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Welcome to "No F**ks Given," where we redefine menopause as a superpower. Hosted by Holly Lamb, a women's health coach, who is navigating early menopause. This podcast offers empowering guidance on women's health and navigating perimenopause with confidence. From nutrition tips to fitness advice and mindfulness practices, we cover it all. But here's the twist: it's all about embracing your most authentic, unapologetic self. We're here to help you reclaim your power, say goodbye to societal norms, and live life on your own terms—no f**ks given. Welcome to the revolution!
Holly Lamb (00:04.43)
Hello and welcome to episode three of the No Fucks Given podcast with me your host Holly Lamb. This week's episode is all about how to live within your cyclical nature.
Holly Lamb (00:21.87)
This week's episode is about living in your cyclical nature and how that can literally change your life. So if you're not familiar with that, we're going to be...
Holly Lamb (00:42.894)
So if you're not familiar with that, I'm gonna break it down, explain it all and how you can start to live in rhythm with your own body.
Holly Lamb (00:53.006)
So today we very much live in a male dominated world that does not work in harmony with the cyclical nature of our being. It's a very, very past faced, faced?
It's a very fast paced life. Everything is urgent. Everything is expected yesterday. And this just doesn't work very well with the cyclical nature of women. So as women, we operate in cycles, just like the phases of the moon, the four seasons that we have. And our bodies are roughly a 28 day cycle, give or take. And we move through the different phases or seasons of this cycle.
So by honouring the practice of MCA, which is menstrual cycle awareness, this can become your own spiritual practice that is literally inbuilt into you. I mean, how cool is that? We literally have our own inbuilt system of how we can harness our inner power, our inner strength and connect to source and connect to spirit.
This isn't something that we can control though, it has its own timing and it's literally within us.
Holly Lamb (02:05.774)
This isn't something that we control though. It has its own timing.
Holly Lamb (02:12.654)
This isn't something that we control though. It has its own timing within us and it can literally deflate our egos in one fell swoop. That phase ladies is known as the pre -menstruum. So if you've ever felt like burning everything to the ground and then crying the next moment, welcome to the inner autumn and your pre -menstruum.
Holly Lamb (02:35.79)
In this day and age, we're taught to rely so heavily on our mind and how we think, and we no longer feel anything in our bodies. Just the other day, I was trying to make a decision on something important, and I was so in my head. I was trying to figure out the outcome, and I connected with a group of women that are a membership I'm in who said, you need to get out of your head and you need to get into your body. And it was so true, and it was something that I...
hadn't done yet and it was so nice to have those women there and give me that nudge to go back into my body and lay there in silence and feel it and just think about the outcomes and feel into the answer. And I got my answer. And that was by using the power of our own bodies, which is so, so important that we connect back to it. In this day and age, it's been lost along the way. And...
we're stepping into this new power with this new age of Aquarius, things are changing, the feminine is rising. So this would be a perfect time if you don't already to start honoring your body and get into menstrual cycle awareness.
Holly Lamb (03:56.334)
So this is what cyclical living is all about. It's feeling to each phase of your cycle, listening to the cues of your body. And if you're thinking, well, I don't have a menstrual cycle.
Holly Lamb (04:09.838)
And if you're thinking, well, I don't have a menstrual cycle, how can I do this? Well, you can use the phases of the moon. So the moon cycle is 29 days and it has four distinct phases, each of which have their own energetic signatures, just like the four seasons and the menstrual cycle. So the four phases and the four energetic signatures have the exact same energetic quality as the four phases of the menstrual cycle and the four seasons.
So I'm going to break down each one so you can get a better understanding and start living within your cyclical nature.
Holly Lamb (04:50.29)
So if we start with the new moon, this would be your inner winter, which is your period. Now this is a time for rest, for reflection. It's a time to go inwards, a time to really connect with source, your higher self and your intuition. It's a time to actually take time for yourself and put yourself first.
and remembering that self -care is not selfish, but it's necessary. And especially in menopause, when you can start to feel really super overwhelmed, going inwards and taking time for yourself and taking time for self -care becomes your number one priority. I've just come out of my inner winter and since getting back into fully tracking my cycle and getting back into menstrual cycle awareness,
I felt really truly connected to my intuition. And like I said, that decision I was trying to make, I went back into my body, connected to my higher power and got the answer I was looking for. So at this time, it's such an amazing.
Holly Lamb (06:09.774)
So if you're looking to develop your intuition, your psychic gifts, your psychic powers, then tapping into it at the inner winter is a perfect starting point. So then we go into the waxing moon, which is your inner spring or your follicular phase. And this is a time to plan and initiate. So you're solidifying your sense of self. You're growing increasingly at ease with the beautiful journey of being authentically you.
You can feel your energy rising and it's a time for you to say yes. Yes to other things, but also yes to you. We have a natural motivation and focus at this time. So what's better than to take that leap of faith as something you've been putting off. So I'm on day seven. So I'm kind of in the crossover day between in a winter and in a spring. I will again go into crossover days on another episode.
but basically it's the time kind of in between you're fully in the next season. And for me, it's come up with feeling more.
Holly Lamb (07:20.494)
feeling like I have more energy. I went for a run and then I did a boxing class. I wouldn't have done that in a winter. I was taking time for myself and just energy levels are just so much higher, just feeling so much better because I know that I'm slowly coming into this new phase. And it's a time to really put down the foundations and plans. And if you've been putting anything off, then it's definitely time to...
that leap of faith.
Then we come into full moon, which is your inner summer or ovulation. And this is a time to connect, collaborate and be seen and be visible. So this is a part of our cycle that is most glamorized. It's the part society views as the most powerful. And yes, it is an absolutely a time for getting shit done, but only if you've honored the other parts of your cycle that have already been. If you've tapped into those, your inner summer.
will feel amazing. So you're gonna embrace your full essence, the unrestrained expression of your strength and your truth.
Holly Lamb (08:38.51)
This stage brings forth the energy of visibility and of action and of empowering you to manifest your purpose in the world. This will of course look different for each and every woman, but essentially it's about showing up as your authentic unapologetic self that doesn't give a fuck basically. Remember to celebrate yourself at this time no matter how small, we can always celebrate something about ourselves. So in a summer is...
the time when most women feel at their best. For some women it can be triggering, but for most women it does feel like we can conquer the world and sometimes that we want to stay at this point all through our cycle. But if we did, we'd just burn out. So it's about noticing when you are in this phase and honoring it by getting the stuff done. Like if you're a business owner and you want to do an Instagram live or you've got to do a presentation, now's the time to do it.
social events, plan things around your diary, things like that, that will really help harness the power of that phase of your cycle.
Holly Lamb (09:46.766)
And then we come into the waning moon, which is your inner autumn or your luteal phase. And this is a time to complete and focus in. So focus in on who you really are and take responsibility for that. So by embracing the complexity of your being, you're encompassing both light and shadow. And this is going to enable you to grow and really step into your power.
Holly Lamb (10:22.606)
So at this time, you'll be empowered by the ability to say no. You can decide what aligns with you and what doesn't, setting clear boundaries along the way and just, you take no prisoners at this stage. You literally don't like at a time of in a summer when you're like, I feel amazing. Everyone's amazing. I love you. And then like in a war, in a winter.
Holly Lamb (10:54.19)
And then in autumn comes and she doesn't take any prisoners.
Holly Lamb (11:09.71)
The inner autumn will also bring up your inner critic. It will start to rear its head. It will challenge you and...
is designed to cause disruption in your life, to break down your walls and to deflate your ego so that you can grow and you can strengthen more each time you meet it. It's a time of holding yourself or holding the tension in the light and the dark and allowing the authentic you to evolve out of it. So holding the discomfort of your inner critic and journal on what comes up.
So this might be triggering, but this is how you break through the blocks of the things that are holding you back. Month after month as you persist, your reward awaits, which is a profound ability to embrace your full brilliance and unwavering truth. And this coupled with some humility, you will...
Holly Lamb (12:16.942)
you will become resilient and adaptable to all of life's challenges. So in essence, this wisdom emerges. So in a rule, in a...
So inner autumn can be a really triggering phase for a lot of women because it's our shadow side and not everybody wants to deal with the shadow side. But we have to, with light comes dark and if we don't embrace those dark feelings and those shadows and the things that come up at that time, then we're never gonna fully step into and embrace the lighter side, the inner spring, the inner summer. So it's about doing the work in each phase.
And the more that you practice menstrual cycle awareness and lean into each phase, the more you will grow as a person. And the easier your menopause journey will be if you're not at menopause yet, doing this work will set you up for when hormones go haywire and you start to step into this new version of yourself, which can definitely feel like a bit of a void once you step into it. But if you're already grounded,
with the knowledge of how you feel in each season, it will help to navigate your menopause journey a lot better.
Holly Lamb (13:55.694)
So once you've started living cyclically, cyclically.
Holly Lamb (14:04.11)
So once you've started living cyclically, magic things can happen. So you'll find that deeper understanding of who you really are. You'll feel the feelings at certain point in your cycle and how to embrace each phase and use it to your advantage. So you can plan your diary around your cycle or the moon cycles. You plan presentations, holidays, social events around your inner spring and inner summer. And then it's time to carve out time for you.
in your inner winter. And speaking to your partner about it can help in explaining what phase you're in and how you feel in that phase. And that if you bite their head off, it's not their fault and it's not your fault. It's just how you're feeling at the time. And that can really help to bring trust and loving and more understanding in a relationship as well. So this can take months, even years to fully get into a rhythm with it.
but it's something I would highly recommend every woman, no matter what stage of life you're at, even if you're postmenopause, as we're all cyclical beings and we should be living more in harmony with what's going on in our body. And just a caveat to remember that each woman's journey will be different and not to compare your journey to another woman's. It's your body, so it's your rules. And listening to what it has to say,
is way more important than anything that I say. So I can give you the guidelines and the outline, but it's about tuning into your body and how you're feeling. That's the most important thing. And you need to let go of any expectations of how your menstrual cycle should unfold. As so many women, it looks so different. Like, yes, I said a 28 day cycle, but some women have 33, 34 day cycles. So it's about getting in tune with that and knowing,
what's working for you.
Holly Lamb (16:10.158)
And practice in MCA will unveil your unique version of it, showcasing your talents, your strengths, your vulnerabilities. Remember, it's all about you.
Holly Lamb (16:22.542)
So if this has kind of lit a fire in you and you wanna embrace this way of living and you wanna learn more, then just follow these like simple steps and this will get you on track. So first you need to track your cycle using a journal or an app. Apps are super easy. There's quite a few out there, but I use one called Clue. It will give you symptoms.
Holly Lamb (16:52.27)
So you can record your symptoms, you can record how you're feeling, write down a few words maybe about your dominant feelings, energy levels, mood. The app will have all that as well, or you can use the journal. And then day one would be your first day of bleeding. So that doesn't include any spotting that can happen for some women before the full flow begins. So day one is your first full flow of menstrual bleeding.
And then if you don't already have a journal, I would highly recommend getting one. At the end of each day, write down detail, at the end of each day, write down detailed observations, including any dreams that you've had, synchronicities, sexual energies, any themes, arguments, insights, anything that you feel is relevant to how you're feeling that day. This way you'll start to notice.
how you feel in each season and notice how you change from one season into the next.
Holly Lamb (17:57.998)
And you'll get the most out of this practice, menstrual cycle awareness, if you take the time to do it every day. So write down every day how you're feeling, even if it's just a sentence, because you can come back to it.
Holly Lamb (18:17.934)
but don't put pressure on yourself. If you forget the odd day, it's fine. This can usually happen around ovulation when you're feeling less reflective and you're kind of up in the clouds having a lovely time. But yeah, just pick up where you've left off and don't put pressure on yourself. So, menstrual cycle awareness can bring so many amazing things into your life as well as the people around you. Because when you start to notice,
how and why you're feeling a certain way.
Holly Lamb (18:52.622)
It can be such a game changer. And like I said, practicing this now will help you moving forward when you get into your menopause gears.
Holly Lamb (19:22.158)
Thanks so much for listening today. I really enjoyed this episode. I hope you did too. It would mean so much to me if you would subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss the next episode.
Holly Lamb (19:37.454)
And please reach out to me if you have any questions around menstrual cycle awareness, you can reach me on Instagram at Holly, the menopause coach, and I'll see you next week for episode four.