Hi, I’m Kelly and welcome to the Raising Love podcast. Raising love within yourself as only you can.

As a woman who has been on this beautiful earth for more than 40 years, I have seen how pretty much anything to do with a woman is either dismissed, made fun of or rejected.

A woman simply cannot be a woman. She must take on the characteristics of a man in order for her to feel as though she is useful and valuable.

And it’s the crazy, patriarchal way of living that has seen women forget that there is so much infinite wisdom inside of us. Gifted to us by our ancestors, by the divine, by god or whoever you believe in. We carry this wisdom inside of us and it’s there at any time we need it.

But how do we ask for it? How do we receive it? How do we even begin to listen to ourselves again?

As women we KNOW so much more than we ever reveal. And we hold onto this wisdom, this knowing, for fear of ridicule, for fear of rejection and fear of people thinking we are batshit crazy.

For the last few thousand years, it has been the man’s way. Men dominate and women are only allowed to bear their children, clean their house and cook them dinner.

Not a pleasant existence for so many women who have come before us.

But, I bet nearly every woman who has walked this earth has felt something more inside of them. Felt a knowing and a sense of belonging that was never allowed to make it out into the public domain. But I truly hope, for many women, they found a solace in each other, connecting with each other and to themselves to feel at least a little bit free of the patriarchal shackles.

My husband would joke with me all the time about how men rule the earth and they invented and did so many things, and I’d be lucky to be a man.

I’d bite back and try to stick up for women and try to think of as many achievements as I could that women have given to our world. I’d argue that men start every war and that our world would be soooo much better if women were in charge. But I always seemed to lose the argument.

Then one day, the topic came up again. Just having a bit of a laugh, it was never really that serious. And as usual I kept trying to think of how I could win this time. I knew there was something I was missing about why women hadn’t done all these things and invented all these things and created all these things.

Then it came to me.

I said “women weren’t allowed to do anything. That’s why women haven’t done as much”.

That was it. That shut him up and I finally won that point.

And it is so true. We have had to repress ALL of who we are, our creativity, our imagination, our skills, our competence, our emotions, our thoughts, our wisdom…ALL OF IT.

It’s all had to be kept hidden so as not to diminish a man and emasculate him.

Now, I really could go on forever about this particular point, and I will in future episodes, but for now I want to move on to us amazing women and how we can tune into our infinite wisdom again and use it to empower who we are.

And the best place to start, is your body.

Of course, a woman’s body is different to a man’s. Which is why we seem to be more in tune with the earth and her cycles. Because we have a monthly cycle, which is so much more than bleeding and having (or not having) a baby.

Our menstrual cycle allows us to harness our infinite wisdom and use it to find out who we are right now, who we will become, where we have come from, what we want for our life and what creativity is inside of us ready and waiting to emerge.

In her book Women’s bodies, Women’s Wisdom; Dr Christiane Northrup takes you on a journey of discovery into your own body and all that it contains. She says “We can reclaim the wisdom of the menstrual cycle by tuning in to our cyclic nature and celebrating it as a source of our female power”.

Have you noticed how at different times of your cycle you have more energy or you just need to be alone for a day or two and hibernate or you might feel more in tune with yourself?

These changes that occur throughout the menstrual cycle have a purpose and a meaning. They are designed by our creator to support our harmony with the earth and the moon and the universe.

We use the energies from all around us to guide us. We use our feminine bodies to tap into these energies for a better understanding of ourselves and our place in this universe.

There is a perfect balance between each cycle but when we neglect our bodies and ourselves, when we forget about the wisdom inside of us and when we lose that connection; that’s when we feel out of whack, we become angry, we move through our day and our week and our month with the same old, same old groundhog day attitude, we get sick and rundown, we can’t cope anymore and life gets too hard. We want to give up.

But there is always a knowing inside of you. I call it The woman’s way.

The woman’s way of being. The woman’s way of living.

It involves eating foods that support your menstrual cycle, it involves moving your body so you don’t become exhausted and injure yourself, it involves living in harmony with your creative time and your quiet time.

See, in many cultures a woman’s cycle is actually celebrated. There are ceremonies and rituals; and women who are at their time of bleeding are honoured and respected for the wisdom which they bring forth during these few days of their cycle.

But, unfortunately, in a lot of countries this part of the cycle is seen as dirty and disgusting.

It has become another thing that women must hide about ourselves.

Thankfully, this is beginning to change. We are becoming more open about our cycles and understanding how important they are to us as women.

They are important because there are days where our intuition comes to life. And days where we get creative and adventurous and accomplished. We take action and feel alive as all of our senses are heightened and aware.

We use this time to connect and do what we can to evolve and uncover the life we are here to live.

Our cycles are not to be ashamed of. Our cycles are to be embraced and honoured.

It’s time to change our thinking about our cycles and not let any man, or woman, shame us into believing our bodies are wrong because we are only doing what comes naturally.

Women’s bodies are designed to breed new life. Not just another human life but also our own life.

Each and every month we get to evolve into someone new. We use our insight and foresight to go within and understand who we are as women, daughters, mothers, sisters, friends, auntie’s.

This is the gift that has been honoured to us.

It’s time for us to reclaim our cycle and live the Woman’s Way.

So, how do we do it? How do we honour ourselves each and every month?

Especially in a world where our day to day lives are managed by a daily cycle. The cycle of a man.

First, let’s acknowledge that you do have a monthly cycle. Whether you stop your bleed with the pill or your cycle happens to be irregular or maybe you are, or have already , gone through menopause.

If you are having issues with your cycle then I urge you to seek help from a professional who understands you are more than your symptoms. Do not let any one dismiss what you are feeling. You know your body better than anyone else. This is your Woman’s way wisdom giving you a guiding hand.

Don’t ignore it. Don’t dismiss it. Keep searching until you find the help you need.

There are many wonderful health professionals who can give you a new way of looking at your body and what it is saying to you. I will put links in the show notes on my website.

One such woman is Alissa Vitti. She released a book in 2020 called In the Flo. This book gives much detail about how to honour each phase of your cycle. And yourself.

From what foods are best during each phase to moving your body with love and care as well as which phases are great for letting your creativity flow or for being social and even for going within and taking the time to listen to what’s inside you.

I’ll admit, working with this cyclic way of living at first can be daunting. We have been brainwashed by so many centuries of lies, it’s going to be a real challenge to undo all of that.

But we must try. We must, once again, honour who we are as woman and embrace every part of us. Even the supposed gross bits.

Start with one thing that sounds easy for you to do and do it.

You could lay on the couch all day and watch Netflix and cry if that’s what you need to do. You can get out a journal and write whatever comes to mind when you feel the sense to go within. You can take your really energetic days and go hard until your body tells you to take a breath and relax.

The point is to LISTEN!

Listen to the wisdom inside of you. Hear what it is whispering to you. Go with the flow as much as you can. Of course it’s hard when you have a family, young children, a job that never lets up, and a gazillion other things on your to-do list.

But the more time you give yourself to reflect, rejoice and re-energise the better off everyone around you will be. You’ll be more productive. You’ll be more intuitive to what needs to be done, you’ll be more easy going and open to what life has to offer.

Have conversations with your loved ones about what is going on with you and what support you need. Especially at THAT time of the month. That’s when our minds and our bodies want to slow down and go quiet.

And, the best part. You give others permission to do it too. Especially if you have daughters.

If we can all begin to work WITH our monthly cycle instead of against it, how amazing would that be?

If we recognised that we actually do have a cycle instead of trying to deny it and get rid of it, how much better off will you feel within yourself?

Don’t deny who you are anymore.

You are a woman. And you are allowed to live The Woman’s Way.

And, your way will be uniquely different to every other women. Talk to each other, get together once a month and share what you are doing to honour yourselves. To honour each other.

Let’s build ourselves back up again. One month at a time. One period at a time.

Pave the way for the next generation of girls who need our love, our support and our guidance so that they, too, can honour THIER way.

Women are amazing. YOU are amazing.

And, The Woman’s Way is ready and waiting for you.

Thank you so much for listening, beautiful. This really is a dream come true for me.

I spent so much of my life being quiet, not speaking up, staying small that I forgot I have a voice worth listening to.

You may not always agree with what I say and that’s ok.

This is a conversation between us. Yes, I have lots to say but I also want to hear what you have to say.

So, leave me a comment, email me your thoughts, get in touch and let me know what conversations you’d like to have.

But before you go, I have a gift for you. I created 5 steps to loving your body AND creating your ideal weight naturally just for you, Beautiful.

To receive my gift, please pop on over to the home page of my website lovebody.com.au, leave your details and this awesome book will arrive in your inbox ASAP.

Inside you’ll find 5 steps to help you raise love in your whole body and your mind. You deserve to feel amazing and this simple, yet effective, guide will do just that. With nutrition, movement, your LOVE story, the when effect and forgiveness all supporting you as you begin to raise love within yourself again.

If you loved this episode, please share it with your friends and family.

Please remember, it’s time to start cultivating, nurturing and raising love within yourself.

Because, you are a smart, amazing, beautiful woman with so much to offer this world.

Continue raising love. Speak soon.