The power of knowing your baseline
Building a culture of cycle literacy that goes beyond symptom management
Most of the clients I see are in crisis.
They’ve getting intense cramping before their period for the first time…
They’ve suddenly started seeing spotting in between their bleeds…
They’ve been trying to conceive without success for 6+ months…
Most of my clients have never considered their menstrual-ovulatory cycle as a key indicator of their overall well-being before…until something was clearly wrong.
Lately, I’ve been wondering how to meet cycling folks before these moments of acute symptom management. How can we build a culture of cycle literacy that helps us better know and understand our bodies and its baseline?
I’m going to share a little bit about why you might want to understand your cycle before you sense something might be wrong.
The Importance of Knowing Your Baseline
The menstrual-ovulatory cycle is a “Fifth Vital Sign” and an important window into understanding your body’s rhythms.
Tracking your cycle allows you to understand when you’re fertile (whether you’re trying to avoid conception or consciously conceive) - but there are so many pathologies that can show up on a chart, including:
Early perimenopause
PCOS
Anovulation
Adrenal stress
Hypothyroidism
The list goes on.
By tracking patterns over time, you gain valuable insight into your body and its well-being.
What is Cycle Charting?
Cycle Charting is a simple daily practice comprised of:
Daily cervical fluid & basal body temperature checks
Tracking optional secondary signs
Writing them down and interpreting them
That’s it!
The method has a range of practical applications (I’ve been using it as my primary form of non-hormonal contraception for 7+ years!), but the gifts of this practice go far beyond that.
Charting my cycle has equipped me with invaluable tools to understand whether something was positively or negatively impacting my overall well-being.
It’s made me a true partner in my healthcare by giving me insight into progression of symptoms, pain levels, emotional patterns, and more.
Early Detection & Better Diagnosis
Knowing your baseline makes early detection of health issues much easier. Without understanding what your baseline is, it’s challenging to identify irregularities or changes that might require medical attention.
My Cycle Charting practice empowered me to request a scan for fibroids when I started showing symptoms in my chart.
I’m so grateful that I found these fibroids when I did so I could start on a holistic protocol. For many conditions, early intervention can be especially important in preventing further complications.
A Cycle Tracking practice might let us understand and see the subtle symptoms earlier on.
Tracking Cyclical Symptoms
Most of my clients are just tracking their periods.
But your bleed is not necessarily the “main event” of your cycle - ovulation is!
Tracking ovulation is incredibly important, even if you’re not trying to conceive.
If your body isn’t ovulating, you aren’t getting the protective effects of progesterone to balance out estrogen.
Tracking my cycle helped me see that my luteal phase was slightly shorter than desired and has given me tools to work towards greater balance. Progesterone supports mood, the health of the uterine lining, and much more, and I’ve noticed a huge shift in my overall well-being in terms of sleep and stress levels.
My Cycle Charting practice has also empowered me to experiment with different supplements and diet changes to see what is most supportive of my luteal phase (absorbic acid to lengthen my luteal phase seems to be working, for instance!).
Demystifying Your Cycle
Knowing your baseline is the first step toward understanding how your body works. By tracking your menstrual-ovulatory health, you empower yourself with the tools you need to spot irregularities early and get the support you need.
If you’re interested in learning how to track your cycle to help you work in harmony with your body, our Spring CycleSense cohort begins April 1st!
You’ll learn how to chart and interpret your cycle - and the course includes two individual session so you can feel confident in your own practice.
To learn more, visit helloearthbody.com/class-series
With gratitude,
Kate