Have you heard of your infradian rhythm? What about cycle syncing? Both terms are newer-ish to me, with my limited knowledge being lining up your exercise program with your cycle. You can go much more in depth with it though, I have since learned!
A woman's body goes through a 28 day cycle on average, with her follicular, ovulatory, luteal, and menstrual phases as her body releases and then sheds an egg. This is different from a man's infradian rhythm, which is his fluctuation in hormones like testosterone over the course of a much shorter period of time, usually 2 to 5 days.
Because there is such a rise and fall in a woman's hormones of estrogen and progesterone (among others), there are different demands on a woman's body throughout her circle. If we relate the different phases of her cycle to the seasons, we can see from a more picturesque view what our body requires.
During the follicular phase, the body is preparing to release the egg. Think of this as your body's spring (things are preparing to be planted). During the ovulatory phase, the body has released the egg. Think of this as your summer (things are growing and flourishing). During the luteal phase, the body is preparing to shed the uterine lining. Think of this as your fall (things are winding down). During the menstrual phase, the uterine lining is shed as blood (things are barren). And then the cycle begins once more, with the spring follicular phase.
When you picture the phases of a woman's cycle from this way, can you imagine how the needs of her body may be different during each season? Each season requires a different kind of energy, a mindfulness around exercise and movement, nourishing foods, and supportive rest and sleep habits.
This is just scratching the surface! If you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend looking into @rosewoodwoman's work on Instagram and the different courses (including her newest one, Cycle Sync for Life!) that she has available.
As females, our bodies are literally wired differently from a males, but yet we try to live our lives in a more masculine manner. No wonder we end up feeling burned out, low on energy, and struggle mentally. Our bodies are meant to live in a different rhythm!
If you have any experience with syncing your infradian rhythm to your daily life, I'd love to hear how it has gone for you!