How to Cycle Sync Your Business with Laura Charelle of Balanced Bombshells
Episode 406: Show Notes
Balanced Bombshells is a health and lifestyle brand for high performing women and we are very lucky to have the brains behind the business, Laura Charelle, as our guest today! Laura teaches women how to use their hormones to benefit their active and busy lives and she reminds us that hormones are way more than just your period, fertility and your mother's menopause problems! They impact our thoughts, energy levels and you know they can affect your waistline too! Today we are focusing on how your hormones affect your biz and Laura tells us about the increasingly popular idea of cycle syncing, something that has been coming up in our community more and more. It is all about understanding what your body is going through at different stages of your cycle, all month long and finding out which time is the best for different activities.
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Better self-knowledge can lead to improved communication, relationships, productivity and help you achieve what you want out of your life! We recommend that you listen to this episode in full and then go back and take notes on a second listen, there is that much good stuff you do not want to miss! Laura gives us loads of information, free resources and enough to get you really inspired and motivated. We have always felt that we are not really qualified to talk about this topic but have been aware of its importance so we are really pumped to get to share all of this with you all!
What is Cycle-Syncing?
Cycle-syncing is a natural way to balance female hormones. Laura was on the pill for many years and now sees how she never should have been on it in the first place. When you begin to sync with your cycle you can live in alignment with your body in relation to food, fitness, relationships, communication, and work! It is a way to bring down stress levels and listen to your body's intuition. It is about paying attention to our body's wisdom in a way most of us are never taught. Hormones can explain a lot of the differences between the sexes and we see this with men, whose hormones rest every 24 hours, while the female cycle obviously lasts a month. This is why women experience changes at a slower rate, slight changes take four weeks to stick. When you begin to understand this cycle it can relieve pressure and install more consistency in your life. We all have our own flow and the sooner we can work in tandem with it the better!
The Basics of Getting Touch with Your Hormones
Through these means, Laura has managed to get rid of PMS and PMDD! She reminds us you cannot cycle-sync on the pill as this masks ovulation and hormones instead of regulating them. The first step in this process is to start tracking your period, for Laura this initially meant using a calendar and from there she progressed to using different apps, her favorite being Clue. She used to experience debilitating cramps which she has since alleviated! During our period, the left and right brain hemispheres are most aligned, which means you are able to see things most clearly. If we do not manage our hormones during a cycle, each week can compound and it can become overwhelming. After the period part of the cycle comes the follicular phase when you will increase energy and you can use this time to be strategic and utilize the insight you may have gained during your period. You can make good on the seeds planted during the period while in the follicular phase. You may also feel a huge weight lifted which can be so motivating and energizing. Mapping this out this way allows us to get through what can sometimes feel like an insurmountable to-do list, everything at the right time! The follicular phase is also the best time to try something new and get out of your comfort zone.
The Ovulation and Luteal Phases
Then ovulation hits! This is obviously the time to get pregnant if that is what you are wanting. This is when the egg drops and our energy peaks. This is also the time to ask for what you want, host webinars and live videos and if you can speak at events during this time, the gigs will probably be your best. If you want to ask for a raise, do it during this time! Laura found how much better she was at communicating during ovulation and she tries to take full advantage of that now. She reminds us how most women get tripped up on the luteal phase, which comes next. The first week you can feel like you do during ovulation but estrogen levels start to drop in the second week and progesterone rises. You can still communicate and socialize but as the second week progresses we usually start to experience PMS symptoms. There is the added complication of cortisol which can actually take the place of progesterone and peak our stress levels. It is very easy to get unbalanced and progesterone deficiencies are actually quite common. During this luteal phase, it is best to schedule time to get things on your to-do list done. You may want to work more independently as you come down into yourself and are more focused. You will want to make use of this mental energy before it drops just before your period.
Nurturing Your Body and What She Needs
If you can permit yourself to be where you are at, things will be okay! Laura started thinking of her body as a separate person and harnessing a nurturing energy for herself. Take note when you need a rest and when you need care! We might want people to know what we want without telling them but we need to communicate with our partners and those around us are not mind-readers. They can never know what is going on with you as intimately as you can. If you can talk about your needs it can make a big difference in riding the different hormonal waves that are natural present in your body.
Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Your Period
A big lesson from Laura is not to try and push through your period, you will only be setting yourself up for a bad time during your next cycle. Focus on calming energies and look for good mood foods as your serotonin levels dip. Body dysmorphia is a common symptom of PMS and can be very damaging to self-esteem. Laura recommends trying to eat foods with as much Tryptophan in them as possible, this means banana, nuts and dark chocolate! Laura likes to make a nice chia seed pudding filled with those foods to boost her serotonin just before and during her period and this has made a huge difference for her. All of these measures can help you too, which in turn can help your business! You got this!
Quote This
It is all about understanding what your body is going through at different stages of your cycle, all month long and finding out which time is the best for different activities.
—Laura Charelle
Highlights
What is Cycle-Syncing? [0:05:03.3]
The Basics of Getting Touch with Your Hormones. [0:14:15.6]
The Ovulation Phase. [0:26:05.1]
Nurturing Your Body and What She Needs. [0:34:12.6]
Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Your Period. [0:42:30.8]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:48:31.0]
Reflect during your period.
Plan in follicular phase.
Test during ovulation.
Work independently in the luteal phase.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
