Cycle Syncing: The Key to More Energy, Focus, and Flow

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If you’ve ever felt like you "should" have the same energy every day—but your body just isn’t cooperating… this episode is for you.

Today we’re talking about cyclical living and what it really looks like to work with your body instead of constantly pushing against it.

As women, we’re not designed to operate the same way every day. We’re meant to move through natural rhythms—and when you start to understand those rhythms, your energy, mood, and productivity start to make a lot more sense.

We break down the difference between your Circadian Rhythm (your 24-hour cycle) and your Infradian Rhythm (your monthly cycle), and how both play a role in how you feel day to day. We also walk through the four phases of the menstrual cycle in a simple, practical way—what’s happening hormonally and how that can influence your energy, movement, and nutrition.

And if you’re in perimenopause, menopause, or your cycle feels unpredictable—this still applies. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness, and learning how to support your body in the season you’re in.

We also share simple tools like cycle tracking and seed cycling, and how this approach connects to the deeper work we do inside The Energy Reset.

Because this isn’t about doing more.

It’s about learning to trust your body again.

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Get in touch with us!

Sarah:
Instagram: @simply.well.nourished
Website: www.simplywellnourished.co

Melissa:
Instagram: @rootedrocker
Website: www.rootedwellness.care

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Discover The Energized Life with Sarah Dalton and Melissa Rocker—your go-to podcast for practical nutrition tips, sustainable wellness habits, and daily energy boosts that help you thrive.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only. We are not medical doctors, and this content is not medical advice. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, supplements, or medical treatment.

© 2025 Sarah Dalton and Melissa Rocker

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hey Melissa. Hello, Sarah. It's not like we haven't just been talking for like 30 minutes. I love it. So today is a is a really important conversation. I mean, I think it's something that uh both of us obviously feel strongly about, that it's it's a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to our overall health and when we're seeing and having these conversations with the women we're working with, of just oftentimes disconnection from our natural rhythms, right? So we're talking about living cyclical, like living within our cyclical rhythms. Cyclical. I feel like that's a harder word than you would think. Honoring your rhythm. Honoring your rhythm. So living. Living. And I mean, I think, again, in our circles at least, like we are hearing it more often as a topic of conversation, which is so cool. It's so because it is so important and it's so much more, it's so, it's so layered. It's so much more than just our actual cycle. There is that for sure. But for me, I've always kind of had before we kind of dive into all the things, I feel like for me personally, you know, even in the past, when I did talk more about time management, productivity, and that was a lot of my focus. I always came from the lens of seasonal living and understanding our season. So we can, it can literally be the physical season, like what it's doing outside in nature, but it's also our season of life, right? Young kids, middle school kids, uh, postpartum, like all of these different seasons, parametapa, exactly, like super stressful seasons of life where there's major life changes, losing a parent, like sick parents. I mean, so of course, life. So many different things. So I feel like this idea of seasonal living and this awareness of it's it is it's cyclical, right? It's not just this straight line to I'm gonna learn something and I'm gonna grow and I'm gonna be consistent and I'm gonna keep pushing, keep doing. I think that so often just it backfire. We see it backfire.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

It's that fire all the time, yes. And I think the big, I mean, we'll just go ahead and give the takeaway right away, you know. It's like we were designed with a very with a very specific rhythm. And, you know, I think probably sometime during the industrial revolution is when women really stopped honoring that rhythm. And we started living like men, essentially. And our worth was starting to be based on our output. So it was like, okay, you work a nine to five now, you, you know, and then it's like, okay, well, it was called, it was like, oh, we're we're so self-sufficient. This is so great, you know. But I think the further we get into this thing uh called life, and you know, we're realizing like, I don't really like that. Women are like, I don't really, I kind of want to go back to this, not necessarily living like home life and raising children, but just being able to slow down when we need to slow down. And the truth is that there are seasons when women need to slow down a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Yeah, I think exactly. And just, and that's gonna be, I feel like that's the whole kind of intention behind, like you said, the intention behind this conversation, this episode is like to help you specifically listening. I was gonna say on your walk. I'm literally picturing the women listening on their walk, doing the dishes, doing the laundry, like going to work, all the things. But like, so we're talking to you and helping you like understanding and reconnecting with your unique rhythm because even us going through, you know, we're gonna go through the different phases of the cycle. And I think that's so helpful. And at the same time, there's this little bit of a there's not a little bit, there's nuance, right? And there's, I was gonna say a little disclaimer of like it really is taking the information and kind of understanding in general what our body is doing and then really applying that to you and your season. And I think that's the gold right there, right? That's when we can we can continue on the sustainability piece of it and not trying to like fit ourselves into a box, whether it's in looking like a man and producing like a man or even fitting into our friend next door or a mom or a sister, right? Like what she can do during a certain phase of her cycle, you know, it's all unique.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yes, it is. And that is totally what I mean, that's what the rooted feminine does too, is it puts it within the context of building autonomy and not outsourcing answers to other people because the answers are within you. They are within your design, you know, and we are all different. There is nuance, but there is some overlap too. And that's what we're gonna be talking about from a general perspective today. Again, Sarah, I love how you're like, take what serves you and leave what doesn't, you know, because you that's what we should be doing with all the information we hear anywhere is just does this resonate for me? Is this aligned with me? And if it's if it is, great, take it. But there are still gonna be some great nuggets for anybody listening because there are some always the foundational things, always, that are just we have to do them. Um, but then the nuance and like the seasons of our cycle is so important to talk about too.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah. So yeah, so let's dive in. I feel like just starting with, like you said, the most foundational, one of the most foundational things is our circadian rhythm, right? And how everything from our blood sugar regulation to our gut health, our digestion, our sleep, our wake, our stress, everything kind of runs. It's the 24-hour clock, right? We're hearing so, again, so many things around about the circadian rhythm, but just the very basic that is our 24-hour clock that we all have.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

All humans, like men and women, children, like we all have, and that's why we hit on the sunlight so much, is because that's such a a big piece of regulating that circadian rhythm, if not one of the whole pieces of it, you know, is like honoring those light, light and dark cycles during the day. And I think where women get caught up is we think that we should be just on that 24 hour cycle, but then we we narrow it down a little bit. We also have the infradian rhythm, which is the monthly, the monthly rhythm that all women have.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

You know, when I first learned about the Inphradian rhythm, I my mind was like like I kind of even just specifically, I get I'm so excited that we're gonna like break this down because of course I knew that I had a monthly cycle, but just this idea, it it really is empowering. It's taking that it's not the more we learn about it and again connect it back to how we our body is actually responding in each of those seasons and phases. It's we're no longer just kind of a victim to it. We're literally back in the driver's seat and we're saying, okay, then we we have it's the power of knowledge and the power of choice, which I love. But yeah, so I just remember, I can remember specifically when I started diving into it. I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah, that that is where knowledge is power. Because when you can name it and you can say, oh, like that that explains me. That explains why I have these fluctuations and energy and motivation, you know, it's like now what do I do with that? Instead of it gets you in that curiosity mode out of the victim mode. So, so true.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Okay, before we dive in, I want to start breaking down each of the seasons, just getting kind of in the nitty-gritty of it all. But something that does come up, I feel like for me too, it's so it's this idea of grace, of course, and honoring our body, but I do think I just it's like a little awareness piece. Cause I know for me, I can get into that, like using it as an excuse sometimes too. It's I guess the women listening, I can almost hear them thinking or saying, like, but yeah, like it's it's power, like I want to push through because I'm not gonna not go to work when I have my period or I'm not gonna not do something right. And obviously that's not what we're saying. It's like, I think, at least for me, I can sometimes go to that extreme of like what somebody's talking about or what. And so just this idea, it's it's balancing the grace with the integrity piece of like, yeah, we're not always gonna feel our best, but what we're literally what the conversation is is how what are some things we can do to support our body to feel uh hopefully better, right? And to work with our body instead of trying to force something, whether it be again, we'll get into it, but a certain type of workout every week of the month, right? Or that's probably the best, one of the best examples.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

One of the best ones. But also speaking about the one, the woman that goes to work, you know, and us, I mean, even as business owners, it's like you can, when you understand this and you understand your own rhythm, you can really optimize your months because you start thinking about where do I need to really be putting my social foot forward? Where do I really need to be putting my um thinking cap on and not being so much in the public eye? Like, where do I need to do my content creation? Like, you know, all of those kinds of things, you can really optimize your months, whether you're going to work or you own a business or whatever, when you understand your cycle and your seasons.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

All right, let's dive in. Let's start with start at the beginning. Uh oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

So the the menstrual phase is that yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Let's break down the phases.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

So I I think we should basically say this phase, like the menstrual phase of the cycle, which is the bleeding phase, but also seasonally, I like to look at it as seasons. So we have winter, spring, summer, fall. And so I like to look at the menstrual phase as winter. And what would you be doing naturally in winter? This is the time to rest, right? To um to repair, to be a little more inward. You're gonna naturally feel that way most of the time. You're not feeling like going to social engagements and showing your face all over online and all of the things, right? And this is when estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest. So, like everything's basically, I would say, tanked from a hormonal perspective, which is why you feel flat. So that's the physiological explanation, the biological explanation for when we feel flat.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Yeah. I will add just before, sorry, before you move on, I feel like just on that note too, a reminder to all of us that nothing has gone wrong are it's what's supposed to happen, right? Like our hormone, that is the cyclical nature and we're designed that way. I feel like that helps me, that it's like, because it doesn't feel great, right? Like when we're flat or when our hormones are not, you know, optimal, like in that way. But there's a reason, right? There's there, and so again, working with it, but also just a reminder that nothing has gone wrong.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

No, and yes, we are designed, obviously, I mean, and then we also like when we can meet ourselves with grace and compassion during those seasons of feeling because the flesh is the flesh is powerful. The flesh is so powerful. So when we can meet ourselves with grace and compassion in those moments where we feel flat, our outlook on our life will still be a positive one. Because it's like we're giving ourselves what we need, so then we can still show up for others the way we need to be, instead of being like angry and that PMSing woman, you know. I wonder sometimes how much of that is biological and how much of that is just mental emotional because of the pressure and weight we put on ourselves because we're not honoring that season, right? So that's a good point.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Yeah, something to think about. Like a show fan, but I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

I mean, you're going to naturally feel a little bit lower. That's just how it is. But you don't have to spiral into it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

I'm like, uh-huh, good reminder for me because my it's coming up. I'm gonna practice what I preach. Yeah. And I will always say, like, I will always is coming like the hill I will die on. Is little that rest is productive. Rest is productive. I don't know how many times I have to say it to where I'm like, because it's always for myself, and that reminder of like, so this season of wintering and right, is we are planting seeds, we are re resting, recovering. Like there's so much goodness that can also happen in this season that it's not just like a throwaway, you know, week or whatever. I guess just now it's coming up too.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Well, and it's so interesting because during our menstrual cycle, because progesterone is so low, our pain sensitivity is lower too. And if you think about your pain threshold being lower and you being more sensitive, I think again, that makes you more compassionate with yourself. And just knowing that going in, that like, hey, my hormones are changing in such a way that I am going to be, I'm going to be more susceptible to somebody saying something negative to me. Or, you know, my body is going to feel a little more sensitive to touch or whatever. I think conceptualizing that really helps you through that winter season. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yeah, I love that. So, what does nutrition look like? I feel like that's super helpful too if we kind of go through each phase and we're, you know, breaking down the most basic things that we can do to help support our body in that season.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Yeah. So I would do a focus on like warm, I think, again, like winter. I mean, anything that's easy to digest, warm, nourishing, nutrient-rich, like protein, things with iron because your iron loss is, you know, happening during that stage. Like, those would be all of the things that I would say you need to kind of focus on during that time. And I don't want to give like a macro specific count necessarily. It's more just like, okay, what is my energy doing? My energy is flat. So let's do things that aren't going to require a lot of energy. And that includes the foods that we're eating.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I love that. So really heavy fat, fried, like you know, that's not gonna be your friend during making our body work overtime to digest something that is like, yeah, it doesn't really need or want in the first place.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Yeah. And then as far as movement goes, you would do more, again, gentle, gentle, restorative movement, Pilates, gentle movement, walking, like all of this stretching.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Yeah. That's just where you need to be. I think that's the beauty of it is that when you really kind of pull, like sit back and think about it, it's it's all the things that naturally like you're craving too in each, you know, that's the interesting part. I think the more we can like kind of disconnect from what the shoulds and the pressure to keep doing the same workout, to keep to get through the whole to-do list, to show up on camera, like to all every week. And and again, for the women, of course, there's life. And we do, we can't just hide under the covers and say, you know, well, I'm on my period, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

No, and that's not what you want to do. Cause that's kind of the victim mindset, too. Like, that's not what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Exactly. It's just that awareness of like, what is my body craving? More rest, more slow, more warmth, more can like just connection with myself, probably. Just like I'm thinking of giving myself a hug, taking a bath, like, and so yes, we're gonna go to work, we're gonna do the things, we're gonna take the kids to the sports. Like, yes, we're gonna show up, we're gonna make dinner. And then what? And how are we doing those things? Right. So, how are we showing up for those things? Calm, can maybe just not the extra things. If we can say no to something, we do, right? Thinking a little bit outside the box in that way of like, yes, you're showing up for life, and how can you take care of yourself? I love that.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

So the next phase would be the follicular phase. So this is approximately day six to 13 of your cycle. And this is again, approximately we're gonna hit that home because everybody's a little different. But this is where that um follicle stimulating hormone, FSH, is gonna rise and stimulate follicle development. So this is where we're growing that, you know, developing that egg to be fertilized and all of the things. So this is what I like to call the spring uh season. And this is where estrogen is starting to climb. So, and it will peak right before ovulation. So, estrogen is pretty rapidly going up here. And a lot of people feel a lot of motivation, you know, because that estrogen is going to increase dopamine and serotonin receptor sensitivity. So this is where you're going to feel a lot more motivated, is what I could say. And then also less susceptible to stress because your cortisol tolerance is better during this phase. So, yeah, I mean, if we think in terms of it being spring, this is some of the happiest times of people's cycle. Usually they're feeling their best. And this is where you want to focus on like building something new, creating, like, because you literally are building inside during this. Like your body is geared towards developing this egg. And then you also can, I guess, let that manifest in other areas of your life. How you this is your time to kind of produce.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

So yeah, that creative energy, right? I'm thinking literally of like the spring flowers blooming, and we're like that outward energy where we're like in that flow, right? Where which is where I feel like it's so great to be. And we want to stay next there and we want to just be there. Um, and that's part of, yeah, that's part of the acceptance, is like, and also, and that honestly I've experienced where when I'm when I am really able to honor, you know, it's not, um, we're not, it's not perfect, of course, like, but when I'm really honoring like each phase, I do feel the the benefits of each phase even more, if that makes sense. Like when I'm really resting when it's time to rest, then comes my follicular and I'm like, let's do it. Like I got all my ideas that I wrote wrote down that I did nothing about until now I'm ready to like create, you know, go out and do the thing, have the date nights, like all of those different things. Um, and that goes, yeah, with the movement too, right? Like, what are the like really you're a little bit more able again? Like you said, that cortisol, that's super, I think that's really helpful to know and understand because then we can be a little more intentionally building that muscle, going after, you know, different goals in the gym or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Yep, you just nailed it. I mean, that's exactly what you can do. So as you're creeping out of your menstrual phase, your winter phase, you will be going into your follicular phase and you'll have this natural increase in energy. And this is where it's very bioindividual because you may feel that um desire to get up and move more near the end of your cycle. You'll may you may be like, oh, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to get back to the gym, or you know, do a little bit tougher workout or whatever. But for some women, it's several days into the follicular phase where they start feeling like, okay, I'm gonna do um a little more challenging Pilates workout or wherever you're at, you know, maybe start. I I guess if you're a runner or a jogger, this would be the best time to do it because your cortical, your cortisol sensitivity is down. So running isn't going to affect you as much as it would in your menstrual or in your luteal phase. But yeah, this is where if you want it to do a little more cardio or like hit forward type of exercises, this would be the place to do it.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

Yeah. And something that I'm thinking, I want to go over the nutrition too, but something that I feel like is a helpful shift for me as well when I'm thinking about cyclical living is the idea of consistency. I think of redefining that and redefining it and shifting it a little bit in the way of like consistency is again, I've said it, but like doing the same thing every week and having this workout program where I'm like going, you know, five days a week and showing up and doing the thing no matter what. 75 hard. Right, right. Like literally. And that it's like reframing consistency to me living in this cyclical way, you're still you're moving your body every day. You're getting you're living in that rhythm. You are consistent. You are consistently showing up, you're nourishing your body, you're moving your body, and it's just gonna look a little different. So the how it looks, that's not that doesn't affect the the fact that you are. Being consistent, you are showing up for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Totally. Man, I love that. That is so true. The consistency doesn't look like doing some the same thing every day. And I just have to say, that is how a man lives. That is how men are living. And women, we're cyclical. And that's kind of the whole point of this entire conversation is that yes, being consistent looks different for women. It's showing up and doing the thing you need in that season. I do think, I don't know if this is if you've noticed this, but you know, as a young woman, I felt like I could bypass my body signals really easily. Like I just was like, oh, whatever, I'm gonna push through, I'm on my period, whatever. And in hindsight, I was like, oh, that really did hurt suck when I did that. But as you, after you have kids and as you get a little bit older, you're just like, no way. That something's gotta give because this sucks. I can't kind of produce like this anymore. A hundred percent. I wish we would honor it sooner, though. I wish I know our young women this, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

I honestly I feel like it gives me the chills because thinking about to me, that's part of the mission here is like having these conversations for for my daughter, for her generation, for the next generation, right? Like of women who are going to go through these phases of life who are so it's it's literally having these conversations earlier so that they can live in this way, and they don't have to wait till they're in their 40s to like figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

And they don't have to go through the guilt and the shame and the um whatever and the pain and the pain of just being like, why can't I just be consistent, quote unquote, you know?

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Yes. Oh, I mean, that's a hole. I could go down that rabbit hole. That's powerful.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

So, nutrition-wise, in this space, we can think, gosh, I what keeps popping to my head here is actually more Mediterranean, this just kind of happened, but more like Mediterranean style, if you will. Like during fiber forward, um, balance, just if you really want to think of that traditional sense of a balanced plate that we talk so much about, this is where that really comes into play. And it's so, so nourishing during this time where you're focusing a lot on protein forward, fiber forward, you know, just lots of fresh, colorful fruits, vegetables, obviously, whatever's in season as well, you know, for where you're at is preferable. But yeah, this would be the time when you really want to focus on that.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

I love that. I mean, and that's the beauty. Again, we're talking about, I was thinking more the actual spring season that we're as we're recording this, we're actually going into the real spring season. So I'm like, oh, like all the green things, all the fresh things, like living in the Midwest, you know, like, okay, we're getting there. We're getting there. But yeah, the idea again of I just I love that again, the simplicity of the balance plate of just getting in that and that fiber, the veggies specifically, like really like nourishing. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Yes, and I really feel like all of these seasons that we go through, how you set yourself up during these really impact the rest of your cycle. So even though you are technically less susceptible to stress and stuff during your follicular phase, how you nourish yourself, how you honor yourself in that phase is just as important and will impact your ovulation and your luteal and your menstrual.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

I love that point. It's not like a free, a free pass, right? To like go do all the things and yeah, it's like I love that. Being that intentionally, intentional with each phase supports you in the next phase and throughout your whole cycle. That's huge. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

I think we know that too. We feel that.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

We do feel that, yeah. Setting ourselves up, our future selves up for success, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:10

Yeah, for sure. And you know, this this is the stage where again, you're going to want to be creating more. Think building strength, building structure, and building momentum in this phase. Then next is ovulation, which is like everybody's favorite, and it only lasts a couple days, okay? Only lasts a couple days. Sorry, womp.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Yeah, literally the shortest, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

But ovulation is where your sex drive is gonna be highest, estrogen peaks, um, testosterone is highest here. So this is gonna drive your libido, your confidence, your verbal fluency. So how you're able to speak literally changes during these times, which is incredible. Um, and again, this is another reason we have to have grace for ourselves and an understanding of this because our our hormones do influence everything down to how fluent we are when we speak. So but inflammatory markers are typically the lowest tier as well. So people just women usually feel really good in ovulation, um, baby making time, right? So, so yeah, I mean, this is gonna be really, you know, right up to ovulation, that those couple days before and into ovulation, this is where I would really focus on leading, connecting, and sharing your voice. So if you had a time, like if you had one week during the month where you could just, I'm gonna plan my content out for this month, like that would probably be the time to do it. It's like sometime within that luteal and you know, ovulatory phase. And I'm speaking to, I'm saying the content creation because that's something I personally struggle with, is showing up on Instagram so consistently. And so I've tried to create more reels and yes, and just trying to show up in those fat phase where I feel more open to create and that content then.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

Totally. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that shows up again. I love how you said because it is it literally obviously applies to any every woman and every person or every woman with, you know, different lifestyles, different like rhythms and uh work schedules and jobs, all the things, because it literally is it's even, yeah. So thinking about, I guess, taking everything we're saying and looking at it through the lens of your life, literally, and how, right, like for that example of like again, connection and like showing up and you know, putting yourself out there, it's really too. It's like, okay, well, I like to do like a friend time, uh, you know, a girl's night out once a month. So like that would be a great time, right? Where you're like feeling more social, you're feeling like you want to get out there or date night or all those things. So I know, yeah, it's like thinking, because sometimes we do that too. I think this is another helpful thing for women. It's saying yes to all the things at no matter what, right. And I mean, that's this is a whole other conversation in and of itself. But if we have a better understanding, when we have a better understanding of generally, like right, we're not gonna say, no, I'm not gonna do this thing again because I'm over period. But if we kind of understand if you have a choice and I can schedule this around the time where I know I'm going to be more wanting and motivated to show up and connect, then why not? Right. And so I think with everything we're sharing too, everything we're saying, I think so much of this, it's not, it's not adding something else to your to-do list. It's not, it's so much of it, it's just a practice and a way of being and like trying it out, experimenting, getting curious, right? Like, yes.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

And honestly, like when Chad and I have had to go, my husband and I have had to go to social events when I am not feeling my most optimal or I'm on my period or something. This is where you can really lean into your partner if you have one and say, Hey, just so you know, like I'm on my period and I'm not feeling super social. So, like, please take the reins, kind of. So then that takes the pressure off of you to feel super highly motivated because you guys are totally, you know, a partnership and you don't have to be like so, you know, just connected and all the things. You can kind of just be not in his shadow, but just kind of use him as your emotional support during those social events.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

Or take two cars and leave early. I'm like, hey, like Irish goodbye, baby.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Yeah, yeah. And I think the biggest, oh gosh, what just popped up there is, and I didn't learn this until probably just a couple years ago, is like you don't owe anybody an explanation. Like you can just I could drop my mic, I would. You can be kind and like the guilties, there's just no more room for the guilties, you know. Just guilties. No more guilties. Just do what you gotta do, you know, and you can do it kindly and with and with grace and all the things.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

I mean, I think that's a huge that is a huge P it ties so well into this conversation because I think that could very well be an emotion or a feeling, a thought that comes up when we're when we're doing our best to try to honor and we're working on honoring our unique rhythm because it will look like setting boundaries. It will most likely look like maybe changing something up and in our life or our routines that makes somebody else maybe a little uncomfortable or right, like it could look that way as we're figuring things out. So I feel like that's actually a really helpful tidbit and point to remember no more guilties, no more guilties.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

I love it. I know I used to I used to say that all the time when when I was a little bit younger, like in my earlier 20s, and I would be in one of these phases where I just wasn't feeling as like uh social, you know, and I would be invited to do something and I would want to say no. And it wasn't like something I needed to show up to. I mean, I didn't have kids yet, so I was just like, I could say no, and I would just tell Chad, I would be like, I have the guilties, you know. So it stuck apparently, but yeah. So the next one, so important note because after during ovulation, your estrogen estrogen is gonna peak and then it's going to sharply drop post-ovulation. Sharp sharp being the key word there because that's gonna kind of like just put you right into the luteal phase, which is where you know, progesterone is going to be rising. And this is if you did fertilize an egg, this would be that protective mechanism to actually like start the pregnancy process. So progesterone is going to be rising. Some people do feel a little bit better in their luteal phase, surprisingly, which is why there's so much nuance here, but because that that uh progesterone can be really stabilizing to the nervous system. But what I'm seeing a lot these days is actually like low progesterone and estrogen dominance across the board. So I think that's why so many people feel like really crummy in their luteal phase, is because we should kind of be a little bit more relaxed, I guess, in our bodies, where we're starting to turn inward and be a little more focused. This is the time when we should be really having those boundaries to protect our peace. But we need to complete those projects that we started. So you had all that forward momentum and you took advantage of that and you rode that wave. This would be the time where you kind of feel like, okay, I don't feel like creating anymore, but I do want to wrap up this project. I do want to finish this. I want to maybe do some organizing, that deeper evaluating, right? This is like a very inward season. So this is what we would call the fall season. And this is, I would say it's for discernment and refinement, is the luteal phase. And I know I spoke a lot about all the nuance up front, so I hope that wasn't confusing, but it was just basically that progesterone is going to rise significantly in relationship to your other hormones, like testosterone and estrogen. So a lot of women do start to feel a lot more tired in this phase. And this is also the phase that you really want to increase your caloric intake about 100 to even up to 300 calories per day, which I'm not a calorie counter. The big takeaway of saying that is like you want to make sure that you're nourishing yourself during this phase.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

Yeah. And I know that I like there's also, again, with when our body giving us those signals, often we will just, we will naturally want more food, right? We'll just be like a little more hungry. And so I love that. I mean, again, and it's gonna be different, but it's like it's that's our body is so beautiful and wonderfully made too. Like I I can't emphasize that enough. The way that when we're talking about the cycle, like you said, it's like completing the cycle. Literally, it's just designed so incredibly intentionally, which we know, but to really see it in action in our real life and and like play out, it's so incredible. So I did before we go a little bit more, keep going with the uh follicular, uh luteal, sorry, luteal, hello. Let's backtrack really fast before because I want with the ovulatory, like the nutrition piece. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

I mean, I think you're still practically speaking, you're still doing what you're doing in the luteal or the follicular phase. Um, you're gonna be doing like I think fresh, vibrant, hydrating, like leafy greens, cucumbers, like all the fresh, hydrating. You're kind of still in that. Yeah. I mean, think you you just think about like literally the seasons. It's just summer, fresh, summer, hydrating kinds of things. Totally lighter. Yeah, yeah. At the end, that kind of goes into the luteal phase where you're going to actually generally need more carbohydrates. Don't go crazy, but complex carbs, sweet potatoes, squash, yeah, whole food, carbohydrates, whole food, right? Carbohydrates. And you want to think mineral-rich as well. So this is where you're thinking like pumpkin seeds, maybe a little bit of some high-quality dark chocolate here, even, you know. I mean, if you just want to treat yourself a little bit, you can just do a little bit of that, like dark chocolate, but you also want to think healthy fats. Um, this is also where digestion can start to get a little bit wonky with uh prostaglandins picking up near the end of that luteal phase, going into the menstrual cycle. So you really want to think about maybe some herbal teas like fennel or chamomile or a raspberry leaf, which is very good for regulating iron levels. So prepping your body for going into that next phase of the menstrual. So that is the full circle. But I would say um from a movement perspective, you really want to still be focusing on just not HIT or cardio. This is where you can do strength training. So maybe focus on those heavier weights a little bit during this time. And then grounding exercises. So nothing like uh where you're throwing weights around and doing like crossfoot stuff. This is like, okay, some very intentional stabilizing movements with weight. Love it.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

Oh my gosh. I feel like that was such a great overview and so helpful again to just kind of break it down. And then when you again, when you look at it all together as a cycle, it's it's beautiful. And it's like, okay, I can kind of again seeing the whole goal is seeing yourself in these, you know, in these phases and kind of understanding. And like I would say from there, right, step one is just starting to pay attention, starting to pay attention to your what is happening in your body, your seasons. Of course, we're all gonna have a little bit of a different scenario. Also, again, parametopause, menopause, birth control, like different factors that are going to affect our ability to connect with our cycles. Um, but there are still ways, right? There are ways that we can kind of figure that out. And I know that you're a fan of tracking as well as I am.

SPEAKER_01 40:11

100%. Yeah, that was support we were just talking about before we got on here. The tracking apps. Yeah, I really like the lively app. I know there's a bunch of them, but I've just used lively for a while. Um, I think there's flow, like FLO flow app. But yeah, I'm a huge fan of tracking. I think even if you're not tracking all the time, which it's kind of once you start, I don't know how you stop because it's so easy to track it from your phone. But I think the tracking is so helpful and it really gives you, if you even just track consistently for a month and really track. So during your menstrual phase, you are putting into whatever app or tracking method you're using to say, this is how I'm feeling here. Maybe do that over the course of a month or two. You it's gonna be really quick that you see like your patterns. Yeah. And you can start honoring your cycle. So you may say, wow, I actually am more hungry, like Melissa and Sarah said, I would be in my luteal phase. Maybe I should allow myself that extra 100 or 200 calories, or maybe I should allow myself to eat a little bit more carbohydrates, you know, um complex carbs, whole foods. Uh, but like the whole point being that is honoring yourself. When you say, I am actually more hungry legitimately. Like, I'm not gonna starve myself, I'm not gonna stress myself. I'm gonna just honor that this season requires a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Yeah. And I would offer what's coming up for me right now is this that most likely you've tried it one way for a very long time. The pushing past the signals, the going beyond what your body is asking or needing, right? Checking off the list, whether no matter what, doing the workouts specifically, you know, doing the things that you feel like you should be doing, which again is not, we're not saying that's wrong. I I think really it's just an invitation to look a little bit deeper and look at and say, like, has this been serving me? Is this working for me? Is there, is there maybe another way to to go a little deeper and to get a little more connection and figure out what it looks like to honor my body and my cycle. So just getting, I mean, again, in every episode, just getting curious, but I think it's an invitation to just just question it and get curious and like experiment as well. And I know too that you wanted, we wanted to touch on seed cycling. I don't, I wanna, I feel like it's a nice little, we can add that here at the end as we're kind of wrapping up. Cause I do think it's a really helpful tool. It can be.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

And I mean, the thing is, is like you want to be consistent with it. And that's the hard part. That's the hard part. That's where I see most people not, or most women not really get much from it is because they decided it was just a little too hard to do. So we can break, I can give a little general way to do it. Yeah, in our show notes, we can have a little thing, but the like the easiest way, the most basic way to do it is during the follicular phase, you'll have, I think it's about a tablespoon of flax and a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds per day. So that's a lot of seeds. And you want to do like the seeds are really important, like how you store them. So you want to make sure that you are getting organic. Um, you don't want the roasted salted, sorry. Like you really want to do that, you want to store them in your freezer or your fridge to protect those fatty acids in them. Um, but yeah, so in the follicular phase, you're gonna do flax and pumpkin. And then in the luteal phase, you'll do sesame and sunflower. This can be a little different depending on like your symptoms and your hormones and all of the things. Or if you're allergic to sunflower, I know there's a lot of people allergic to like certain seeds. So obviously, if you're allergic to seeds, not do this. But yeah, I mean, there's very specific nutrients that those seeds offer for those phases of the cycle. And they just help you, they help you with, you know, estrogen clearance and kind of like balancing those hormones.

SPEAKER_00 44:41

Yeah, I think I I feel like it was important to just kind of add that in. And again, we'll put a little, your little guide at in the show notes because it is simple. It's not, and simple's not always easy like that, you know, but kind of creating that plan, it's just another tool in your toolbox to really work with your cycle. So as we're wrapping up to, like as we are actually wrapping up, I definitely I just wanted to give you an opportunity to share a little bit more. About the rooted feminine because this is literally a full-on lesson in the rooted feminine, and it's so much of what we're talking about, right? Inside the energy reset and beyond. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

Yeah. Yeah. We give, I mean, even in the rooted feminine, I go a little bit deeper into this. I really give a lot more context and like help you understand like if you were on birth control or any of those things, we just go deeper into the nuance. Um, but the whole point of the rooted feminine is to help you reclaim authorship of your life and feel um like you're not outsourcing your answers and your power to other people. So it's there are physiological, biological lessons like this one in the rooted feminine, but all together it comes together to be this place where you just have so much understanding of yourself. Not me telling you who you are, that the work inside of there helps you understand who you are, you know, and what you are here to do, your your purpose, your calling, all the things. And it just takes you through that process of self-discovery where by the end you feel like, wow, empowered, right? Like that's at the point.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

I I mean, obviously, I'm a fan. I'm so excited because it's so needed in today's world specifically, this this ownership and authorship and understanding, right? And not again, yeah, that probably that's the biggest thing, that outsourcing, because there's so much noise, there's so many ideas and so much, so much out there that it we're kind of drowning in it. So, like clearing out that noise. And I mean, I think it's an incredible gift that you are giving, that you are creating. And again, I'll say it's so it's the clarity around it is like it's inside the energy reset, right? So that we can, and the beauty of I feel like what we have created, what we are creating together in the energy reset, it's basically it's a joint program. It's two practitioners for it for one program, right? Inside one program, the rooted feminine, the foundations, right? The lab testing, the fat, like the functional labs, all, and it's that personalized, customized roadmap for each woman. It's not a one size fits all, right? It's us looking at where you are at, taking all of the things and putting that roadmap together for you.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

Yes. Yep. I love it. Because it's like the foundations are always going to be the foundations. They're the things that human beings need to live and survive. So, um, and to be optimal. So those things come first. And then after we get those things down, we walk you into those deeper places where, you know, even though we love our clients, we don't want you to need us forever. We want you to feel powerful and feel like you don't have to go outsource answers anymore. That you have a framework through which you can look at your life at your through your health and make decisions, not based on fear or spiraling, but you can actually say, I'm gonna do this first, you know, and then you'll you'll know. You'll know if you need to go to the doctor, like whatever. You need to go see a practitioner. You'll have that clarity around that as well.

SPEAKER_00 48:35

So good. Well, this was fun as always. I love, I love recording and having these conversations. So thank you so much. Thank you.