Unlocking Your Body's Blueprint: The Transformative Power of Menstrual Cycle Awareness

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Transcript

Lindsey Vestal What an extreme joy to introduce my two guests on the OT for Pelvic health podcast. It is Lexy Martinez and Jessica Dobson. They are incredible powerhouse duo who presented at the OTs and Pelvic health Summit. On the topic of menstrual cycles. We were all blown away with the wealth and knowledge and practical tips that they both provided. So I just had to get them on the yacht for Pelvic health podcast to share some of the nuggets of wisdom that they brought to the third annual Boaties and Pelvic health Summit. I find it so incredibly delightful that both Lexy and Jessica have both gone through the trauma informed Pelvic health certification that both Lauder Rosea and I offer. And I think that comes across in their thoughtfulness and reflective information. Let me give you their official backgrounds. Lexy is a trauma informed pelvic health occupational therapist who supports mothers to feel good in their bodies and confident in their roles. Through her private mobile practice, she loves uncovering what motivates people to make meaningful change in their lives, using habits, routines and education as tools for transformation. Using menstrual cycle awareness as one of her favorite tools to help her clients feel at home in their bodies. Jessica Dobson is a dedicated pelvic health O.T. with a focus on digestive health issues, hormones and trauma informed care. Jessica is a self-described health and wellness cheerleader committed to educating others about their bodies. Whether it's related to digestive health, menstrual health, mental health or physical wellness. In addition to being a certified yoga instructor and Reeky practitioner, Jessica recently obtained certification as a trauma informed Pelvic health practitioner. When she is not caring for her two young children, she enjoys dancing, singing, working out, hiking and comedy. Her favorite quote is Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. Oscar Wilde serves as her personal motto. You may notice that my voice sounds a little bit different. I just got back from attending the Colorado State Oat Conference, where I literally laughed so hard that I think I lost my voice. I highly recommend that conference as it was just incredible. Incredible. Incredible. 

Intro New and seasoned OTs are finding their calling in Pelvic health. After all, what's more ADL than sex, peeing and poop? But here's the question What does it take to become a successful, fulfilled and thriving OT in Pelvic health? How do you go from beginner to seasons and everything in between? Those are the questions and this podcast will give you the answers. We are inspired OTs, we are out of the box OTs, we are Pelvic health OTs. I'm your host Lindsey Vestal and welcome to the OTs and Pelvic health Podcast. 

Lindsey Vestal I am delighted to have you, Lexy and Jessica, on the OTs for Pelvic health podcast. I am reeling with enthusiasm because we just got back from the third annual OTs and Pelvic health Summit where you both blew us away with your presentation on menstrual cycles and with all of the enthusiasm that we are getting throughout the summit and afterwards, all the questions that were coming in on our OTs for Pelvic health Facebook group, we thought like, Let's get you two on on a podcast. So this information doesn't just stay in the summit. Like this is such fundamental, important information that we have to get out there. So thank you both of you so much for jumping on and resharing your knowledge on the podcast episode today. 

Jessica Dobson Thank you. Thanks for having us. We're super excited to talk more about menstrual cycles. 

Lexy Martinez I am still reeling from from the summit too, and so excited to be here and just kind of like keep writing this wave and have this conversation. 

Lindsey Vestal Amazing. All right. So talk us through the seasons of the menstrual cycle. I loved the way you both presented this. I think it was so clear and I know it really helped so many of us in the audience see this almost with new eyes. So I loved for, if you don't mind talking us through the seasons of the menstrual cycle and if you can include three tips that you wish everyone knew about each phase. 

Lexy Martinez Okay, so I'll start and go through the the seasons of the cycle. So it's there are there are several people who have talked about the menstrual cycle through the lens of seasons like the seasons over the course of the year. And it's just, I think, a really approachable way to begin to understand all the fluctuations that we experienced throughout the menstrual cycle. And before I even get started on any of this, I just I always like to pause. And just so everybody is clear, when I talk about the menstrual cycle, I am talking about the full cycle, like the 28 ish days, what it might fluctuate for you, but I'm talking about the full cycle. Whereas your period or when you bleed, that is the menstrual phase. So I just like to make that clear from the beginning. But so Jess and I decided to present our information through the lens of those seasons. And then because we're occupational therapists, we really wanted to bring that in. And so we kind of decided to add this other layer to it and look at it through these kind of domain areas, right? So we were looking at our physical needs, like movement and nutrition, emotional well-being, rest and cognitive function and then social participation and intimacy. And so for each of the four phases. So, you know, this is kind of what we're looking at so that we can be sure we're being really occupation centered and holistic. And so we'll start with day one, and that's the first day of your period. That's the menstrual phase that lasts on average about five days, although that depends on the person. And this is sort of the equivalent to the season of winter, right? This is usually a time when we are lowest energetically. We want to rest. It's a time of reflection and evaluation. We're kind of, I don't know, getting a picture like getting cozy inside. Right? But really that time of rest. And then we go into the follicular phase, which is there's a lot of issues here, right? So around day 7 to 13 ish because it depends on how long your cycle is. But this is the equivalent of springtime. And you think of spring as a reemerging starting new things, kind of being a little bit more playful and exploratory. Right? And then from there, we move into ovulation and that's around days 14 to 21 ish. And this is like our summer time. We're connecting with others, we're really productive and we have lots of energy and pleasure sort of rules in this phase of the menstrual cycle in the attempt to get us to reproduce. Right. But it serves a lot of other purposes as well. And then lastly, we go into the luteal phase, which is around these 22 to 28 ish. And this is like the autumn time harvest. We're sort of taking in everything that we've done throughout the whole of the cycle. We're finishing things up, we're making decisions about things. Those that are lingering, getting organized kind of just and we have this kind of calm focus that helps us to do all of those things and get ready to come back around then back to our menstrual phase and be ready for that rest again and the cycle starts again. 

Jessica Dobson So a few things to consider when we're talking about menstruation. So the time of bleed, this is a time when our hormones are very low. So we want to be mindful of the rest we need at this time. It's also something to consider as pain periods should not be super painful. So that's something I would like people to be aware of. And then also, this is a time that your body is shedding the lining of the uterus. So that is what the bleed is. And then we have our follicular phase. So our hormones are increasing, like Lexy said. But this is when our estrogen is starting to rise. We have more energy. We are able to participate in more activities. So it's a great time to plan vacations or meetings or more social gatherings. And then the aviation phase, which we're getting higher with our estrogen here. So we have more energy. One thing to consider about that phase is the risk of injury. So sports related injuries because we are doing more. And there are some studies that suggest that during the ovulation phase, we are more prone to injuries. So just paying attention to our form when we're exercising. And then the luteal phase, something to consider here is this is the time to take a step back and really address your needs. So I always explain this to my patients as the two weeks before you start menstruating are is the time that you need to take rest. You need to take a moment to address any self-care needs because that is how your menstrual cycles will show up. So if you didn't take care of your body in those two weeks, you may experience more premenstrual syndrome. You may experience a heavier bleed or more symptoms of pain. 

Lexy Martinez More irritability too. I would add in there too, Jess is like that. I think when we don't have that self-care in place, it really shows up in the luteal phase with those physical symptoms and then also with kind of like lower tolerance of sensory stimulation. The, you know, the our interactions with others, people in our family. And we can become really irritable and it can be really, really challenging time for most people. I think they would say that that's their most challenging phase. 

Jessica Dobson Yes. But I have also grown to love it because it's a really nice time to, like I said, take a step back and just evaluate your needs. And if you can communicate that to your family, then you're going to set yourself up for success a little better. 

Lindsey Vestal Amazing. I that the way you guys describe this just resonates with me so much. And I love the focus back on occupations and our lens. Like I haven't I haven't heard you prior to your presentation. I just haven't heard it explained that way. So that's brilliant. So if you two don't mind sharing just because I think it can make this even more applicable and real for us as we're taking in this incredible information that you're presenting. Where are you to in your cycle and how are you currently supporting yourself in this phase? 

Jessica Dobson I'm in of elation phase. So I spent the weekend out with friends. I had extra energy. I went out dancing. I also later have to go back to my Amazon account because this is the time where I tend to want to purchase things. I want a new outfit, I might want some jewelry, so I need to self check that later and delete a few things. 

Lexy Martinez Now I'm on day seven, so I'm in my follicular phase just kind of coming out of the menstrual phase. And I am definitely feeling it's funny because a couple of days ago I was thinking, my gosh, how am I possibly going to be able to handle all the things I have on my plate right now? And today, I've really felt this shift to like, having more motivation. And, I don't know, I feel like ready to roll up my sleeves and make some plans. And so that's kind of that's pretty consistent for me. It's it's like, okay, all of a sudden I feel like I can handle this. Let's figure it out. And then the challenge for me during this phase is because I have a tendency to really want to like, get going again. And especially after the menstrual phase where I'm like resting and really trying to, I don't know, lay low. After a couple of days, it's like, okay, let me go do all the things that I, you know, that I hadn't been doing for those few days. And so for this phase, I really have to work on like that really slow reemerging and sort of taking things easy, pacing myself so that I can have some gas in the tank for my ovulatory phase and be able to do all the amazing things that Jess has the energy to do that now that she is in her ovulatory phase. So that's something that I try to do for myself to support myself in, in the follicular phase is just kind of like going slow, being curious, being mindful and, you know, like having fun with the ideas that are coming to me. 

Lindsey Vestal What's so clear about this information that you guys are sharing is that you are anticipating some of the mental and physical characteristics that you guys might expect to experience because you guys have been tracking this in your own lives for a while, are very passionate about these topics. And I'm curious if Lexye, I think I've heard you mention this before, that you also share this information with your family, right? So that people in your close environment kind of know what also to anticipate. Would you mind sharing a little bit about how that system works for your family? 

Lexy Martinez Sure. Yes. There are definitely times now I've been doing menstrual cycle awareness for probably, I don't know, four years now. So it's pretty embedded into our family life. And there are definitely days where my husband knows that I'm transitioning into my luteal phase and I'm not even aware. But he's like, Hey, you should go check the calendar. And I look and I'm like, yeah, it's day 19. So it's nice because sometimes even with tracking, I'm not even aware of those, those transitions and my changing needs. But because I have kept my husband in the loop and you know, he's helping me and reminding me because it benefits him as well as it does me and it benefits our children as well. You know, and I, I guess an aside as I have three daughters, right? So it's just like there's this added layer of importance to having that kind of awareness in our home of what happens during the menstrual phase, because one day they're all going to be going through that too. But I mean, basically we just have our wall calendar up in the kitchen and it's nothing fancy. I mean, I have a more involved thing that I use to bring awareness to my menstrual cycle. But our calendar hanging in the kitchen has, you know, like who's doing pick up from this activity and that activity or whatever. But up in the corner in a red pen, I write which day of the cycle it is. And I always put like a big circle around day one, and I try to do a circle around my transition to the luteal phase because it tends to be like, although it's gotten better over the years, it still tends to be kind of like a record skip of a day for me. And so that's all we use. You know, it's it's pretty simple, but it really has helped us over the years to, I don't know, just really for him to support me. And, you know, he's also because of that really good at knowing when he'll pick up the slack a little bit, when it's when I'm in my menstrual phase and like take the kids out of the house for a couple of hours, you know, or go grab dinner. So there doesn't have to be any cooking done, that sort of thing. So yeah, when you clue in your partners and the people in your household, not only is it easier to support yourself, but I think it just kind of brings some harmony into family life. And if you've got little kids around or, you know, even if you don't like, harmony does not hurt. So I don't know. I just think that there's there's a lot of pluses there. 

Lindsey Vestal I love that. I really appreciate you talking us through, like the practice. A class of how you're doing it and how it's just the paper calendar in your kitchen, in your shared space that anyone walking by can see. And I love that example that you're setting for your three beautiful daughters. Lexy, I am curious if there is there's so much here, right? So I want to kind of make this as straightforward and eye opening and simple as possible of a conversation, despite the fact this literally could be probably like a weekend course that you two offer or longer. What is one thing you wish other therapists and or clients knew? Just like one thing about menstrual cycle tracking. 

Jessica Dobson I really wish that we knew how important it was that educators that we started at a younger age learning what tracking means, explaining the menstrual cycle, and not just for our female children, but also for the males. There's so much stigma around menstruation that wouldn't it be beautiful if we lived in a world where we all understood what it meant? We understood the cycle. We knew the difference between the 24 hour cycle with male hormones and the cyclical nature of menstruation. And so I just really envisioned a world where this was embedded in education at a young age. I just like Lexye. I get my kids involved. I well, we do it with the moon and they're always asking me in the full moon if I'm bleeding. And it's just a really good way. Like there's no there's a few bad about having a menstrual cycle. It's a powerful tool. So I just wish we knew and really gravitated towards the superpower of having a menstrual cycle. 

Lexy Martinez Totally agree. Jess, I, I, I feel like. I wish I had come to this knowledge earlier in my life. I didn't learn about it until after I'd had my third baby. And it was amazing to learn about it then. But my gosh, if I had learned about it like before I started menstruating, like I just think of how I could have leaned into those superpowers, like you said, all these years. So I totally agree. And I guess for me, the one thing that I wish everybody knew and it's is how simple menstrual cycle tracking can be. It can be. You can make it. As multi layered as you want it to be also. And that is super fun. I mean, I have a lot of fun doing all kinds of things with my practice, but it can be so, so simple. It doesn't have to be this big thing. And so I think when we're talking to friends or family members or clients, it's just, you know, you can start small. You can track one thing, one symptom. You could write down one word a day that just sort of encompasses how you felt that day. And the idea of doing that simple little shift. Right. Is going to help us to be more consistent with this practice, which I think and I think Jess agrees with me on this is the most important piece of this is that consistency and really attuning to your body regularly so that over the course of several months, years, you know, you have you can see patterns, you can identify when those patterns change. Right? But you know, really just to make it simple for our clients and let them know like what's what's something that seems fun or interesting for you to know about your body? Maybe it's just I don't know how you relate to your partner across the, you know, over the course of the month. You know, maybe you do want to track physical symptoms like, you know, mood or, you know, your energy levels, but it can just be one thing and it should be one thing that motivates them. And I think that's why OTs are really, really so well-suited to bringing this into our our practice with clients. 

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Lindsey Vestal So I love how our conversation so far has been around the different seasons, but I'm thinking about kind of taking a slightly different look at this. So what I'm thinking now is how we can support our clients during their life stages, right? So like the bigger the bigger periods of time. So we've got like men arc, we've got pregnancy, we've got postpartum, perhaps like when the periods return postpartum and then perimenopause. And I'm wondering how can cycle tracking help? These parts of our life stages and perhaps these these are also the times when our periods are sort of like the wackiest or the least predictable, right? So when we start our period, perhaps during pregnancy, again, postpartum, right. When they return and then perimenopause. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  

Lexy Martinez Yeah. Tracking during transitions. I mean, we think about that first period going through puberty and even pregnancy, you know, when we just don't have a period. I mean, we're often thinking about the baby that's growing inside of us at that point. But, you know, we don't have that same anchor that we did before. And then, like you said, like postpartum when you win and there's hormonal changes there and then peri menopause, I mean, these are all times of. Less predictability. Often there are times of upheaval. You know, depending on your experience, it can feel you can feel really unmoored. And so I like to think of tracking as a mindfulness tool, really. You know, and I think that if you're going through any sort of huge life transition, like the ones that we mentioned, just taking a moment each day and as OTs, we know how important it is to consider the when. Make it part of your daily routine. When does it make sense for you to engage in this practice and have it be a part of your daily routine and just take a moment to attuned to your experience for that day? As I mentioned earlier, just and I look at all of these menstrual cycle signs and symptoms through these areas of like our physical needs, emotional well-being, our need for rest and our desire for social participation and intimacy. And again, it doesn't have to be all of those, but just to take a moment to think about what it is that's speaking to you and just note them, you know, keep it super simple, write it down, use an app, use a calendar on the whatever it is. Just keep it simple. But the every day consistency of attuning to the body is something in itself can be really anchoring during those times of transitions. And while it may feel often like there are no patterns in sight. If you you might be surprised that where it felt like on the day to day there were no patterns over the course of time you may be able to identify some. And if not, that's okay because you're still anchoring into your own body. And that's always a good thing, right? And so I guess I would just say that, you know, tracking is a way to increase our interception. And when we increase our interception, we're regulating our nervous system. And that's a good thing. And so that can help us to cope with all of the upheaval during those transitions. Right. And I would also add on to this piece that just being really mindful of other rhythms outside of the menstrual cycle. Right? We have our, you know, even your daily rhythm of like, when are you waking up, when are you going to sleep? Maybe you have like one day consistently every week that you're going outside for a walk and trying to maintain consistency in those other rhythms. When the menstrual rhythm is, you know, feeling out of whack can really help to ground you during those times. I love that. 

Lindsey Vestal That was that was phenomenal description there, Lexy. So on the summit Facebook page that we have, I did a quick post letting folks know that you guys were going to do an encore and come on to the podcast and speak about this. And I know we had tons of questions that came in. Folks are so curious and want so many resources. And so I'm really excited that the two of you are aware of that and I think have some some plans in the works to to get more and more information out there. And so I'm encouraging everyone to stay tuned because I know we're going to keep hearing such incredible things from the two of you on this topic. But if you don't mind, I would love to just focus a little bit more on what if the client is not menstruating. I felt like that was a theme that came up and a lot of the questions that folks wanted to hear more about and what they really wanted to know was how do you explain how do you explain that women still have a cycle when they're bleeding is no longer a factor? How do you guys explain this and talk about this with clients? 

Jessica Dobson Yeah, this is when I think about those questions and just a shout out for any time you want to do an informational course, ask what the people want to hear. Because sometimes we different than what you think it's going to be. But I was so excited that people are wanting to learn more about perimenopause and menopause because the truth is there's just not a lot of resources. We don't prepare as a culture or a society for people to move into transition out of having menstrual cycles. We spend a third of our life post-menopausal, and yet we have no resources to tell us what that's going to look like. So the way I explain it to clients and this is something new I'm experimenting with because time and time again I get the client coming into my office. This and tell me about I just retired and I don't know what to do with my time. Everything seems chaotic. I could do everything, but I end up doing nothing and I find cycle tracking. It has a new purpose in this time. So not having a menstrual cycle, maybe you've had a hysterectomy or your postpartum. It's still a time to look for trends like Lexy was explaining to us the importance of anchoring into our bodies. But we can look at it differently. We can track with a monthly calendar just looking at what your month looks like. We still have hormones after menopause, we still have estrogen. It's just in different parts of our body now, our fat cells, our brain. So we can still track our hormone symptoms because it could be key information on what's going on with the rest of the body. The thyroid issues that happen post-menopausal are oftentimes missed and really lately diagnosed because we're not looking at those things. So it's a beautiful way to want to help you transition into this new, hopefully beautiful time of your life and finding a way to track what's happening, to make sense of what the new rhythm is. So I like to use the calendar month. Some people love the idea of tracking with the moon because it is cyclical and it is consistent, and so that resonates with some people. And you can track a word a day. You can track a symptom like fatigue. What's your sleep cycles like? How's your energy? All of those can tell us about the hormones in our body. And it's information to provide to your doctor, but also understanding the new you. 

Lindsey Vestal Amazing. Thank you so much to both of you for taking the time to come on here and do an encore of this amazing presentation. We're looking forward to just keeping these conversations going because they're just such a fundamental way to not only support ourselves as clinicians, but to support our clients. So again, thank you, both of you so much for for coming on the podcast today. I absolutely loved loved learning from you. 

Lexy Martinez Love being here, Lindsey. Thanks for having us. 

Jessica Dobson Yeah, thank you. It's I'm so excited about the trend we're having with with this. And I hope more people want to learn because the information's out there and Lexye and I are ready to give more. 

Outro Thanks for listening to another episode of OTs and Pelvic health. If you haven't already, hop on to Facebook and join my group OTs for Pelvic health, where we have thousands of OTs at all stages of their Pelvic health career journey. This is such an incredibly supportive community where I go live each and every week. If you love this episode, please take a screenshot of this episode on your phone and posted to IG Facebook or wherever you post your stuff and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode. This will help me to create in the future what you want to hear more of. Thanks again for listening to the OTs and Pelvic health podcast.