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Transitions are an inevitable part of life.

Transitions are an inevitable, unavoidable and often challenging part of life and learning to navigate them easefully is one of life’s greatest accomplishments. Though it may not often seem like it, we humans and especially us women, are constantly moving through transitions. These transitions are often unacknowledged and rarely honoured and although they can be physically and emotionally intense for us, they can also be powerful turning points worthy of our acknowledgement and support.

The effect of transitions on the human body.

One of the classic transitions we move through is the change of seasons. Right now, here in the northern hemisphere, we just passed through an equinox which marks the transition from winter into spring. A huge transition in our annual calendar as mother earth and all who inhabit her shift from the most yin-ward time of year, Winter, the time of the year connected with rest and restoration to the more outward, yang season of Spring that heralds new life, new birth and the re-emerging into the world of many a plant, animal and human. 

Although often unacknowledged, this seasonal transition can have a powerful effect on the human body. The shifting energies can cause fatigue, irritability, lowered immune system causing susceptibility to colds and flus etc. You may have noticed this yourself? Our bodies which are deeply impacted by our earth, feel the turbulence of the transitions, and depending on your fondness towards one season or another there can follow an inevitable grief as we let go of what has passed and shift into the next phase of the cycle. 

Acknowleging our grief during these transitions.

Grief is another transitionatory process that is rarely acknowledged or honoured among our “civilised” cultures. Unacknowledged grief lives on in our female bodies and can add weight to our energetic capacity and cloud our clarity, our joy and our creativity. In addition, we as women not only hold our own grief but we also hold the grief of our male partners, family and community. This is how our uterine energy works and why so often, one of the first things I do with the women I work with is to clear their pelvic bowl of the grief that is weighing them down, you can find out more about this work here. 

We women experience constant transitions in their hormonal cycle.

As well as experiencing the change in the outer seasons of our planet, we women also experience constant transitions in our inner seasons with our ever changing hormonal and fertility cycles. Many refer to this as the menstrual cycle but as a woman who doesn’t bleed yet still feels these monthly cycles so fully, I prefer to call this our “hormonal cycle”. 

Have you have noticed these seasonal changes with your hormonal cycle? As your hormones shift gear they can feel just like the outer seasons of our planet, Winter (days 1-6), Spring (days 7-13) Summer (Days 14-20) Autumn (Days 21-28+) and if course the transitions between these seasons, called the crossover days. Learn more about this access my Cyclical Woman Masterclass and Cyclical Living Starter Kit here.

Transitions cause emotional turbulence.

The energy of these changing inner seasons can feel as destabilising and turbulent as the shift in the outer seasons. These “crossover days”, as I call them, can cause emotional turbulence in the form of your inner critic or your critical inner maiden and physical turbulence such as lower energy levels, a desire to eat more, sleep more and general apathy, especially when you are premenstrual.

Emotional turbulence calls for self compassion, something we women often struggle with. If you need support to find self compassion during an attack of your inner critic then access my favourite practice Mother here.

I’ve personally noticed a deep susceptibility during my changing seasons and have discovered that I need to be more mindful on these days. Just knowing this about myself offers me tremendous support in challenging times. 

The transition into perimenopause.

I am also personally experiencing another of life’s great transitions, the shifting of my fertility cycle as I move toward the autumn of perimenopause. Perimenopause or “The quickening” as Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Wurlitzer call it in their menstruality teachings, is a big transition for women that we are for the most part not taught about or emotionally or physically prepared for. Something I endeavour to change with my work. 

The journey into perimenopause can for many women bring to the forefront another hugely unacknowledged transition that all women should be held and supported through and to  which is our rites of passage journey into maturity, the archetypal journey from Maiden to Mother and Queen. It was shocking to wake up at 40 and realise that I was still a child trapped in a woman’s body struggling to cope with life but this was the doorway for me into this work and toward healing this important transition for both myself and the women I work with.

The wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine during transitions.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, they say that when moving through times of transition we need to work with the earth element. There are 5 elements in TCM, earth, water, wood, fire and metal, each connected to a season except earth which is connected to the transitions between seasons, the equinoxes and the solstices. 

When I discovered this I was already a few years into this journey to understand these transitions we move through in life and how vulnerable we are at these times. I absolutely love that this ancient medical system gives these moments of change their own element, fully recognising the powerful importance of these transitions.

Steadying ourselves during transtions.

By their very nature, transitions can be turbulent and unsettling. The chinese say that during these times, we need to lean into the support of the earth element to ground and steady us during often very unsteadying times. This can be done in many ways by tonifying the stomach and spleen meridians. 

I find this fascinating as the stomach and spleen are directly related to digestion and how many people either reach for or reject food when they move through transition, maybe you have experienced this too? Comfort eating or a loss of appetite are common responses to stress and there is sometimes nothing more stressful than the turbulence of transition. Plus when consumed with intention food can be a very grounding force for turbulent times and amazing medicine. 

Using practice to support these transitions

In my yoga classes, I often speak about how we can lean into the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine as we move through life cycles and transitions and I mould the practices to tap into the support of the elements for the seasons we are in. Whether in a passive yin class that tonifies the earth element or in a dynamic vinyasa class that focuses on rooting down and finding balance, through movement and held postures we learn to support and steady ourselves through transition. Powerful tools to lean into changing times. 

As a coach, healer and teacher supporting Soulful women through life and business transitions I draw on all of the tools and knowledge I have gathered through my journey to support you to find ease and grace in these life changes. 

To work with me get in touch via the button below and lets chat about how I can support you.

Transitions are an inevitable part of life.

Transitions are an inevitable, unavoidable and often challenging part of life and learning to navigate them easefully is one of life’s greatest accomplishments. Though it may not often seem like it, we humans and especially us women, are constantly moving through transitions. These transitions are often unacknowledged and rarely honoured and although they can be physically and emotionally intense for us, they can also be powerful turning points worthy of our acknowledgement and support.

The effect of transitions on the human body.

One of the classic transitions we move through is the change of seasons. Right now, here in the northern hemisphere, we just passed through an equinox which marks the transition from winter into spring. A huge transition in our annual calendar as mother earth and all who inhabit her shift from the most yin-ward time of year, Winter, the time of the year connected with rest and restoration to the more outward, yang season of Spring that heralds new life, new birth and the re-emerging into the world of many a plant, animal and human. 

Although often unacknowledged, this seasonal transition can have a powerful effect on the human body. The shifting energies can cause fatigue, irritability, lowered immune system causing susceptibility to colds and flus etc. You may have noticed this yourself? Our bodies which are deeply impacted by our earth, feel the turbulence of the transitions, and depending on your fondness towards one season or another there can follow an inevitable grief as we let go of what has passed and shift into the next phase of the cycle. 

Acknowleging our grief during these transitions.

Grief is another transitionatory process that is rarely acknowledged or honoured among our “civilised” cultures. Unacknowledged grief lives on in our female bodies and can add weight to our energetic capacity and cloud our clarity, our joy and our creativity. In addition, we as women not only hold our own grief but we also hold the grief of our male partners, family and community. This is how our uterine energy works and why so often, one of the first things I do with the women I work with is to clear their pelvic bowl of the grief that is weighing them down, you can find out more about this work here. 

Women experience constant transitions in their hormonal cycle.

As well as experiencing the change in the outer seasons of our planet, we women also experience constant transitions in our inner seasons with our ever changing hormonal and fertility cycles. Many refer to this as the menstrual cycle but as a woman who doesn’t bleed yet still feels these monthly cycles so fully, I prefer to call this our “hormonal cycle”. 

Have you have noticed these seasonal changes with your hormonal cycle? As your hormones shift gear they can feel just like the outer seasons of our planet, Winter (days 1-6), Spring (days 7-13) Summer (Days 14-20) Autumn (Days 21-28+) and if course the transitions between these seasons, called the crossover days. Learn more about this access my Cyclical Woman Masterclass and Cyclical Living Starter Kit here.

Transitions cause emotional turbulence.

The energy of these changing inner seasons can feel as destabilising and turbulent as the shift in the outer seasons. These “crossover days”, as I call them, can cause emotional turbulence in the form of your inner critic or your critical inner maiden and physical turbulence such as lower energy levels, a desire to eat more, sleep more and general apathy, especially when you are premenstrual.

Emotional turbulence calls for self compassion, something we women often struggle with. If you need support to find self compassion during an attack of your inner critic then access my favourite practice Mother here.

I’ve personally noticed a deep susceptibility during my changing seasons and have discovered that I need to be more mindful on these days. Just knowing this about myself offers me tremendous support in challenging times. 

The transition into perimenopause.

I am also personally experiencing another of life’s great transitions, the shifting of my fertility cycle as I move toward the autumn of perimenopause. Perimenopause or “The quickening” as Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Wurlitzer call it in their menstruality teachings, is a big transition for women that we are for the most part not taught about or emotionally or physically prepared for. Something I endeavour to change with my work. 

The journey into perimenopause can for many women bring to the forefront another hugely unacknowledged transition that all women should be held and supported through and to  which is our rites of passage journey into maturity, the archetypal journey from Maiden to Mother and Queen. It was shocking to wake up at 40 and realise that I was still a child trapped in a woman’s body struggling to cope with life but this was the doorway for me into this work and toward healing this important transition for both myself and the women I work with.

The wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine during transitions.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, they say that when moving through times of transition we need to work with the earth element. There are 5 elements in TCM, earth, water, wood, fire and metal, each connected to a season except earth which is connected to the transitions between seasons, the equinoxes and the solstices. 

When I discovered this I was already a few years into this journey to understand these transitions we move through in life and how vulnerable we are at these times. I absolutely love that this ancient medical system gives these moments of change their own element, fully recognising the powerful importance of these transitions.

Steadying ourselves during transtions.

By their very nature, transitions can be turbulent and unsettling. The chinese say that during these times, we need to lean into the support of the earth element to ground and steady us during often very unsteadying times. This can be done in many ways by tonifying the stomach and spleen meridians. 

I find this fascinating as the stomach and spleen are directly related to digestion and how many people either reach for or reject food when they move through transition, maybe you have experienced this too? Comfort eating or a loss of appetite are common responses to stress and there is sometimes nothing more stressful than the turbulence of transition. Plus when consumed with intention food can be a very grounding force for turbulent times and amazing medicine. 

Using practice to support these transitions

In my yoga classes, I often speak about how we can lean into the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine as we move through life cycles and transitions and I mould the practices to tap into the support of the elements for the seasons we are in. Whether in a passive yin class that tonifies the earth element or in a dynamic vinyasa class that focuses on rooting down and finding balance, through movement and held postures we learn to support and steady ourselves through transition. Powerful tools to lean into changing times. 

As a coach, healer and teacher supporting Soulful women through life and business transitions I draw on all of the tools and knowledge I have gathered through my journey to support you to find ease and grace in these life changes. 

To work with me get in touch via the button below and lets chat about how I can support you.

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