So you and/or the people you work with already have an Internal Family Systems informed (IFS) practice, and you have become blissfully aware that you are made up of not one, but many “parts”, all of whom ultimately have your needs in mind.
One of the greatest blessings of your IFS practice includes acceptance that you have wide ranging and sometimes conflicting beliefs, thoughts and feelings. You have come to understand that many of your parts, even the ones who can cause you distress (like the parts who drive unhealthy behaviors, anxiety, anger or depression) are in fact acting in defense of pain and intensity, which at one time was intolerable.
Even though you are learning to “un blend” from your parts, and seek more support from that growing well of “Self-energy” within you, you still HURT sometimes, and feel stuck in patterns that don’t serve you.
You want to deepen your practice further and involve the whole-body mind system in your healing.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness (MCA) is the practice of understanding and connecting with the different phases of the menstrual cycle, and be empowered to live in harmony with your cyclical nature. It involves paying attention to physical, emotional, and mental changes throughout each phase and with this knowledge, to make informed decisions about daily activities, self-care, and overall well-being.
As a woman with many years of practice tracking my own cycle, and a Clinical Psychologist and IFS therapist with a special interest in the role of the body in therapy, I have come to learn how beautifully these two healing modalities complement each other.
Just as you might already track your parts, notice when you are blended versus in a state of Self-energy, witness your parts’ fears, and identify areas for healing by attending to your internal family, MCA supports you to notice which parts are more likely to be activated, and how much access you have to Self-energy in response, according to the phases of your cyclical body.
Cycle tracking provides a guide for following and understanding the two key energy shifts that many people experience throughout the menstrual month; while your IFS practice makes sense of why you are more likely to blend with protector parts, versus younger, and more vulnerable exile energies, in the respective cycle phases.
Adding MCA into your IFS practice will give you a theoretical framework for:
- Why angry protectors and exile energies are more active pre-menstrually
- Supporting the un-blending process by meeting your body needs for rest and reflection
- How cyclical distress could actually be your body giving you trailheads to your exiled parts
- Why & how you “cope better” at other points in the cycle
- What embodied healing is and feels like
- The optimal time and way to witness and heal burdened parts
- A natural, intuitive, non-judgemental framework for attuning to the body’s rhythms and communications
- A guide to begin to explore the different states of Self energy, and how your cyclical body might gift you access to new levels of spiritual connection and guidance
If working in this way appeals to you, then you can request a free consultation to consider what it might be like to work 1:1, guiding your therapy from a genuine place of mind-body integration.
I have developed this framework in partnership with Dr Lara Owen, who is recognised internationally for her pioneering and continuing work on menstruation. Together later this year we are offering a 4-day training retreat, where we will present these ideas and concepts publicly for the first time, to a small group, in a beautiful unspoiled countryside retreat. The workshop sessions will be supported by a range of optional activities including swimming in the pool and lake, walks in the surrounding woodland, and restorative yoga, insuring that learning and self-discovery can occur in an optimal rested state. You can read more and book your space here: https://laraowen.com/trauma-and-the-menstrual-cycle/
