Most women who find Woman In Power have never heard of fertility awareness or cycle syncing before. I love this and am so grateful to be able to do this work and introduce so many women (and soon, girls!) to this work.
AND whilst we marvel at the wonders available to us and are outraged together that no one told us, it is important to acknowledge that there are many, many women who have been shouting loudly about this work since long before I was born. I am here because of the incredible women who taught me what I know and I am certain they will have wisdom for you too.
Menstrual cycle awareness
If you love the idea of the menstrual cycle as a spiritual practice, Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo-Wurlitzer at Red School are the women you’ve been waiting for. They have been instrumental in leading the way for me (and thousands of other women) to gain a deep understanding of the power within our menstrual cycles. When you hear me, or anyone, refer to ‘menstrual cycle awareness’ or compare the phases of the cycle to the seasons of the year – Sjanie and Alexandra were the pioneers who taught those ideas first.
Wild Power by Sjanie Hugo-Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope is the guidebook to using your menstrual cycle as a spiritual practice and to honoring your changing nature throughout the month. Read it at least once, preferably twice – it will change the way you see the world.
Wild Genie: the healing power of menstruation by Alexandra Pope is the most highlighted book on my kindle. Every word is a powerful, transformative message. The book is about the healing power of your menstrual cycle; nothing I can say here will do it justice; I just can’t recommend it highly enough.
If you’re in partnership with a man and you would like him to know more about how to support you throughout your cycle, this podcast with Sjanie and Alexandra is a must-listen, together!
The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack explains how the menstrual cycle is so important to our health that it is recognised as The Fifth Vital Sign in this book all about fertility awareness, healthy menstrual cycles and why ovulation is about so much more than making babies.
Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden is the book you are looking for if you have period problems from pain to endometriosis, PCOS and so much more.
Roar by Dr Stacy Sims is a book about how ‘women are not small men’ therefore we shouldn’t train like we are. It goes into how athletes can adapt training to their menstrual cycle.
Womancode and In the Flo by Alissa Vitti are guides into how to sync your cycle and your life, in every way. If you are interested in cycle syncing, In the Flo is a great place to start. Alissa Vitti is the first person to write about the infradian rhythm (ie. the 28 day cycle a woman operates on; in the same camp of the 24 hour circadian rhythm).
Fertility awareness
Hormonal Harmony is a mother/ daughter combo who focus on health in relation to hormones and fertility, they also teach fertility awareness (Beatrice taught me!)
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler is the bible for women learning about their fertility. It’s HUGE and covers literally everything you could ever need to know.
The Fertility Friday podcast with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack is a podcast all about fertility awareness, birth control and everything in between. She interviews some fascinating people from educators and writers to women who are on (or post-) different types of birth control. Her interviews with doctors are particularly fascinating as she always delves into how they were taught about women-specific health concerns at medical school.
Information about hormonal birth control
The Pill – Are You Sure It’s For You? By Alexandra Pope and Jane Bennett is an exploration of the true nature of The Pill and the effects it has on our body that we are rarely (or never) told about by the doctors who prescribe it universally.
This is your brain on birth control by Dr Sarah Hill is a fascinating reflection and important read about how birth control changes your brain – influencing who you are attracted to, stress, aggression, eating patterns and so much more. Listen to a fabulous podcast with Dr Hill here.
Beyond the Pill by Dr Jolene Brighten is the manual for women as they transition off birth control or recover afterwards. Even if you’ve never been on birth control (you unicorn, you!) it is a fun and insightful book about our hormones – I highly recommend it! Dr Brighten’s website is also a super deep resource that is very easy to get lost in.
The Business of Birth Control is a documentary film inspired by the book Sweetening The Pill by Holly Grigg-Spall. It features the stories of activists, doctors and scientists who are blowing the whistle on how hormonal birth control affects the mind and body. It is due to be released later in 2020 and I for one am very excited!
Additional resources
I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without the women who were instrumental in introducing me to my body and my cycle and then inviting me to share this work with the world.
Blaire Lindsay is my embodiment coach and the first woman ever to suggest that I could sync my life with my cycle. She is the embodiment of feminine leadership; she is a caring, powerful and deep coach who teaches women to know and trust their bodies by making contact with them and listening to their wisdom. I am currently training with her to be a trauma-informed coach in her Embodied Feminine Power coaching certification.
Amy Mabin is the coach who encouraged me to start tracking my cycle and the woman who taught me that fertility awareness was a viable contraceptive method (99.6% effective with perfect use!). She was the catalyst that lit the candle Blaire had placed! She is a firecracker of a coach, compassionate, loving and radically honest.
Liv Anand is my Kundalini Yoga teacher and one of the most inspiring women I know. She hosts Radiance – an online community of women who are switched on to the world. We practice yoga together daily and with each New Moon, Liv asks us to consider a piece of ‘soul-play’ which will challenge us and help us to grow. Through one of these soul-play practices, Liv invited us to teach the other women in our community about something we’re passionate about. I taught my first class on menstrual cycle awareness and Woman In Power was born.
Vanessa Ferraro at The Wealthy Goddess Movement empowers women to share their soul’s message. It is because of her that I was able to launch this business in full flow and alignment; she taught me that it is worth something and showed me how I could make money from what I love doing. I will be forever grateful to the phenomenal Danielle Pare for introducing me to her!
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