Five Reasons to Track Your Cycle
I have been tracking my cycle in one way or another almost from the very start. At first it was to predict when my next period would come – please not for the big swim meet or prom! Then it was to predict the best chances of getting pregnant. More recently it was to keep an eye on my overall health and stay connected to myself.
Based on my own journey and my training as a menstrual health educator and coach, I’ve collected five ways that keeping track of your menstrual cycle helps you take care of your health and well-being.
Here they are:
1. Know Your Body
When you track your cycle, you understand how and why your unique body works the way it does. You learn to recognize your vital signs and monitor your health. You also learn what is normal for your cycle so that you can predict periods, know when something changes or when a change is concerning, and you need to see a doctor. And tracking your cycle is * the most important * first step to heal uncomfortable symptoms like cramps, acne and mood swings.
2. Give Informed Consent and Self-Advocate
When you track your cycle, you have personalized data and observations you can share with your health care providers. This helps you be an informed partner to your doctor. When you track your cycle, you are prepared to advocate for yourself and make decisions about your healthcare.
3. Take Care of Yourself
When you track your cycle, you understand how your unique cycle impacts your life which guides how you care for yourself during each phase of your cycle. You’re able to regulate your nervous system and break out of the stress – pain – stress cycle. You can show up well-resourced for all you want to be and do and serve in the world.
4. Connect with Nature & Live Authentically
When you track your cycle, you remind yourself that like 99% of all other living things on earth you live in a cycle. Tracking your cycle reminds you that like your favorite flower, you are in full bloom for a short time and that sometimes you are in a resting phase for renewal and recovery. When you track your cycle, you claim your power to live with your cycle and to show up as you are each day.
5. Practice Menstrual Cycle Awareness
Tracking your cycle is a key component of Menstrual Cycle Awareness which is a deeper practice that supports you to:
get to know yourself better
stay connected to yourself through all the ups and downs of life, work, parenthood
rely on your cycle to support you even in the midst of personal and global stressors
manage your Inner Critic
use your cycle as a foundational tool for your health and wellness or to guide your leadership or spirituality
If you’re curious to learn more, join me for Nurture Your Nature. The group classes and personalized coaching are designed to give you the information, resources, support, and time to practice that you need to discover your best tools for taking care of your health and wellbeing. Nurture Your Nature runs January through April 2025. Join live via Zoom or watch and learn whenever.
