Day one is the first day of your menstruation (or your period). Prior to menstruation the lining of your uterus has been building up to be prepared to receive a fertilized egg. If intercourse didn’t occur and there is no fertilized embryo and your period will begin when the lining sheds. You’ll see this lining and the extra blood coming out through your vagina.

Most women bleed for 2–7 days, but remember that each body is unique.

During your period, you may notice changes and sensations in your body such as:

• • Pain or cramping from the muscles contracting and relaxing to loosen the lining of the uterus.
  • Bloating: fluid retention due to the fluctuation of hormones
  • Tiredness: low levels of estrogen, low in iron
  • Mood shifts and swings starting a few days before you bleed. You may feel impatient or cranky at the beginning as hormones release.

This may not be your best time to make important decisions due to mood fluctuations, feeling uncomfortable and bloated and tiredness but it’s a fantastic time to nurture yourself. If you struggle during your period or have PMS consistently, a good reboot or cleanse can make all the difference. You may also feel inwardly focused, so it’s a good time for self-reflection. Stay hydrated, rest, have some you time and allow the hormones to transition gently. Spend time in nature, go barefoot on the earth, journal your feelings and do things that bring you joy. It’s totally natural and normal for this to happen each month, and is in fact, an essential part of monthly cleansing. Learn to honor yourself and the beautiful cycles and seasons you have as a woman. It is what makes you unique and also creates a global connection with all women.

There are many natural things you can do to support these symptoms such as:

• • Applying heat to the abdomen.
  • Massaging pure and therapeutic essential oils into the abdomen over the ovaries or adrenals. Lavender, Rose, Clary Sage and Ylang Ylang are all excellent choices for calming, hormonal harmony and reducing pain and the inflammatory response. Using your favorite oils in a diffuser can greatly benefit you as well.
  • Avoid foods that cause bloating and water retention such as processed foods, fatty foods, alcohol, carbonated beverages, salty foods and caffeine.
  • Eat more fiber and a natural plant based diet.
  • Drink organic red raspberry leaf tea or any calming teas such as chamomile or fennel and lots of water with a couple of drops of therapeutic lemon or citrus oil.

One of the ways you’ll know you are becoming fertile is the fluids being released in the vagina will have a creamy consistency and will progressively get more and more like the texture of egg whites or ochre. Before ovulation, you will notice the discharge becoming slippery and clear – it can stretch up to 4 inches or more. This fluid will create a safe place for sperm to swim and live as it migrates up to look for a released egg in the fallopian tube. Without this fluid the sperm will die. It takes time to recognize the subtle changes in this fluid, which is why we created the bracelet with a 12 day fertility window leading up to ovulation and a couple days after.

If you have a 28-day cycle you’ll usually ovulate around day 14. There’s a massive spike in estrogen and an egg leaves your ovary and travels down one of your fallopian tubes. Generally speaking but not always, each month you will rotate sides from which the egg is released. Some women can even feel when the egg is being released by a sharp pinching feeling or spotting a little bit of blood.

Here is a great guide to help you determine your ovulation day:

The egg can live for up to 24 hours and sperm can live up to 5 days in the fallopian tube so you are likely to have the potential for pregnancy during the four or five days before or 24 hours after you ovulate. Pregnancy occurs with intercourse or can happen if sperm comes close to the vagina but the penis doesn’t enter in. A man’s sperm fertilizes your egg and the egg attaches to the wall of your uterus. If the egg isn’t fertilized it will break apart and disintegrate.

If you are not wanting to conceive you have to abstain or use other forms of protection such as condoms to avoid pregnancy. It’s safest to use this precaution during your entire fertile phase. If you are on the pill and take it according to the instructions, it’s unlikely you will ovulate at all because the chemicals send a message telling the body that you are pregnant. If you are wanting to conceive, your fertile phase is the best time for unprotected intimacy.

After you’ve ovulated, your body starts producing progesterone, which causes the lining of your womb to thicken in preparation for a fertilized egg.

Other signs during ovulation are:

• • Increase in core body temperature. Think about it like your body is preparing to become an incubator. Many women use a basal thermometer and take their core temperature before getting out of bed each morning. This allows you to know when this spike happens as well as when the temperature drops when their period is about to begin.
  • Your breasts may feel enlarged and tender.
  • Your body may feel a little sexier than usual – that might be one of the best signs. Nature created us to reproduce and those hormones and feelings are strong.
  • Smell sensitivity.
  • Mild pelvic or abdominal pain.
  • Spotting.
  • Vaginal tingles.

During this phase you may also feel very creative and have a lot of energy. This is a great time to dream and get things accomplished. You may feel happier and things that typically bother you may not have the impact they normally do. Some women notice changes in their skin clarity and texture.

The same essential oils detailed in the menstruation phase will also support your ovulatory phase. Wild Orange or any citrus oils can help enhance creativity and promote having a mindset of abundance.

From about day 20 onwards you are most likely safe from getting pregnant. However, if your cycle is longer than 32 days it’s possible to conceive because ovulation will occur later in the month. That’s why it’s important to track it carefully and consistently.

Twenty-four hours after ovulation, your egg breaks apart and it can’t be fertilized and create a baby anymore.

The challenge is that unless you are tracking your cycle very closely and know your body well, you may not know until AFTER you ovulate. This is especially true if you have an irregular cycle or signs are obscure due to a yeast infection. A drop of Tea Tree essential oil in your underwear a few times a day can be very helpful as well as eliminating sugar, alcohol, processed foods and grains.

During this phase your estrogen and progesterone rise and then fall sharply. In some women serotonin levels stay mostly steady. Research has shown that women with PMS experience a drop in their serotonin as their estrogen drops so their serotonin is lowest before their period which can cause PMS symptoms.

The progesterone and estrogen in your body will increase and then decrease close to your period. Symptoms of low estrogen and progesterone can be depression, trouble concentrating, fatigue and mood swings.

If you do experience these things consistently, doing a cleanse or juice fast can help support and bring harmony back to your system.

Toward the end of this phase your fluid may become dry, sticky, or pasty.