Women's Mood Podcast Intro - Rebecca (00:01):
Stories, teachings and guidance. Welcome to the Women's Moon Wisdom podcast with your host, Rebecca Rankin.
Rebecca Rankin (00:18):
Welcome to the Women's Moon Wisdom podcast. Thanks so much for being here with me. At the time of this episode, it's the summer solstice. A time that often represents freedom and happiness. It can be a time where we strengthen our friendships. We can think of it as this time that represents optimism, positivity, hope for the future. It represents life and the endless possibilities that await. And with that being said, it can be an easy time when we get swept away with all the things. Do you feel this way? Like, like you are saying yes to everything and when we say yes to all the things and oftentimes to too many things, we can easily lose our sense of self. In the summer, it's easier to stay up later than you normally would or go out more often than you normally would. I don't know about you, but oftentimes routines are just thrown to the wind and we allow ourselves freedom to, to move and go with the flow.
Rebecca Rankin (01:18):
And while there isn't anything inherently wrong with that, as long as at the root of it, we're staying grounded in our sense of self, right? In our needs, in our desires. I live in an area where the sun sets closer to 10:00 PM around the summer solstice and stays light really late. And for anyone with little ones, you know, that, that means bedtime routines just get pushed back and aren't as consistent. Even for myself. Like last night, I was like just putzing around the house. Well after the kids went to bed and it was still light outside and I looked at the clock and it was already like after 10:00 PM and I was nowhere near like my wind down mode for the day. Admittedly, I've become this stickler to myself about getting proper sleep of going to bed early and rising early. And you might be more of a night owl.
Rebecca Rankin (02:12):
I am definitely not. Actually. I take that back unless I'm reading a really good book, then it gets really dangerous for me. I stay up way too late and I'm just a mess the next day. So hence why I have needed to put more boundaries in place about getting a good night's sleep. Now, recently I came off of two weeks of what I call full on go mode. First, we took some time to go camping. My, my family and I, we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore. Side note - if you have never been, add this to your list. Most people who think of Michigan, who've never been here, think of like the Detroit area. And not so much about the natural beauty of the lakes and the force of Northern Michigan. And Sleeping Bear Dunes is this, ah, it's just this beautiful gem of a place to, to hike and bike and canoe.
Rebecca Rankin (03:07):
It's so like family friendly. It's amazing. And since it's just a little over an hour from where we live, we go there frequently and we try to go camping each year before the busy tour season unfolds. So anyways, at the last minute we found a campsite in the park, which means rustic camping. This is by no means glamping at all. And the only dates available were the days leading up to our Wellness Fest that we were organizing and hosting for our, our yoga, nonprofit. So we were camping my, my partner, my, my six year old daughter and my soon to be four year old son. And I'm not sure about any of you who may or may not camp. This means no flushing, toilets, no showers. Absolutely definitely no sleep . And yet like loads of, of memories and loads of fun to be had. After camping for four nights, we came home to then put on two days later, this wellness festival for our yoga nonprofit, and this wellness festival is our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Rebecca Rankin (04:09):
So we put that on, followed by the very next day being my son's fourth birthday, and then a week of having family visiting in town. And honestly it was a whirlwind, of fun and laughter. And as you can imagine, absolutely exhausting. And I say this not to glorify busy, at all, but yet to show that even someone like me, who's really mindful about my own boundaries and respecting where I am in my own cycle and honoring my, my desires and needs in relationship to my own biochemistry. Even I can say yes to too many things for as much as I am mindful about my schedule and setting boundaries so that I don't lose my sense of self. There are times that it just doesn't play out like that. Like after all, like we aren't living in a vacuum, we have others in our lives and their needs and their schedules to navigate too.
Rebecca Rankin (05:03):
And when life does sweep you away, it's important to have some protocols, some, some practices in place to help you stay grounded. Like even while you're wanting to say yes to all the things. So some tips that I lean into when honestly there's no way around to, to not having a lot on my plate. So these are my three tips for not losing your sense of self when there's a lot on our plate. First, knowing where you are at in your cycle. So if you're cycling then knowing which phase you are at can make all the difference in how you care for yourself or set yourself up for the busy time. Like if you're in your Follicular or Inner Waxing Moon phase, or your Ovulatory or Inner Full Moon phase, saying yes, and, and having loads of social engagements and obligations might not impact you as much as say in your second half of your cycle, like during your Luteal or Inner Waning Moon phase, or your Menstrual or Inner New Moon phase, that first half of your cycle, that, that surge of estrogen and testosterone in the first half.
Rebecca Rankin (06:11):
So like the two weeks after your cycle ends, it might give you enough like umph and enough energy to take kind of all the things in stride. Alternatively, if you're in the second half of your cycle, like when there are hormones like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone start to decrease, then you might start feeling more like sensitive and that need to almost kind of contract it and pull inward. And when you can't do do all the obligations, giving yourself enough grace to know that your lack of energy is not necessarily from the plans made, it's more likely just from the hormones or, or the decreased level of hormones. So tip number one, just know where you're at in your cycle and what that means energy wise, and for those who don't cycle or are no longer cycling, it's still important to, to check in with where you're feeling mindset wise, energy wise, physically, mentally, so that you can just make more mindful choices as you step into your busy time.
Rebecca Rankin (07:11):
My second tip is create a go to movement practice that helps you ground into your sense of self. Now what that means to you and what that looks like is honestly, probably gonna be different for everyone. For me, it looks like doing some sort of movement practice, first thing in the morning. And if you want some tips to, to sticking to your morning ritual, check out my episode, number 15 for tips on how to really stick to a morning ritual. Anyways, when I give myself the opportunity, first thing in the morning to physically check in with my body and process my thoughts and emotions through movement, especially in the morning, it sets me up to be like more able to go with the flow with others. Like in a way I've tended to my needs and can now care for those of others. And a movement practice in the morning can be something as simple as like with 30 minutes of yoga, of running or weights or intervals.
Rebecca Rankin (08:07):
And I, I match up the intensity and style to match where I am in my cycle and how I'm feeling. And if I know I'm gonna have like a very active day ahead of, of like riding bikes and hiking, then that morning practice looks more like long stretches and stillness. The idea is that I'm still prioritizing my health and wellbeing so that I can show up more grounded. I'm taking the time first in the morning before I do anything else to just check in with me. My third tip, my last tip, end your day with a clearing and grounding meditation. And this can be so incredibly simple. I'm guessing that at the end of every day, no matter how busy, and even if you're camping in the woods and your little ones are softly snoring curled up next to you, you can still find a moment of quiet before you lie down and go to bed. And before you go to sleep, giving yourself just a few minutes, even as short as five minutes, to clear yourself from the day and feel more grounded and it can look like this. So we'll do this together and this can be done whenever you can do it at the end of the day. Like I said, uh, if you're listening to this podcast, you wanna do it along together. You can do it wherever you're at. So for each exhale, we're gonna clear. We're gonna go through a round of exhales and for each in inhale, we're kind, kinda reclaim and ground. So let's do it together. Take an inhale, filling your lungs up to the top.
Rebecca Rankin (09:42):
And as you exhale, feel yourself, clearing yourself of whatever you left unfinished today, clearing yourself of that. Taking another inhale, filling all the way up. And as you exhale, feel yourself, clearing yourself of whatever you have on your to-do list for tomorrow. For the day ahead, letting that go, taking an inhale , and as you exhale, clearing yourself of whatever you're monitoring in the back of your mind, letting that go clearing yourself of that, Taking another inhale. And as you exhale, clearing yourself of anyone's energy that you may have picked up along the way, clearing yourself of that, clearing yourself of all those things so that you can just be more grounded and more at ease, and then feel these in inhales as a way to reclaim. So taking an inhale and feel yourself, reclaiming all the parts of you that you love scattered today. And as you exhale, feel that you're grounding into this present whole version of you, take another inhale and feel yourself, reclaiming all the parts of you that you love scattered this past week, this past month. And as you exhale kind of grounding into this whole version of you.
Rebecca Rankin (11:14):
Taking it in how feel yourself reclaiming all the parts of you that you have scattered this past year, previous years, all the years. And as you exhale grounding into this whole version of you, one more breath in part your lips. Exhale. My hope is that these three tips help you stay more grounded and help you not lose your sense of self. When you do say yes to all the things that light you up.
Rebecca Rankin (11:50):
One, knowing where you're at in your cycle to better understand your needs. Two creating a go to quick movement practice, to help you just be grounded and care for your yourself and your needs first. And three, ending your day with a clearing and grounding practice. Now, if you're interested in learning more about working with your female biochemistry to align your, your self-care to work kind of with your natural rhythm and not against it, check out the link in the show notes for the Women's Moon Wisdom self-care framework. It contains 60 movement meditation, and breathwork practices to sync up to your cycle, as well as journal prompts and habit trackers, to really help you kinda lean into working with your, your female biochemistry. And if you find this podcast inspiring and, and helpful, be sure to share it with a friend who might get something out of it too. Thanks again for being with me today. And I will talk to you in the next episode.
