and I just thought, okay, let's have a go at going off it and seeing if it helps me really reconnect to myself again, because I've always been really into rituals and I consider myself a little bit of a woo-woo in terms of always having moments of self-care. So that wasn't there, it was just the fact that I couldn't slow down for those rituals and that self-care, to really flourish in all aspects of my life.
G:So, yeah, 24 came off the pill um, expecting to get my period back straight away. I did a cold Turkey, didn't have any information about my cycle, how to support myself, how to bring it back on, and it took at least six to eight months to get it back. And during that time it made me quite stressed because I was thinking okay, what's going on.
Lauren:Why do I not?
G:have my cycle back. I went and saw a gynecologist, I went and got scans and they just throw all these things at you and I just felt so undereducated and so unempowered, if that's the right word for my body. I just felt like I had no say in it. I just felt like I had no control, no education, nothing, and I was like this is not how a 24-year-old should be feeling.
Lauren:She knows nothing about her cycle, nothing about her body.
G:So then that's when I started to slowly start learning, understanding what the four phases of my cycle are, how I can bring in rest and how I can do all the things, but link it to my cycle and use that as an anchor, rather than constantly needing to be go, go, go, go go. Understand when is the time to really slow down down, when is the time to plan these adventures and to do all these overnight hikes and things I love doing without putting all that stress on my body, because that is probably one of the reasons my cycle didn't come back because it was so stressed, and me stressing about it being stressed is just like a recipe for disaster so that's where it all started and um.
G:So I continued to teach and started to bring more awareness and more body literacy, I suppose, to everything I did. And then I then started to become a menstrual cycle coach and that's what I do now. I work with that and natural fertility educating as well. And, yeah, I've definitely taken a completely different path in my life. I went from working full time to then completely cutting back. Um, we traveled for 12 months and I feel like I I learned so much about that myself in that time because I took away and I understand that we can't all do this, but but for me I took away all those external stresses and just spent the time really looking at who I was and understanding my body and taking away that guilt of always needing to be doing and just being able to slow down and accept the ebbs and the flows and that it's okay to actually not always be on and that it's okay to just have a day in communicating that, because there was no communication, I wasn't able to communicate. It was just like an instant.
G:Yeah, I felt overwhelmed rather so yeah, that's a little recap of my journey. So the last six years have just been, yeah, all about learning more. And I still learn more and more. And don't get me wrong, I've been doing this for so long and I still have cycles where the unpredictable things come up and I'm like what's going on here? But it happens and we're all humans.
G:So it's about having that awareness and taking away that judgment for yourself and having more gratitude, I suppose, and gratitude for your body, your health, and realizing, okay, my cycle is doing this amazing thing every single month, like I'm bleeding and I'm not dying, like how is this amazing? How is this then converting to the birth portal and all those other elements?
Laura:and yeah, having gratitude for your body. Thanks for sharing.
Lauren:Yeah, what was?
Laura:your biggest lesson from that six-year timeframe where you rediscovered, you know, these parts of you that you weren't so connected to. Now that you are really connecting to that and embodying that Like what's the biggest lesson, do you think?
G:Yeah, definitely about balancing those masculine and feminine energies.
Lauren:Yeah, huge and knowing yeah, so having a look okay the four phases, do you think yeah?
G:definitely about balancing those masculine and feminine energies, yeah, and knowing, yeah, so having a look. Okay, the four phases how does this actually show up for me? How can I prioritize and actually have like non-negotiable time that is allowing me and it sounds masculine to set that time and it has to be like we live in such a busy society and our lives are so busy.
G:But, yeah, knowing that, okay, for this weekend I'm actually not going to make plans, and how can I spend time with myself? Put myself first and then, in terms of, like, filling up my cup to then fill up everyone else's, that that element, yeah. So, looking at like the yin and the yang throughout the four phases as well, um, which relates to masculine and feminine, they go hand in hand. So that's the biggest takeaway, I suppose. And then, of course, eating to support my cycle has been one of the biggest, yeah, takeaways.
Laura:Is sweet potato, something I've heard that you should have when you're on your period?
G:Yeah, definitely, it's warm and nourishing. As long as it's warm and we can talk about that.
Madi:Yeah, yeah, you want to be bringing in all that energy. Yeah, I guess I have a question to take it back to when you said you know, 24 don't really know much about your cycle and everything. I think a lot of people, myself included, can relate to that. You know, I'm 27 and I'm still like what's this or what's that? So I guess, to anyone that's listening, or even for us as well, where can you start, like where can you find and like where should you start in terms of it's such a broad thing, but what are, like, the fundamental parts that, if you want to start exploring this more often? Or what did you do when you were, like getting into this kind of field and wanting to learn more?
G:yeah, that's a great question. Yeah, I love it. Um, so the first thing I would do would be to start tracking your cycle, okay, whether you're on and when I say your cycle, not just your period, but tracking every single day of your cycle, because if you're just logging into one of the online apps and just saying I'm bleeding on this day, this day, in this day, and then it tells you oh, you're going to be feeling happy today, you're ovulating today.
Lauren:Like how does it know?
G:like it doesn't know and you're going off that and so you're giving the control to the app, whereas if you are tracking using paper or your journal, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. Um, I track using the four pillars. Which is a teacher from my lesson, from my teacher, um, and we look at like physical, energetic, nutritional and spiritual. So we look at those aspects. How am I checking in using each of those four pillars? Because if we look at the, a table that has four legs, if all of our legs are not at the same height, there's going to be imbalances, and those imbalances will show up in our lives every day. So we just look at, okay. So how am I checking in and how, from this today can tomorrow be? How can I use this awareness to create more balance in our lives? So back to cycle tracking. It's just phenomenal for you just to understand your cycle, and when you work with a coach like myself, we need two to three cycles to even be able to identify patterns because so much can impact your cycle.
G:Let's just say you're stressed, you've had a really busy week at work, so then, therefore, your body's in like a bit of a flight or fight mode. Or let's just say you're stressed. That then puts you've had a really busy week at work. So then, therefore, your body's in like a bit of a flight or fight mode and then that may push ovulation back because your body's not feeling like it's safe enough to ovulate, which then will push your period back potentially. And all of these things give us more insight into what's going on, whereas if you had no idea, if you didn't write down really stressful week, like moved house and had two major business meetings and if that wasn't written down.
G:And then all of a sudden, your periods are weak, late and you're like what's going on? It's because of that so it's. I'm not saying it's definitely because of that, but looking at your tracker would be able to say it's okay, like this is what's happening and this is how we can further support yourself in the next cycle to move on. So cycle tracking would be the biggest thing. Um, then I'd start exploring what are the four phases and what are the four phases?
G:looking at my tracker, so when do I notice this shift in my energy from my bleed? When do I notice I'm really coming out of my cocoon and my inner winter?
G:and I notice like coming into my spring, which is like we use inner seasons when we relate to the four phases because it's a beautiful yeah, it's a beautiful way to connect outside to our body, because we are cyclical beings, we cycle just like nature cycles throughout us, and we need each of the four phases to yeah behold, we can't skip seasons, we can't just skip all of our inner winter, otherwise, think about the world around us I'm so seasonal as a woman, and that was okay.
G:When are my inner seasons? When are my phases? Based on my tracker? So that'd be the second thing, and then the third thing would be start reading or start researching.
G:Um, but first of all, look at yourself, because if you just go and jump on google or read a book, it may make sense, but when you've got a little bit of your cycle to be like, oh yeah, I've noted that or I've done this it can really help bring more intention and just help it make sense a bit more, because we are so saturated with information there's so many podcasts and so many books and Google but it's like I need to look at myself and how I can apply this to me.
Laura:So yeah, I'd start tracking.
G:I'd start looking at your inner seasons, and then I'd start researching more.
Madi:Yeah, wow, and I love even the like, because obviously your cycle it's it's pretty much every day. So it's like it's also just like a bit of like self-reflection on that day, like how did I feel today? So if you don't typically take the time to do that sort of thing, it could also be mindful practice as well, but to be like how am I feeling? Am I feeling sad, Am I feeling happy? What sort of day did I have? And then you can also like reflect on that too, which is definitely.
G:I love that it is. It's a mini ritual. It's like a five minute check-in of yeah, how am I feeling? Everyone else, and then it can also open up conversations, because sometimes we don't check in with ourselves and then the people we live with are like what's wrong with you, and then you're like what is wrong with me, but it's because we haven't taken that time yeah or it's like you're just hormonal.
G:No, I'm not hormonal, I'm actually just having a moment and then and that's the other thing about tracking is like, definitely like when you're in that late luteal phase. I have a lot of clients that it is a challenging time, but knowing that, okay, no, you know what this is, this challenging time, but in this luteal phase, I can also be highly intuitive and really connect to myself and what comes up is actually from the heart, because it's not controlled from the hormones, like estrogen, that are like I want to go out and do all the things. It's like it's real and it's raw and that's you. So it's like, yeah, it's a beautiful time when you see it from that lens rather than just being like I'm a crazy hormonal person so, yeah, wow, I love that.
Lauren:It's really interesting actually to think of your cycle as a whole picture, not just the week that you're on your bleed, right. And I recently learned that how you treat yourself throughout the whole month, or 28 to 30 days, whatever it is, will impact and show on your bleed. I was like, wow, it's just all connected. Obviously it's all connected.
G:Yeah, yeah, definitely yeah, it's just all connected. Obviously it's all connected. Yeah, yeah, definitely so if you're pushing through a lot and I find in myself and in clients if you're not taking a day or two on your, your bleed, your period I like to call it bleed I just think it's got a lot more of a beautiful. I think the way you speak to yourself as well really changes your it sounds very earthy yeah, yeah period, it's quite masculine it
G:is very masculine periodic table yeah, period period end yeah, period end. Yeah, it's not, it's a fresh start. Yeah, you're shedding, you're releasing, and you look at your, your bleed, from like a spiritual angle as well. You're releasing, you're letting go off. So think about what is it that I'm no longer bringing with me into this new cycle? I think of, like, as a new year's eve, every single cycle as well. You're releasing, you're letting go off, so think about what is it that I'm no longer bringing with me into this new cycle?
Lauren:I think of like as a new year's eve every single cycle.
G:It's like that one's gone yeah, now, what am I?
Lauren:what am I bringing in that's so gorgeous, and how can I honor?
G:that like how can I prioritize myself?
Lauren:yeah, that's beautiful so with the app tracking, um, it's really interesting that you say to track every single day and to input that data. So I recently have been using stardust yeah as an app and every day they give you the option to put in um, what sort of symptoms you're experiencing, what you might have eaten like yeah, and it just lets you put in information that then I guess, by what you're saying, is going to generate unique feedback that applies to yourself, because I did have a notification pop up from the app.
Lauren:I've only been doing it for a month and it was like your confidence will be through the roof today and it wasn't.
Lauren:So it's like, oh, what's going on there?
Lauren:but yeah, to actually personalize it with your information makes sense, because I wasn't doing that on the days where I wasn't bleeding. Yeah, I was only doing it for the days where I was, so that was interesting that would explain.
G:Yeah, and like, the apps are great, don't get me wrong, they're fantastic, but I do prefer the good old pen to paper and having it on one piece of paper because, looking at the apps, unless it shows like a whole monthly reflection, you're not going to flick back and think, okay, how did I feel on cycle day two, whereas when you have three cycles in front of you and you're like, oh my gosh, cycle day six, I was actually like an anxious mess. All of those three cycles. What's that telling me? How can I prioritize myself?
G:yeah, whereas you probably won't flick back on your app. You may, you may. I personally never did, but I suppose some of the apps are great when they do let you put all that personalized information in, and when you actually do it but yeah, it's consistency, like it's just being consistent and really I love any other reason to have a journal prompt? So this is good, I'll have to show you my track cards. Oh, please do.
Lauren:I've got a few different ones but yeah, if you do have any resources, then let us know, so that we can pass them on to our listeners.
Laura:What are your?
G:other favorite resources. Yeah, so we have like a roadbook to cycle connection and it has all of the four phases how to connect, how to eat, how to move, rituals for each of the four phases. I have my cycle tracker, which is how to track. There's a little video as well of how to track. Um, I had a coming off of mental birth control, like some steps to include when you come off of mental birth control in terms of just preparing your body to be back into that, that mindset and that environment of of of lead again. So, yeah, a few different things. They're all freebies on my website.
Madi:So yeah, Okay, yeah, I'd love to kind of. We did have a little bit of a chat before we. We had to stop ourselves. But we should make sure we're recording the episode, but I did ask g when we first, because I was thinking of questions, obviously to to ask you today, and something that's really prominent for me at the moment is coming off birth control and the. For me personally, I've had um, the the implement, implement, is that how you say it?
Lauren:Implement. Implement what the dyslexia the implement.
Madi:The rod. Yeah, the rod, that's easier, let's call it that. Yeah, I've had my rod since pre twenties. So for me it's almost like I don't know what my twenties even look like. I don't even like, cause obviously I've trends. I've come so far from when I was 18. So I don't even know what that looks like without that. But there also for me is that fear of getting off, um, or getting it taken out in my case, and then also my hormones just going crazy and you know obviously. So there's for me there's fear around it because I'm probably not educated around it. So I'd love to hear your insights on, for people that are coming off whether it's the rod or they've got the marina or they're just coming off the pill any tips and tricks of what they can kind of do, definitely, definitely.
G:So, once again, you can start tracking your cycle now to develop that little bit of a routine of checking in with your body so that, yes, when your cycle does return, you've already got that foundation of tracking and checking in. Otherwise, it can be really difficult to start something new when you've already got all these changes going on as well. So my number one recommendation would be start tracking. Number two would be looking at what supplements or vitamins or anything you need to take to replace the nutrients that have been lost when you're on hormonal birth control. So that will be different for everyone, um, but yeah, there's a lot of things that the hormonal birth control depletes, so I'd be working alongside a naturopath or doing a lot of research into that, because each situation is so unique.
G:And the third thing would be really learning about the cycle and educating yourself once again on these four phases so that, yeah, you have got more of that confidence when it comes back and it's kind of more exciting that you're like oh my gosh, I get to experience my hormones pretty much for the first time as an adult woman and seeing it from a different lens rather than and it sounds so easy for me to say it, it's obviously a lot harder, especially like when you do have to welcome all these changes back into your life.
G:But when you can see it from a different lens no longer being that 18 year old I want to hide my period it's annoying, and rather seeing it as more that spiritual practice that we were just talking about of, oh my goodness, my body is so healthy, it's doing this, it's it's this life creating um force. Yeah, and seeing it from that angle, that's probably the three biggest steps I'd say. Obviously, there's so many other things, and prioritizing liver health is really important. So alcohol and caffeine it's definitely a time to limit those things, just so that your body feels supported, because otherwise it's a lot of stress and we want to be eliminating that stress on your body as it reconnects everything.
Madi:Yeah, well, I also wanted to touch on that reconnection of what you shared before, which none of us knew about. When you are on some sort of birth control that you don't connect, I'll let you use, because I'll probably butcher it, but I'm like, please, because like I've never heard of that before, yeah.
G:So pretty much it is a synthetic hormone, so it either stops or mimics the hormones. It's not your true hormones that are and I can't speak on this is very generic because every birth control is different Some are progesterone dominant, so that there's no estrogen.
G:So you're not creating cervical mucus, like they're also different. So the biggest thing is that, yeah, they're synthetic hormones, so you're not creating cervical mucus, like they're also different. Um, so the biggest thing is that, yeah, they're synthetic hormones, so they're not your real hormones. So, even if you're getting a period, a bleed, it's called a breakthrough bleed and it's not your actual bleed.
Lauren:So yeah, we were all like what? Yeah, but where does it go?
G:yeah learning.
Laura:That is quite mind-blowing even myself.
G:When I was on the pill for six years, I thought that was my period. I didn't actually understand it. I knew I was taking a sugar pill, but I didn't realize that it wasn't my actual bleed. I thought. So what happens is it really does take. For everyone it's so different, but your body needs to relearn these, these hormone paths from your brain down to your ovaries, so it's like it's a whole new game. So it takes time. For some people they get their cycle back straight away. For others they don't, and like doesn't mean that one's healthier over the other, it just is your body doing its thing.
G:It's got to. It's got to find the pathways again, like it's just like anything that hasn't been used in so long. It's got cobwebs in it.
Lauren:Like we need to like blow the cobwebs out, so yeah that's essentially what happens.
G:And, yeah, and you might feel different. You might be like, oh my gosh, this is what estrogen is. Like Like, wow, this is great. I've never felt this before. So yeah, that's why tracking is great, so you can keep, keep tapping into yourself.
Laura:I felt amazing when I came off my birth control like I, for me, I've been off it for a long time, like, I think, when I was 17, I was like I can't do this anymore, my body body was just like I cannot do it and I was forgetting to take the pills sometimes.
Laura:And back then, yeah, it was just more like, oh, this period's annoying, like I didn't have that connection to it, but when I came off after about I'd say, three to six months, I felt so connected to my inner being it was crazy.
Laura:And I was like I'm never and we've been, we're high school sweethearts. But even back then I prepared him. I'm like I'm coming off and I need to do this for me. And he supported that and we decided to do things to you know other ways of birth control that weren't so invasive to my body, because I was like it's not fair that you don't like it's affecting me, like I'm going crazy. So he was like it's not fair that you don't like it's affecting me, like I'm going crazy. So he was like it's fine, babe, do all the things you need to do. And he was so beautiful and supportive about it. But honestly, I really it took about half a year, I'd say for me, three months to half a year where I really was like, oh my gosh, I feel like more me than ever.
Lauren:Like it really does.
Laura:And it takes a while to get out of your system. Hey, like a long time, but yeah, it was really nice.
Lauren:You just made me think of something, so fortunately you know you're in a partnership where he was really receptive to that and happy to take that on, but I can imagine in some of your work and with the people that you see your clients and the people around them, perhaps opinions, um, that others are not so fortunate and that it can present to be quite a challenging and awkward topic when coming off the pill happens. And then there's this conversation around birth control. What does that look like and perhaps what the expectations are from the partner's perspective? How do you navigate that?
G:well, that is you're so right. It is such a challenging time and I suppose this is where, if you're in a relationship, you need to have that open communication yeah you need to, and if someone is not fully supporting you in your decisions and to take control of your health, then are they right for you? Yeah are they? Oh wow, so yeah, like how do you have that conversation.
Laura:Yeah, yeah, because back then I was so adamant, I was like I'm crazy, I'm crying all the time.
Lauren:Like obviously I'm young, you know, I had things.
Laura:it was a different chapter in my life but I knew in my heart I was like it's because of the hormones, like the pill, like, and I was beginning anyway, and I was like this just isn't serving me. Pat, my husband now he probably thinks I'm crazy and I was like I need to do this for me and if he didn't support that, yeah, like that would be really heartbreaking because it's my body it's like and yeah so it's actually adding to that.
G:There's studies that are done that when women come off hormonal birth control some, some women they actually realize that their sense of smell changes. They're no longer attracted to the partner that they were with. Well, this is real, real science.
G:Yeah, goodness, yeah, this is not gonna be, but it just goes to show that, yeah, it can impact more than just our emotional mindset. It's so many different things, but, yeah, linking back to your question, that comes down to well, if you're ready to take full empowerment and control of your body and there's someone that is not supporting you in that, that's yeah. Yeah, it's really tricky, it's tricky, it's really tricky.
Lauren:I can just hear the rebuttal of some guys not saying that this has happened to me or any of us. But it's really tricky, it's tricky, it's really tricky. I can just hear the rebuttal of some guys not saying that this has happened to me or any of us, but it's like that.
Lauren:I don't want to wear a condom, kind of thing Like it doesn't feel as good or this or that.
Lauren:So it's like okay, I imagine that some women might be out there who might feel a bit of anxiety around making the decision to come on birth control and how that will look for their relationship with their partner. So what kind of tips do you have to prep them to have that conversation and help educate the partner because a lot of that comes from just not knowing and not understanding yeah
G:and this is where natural fertility and contraception awareness comes into it and it's it's a joint partnership. It's not just one person in the relationship. You both need to be in it as well, because natural fertility it's listening to those signs and symptoms. So it's looking at your cervical mucus and having a look at how you can track your cycle to know when you're fertile and when you're not fertile. Because you are not fertile, the whole phase of your cycle I didn't I didn't know this, I know it now but, but yeah.
Madi:Oh. I was the same I thought I could get pregnant.
Laura:You can get pregnant whenever, and I was like what yeah, why didn't they teach us that in school? Because that's my next question Hold up. Hold up on.
G:I would say, if the partner is not comfortable with this, it's like, okay, well, I'm either off the pill or we're learning about this together. Like it's an open you're adults, like it's your health at the end of the day. So it would be educating the four phases and knowing how to tap into your signs and symptoms. Like I just said, basal body temperature and cervical mucus, the two most common. There's also a few other ones like your cervical height and just tapping into your body and what it's telling you. Um, to know, okay, well, this is our fertile phase. What can we do during this phase that isn't going to allow us to conceive? If that's the the goal, um, and, yeah, making it more a partnership and seeing it as that.
G:I think sometimes, when we do get older, it can be more of an open conversation, whereas younger years, it can be really difficult to say to I'm talking more in like relationships I've had no, I'm not on the pill and they're like, oh my gosh, and freak out. But there's something about having that power and knowing your cycle and just being fully in control and being like I'm actually not further, like not being scared as well. So I encourage, yeah, all women to to just learn about that as well, that's to teach it to teach it, but yeah, yeah so what do you feel is missing from early education around women's health and how?
Lauren:what advice would you give to um? Not only us for creating more ritual around our cycle, but when it comes to teaching our daughters and our daughters daughters, like through rites of passage, like, how can we really protect this time as a sacred time and not something to be ashamed of?
G:yeah, and I feel like there's a lot of fear around anything menstrual cycle health. It's quite a scary time, um, even like as a teacher, knowing I don't actually teach um, I teach kindergarten in year one, so I don't teach this at school, but I know of friends that are in like year three and four and they teach this to younger, younger kids and they just the kids are scared, scary it's yeah, I remember thinking when I first heard of it.
Madi:I heard pyramids and I remember being like what's that? I was like like the ones in Egypt and like I, one of our um girlfriends in primary school and I just remember being like. I hope that never happens like.
G:It was terrifying it is yeah so I I would say one of the biggest things would be educating around what actually is a cycle and that it is a full cycle. It's not just a bleed that randomly happens and you start bleeding, because that is the concept that a lot of young teens and tweens have. Oh, I just get this bleed once a month.
G:I have no idea why I get it, for or when yeah or when so, and when you're younger, your your bleeds can be a lot more sporadic, so you don't have, as such, that same control. It can be quite a difficult time, which is why it is really important to have someone, or a beautiful friend or mentor that can provide you with some information about your cycle.
G:So, once again, it's learning the four phases and also connecting to nature during this time so like what we just said about the, the four seasons and the inner seasons and the moon, and having a look at the moon and realizing that we are cyclical as well. So teaching it more as a visualization rather than just being like this happens, this happens and this happens, bringing nature into it and saying, okay, well, each of the moon has its phases. We're very similar. We are like a new moon. We're very similar. We are like new moon is like when we have our bleed and seeing it more from that angle, I think, is really really powerful and takes away that fear and that lack of embodiment or almost of like what it is. So that's how I like to teach it and bringing that in in terms of rituals.
G:There's so many beautiful rituals that you can, you can do to support a teen or a tween and, going way back, this used to be celebrated, this used to be such a rite of passage, it was such a beautiful time and that is just getting lost and lost. And it's also getting lost because, um, the old generations aren't learning it, so they're not being able to pass it on. So it's like that, forgotten. It's like we're remembering all this. This isn't new to us, we're just having a full remembering and we're having a full. Yeah, so it's. It's not that we haven't learned about it, it's just bring it back. So it depends on you and your family and your daughter and how you want to do it.
G:Obviously, like a circle is a beautiful way of embracing sisterhood, because that's just something that we don't do much of anymore, and you think about every single culture back years and years and years ago, everyone sat in a circle. No matter where you're from, what your history is, it was circles, it was sitting around and it was sharing and having these wise women around you to guide yeah, to guide you. So I think that is super important. Um, as well as in terms of little rituals, I really do still love tracking, even if they're just tracking their bleed, that's okay. But just to be tracking and getting into that ritual of like what's going on in my body, rather than dreading it, I love using red, so like a red towel or red sheets, something that, especially if you've got lots of people in the household where they can just communicate without communicating- I'm on my period.
G:I grew up with three brothers, so I always had a red towel and it was just like easy said, didn't need any food um, so there's beautiful things like that or a little piece of jewelry just really make them feel that this is a big deal like this is so important. You should not be embarrassed by this. Um, menstrual products is another really like beautiful way to connect for a teen or tween, because there's so many options now. There isn't just a tampon or a pad like they used to be, and I found from talking to my friends and clients that it's really whatever your mum used is kind of what you used At that age. We are sponges.
Lauren:So we absorb absolutely everything.
G:So if your best friend gets her period two years before you and hates it and tells you every single cycle you don't want this, this is horrible this is horrible.
Lauren:Or your mum or your older?
G:sister or your auntie, anyone. That's what you're going to absorb and that's the mindset you're going to have around your cycle, which is why it can be really tricky to to bring in this new mindset. I think that's the right word for it. So it's about acknowledging yeah, you've got to be putting the right words in the actions and the, the guidance and the support, rather than just that this is horrible, don't get it.
Lauren:The shame that's yeah yeah, what you just said really inspired me when you were talking about the season. This is horrible, don't get it. The shame that's there. Yeah, what you just said really inspired me when you were talking about the seasons, and then I just imagined my daughter in her inner winter, like the first time or the second time, whatever, early on, but me just being able to nurture her and wrap her in blankets and bring her a hot drink or cook her favourite meal.
Lauren:That just lights me up to think that that's coming and I hope that I get to teach her.
Laura:Definitely in that way you can even like I love the idea of the like a bangle, like you can be, like you're a woman, you can wear this when you're on your period and then we know you don't have to tell us you can just wear it and it can just be our, your way of telling us about you know, and we're always here for you. I love that. That is awesome, that's so beautiful.
G:It's beautiful and like a little box. If you're a mother or an auntie, I'm going to make one for my niece, like a little moon box, Moon box.
Madi:First moon box and you could put like a beautiful little mug in there so that they can drink tea or a hot chocolate, like you said a warm drink you can get moon stones as well but also teaching like if you do have brothers, like you're teaching your sons as well from a really young age to be like this is how we yeah, this is how we treat women when they're going through this cycle.
Madi:It's you know we let her rest or you know we make adjustments to the household to suit that. I think that for young men especially, we'll just like they'll then carry that through for their wives and partners, and just women in general, and have, and it won't be that like ew, it's you know, like because a lot you know.
Madi:If you know no different, it's like, yeah, it's, you know, but like showing and just being like, no, this is a time that we celebrate and we don't, you know, we. If, like you see her laying down, like make her a cup of tea or see what she wants and be a bit nicer to her during this period, yeah, I think I'll be educating my son.
Laura:Like even me and my son, we swim a lot. I think it's almost one of his love languages. He loves the ocean pool, swimming lessons and any time on my period I don't like to you know. I just like to rest and I'm just going to say Mommy wants to rest, this is Mommy's time, this is my body. You know and and explained him at a young age that he knows because, yeah, we want them to treat their wives you know and know this because I don't think a lot of um
Madi:my brother wouldn't have known that you know yeah, just be respectful.
Lauren:I think tom, my partner, he's been awesome, especially in, like the most recent years when I've actually started to understand it, like he's really open to having that dialogue with me and even through this app, like I've been able to send him notifications if I want, like more cuddles. And I've been checking and he actually looks at it and I'm like that's awesome, I need to get it. You know, this is a big like stardust.
G:I'm sure there's like one of many, but yeah Well, I'm sure there's like one of many, but yeah Well, when you think about it, if you're being your best self and you're being supported and you're nourished nourishing yourself and others can nourish you you are going to be your highest self throughout your whole cycle. So why wouldn't anyone want to rally?
Lauren:But I think it's also for him to finally understood not that he ever really treated me like this beforehand, but like, oh, oh, she actually isn't crazy like, and her emotions or her experiences aren't invalid just because she's on her bleed, like, like there's grounds to this and so, yeah, just the way that we've been able to navigate as a couple, it just helps shift the whole dynamic in the household.
Lauren:So, yeah, it's just awesome for partners to be on board about or siblings I've got a son as well, so yeah, yeah, I'm loving the bangle idea and yeah all of that.
Madi:It's just so cool and I'm sure it probably would make him as well or anyone that tries this more connected to you too. Because, yeah, sometimes when you are going through anything in life, you don't necessarily always want to vocalize it, but if you're just putting this into an app and it's sending it to your partner or whoever it is, it's like then you don't even have to speak, but then they feel connected because they're seeing what's going on for you, like I know, for me especially, I don't always like to say exactly what's on my mind, but if someone can pick up on that, it's like, oh so lovely, even if you are sending a notification how did you know?
G:See, I have like my tracker on a clipboard and when we like did our year around Australia, it lived on my dashboard and he'd just like look at it every day Like that's our open communication. Yeah, so I could just write whatever. I wanted on there and he'd just have a little look and take any clue so well, that's awesome.
Madi:That's great, that's great yeah it's great um.
G:But back to menstrual products for teens and tweens as well. There's so many like reusable um, like menstrual cups, menstrual discs, period undies that really help with that shame as well, like emptying, like taking a tampon out to go swimming, at school and sport and all those kind of things. So having a lot of education about what products are right for me and is really powerful as well for young, young women, so it's good to explore.
G:Yes, empower them yeah, yeah, and it takes away that dirtiness I find, since I've made the switch from just um pads and tampons to reusable products, it's changed my whole relationship to my cycle because I'm not throwing it in the bin. I'm not chucking it in the bin. It's disgusting going into like a toilet making sure there's a sanitary pad in there to throw it away like it's yeah it's not helping enable that.
Laura:It's very true action yeah, oh, that was so insightful, yeah so do you want to know about the four phases?
G:yes, I want to touch on that. That's beautiful, yeah um, so you have four phases to your cycle. So the first phase is your bleed, which is menstruation and it can vary anywhere from three to seven days in length, and this is your inner winter. So you're like a bear.
G:You think about a cocoon, like you want to snuggle up warmth anywhere else means like a warm womb, which is what we want to really help with cramping and pains and just to bring comfort to that part of our body. So this is why food is really, really important through this time and avoiding cold like iced coffees, icy smoothies. It's just going to create more friction in our body and isn't going to help with releasing. We want to make that pathway as smooth, seamless as possible. So, yeah, during this time we just want warmth and comfort and stillness. So, however that looks to you, there's no right or wrong way I always just encourage you to carve out even an afternoon or a night or one full day, if you can, to just rest because, like lauren said earlier, if you can do this during this phase, it will just thank your whole cycle will thank you for it. It helps avoid that burnout and that stress and that overwhelm and that. Oh my goodness, I need a break. I'm just meltdown mode because you've already prioritized that and you know that it's coming again in a few weeks time and you can look forward to it that way. Yeah, so we have inner winter, then we have inner spring, which is our follicular phase, which is when we start to see more of that rise in our hormones and we are coming into more of that playful, fun um version of ourselves.
G:And then we go from inner spring to inner summer, which is ovulation. Now, this is anywhere from um two to three days, but the peak is only 12 to 24 hours. So there's only a peak. You can feel like these high energy for a few days, um, which is, yeah, it's different for everyone. Now I always say in length, rather than on cycle day 12 and 13, because not everyone ovulates on cycle day 14. That's like the magic number that a lot of everyone likes to say, but for that, for a lot of people, you actually won't ovulate on that day. It'll vary throughout your cycle, um.
G:So then we go from ovulation to the luteal phase, which is your premenstrual or your inner autumn, and this is a really nourishing and grounding phase. It's the phase where you really need to put yourself first and think about yourself, and it's also a great phase to finish everything up, get everything done on your to-do list. You might find that your creativity isn't as high as it was in the last two phases when you've got all the estrogen and the testosterone, but it's a great phase to just clean up the house and like, think about autumn, like you're harvesting, you're preparing, like do some meal prep, like how can you, looking at that cycle as a whole, how can you bring more balance to your next phase?
Lauren:so yeah, wow yeah, I just feel like similar to what we were saying before about the masculine, feminine energy. Actually having that structure to plan around your cycle and sync to your cycle, plan your life around it will give you more freedom and flow and for you to feel good throughout that time. Like, as you were speaking, I was just like I'm going to plan my groceries and meals around this and like what we have for dinner, and it can be as simple as that but yeah before if you'd ask me, like, what do you want for dinner tonight?
Lauren:I'd freak out. But now I'd be like oh, well, I'm in this space, so we should probably have something like this, and even for work as well.
G:I feel like knowing when okay, my confidence is going to be high. I'm actually not going to plan this big launch party for when I'm the day before my period. I know I'm going to feel a little bit anxious, a little bit overwhelmed. We're quite self-critical during that time.
G:It's really good to not be online in terms of social media and that because we can just do scroll and take way too much on the comparison game kicks in, so you're using your cycle as an anchor for everything productivity business you name it yeah, and knowing you and like your cycle, so track it, do it a few cycles, learn what where you're at, to then move from there, because my cycle is different to your cycle yeah, there's no, yeah, so this could be a fun last question, unless you guys have more that you want to ask.
Lauren:But if there was no such thing as birth control, would we all be synced up to the moon? Would every woman?
G:I don't know, potentially because you think about it at the same time women would all be in the red tent. They'd all be sitting around the fire together. It would all so very possibly yeah, right and Right.
Lauren:And then the people that spend the most time with you all sort of naturally sink together.
Laura:So that's insane in the membrane. That's literally on my mind.
G:But yeah, that's what cultures were like the women would all be bleeding under the new moon because the sky was dark. It's the time of yeah, so you're very right how cool is that?
Laura:wow, we're so powerful yeah yeah, we're magic. We don't even know our power.
G:Yeah, I lost my words it's so cool, it truly is so, yeah, yeah, I feel like I've learned a lot.
Madi:I'm like I need to re-listen to this episode.
Laura:Yeah, do you have any for our listeners who are, like you know, new to this or learning, wanting to learn more or not sure where to start? Do you have any like resources that they could find that we could link in the show notes for them?
G:Yeah, sure, so there's the Roadmap to Cycle Connection. That I was. I've got lots of freebies on my website, so there's that which is great. It's just an overview it's like an ebook of each phase and how to support yourself during each phase so my cycle tracker as well um, and then what else have I got online?
G:I've got a five-week online course, wow, which is it's quite in depth into exploring your cycle, and bite-sized pieces of just content, so it's all easy to listen to. So that's a great way to start um, as well as, yeah, jumping online connecting with me you do one-on-one work, I do one-on-one work where can people find you?
G:yes, all your handles and how people can work with you if they want to explore this deeper yeah, so my one-on-ones. I do one-offs. I've just started to launch that. I also do three or six month containers because it is yeah it takes time, it's a journey, it's a journey um. So my instagram is um shaktiseeker with an underscore at the end, and my website is StructySeekercom. Everything's on there. You can email me, book, book a call, like. Yeah, it's all there.
Lauren:So gosh, I can only imagine what six months with you would feel like if you just had less than an hour and our brains have been blown. You've inspired me.
Laura:I want to have like a little desk with like an amethyst crystal and like a little tracker, and Pat can just like see where I'm at and be like I'm at and then be like I'm not going anywhere and like the boys don't go near it. It's just my little section in the in my bedroom, but that sounds so nice and I really would love to cause, I just have an app, so I would love to connect more with that. I like the journal.
Madi:I like just putting pen to paper and just actually writing out, like obviously the apps are great, like you know you've always got it with you but actually just taking the time to have that book and that's like your special place, to like come and write what you're feeling and then also just to like reflect on it too and like flick back through the pages and be like, oh, that's how I was feeling this time last week, but you know, now I'm feeling like like it's just, I think there's something really like traditional as well about that, which is yeah yeah, I agree.
Madi:I'm like I need to work out when my last bleed was, so I can figure out where I am in the cycle, but I'm like maybe I'll just wait for my next one.
G:Just start, yeah, point actually for anyone listening because, especially if you're coming off hormonal birth control, it could take months, so you're just not going to start, so just start today, don't worry about the day or like anything, and then just wait until it comes. Perfect, thank you so much.
Madi:I feel like we've all taken a lot out of this, and I'm sure the listeners will as well.
Lauren:Is there anything that we didn't touch on that you feel is really important to share for someone to know?
G:The biggest takeaway is just that having this body literacy just gives you control and just step into your power so you're listening to your body. Yeah, that's the biggest takeaway. Love it, yeah.
Lauren:Thank you so much, guys. We hope you got a lot out of that, or at least as much as we did. If you have any comments or questions for g, then let us know. We'll certainly pass them on and we can address those, perhaps on our socials. Um, but yeah, thank you for joining us, g, and thank you, it's been great. Thanks for tuning in to Loosely Speaking and, as we like to say, please take us with a pinch of salt. New episodes drop fortnightly, hit, subscribe and if you want to see more of this space, then please follow us on Instagram at looselyspeakingpodcast, to become part of our growing community of listeners who are embracing their authentic selves. We welcome you to write in and share your stories, suggest new topics and become part of the conversation. You can reach us at loosely speaking, the podcast at gmailcom and we can't wait to hear from you. If you've loved this episode, make sure you leave us a comment and follow along so that you can stay in the loop. Catch you next time.
