Wat zou er gebeuren als je je menstruatie niet iedere maand zou zien als een vervelende en pijnlijke periode die je het liefst zou willen negeren?
Wat zou er gebeuren als je met een andere blik naar je hormonen en je cyclus gaat kijken?
Dan zou je ontdekken dat er een grote kracht en energie in je huist!
Het idee altijd maar constant te moeten presteren doet vrouwen geen recht. Je hebt nu eenmaal je cyclus die invloed heeft op wie je bent, wat je doet en hoe je dat doet. Als je het ritme van je maandelijkse cyclus leert herkennen, kun je onderscheid maken tussen de periode van sterke wil en controle en de tijd van kwetsbaarheid en intimiteit. En dan kun je ook de juiste tijd kiezen voor bijvoorbeeld organiseren, uitgaan, terugtrekken en bezinning.
Je menstruatiecyclus wordt dan een oefening in spiritualiteit. Je wordt je bewust van nieuwe vormen van kennis en weten. Je opent het kanaal naar je innerlijke bron van wijsheid en activeert het DNA van je ziel: je Vrouwelijke Essentie.
I came away from this book with so much respect for the menstrual cycle and an understanding of how I as a man can support my partner (and the other menstruating women in my life) during the phases of her journey.
Breaking down the “seasons of the cycle” into winter, spring, summer and fall - and highlighting the typical energies that are present during each - was illuminating for me.
My partner and I now have a way of communicating, making plans, exploring sexual intimacy and expressing needs that have all been enhanced because of what we learned in Wild Power.
A lot of filler that could have been condensed into one chapter:
Menstration: (Winter) an introspective time, tune in, focusing presently to yourself
Then emerge into spring and outward focus and recommit to external factors.
Ovulation: (Summer) feeling out there and on top of the world, looking out for others, full manifestation on who you are, feel like superwoman, can't stay in this state forever, you'd burn out
Sudden drop in energy, sadness and then back to menstruation
Practise your menstrual cycle awareness, bare in mind where you'll be in your cycle when you make plans.
Mark in advance when you'll be menstruating and prepare food and time to do nothing and relax.
This is the most amazing book I have ever read on the topic of menstrual cycle awareness. This is a book you want to gift all the women in your life with. It has helped me connect to myself in a way I never thought possible. I cannot recommend this enough if you are looking for information on how to connect to the different phases of your menstrual cycle and how to live your truth through this powerful awareness!
Super mystical perspective on menstruation. I wanted to learn from it, but I just didn't buy it. Sorry. I don't think menstruation gives women special powers. I wanted to take it metaphorically, but they seem to be serious.
These three stars aren’t negative. There’s a lot to be gained from this book by way of accepting, listening to and allowing the body to do its thing. Believe me, I am wholeheartedly in favour of celebrating the feat of the female anatomy, and as someone who has struggled with irregular, painful and frankly embarrassing periods my entire life, a sanctuary in book format to which I can retreat when I am feeling rotten is a great comfort. However, at times it becomes a little too ritualistic for my preference, and I must admit I didn’t read cover to cover, I now dip into as a reminder not to fight my body as it goes through what should be more widely acknowledged as often draining, sometimes traumatic phases of the menstrual cycle. I now accept in a more spiritual fashion that it’s ok to feel certain ways at certain times - and to ride the wave rather than resist it.
I’d recommend to anyone who feels a bit out of sorts with their cycle and would benefit from the reassurance that there is a higher power at play in every one of us than the advertising bigwigs from sanitary towel adverts want you to believe.
Powerful affirmation of a woman’s right to honor her inner rhythms, biological and spiritual. Very personal experience to read—unpacking the trauma of many years of shame around PMS and bleeding. This is not a scientific book but packs the punch of a paradigm shift: what if we could seek counsel and solace from our period instead of stifling it as a source of weakness and inconsistency? Pope and Wurlitzer provide simple tools to help you listen closely for the wisdom your menstrual cycle has to share.
The book left me with the need to search for a more scientific-based read. The overall theory is sound and when I think about it, it’s actually hipothetically true. But it’s also full of fantasy-like language that in my view could be skipped.
I am pretty on board with this. Even though learning about Menstrual Cycle Awareness and Red School has me nervously reaching for the book Cultish.
First, Alexandra and Sjanie are wonderful narrators. Listening to this book felt like a hug. Recommend.
Second, I feel like it’s (mostly) legit. Tracking and tuning into my cycle has only been positive. Period mindfulness? Yes and yes. Period powers and menstrual magic? Not so sure about that.
Third, it helps to have a buddy or book club to talk about this with. The spirituality aspects can seem woowoo to anyone not knowing what you’re talking about, and if you’re really curious about exploring that, have someone on the same page to reflect with.
Fourth, yes to balancing the patriarchy by living cyclically!
Finally, now I don’t hate my period so 5 stars for that.
As much as I wanted to finish it, I have to finally admit that it feels like a waste of my time. I have read half of it and have the feeling that I am reading the same thing over and over again, sometimes under a different wording. I did not particularly enjoy the writing and I could not find much added value to the personal examples shared throughout the book. This may be a book to recommend for someone who does not have a clue (yet) about the feminin cycle or for someone who is really into giving it a big role in their life.
Still, it has helped me to see the bloody menstruations as something a bit more positive :) I am giving it one star for the effort and a second star for the guts it takes to write on the subject.
Am ajuns la aceasta carte in urma unui Podcast cu un nutriționist care vorbea despre cum ar trebui sa adaptam mesele in fiecare perioada a ciclului menstrual, in funcțiile de nevoile corpului. A recomandat aceasta carte pentru mai multe informații si mi se pare utila pentru femei. Nu cred ca e nimic mai important decât sa te cunosti pe tine si nevoile tale, iar aceasta e una din cărțile care sprijină procesul. A fost totuși un pic prea spirituală chiar si pentru mine, care am destul de multă deschidere in direcția asta. Mi-a plăcut mult partea cu anotimpurile si mi se pare ca are logica, dar pentru mai mult poate nu sunt eu pregătită acum.
OH MY GOD YES. A book about how embracing the wisdow of our cycle (or ANY cyle for that matter) can lead to a much deeper understanding of yourself. I learned a lot, will re-read this a lot I can already tell.
This is actually the second time I’ve read this book. It’s incredible for every woman to read. My relationship with my cycle and my body has improved dramatically and I can’t even imagine what life was like before MCA now!!!!
How to write a review when I do not have words? Day 24 here so I'll be quick. This book and the body of work that this pair have created is utterly life-changing. I am so incredibly grateful for this work. Since practicing Menstrual Cycle Awareness, I have experienced a huge reduction in my symptoms of endometriosis, I have become a lot less self-critical, I have relaxed more and overall, I trust life more. This book, is excellently written and is definitely accessible for all regardless of age or how far on your journey you are. An enjoyable read, full of wisdom, with a few laughs along the way :P See my video review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9C9I...
Just transformative and life changing. Have read this over 2 or 3 years (similar to Women Who Run With The Wolves and Braiding Sweetgrass) and feel this is a really important way to consume texts like this. As bibles in my life, they have completely altered my development and this book has probably been the pivotal one, because it has been an education on everything to do with our cycles - which was regrettably so lacking in the mainstream education I received as a young person.
I remember speaking to my naturopath (who recommended the text) years ago who told me that it was vital for people in their 20s to be tracking their cycles (first with an app and later instinctively), in order for us to be able to reclaim our power and change the narrative surrounding periods. Not only does it allow us to properly rest when we bleed (those adverts telling us we can 'do everything' on our period are really toxic) but its the only way we can begin to shatter patriarchal structures that enslave so many of us still. If you really feel into how your body is reacting on your period, is it saying you want to 'do it all' whilst sticking a tampon in and trying to forget about it? Or is your body really asking for rest, reflection, sacred inner quiet?
I can see from conversations with men (and women!) how confused and scared they are of menstrual cycles. I only hope I, and others, can use what we've learnt here to normalise this extremely powerful and mythical part of our feminine within groups who have no idea about Menstrual Cycle Awareness. Whilst I appreciate that MCA isn't fully appropriate in many work places & lives, I am now swaying towards that being just another excuse and structure created by the patriarchy - this book has some really good lengthy pointers on how it can be done! Just takes some slowing down and tuning in, and working life around your period, instead of the other way round.
Also es war schon spititueller als ich erwartet habe, aber dadurch dass ich offen dafür war konnte ich sehr viel mitnehmen. Ich habe wirklich zum ersten Mal den Zyklus und die Signifikanz die er für unser Leben hat begriffen. Wie wichtig es auch ist mit dem Zyklus zu Leben und sich an den richtigen Stellen Zeit zu nehmen um wieder mit sich selbst zu connecten. Ähnlich wie bei dem Tag/Nacht Rhythmus den wir haben und bei dem wir auch die Auswirkungen zu spüren bekommen wenn wir da etwas durcheinander bringen.
Ich würde es jeder Frau/menstruierenden Person empfehlen sich genauer mit ihrem Zyklus auseinanderzusetzen. Was ich durch das Buch für mich mitgenommen habe ist dass jede Zyklusphase ihren Sinn und Zweck hat und ich die Stärken jeder Phase für mich nutzen kann. Alles in allem ein so spannendes Thema worüber wir doch so wenig wissen.
Written with caring and loving energy. I love Alexandra Pope's approach to observing your menstrual cycle with her 'seasonal' approach which frankly makes so much sense. I certainly will apply some of these ideas. I love that the main message in this book was loud and clear - going inwards, loving, and embracing yourself in all seasons.
Amazing. Love this book. Life-changing. I want all my women friends to read it. And their teen daughters. Why did it take me so long to find it? Lately, I began to realize that my menses, which align with the moon cycle (ovulate on the full moon and bleed on the dark moon), have a great effect on my energy, attitude, dreams, etc. and I wanted to investigate this more. I came across this book by accident and it called to me. I ordered it almost on a whim without thinking, which is usually my most intuitive way of being. I couldn't wait to dive into it when it arrived. This book is not like others that speak about the best diet or activity for different stages of your cycle. It is not about the way your hormones operate during your cycle. None of that which you'll find in other books. It's psycho-spiritual. No excuses. This book goes into great detail about the the way your spirit and psyche will be effected by the natural rhythms of your moon cycle. It's not called a cycle for nothing. The authors use the seasons as an analogy to help you better understand your cycle and really, yourself. There is a lot of detail too, such as the four seasons, the four transition days between seasons and the 5 chambers of menstruation. I only started tracking all of this, using the book as a guide, and have already found it so useful. Why do I get irritated the day after my period? Because I might not be all that excited about the rising energy I'm feeling. Also, I love the idea that our PMS is natural and can be relieved by acceptance of our cycle as a whole. When I was able to lean into my feelings of turning inward at this time, I felt so much better. As I said, I'm only just started and see so much benefit. Highly recommend.
To me, this book was profoundly illuminating. I've started taking part in the advised practices, and it really makes all the difference. When I track and tune into my rhythms and cycles and the ups and downs associated, I find myself using that awareness to optimize my life, whether that's taking that reflective time to vision my next steps or to use the extra energy of other phases to take action. When I actually tune into my body, I notice PROFOUND differences in my psyche, body, and sensitivity level that I would normally just prod myself to push through. When I give in to what my body wants to do at any given time (and plan ahead for it), there is always something beautiful waiting for me there. I really appreciate this new knowledge and awareness and look forward to seeing where it takes me!
This was so full of strange, wonderful goodness that it took me ages to get through... and now that I'm finally finished, I immediately want to read it all over again. The concepts in here are often counter-cultural and take a while to grasp, but once you do (even a little) it's quite transformative.
The authors are obviously very enthusiastic about working with the cycle and sometimes it feels like they think it's the magic answer to solve every life problem, but in the end they do encourage you to keep up with other helpful things-- like a healthy diet, therapy, etc.-- to experience how all these healing modalities can work in concert to bring impactful change. In my experience this multi-modality approach has been huge, with MCA being a key component in helping me make powerful positive shifts throughout my healing journey.
The importance and power of tracking your menstrual cycle is something I am so glad to see being discussed more widely but this book really missed the mark for me. Highly repetitive and far too focused on the idea of the process of menstruation being spiritual almost to the point of magic it failed to resonant with me at all. There are some practical tips and it is very encouraging and supportive in tone which is nice but overall I was very disappointed and couldn't imagine recommending this to anyone I know.
As someone who lives in sync with their menstrual cycle, I really connected with this book and the romantic way it guides you through how to live in tune with your "inner seasons".
If you are already inclined to believe in the magic of menstrual cycle awareness, you will love this book. For those who are new to the practice, it may be a bit too "earthy" or "spiritual", depending on your tolerance levels for the language and ideals of new age schools of thought.
The ONLY thing this book didn't cover was how our cycle can correlate with the phases of the moon. With that said, it was empowering, informative, healing, and hopeful. I was able to teach my own daughter how we as women (and really all humans) have emotional cycles each month, even if we're not menstruating. It's powerful awareness.
It was very informative and helpful for learning about the menstrual cycle in all its four phases. I listened to the audiobook and recommend a physical copy so you can flip back to sections.
Such an incredible and insightful book that every woman (and man) should read! Us women are so misunderstood, by ourselves, and others. This book is the key to understanding our cyclical nature as women, and how to surrender to, and flow with it. I’ve been meaning to get into properly tracking my own cycle, and this book has really pushed me to start that - I’m so excited to discover all of my cyclical trends in feelings, and all the other magic and insight I will find after a few months of tracking. I would urge everyone to get this book - it’s an easy read, not too scientific. It’s more emotional, and written in a way that anyone could understand and relate.
This book is such a gift. It’s both insightful and thorough. I think this is one that every woman should read. I’m sad I didn’t discover it sooner, but am glad that I am equipped with everything from this book now. I did not mind that they promoted their work, I was glad that they did because the book was so good it left me wanting more!