If you read last week’s post and thought, ‘okay, cool, menstrual cycle tracking is interesting, but I have a very irregular period / I’m on hormonal contraception / I’m perimenopausal / My periods have gone AWOL / I have PCOS / I’m menopausal’, then this week’s post is for you.
Menstrual cycle tracking isn’t for everyone. For a number of reasons, you might have an irregular period or even have a period at all. Enter lunar cycle tracking.
At its heart, lunar cycle tracking uses the different phases of the moon to help us understand how we feel physically or energetically and find patterns.
There are 4 phases to the moon: new moon, waxing moon, full moon and waning moon.
You might find that your physical and mental energy peaks during the full moon, with less sleep and more powerful and lucid dreams. This is akin to how you might feel during ovulation.
Then we have the new moon – many use this as a time to evaluate different parts of their lives and understand what’s working and what isn’t. This is akin to the self-reflection we might feel when we menstruate.
Lunar cycle tracking can give us something to anchor our energy and moods to. This is helpful during the uncertainty of an irregular or missing period, during perimenopause or menopause or when you’re coming off hormonal contraception and waiting for a regular menstrual cycle to return.
And of course, you can tie in lunar cycle tracking with menstrual cycle tracking. If you get your period during the full moon and ovulate around the new moon, this is a red moon cycle.
If it’s vice versa, this is a white moon cycle.
There are also variations: a pink moon cycle is when you get your period during the waxing moon (when the moon is moving to a full moon) and ovulate during the waning moon (when the moon is returning a new moon). If it’s versa, this is a purple moon cycle.
This type of tracking has links with many ancient cultures, with the white moon cycle linked to fertility and the red moon cycle linked to healing and healers.
You might think all of this is nonsense and that’s your prerogative!
If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend Tamara Driessen’s book Luna.
Have you ever noticed the connection with the moon and your energy, mood, motivation or sleep? Tell me more in the comments.
Photo by Ganapathy Kumar on Unsplash
Le’Nise Brothers is a yoga teacher and registered nutritionist, mBANT, mCNHC, specialising in women’s health, hormones and the menstrual cycle. She is also the host of the Period Story Podcast, which aims to break taboos around menstrual health and hormones.
Le’Nise has helped hundreds of women improve their menstrual and hormone health through her private practice and group programmes, talks and workshops for the likes of Stylist, Channel 4, Ebay and TikTok and her Instagram page. Le’Nise works primarily with women who feel like they’re being ruled by their sugar cravings, mood swings and hormonal acne & bloating. They want to get to grips with heavy, missing, irregular & painful periods, fibroids, PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, post-natal depletion and perimenopause.
Her first book You Can Have A Better Period will be released in March 2022.
Her mission is for women to understand and embrace their hormones & menstrual cycle! If you’re looking for support with your hormone and menstrual health, click this link to book a 30 minute health review to talk about working together.
