Your Period isn't Just Your Period // The Ovulation Cycle, Part 4

Dear ones,

If the follicular phase is foreplay, and ovulation is the climax, and the luteal phase is the afterglow…then the menstrual phase is something else entirely.

Not the end. But the descent. The place where everything that has been building releases. The place where the system stops moving outward and turns all the way inward. The place where the body says: we’re not going forward right now—we’re going down.

This is not a failure of the cycle

We’ve been taught to see this phase as:

• inconvenient

• painful

• something to manage

• something to get through

But in a healthy system, this phase has a function.

It is:

• release

• reset

• recalibration

Not just physically—but energetically, emotionally, and neurologically.

The physiology (what’s actually happening)

Throughout the cycle, your body is building something.

Estrogen helps grow the uterine lining—creating structure.

After ovulation, progesterone comes in and does something different: it stabilizes and enriches that lining

It makes it:

• thicker

• more nourished

• more receptive

Not just bigger—but capable of sustaining life If an embryo were to implant, this is the environment it would need.

But if pregnancy doesn’t occur—that entire structure is no longer needed. So the body lets it go. That’s what menstruation is. Not random bleeding: a release of something that was intentionally built.

So, if pregnancy does not occur:

• Progesterone drops

• Estrogen drops

• The uterine lining sheds

This hormonal drop is significant. Because progesterone—the hormone that holds and stabilizes—is now gone.

So what you may feel is:

• more inward

• more sensitive

• more raw

• more tired

• less interested in outward engagement

Not because something is wrong. But because the system is no longer being buffered. And because it’s not meant to be.

This is why this phase is so readable

A lot of people refer to the menstrual phase as a kind of “report card.” I don’t love that language. Because it implies:

• pass / fail

• good / bad

But there is something true underneath it.

This is the phase where the body is:

• most visible

• most tangible

• easiest to observe

You can actually see:

• how much you bleed

• how long it lasts

• the color

• the consistency

• whether there is pain

• whether there is ease

Which makes this phase one of the clearest reflections of: what’s been happening across the entire cycle. Not as judgment. As information.

This is why I talk about the ovulation cycle as a vital sign. Because like any vital sign—it gives you information about how the system is functioning. Not just in this moment. But over time.

The menstrual phase is simply the part of the cycle where that information is easiest to see.

A note on vital signs (and what comes before them)

This is why the ovulation cycle is considered a vital sign. Because it reflects multiple systems working together:

• hormonal

• neurological

• metabolic

• emotional

It’s not just about reproduction. It’s a reflection of your system’s capacity for life. And the menstrual phase is simply the part of the cycle where that information becomes most visible.

But there’s something that often shifts before the cycle does: Libido. Libido is more sensitive. More responsive.

More easily influenced by:

• stress

• disconnection

• lack of safety

• depletion

Which is why I often refer to it as the canary in the coal mine of female physiology. Your cycle may still look “normal.” But if your libido has shifted, dropped, or redirected—that’s information. Not something to fix immediately. But something to pay attention to.

Because the body rarely jumps straight to dysfunction. It signals first. Subtly. Then more clearly. And over time—more structurally.

Libido is often one of the first places that signal appears. The cycle shows you what’s happening—libido shows you what’s starting to change.

Chinese medicine lens

In Chinese medicine, menstruation is deeply connected to:

• Blood (Xue)

• the Liver

• and the downward movement of Qi

This phase is about:

• descending

• letting go

• releasing what is no longer needed

When this movement is supported:

• bleeding is smooth

• there is a sense of relief

• the body lets go cleanly

When it’s not:

• there can be pain

• stagnation

• emotional intensity

• a feeling of being stuck

Because the system is trying to release—but something is holding.

Ayurvedic lens...Read the rest of this post here

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