A balanced life is a much sought after ideal in our Society however, very few appear to have attained this desirable state. Could this be because we actually ignore the very natural alignment that could bring about our true balance, namely an alignment with the cycles of repose and motion?
We live surrounded by cycles. Whether it be the cycles of the four seasons, the moon, activity in the animal kingdom, or the womanly cycle of menstruation and ovulation, as well as the post menopausal cycle, we are all nestled in, and nurtured by, natural cycles that support us to move and live in a rhythmic balance of motion and repose. These rhythms offered to us by Nature align us with the essence that lies within us all. Our bodies respond innately to both the cycles and to our essence, impulsing us to sleep, to rest and to work in a gentle, vitalising rhythm. We can even choose to dress in a manner that either responds to and works with these cycles, or is reactive and so works against them, effectively putting us out of synch with the rest of Nature.
The factor common to all natural cycles is their innate balance of motion and repose. Within our own bodies, this is echoed in our physiology: between each heartbeat, there is a rest; at the conclusion of one cycle of in and out breath, there is a pause; we work by day and we sleep at night, supported by our body’s natural chemistry.
By contrast, our world at large focuses almost exclusively on motion, almost always avoiding the repose part of any cycle. Even our daily cycle of activity (motion) and sleep (repose) is for many of us very much out of balance. We have super - active days often followed by restless nights. It often seems that our drive to get things done efficiently has resulted in sleep being viewed as non productive downtime, a necessary act that the physical body requires to recover and to regenerate, whilst apparently bearing little or no relevance to our daily grind.
Approaching our nightly rest in this way, often means that we are so wound up from the intense motion, that we are unable to access the deep repose of e.g an infant, which still resides within us all. Indeed, many of us can only access sleep through the support of pharmaceuticals (1), alcohol and herbal supplements like valerian or ‘natural’ supplements like melatonin.
Living in the abuse of this cycle like this ultimately leads to exhaustion, where we have to kickstart our days with stimulants like coffee and sugary drinks just to get us going, topped up regularly during the day to sustain us. Hence it also seems logical that the type and quality of our daily motion is qualitatively far less than it could be, too.
Is there a natural beauty in the sleep cycle itself that we are missing?
Sleep not only brings a sense of completion to the activities of our day, it also offers us the ability to rest deeply and to enjoy a surrendered settlement in our body. When we allow this, the body falls into its own divine rhythm of early to bed, early to rise. There is a natural rhythm inherent in the body itself, which we’ve avoided for so long, which indicates our day actually commences the previous evening. Our sleep is a loving preparation, which imbues us with everything we will need for the following day. So, our quality of repose is super-important. Sleep can hold us so tenderly and as profoundly precious, if we but allow it.
There would be widespread sweeping changes if we ever collectively started to honour this rhythm and allow it to impulse us naturally. Our whole body intelligence (2), would align us with the true rhythms of motion and repose, where our bodies govern the timing and quality of our sleep, as well as the type and quality of activity in which we engage daily. This is in stark contrast to the sugar fuelled and mentally driven activity that so many of us experience.
Similarly, when we have the opportunity to rest during a holiday break, we often choose action holidays. For those who prefer the beach, we continue the daily cycles of uppers and downers – our coffee, alcohol, food etc. Both instances result in us not accessing the depth and quality of a true repose because our body is constantly having to process these substances that are unnatural to it and inhibit its innate rhythms.
Another cycle particularly pertinent to women is the monthly menstrual cycle. This too has an innate natural rhythm of motion and repose. Many factors contribute to our collective lack of awareness of this rhythm: our lifestyle of constant motion; the use of the pill and other contraceptives; the pictures we are fed, and then believe, that equality means taking on masculine characteristics and competing with men on these terms. The latter is further endorsed by a multitude of media images selling feminine hygiene products, which indicate how we women can (and should!) do anything, regardless of the timing of our menstrual cycles or of our delicate physiology.
How many of us stop and rest on our menstruation days, unless we have ignored this need for so long that we end up with extreme PMS and HAVE to stop? How many of us can feel within our own bodies when we ovulate and from which ovary? These are clear indications that we as a society are not tuning into, and honouring to the extent that we could, our womanly cycles. And yet turning this around can be as simple as bringing a focus and awareness to our bodies and how we feel daily. (3)
Moreover, how many women are even aware that there is actually a post menopausal cycle – full stop? (4) This too has an inbuilt rhythm of motion and repose in alignment with the lunar cycle. (5) Pushing through and ignoring our basic womanly monthly cycles, as well as their intricacies, robs us all of the opportunity of resting and working in a different way, as the cycles require. Allowing the cycles to support us brings a greater connection with the wisdom inherent in every woman’s body. Our periods are a clearing and a discarding of what we have taken on in the previous month – which then often manifests as the pain, the sore breasts of PMS.
However these messages from the body are for us to be aware of how we are being with ourselves every moment of every day. Potentially, each monthly period can be a letting go of what does not support us as women from the previous month; ovulation then offers us a new beginning, to move on in a new rhythm that honours and confirms our womanly essence. The beauty of this natural deepening is that it is offered for free every month that we menstruate! Some post menopausal women experience similar fluctuations in their lymphatic fluids throughout the monthly lunar cycle.
When we align with our natural cycles and their rhythm of repose and motion, our next round of activity is a flowering – an unfolding from within. When we accept, allow and surrender to the many beautiful cycles of motion and repose, our lives are then governed, not by time, but by an exquisite divine timing, where we unfold our natural balance and our innate harmony with Nature, the Universe, our bodies and with everyone else.
Written by Coleen Hensey & Esther Andras
References
Pop Til You Drop by Coleen Hensey. Online: http://www.esotericwomenshealth.com/hfw-pop-til-you-drop.htmlAccessed 14.06.2018
Serge Benhayon TV – Whole BodyIntelligence. Online: http://www.unimedliving.com/serge-benhayon/serge-benhayon-tv/whole-body-intelligence.html Accessed 14.06.2018
Our Cycles App: https://www.ourcyclesapp.comAccessed 14.06.2018
Menopause 101 – Is this the end of the Road?....No way! Online: http://www.unimedliving.com/women-s-health/menopause-health/menopause-full-stop-no-way.html Accessed 14.06.2018
Our Cycles App. Online: https://www.ourcyclesapp.com/womenandthefullmoondiary Accessed 14.06.2018