How cyclical living can extend to non-menstruators

Since the practice of living in sync with your menstrual cycle is so new, I often receive questions from women, menstruators and other humans about if they can adopt this cyclical lifestyle too.

The short answer is yes, you can!

When you have a natural and regular menstrual cycle, it’s definitely easier to track what menstrual cycle day you’re on and note your daily symptoms are in each phase.

But the pillars of cyclical living can apply to your life even if you don’t bleed, are taking hormonal birth control or if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or through menopause. Connecting with your physical body and intuition, prioritizing rest and self-care, and communicating your needs with your partner, family and friends are all incredible practices.

Using the Moon to cycle chart

So how can you chart your menstrual cycle and live cyclically if you don’t actually have an active or regular menstrual cycle? Well, you use the Moon as your guide.

The Moon has a 28-day cycle, comparable to the average woman’s menstrual cycle. We can actually use the Moon as a constant visual reminder of our fluctuating hormones and our shifting energies over the month. We can view the Full Moon and think of ovulation, the fullness and peak of our hormones and our fertility. Likewise, we can see the New Moon and think of menstruation, the inward turn and time for reflection and rest.

Of course, when you’re charting alongside the Moon, you shouldn’t necessarily expect to feel how the Moon’s looking. Just because it’s a New Moon doesn’t mean you’ll be in that period cave energy (not all women and menstruators bleed with the New Moon anyways!)

Download the free Moon app and note it’s cycle day. Use the Moon’s cycle day to create a framework for your charting month-over-month, so that you can begin to notice any reoccurring patterns or moods.

From there, you can also explore using nature’s four seasons as a framework to living cyclically or playing with archetypes to connect with your menstrual cycle more deeply.

If you’re male and have a different hormonal pattern altogether, you can use this app and the Moon as a monthly reminder to carve out space to rest and retreat from the world. We all need to prioritize rest as the foundation.

Remember: first and foremost, cyclical living is about learning the language of your physical body and trusting yourself to know what’s best for you. You are your best guide in this lifestyle.

Let me know what you learn about yourself!

xo Lauren