Simple Self-Care Tips for the Inner Autumn Season of your Cycle
Exercise, Emotional Self-Care & Food Energetics
Disintegration - dissolving - my focus floats. Buried emotions rise, making their way to the surface of my awareness, where they linger - waiting for me; to stop - to put down my tools of work. They want quiet. Stillness to revel in - a moment to sink beneath the surface of daily matter, to a dark, mysterious and earthy place where an intelligence pulsates within every molecule of my body; saying something profound, simple and necessary, while saying nothing at all.
I thought it was about time for the final season of ‘Self-Care Tips for your Inner (cycle season)’ series. It’s late autumn in nature’s season here in Scotland, which brings me to reflect on the inner autumn1 season of our menstrual cycles.
If you missed the previous seasons, start with The Dark & Light Inner Seasons of Your Menstrual Cycle, for the big picture on all four inner seasons. If you’re currently in your ‘inner winter’, read ‘Simple Self-Care Tips for the Inner Winter of your Menstrual Cycle'. For ‘inner spring’, you’ll benefit from ‘Simple Self-Care Tips for the Inner Spring Season of your Cycle’, and if you’re in your ‘inner summer’, explore ‘Simple Self-Care Tips for the Inner Summer Season of your Menstrual Cycle’.
And so, we arrive at the final inner season - one that holds immense wild and creative power, edginess, boldness and the simmering of every emotion felt throughout that month, now rising to the surface of psyche, body and soul.
WELCOME TO THE EDGE DWELLER PHASE.
Inner autumn is the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, the season before menstruation returns and when the womb lining thickens in preparation for possible pregnancy. And, like the menstrual phase, I find that this phase can be divided into two halves which we’ll explore in each section below.
Inner autumn can be the most challenging inner season for many women, yet much like nature’s autumn, the falling and wilting leaves which turn to mulch, just as we can feel our bodies and brains ‘mulching’, is the fecund ground from which fertile new beginnings spring again.
Rather than fight against this natural cycle of energy - let’s explore a few simple self-care tips to mirror and align with it through exercise, emotional self-care and food energetics for the inner season of autumn.
EXERCISE2
During the first half of your inner autumn, as you transition from inner summer, you might still be in that high-intensity workout phase; gym, cycling, swimming, hill walking, aerobic movement, ashtanga yoga or whatever cardio gets your heart going. Movement like 5Rhythm dance or some kind of ecstatic dance is a great way to allow the often wildly creative and sexual energy, that can emerge in this phase, space to be expressed. The energy here can be chaotic, creative, even frenetic. It can be angry, edgy and oh-so-powerful.
But as you move through that luteal phase, depending on how long this phase lasts for you, you might notice your energy starting to dwindle as you get closer to your bleed time. That might feel like having heavier limbs or being more out of breath, even when you walk up the stairs, when by contrast, in inner summer, you can sprint up without getting breathless.
The premenstrual phase often begins two to three days before your bleed starts (for some women and menstruators, symptoms can begin a week before). In this phase, it's beneficial to start winding down the high impact exercise and be gentler with yourself. You're preparing to transition into the deep winter of menstruation. Movement like yin yoga, more thoughtful and slow stretches, nature walks and less impactful workouts can be supportive to support your nervous system.
Try to tune in beneath that restless, wild energy and ask your body what it needs - (sometimes easier said than done in this phase) - listen to what arises in you through images, thoughts or impulses.
EMOTIONAL CARE
Inner autumn is when a lot of our self-criticisms emerge with EXTRA edge. Emotional care during the luteal phase is essential. This is when you might start feeling more on edge, anxious and easily irritated by others (or general world issues).
That edge can be a good thing if it brings about better boundaries or a ballsy ‘don't mess with me’ kind of vibe. Truth-telling can, of course, be exactly what is needed - however! The thing to be mindful of in this season, is to allow your truth-telling to be cutting edge without being cutting, which can cause more damage to connection in relationships.
A lot is moving emotionally under the surface at this time, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Underneath that ballsy-ness, there are often lurking fragile and more vulnerable feelings. Having a place to communicate these feelings with a close friend, a therapist or an emotional intelligence practitioner during this phase, can be a huge source of support before you share directly with the people you care about.
In the second half of inner autumn, you might start feeling more tired and tender. Listen to that shift as you move from the first half into the second half of the autumn phase, adjusting and course-correcting what you are doing as you listen to the changes that are happening.
Take care by giving yourself extra space.
FOOD ENERGETICS
As you move out of inner summer when you’ve been enjoying all these different flavours and more complex dishes, I recommend starting to simplify your diet again as you move closer to your bleed. Remember, food energetics means there's information coming into your system through the food you eat. The more complex the food, the more information there is coming into your system. The season of inner autumn is often when you might get cravings for carbs, like potatoes, pasta, bread or other root veggies, as your body prepares itself for possible pregnancy or menstruation.
I do sometimes listen to those cravings because I know my body can digest them more easily before my period. But I’m mindful not to overdo it, as some of the food I’m drawn to in this phase can cause excess inflammation. Heavy carbs are generally heavy in our bodies. But sometimes our bodies need that sort of substantiality. Hearty, simple food that has substance but that is not too rich or overcomplicated is beneficial in this phase.
I also increase lean protein like wild salmon, which is a healthy way to feel satisfied (and that also helps me to sleep better). I include healthy fats like nuts and sunflower seeds as a breakfast sprinkle, avocados and lots of olive oil. And, I intuitively reduce sugar and caffeine as I near my bleed as I find them too stimulating.
I don’t mind a bit of weight gain in the luteal phase as it will drop off during menstruation - your body might respond differently, which you can discover in more detail when you begin to track your cycle.
Inner Autumn is About:
Continuing aerobic exercise but winding it down as you near your bleed
Embracing the edge
Channelling your wild energy into creativity, dance or sex
Truth-telling without being cutting
Talking with a close friend, therapist or emotional support person
Eating more hearty meals, a little extra than usual, but being mindful of not overdoing it
I hope you’ve been inspired by these simple self-care tips for your inner autumn season. Do you have some of your own? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
with love
Jane x
HYDRATE - Inspiration to Re-Hydrate Your Writing Life online creative writing workshop for women, is coming up this Tuesday 19th of November at 7pm UK time. As of today, it’s sold out! However, do check back on Monday or Tuesday to see if any tickets have been released here.
The concept of cycle phases as ‘inner seasons’ mirroring the ‘outer seasons’ of nature originates from Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer.
I’m not a qualified nutritionist, doctor or exercise instructor, so the food and exercise suggestions I make are based on my own experience and through personal study. I write to inspire you to consider the food/exercise that supports you in different phases of your cycle.