Hi there!

I was drawn to this work initially because I was having a lot of issues with my cycle. I felt like the medical system and my body had failed me, and so I needed to find my own answers. As I learned, I felt more and more that there’s so much we aren’t taught about our bodies, and that everyone needs to have access to this information.

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I used to experience a lot of shame around menstruation, without even really knowing why. It was just something I knew I had to hide. Discretely pulling a tampon from my purse and jamming it into a pocket or up my sleeve so no one would know what terrible deed I was about to do. Buying pads or tampons was also an ordeal, and I’d attempt to camouflage their presence with other items in my cart, hoping that somehow the cashier wouldn’t see them. I didn’t want anyone to know I bled, and I definitely didn’t talk about it. Ever.

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As a young teen, I was put on hormonal birth control to “regulate my hormones”, and I spent most of my menstruating years on it. It wasn’t until I got off it that I realized how numb and disconnected from my body I felt while I was on it. I started having issues with my cycle, and just assumed that’s why I must have been put on it in the first place. I thought that having a difficult cycle was “normal” and “just part of being a woman”.

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My first nudge to this work happened in my early 30’s, when my acupuncturist taught me about ovulation and cervical mucous- my first real education I received about my cycle. I learned that the stuff that’s (sometimes) in your underwear that randomly changes consistency is actually pretty cyclical and lets you know when you’re fertile. WHOA. It was my first “Why aren’t we taught this?” moment.

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My next nudge came years later when I, by happenstance, read Maisie Hill’s Period Power. I devoured it in a weekend, and the more I learned the more I thought “Why aren’t we taught this!?! Everyone needs to know this!!!”. The fire was lit, and I was all-in.​ I went into a five-month Menstrual Cycle Educator training just wanting to learn more about my cycle, and came out of it knowing I was meant to do this work.

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My cycle isn’t perfect- no one’s is- and that’s not the point. Through this work, I understand my cycle and body a heck of a lot more than I ever have. I talk about periods (a lot). I create dialogue about it in my workplace to normalize it and reduce stigma. But most importantly, I have learned to listen to, respect, and even celebrate my body, no matter how difficult my cycle is. And that makes a huge difference.

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That is what I want to gift to others- a way to understand, celebrate, and honor the cycles and rhythms of their bodies, no matter what their cycle experience is like. That is the heart and soul of Cyclic Wisdom Collective.