What I wish I had known about my cycle

Welcome to this space of encounter, which I have created with a lot of love and care. I'd like this corner to be a place to share experiences: whatever has helped us grow and see who we are, and our way of being in the world, with new eyes.

A little about me. I started out studying social work, wishing to make this world a better place. Over time I discovered the transforming power of art, meditation, yoga and music: wonderful tools to know ourselves, reconnect with ourselves and create community. That is what I'd like to nurture here.

None of these lessons would mean the same without what I have learned about the menstrual cycle. Women's circles were an essential part of my path to understanding our cyclical nature, and they left me wanting to go deeper. Here I am, still at it: sharing what I keep learning as a menstrual educator and listening to the women who walk beside me in life.

I want to bring all of this here, in case it serves you too, and to keep nourishing our knowledge among ourselves, as our ancestors did.

To introduce myself, I'll begin with a few things I wish I had known much earlier.

Seven things I wish I had known

1. The cycle is not just your period

The menstrual cycle goes far beyond your period. Your period is the beginning, the menstrual phase. Then come the pre-ovulatory, ovulatory and premenstrual phases, and each phase has its own things: its energy, its emotions and its needs. Looking at the whole cycle helps you understand many things that happen between one period and the next.

2. You are not the same all month, and that's fine

Your energy, your wish to be with people or to be alone, the way you concentrate… they change throughout the cycle. It isn't a lack of consistency: it's your rhythm. Knowing it lets you organise yourself with it, not against it.

3. Your cycle doesn't have to look like anyone else's

Every cycle is unique. What books say, or what your friend lives, is a map, not a measure. Your body knows best.

4. You can talk about your period out loud

Without lowering your voice, without hiding the pad up your sleeve. It's part of our body, no more and no less. When we name it naturally, we also take better care of ourselves.

5. Strong pain is not something you have to put up with

Some discomfort can be normal. But if the pain stops you from getting on with your day, it's worth talking to a health professional. Pain like that can also be a sign that something in your body is out of balance and needs attention. Listening to yourself is that, too.

6. The pill doesn't regulate your cycle: it pauses it

Many of us were prescribed the pill very young to "regulate" our period, for acne or for pain, without anyone explaining what it did. Most pills stop ovulation, and the bleeding in the break week isn't a period: it's the body's response to the drop in hormones. That's why I believe the pill should only be prescribed in very specific cases, and not as the answer to everything: it means a very big hormonal change for the body.

We live in a culture that tends to medicalise the cycle: to cover up discomfort before listening to it. You have the right to ask, to understand what is happening to you and to decide. A professional who explains and listens to you is also part of care.

7. Observing yourself is a gift you give yourself

Writing down how you feel each day, even just one word, slowly shows you your own rhythm. Little by little you stop being surprised and start keeping yourself company.

That's why this space exists

Sabiduría cíclica was born from the wish to share all this with you: what science says, what nature teaches and what the women who came before us have always known.

Here you'll find:

• The four phases of your cycle, explained calmly in Your cycle.
• Plants, infusions and recipes for each moment, in Plants and infusions and the Cyclical recipe book.
• How are you?, a card to ask yourself each day what your body needs.
• Community: circles, shared knowledge and a space to ask and offer.

None of this is a rule. The phases are a guide; you walk your own path.

And now, you

What do you wish you had known? If you feel like it, tell me through the website or in the community. I'd love to read you.

Come whenever you like and stay as long as you need.