From a young age, women are taught that our period is only good for two things; making babies and making us miserable. We grow up thinking only about (and dreading) the pain, the blood, and gore that awaits us once a month but we neglect to acknowledge the remaining 21 cycling days. We are conditioned into thinking that bleeding is the sole focus of our entire cycle when in actual fact, ovulation should be in the limelight!
So because of this patriarchal approach of sidelining our menstrual cycles, most women have lost touch with their bodies entirely. But there is hope! A massive movement in female-centred health is taking the medical world by storm. More and more health practitioners, chiropractors, functional medicine MDs, dieticians, etc are advocating for female focussed medicine. We are not just smaller versions of men. We have a complex array of hormones that fluctuate daily and we have been working against them for far too long!
In the flow
If you are a woman, chances are that you have heard of menstrual cycle tracking. Cycle tracking is a magnificent tool that has applications in birth control (yes no more patches, pill IUD, or more drastic measures such as hysterectomy), hormonal rebalancing, dieting, fasting, exercising, sleeping, sex, fertility, and menopause. YES! MENOPAUSE. There are numerous apps on Play Store that allow you to gather cycle-related data such as basal body temperature, discharge analysis, period length and quality, moods, energy levels and so much more. By logging your personal data you will start to understand your physiology better, and you will learn to work WITH your body instead of AGAINST her.
Cycle tracking can help you in the following ways:
- Fertility and conception
- contraception
- optimizing your libido and sex life!
- Optimizing and supporting progesterone
- Improved sport and exercise performance
- Reducing chances of ligament/tendon injuries
- Optimizing sleep and rest
- optimizing and supporting progesterone during menopause
- management of symptoms during menopause
- optimizing your diet
- optimizing your fasting and the effect it has on your body
All the apps currently on the market have useful tools and tips that will guide you in each phase of your menstrual cycle. You now have the opportunity to take charge of your own hormonal health and bio-psycho-social well-being. It is quite literally, in the palm of your hand.
Check out:
- Dr. Stephanie Estima : Podcasts and book “The Betty Body”.
- Dr. Jamie Seaman : Instragram and website Dr fit & fabulous.
- Dr. Mindy Pelz: Youtube channel and book “Fast like a girl” (Especially focussed on menopause)
- Dr. Johlene Brighten: Instagram page and book “Beyond the pill”.