Amira Ayad, PhD
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Embracing the wisdom of your feminine cycle

26/2/2021

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Since the dawn of civilization, women intuitively knew about that ‘time of the month’ when they were more vulnerable. Not just physically, but also emotionally. They knew that there is a time when they needed more support, love and care; another time when they may need to be more self-centered (not selfish), introverted and reflective. And, there are other times when they are more sociable, giving, creative and expressive. Women’s menstrual cycles express these different needs at different times of the month; and women in all traditional and ancient cultures intuitively knew and followed its natural flow.
 
And, since the dawn of civilization, women also intuitively knew about that ‘time of life’ when they grow wiser and emotionally and spiritually stronger and braver. In traditional cultures, menopausal years are empowering years of wisdom and experiences, they relate the story of a soul reconnecting with its ultimate source of wisdom!
 
To regain the health of your second chakra, you need to learn from this traditional women’s wisdom. You need to stop suppressing your feelings with legitimate distractions and sweet indulgences and silencing your pain with pain “killers”. You need to listen to your Body Whispers® and follow your intuitive wisdom.
 
This week, let’s delve into the meanings and wisdoms of our feminine cycle… Let’s learn how to flow with its delicate nature and tune in to the valuable whispers our body is sending us every month
 
The female menstrual cycle with its regular repeated pattern of hormonal change carries regular repeated pattern of emotional change. It holds much more than the physical reproductive power. It holds the power of producing ideas, meaning, missions, and changes. By understanding its pattern, you can access your own deeply held feelings and needs, you can listen to your body and understand what is bothering you, what is annoying you, what makes you stressed, unhappy, sad, or frustrated and thus learn how to align your steps back on the right track.
 
 
Emotionally and spiritually speaking, we can divide the female menstrual cycle into four phases:

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1. The Follicular Phase: Preparation & Exploration
 
 
Follicular phase: starts with the period (day 1 of the bleeding) and ends by ovulation (mid cycle around day 13)
 
 
Follicular phase is the time when the eggs are ripening in women ovaries. At this time of the month your

  • Estrogen is balanced
  • Progesterone is low
 
Women at this time of the month are in their nurturing mode. They have the energy and mental ability for nurturing others… other people, other ideas, other projects… They are in the peak of their self-expression, quite sociable and outgoing. They are full of enthusiasm, open to new ideas, experimentation, explorations and experiences. Their left-brain logical thinking is dominating, so they seem very understanding, able to plan, analyze and organize their life and their work. They have full control over their thoughts and actions knowing what to say and what to hold back.
 
2. Ovulation: Illumination
Ovulation occurs around day 12 or 13 of the cycle. This is when the creative nurturing and exploration that took place during the first follicular phase is ready to give its fruit. A balance in the left-right sides of the brain (analytical-holistic thinking) is taking place and your ideas become clearer. You seem to suddenly understand life much better.
 
The ovulation is initiated by a rise in two hormones secreted from the pituitary gland in our brain (FSH and LH). These hormones cause your estrogen level to rise. Estrogen, besides being essential for ovulation, is also a brain messenger that stimulates your left-brain activity… more logical thinking, verbal fluency and understanding. At the same time, testosterone is secreted to increase libido. Again, testosterone is not merely a sex hormone, it enhances your visual-spatial mental powers, functions of your right brain.
So now at this time of the month, you become sexually attractive and more receptive to the outside world, more willing to care and being cared for, to give and receive love. You are more relaxed, content and understanding. You are in the peak of your mental and emotional creativity with clear view and ideas.
 It is like when the egg is ready for fertilization in our uterus, we are also emotionally and mentally fertile land for creative and innovative insights.
We came to look at this stage of our menstrual cycle as “the good stage” since we are much more valued by the outside world.
 
3. Then comes the Luteal Phase with its Premenstrual Nightmare: Incubation & Percolation
If no fertilization takes place, the cycle continues. The sexual phase is wrapped up and preparations are made in the uterus (and the body) for another cycle.
 
The Luteal phase starts with ovulation and continues after that with all the premenstrual or PMS days ending when we start the bleeding again signalling the beginning of the new cycle.
 
During the luteal phase, and before the period, estrogen levels drop.
Estrogen is known to increase the production rate and receptor density of serotonin (your feeling good neuropeptide), dopamine (your motivation hero), epinephrine and nor epinephrine (your stress-managing hormones) and Beta-endorphins (your natural morphines). So when estrogen drops, all those neuropetide levels drop with it… This explains the low mood, low motivation and low tolerance of the PMS time of the month.
During the luteal phase, the sudden drop of estrogen leads to progesterone dominance. Progesterone is responsible for calming down your brain chatter and cooling off your brain over excitement. Nature is designed this way to actually give us access to more clarity and calming time… This phase of your cycle is actually a blessing, a gift… you can see it as a little window that opens every month for you to peek into your intuitive wisdom and see more clearly. If you tune in and trust your Body Whispers®, you will see that this phase is there to give you a much needed time for yourself. Time to calm down and shift your focus inward. This is a right-brain oriented time, an invitation to see the ‘big picture’, to reflect and ponder.
 
The luteal phase is the perfect chance for whole life integration, for a holistic view. It initiates a meditation and evaluation mode that makes you wonder: what did I achieve so far? What needs to change in my life? What aspects of my work/relationship/social life aren’t working for me?
The luteal phase is there to tell you that you need to slow down in order for you to hear your intuitive voice and heed your inner wisdom.
 
During the follicular phase, your left-brain was more active, your logical thinking and analytical mind were alert, you were able to calculate your steps and rethink your words before uttering them, you knew what to say and what to hold back. During the Luteal phase, though, you find it harder to control your emotions and hold back your anger and tongue slips. This is the phase when you are harshly judged by your surroundings or highly medicated to turn off those inner whispers that society usually find inappropriate.
 
Telling a depressed, furious or anxious PMS sufferer to learn “self-control” or “manage her stress”, is like adding fuel to a raging fire… not only useless, but highly damaging. The debris that surface during this time of the month are but signs and warnings… your subconscious is sending you messages through your Body Whispers®. Silencing the messages is like shooting the messenger. The debris will still be there, but instead of rising to the surface, you are sending them inward to wreak havoc not only on your emotions but also on your physical body.
 
We all need to slow down and listen, we need to notice and learn, we need to connect with our inner wisdom and there is no better time to do that than our pre-menstrual window. During your luteal phase, your intuition is at its peak. You just need to tune in and trust. Journaling is most essential and most valuable at this time of the cycle. It helps you discover the missing elements in your life, unveil your hidden fears, worries, and bottled emotions and see clearly once more.
 
If we refuse to slow down and listen, the calming down of this time of the cycle turns into isolation and repression… and you end up with mood swings, anxiety, overwhelm, and depression.
 
4. Menses: Organization & Reorientation
The first day of bleeding starts our next cycle. The period is a biological and physiological cleansing phase. As your uterus is shedding its lining to prepare itself for a new cycle, it is time for you to start shedding your fears, anger, and worries;  and reorienting your life for a new beginning.
Menstruation is the ultimate time for letting go of what is troubling you, of your negative feelings, destructive emotions, fears, frustrations, blames, shame and grief. It is the ultimate time for reorientation, reorganization and ridding yourself of old baggage.
 
 
 
Take a moment now to tune into your body and reflect…
  • Which phase of the cycle are you in?
  • How to you feel, emotionally, physically and mentally?
  • Is there any part of your life/ of your soul that needs your attention?
 

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When the Heart is Whispering

16/2/2021

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As our theme this month is the heart, let’s explore the main dysfunctions I encounter in my practice when women’s heart chakra is out of order.
 
As I always say, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, managing stress and proper nutrition & supplementations all play a major role in healing, but they are far from being the main piece of the puzzle… Over and over again, I come back to the same advice: LISTEN!
We need to learn how to feed our hearts and souls as we are learning to feed our bodies. Listening to your body whispers is a skill we all need to cultivate…


When Your Heart Hurts...

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Breast Cancer

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Mastitis (Breast Inflammation)

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Breathing Problems

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Warning: Again, as I always warn, if your ‘whispers’ reach a stage where they are manifested physically, you need to physically tend to the body with the proper nutrition, supplements and/or medical intervention from a qualified MD if needed along with tending to your heart and soul needs.
 
 
P.S. If you did not take the heart chakra Assessment… Here are your 20 questions.

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Don't Ignore The Call

9/2/2021

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In 2004, I set out on a self-exploration journey to learn more about my religious and spiritual teachings and to map out my own healing journey. At the time, I working on my Ph.D. in Natural Health, and as a side project, I started documenting my personal "Healing Body & Soul" path. I had no formal religious education at the time and did not even know how to properly read the Qur'an with the correct pronunciation (Tajweed). It was a fascinating journey, packed with synchronicities and discerning moments. Every step was leading to the next in such an organic flow as if the road has always been there waiting for me to follow. Soon, my side project grew to take over my Ph.D. thesis, which suddenly shifted from researching the healing effects of herbs to the healing effect of Islamic spirituality.
 
The healing journey that I was crafting for myself ended up as a roadmap for many others. My first book, Healing Body & Soul: Your Guide to Holistic Wellbeing Following Islamic Teaching, started as a personal journey for healing my own body, mind, heart, and soul through a deep dive into my cultural and religious teachings that I knew very little about. It was my personal attempt to make sense of many religious rituals that seemed foreign when they were stripped away from their spiritual nature. This process of healing and self-exploration did not just benefit me but was useful for thousands of others who later read my books and listened to my teachings. And, I am and will be forever grateful.
I would have never been here, sending you this email, wouldn’t I have taken the first step and followed this subtle voice inside me that pointed towards a totally unfamiliar path. Don’t brush off those whispers, don’t ignore the call just because you do not fully grasp the whole picture or understand the full meaning. I am not suggesting that you do any drastic dramatic changes either. All I’m asking is for you to take the first step: read that book, enrol in that course, write that blog, paint that picture… whatever this first step looks like for you… Take it! Don’t ignore the call!
 
 
And, since February is the month of the heart… I have 20 questions to help you listen and reflect on the health of your Heart Chakra… You can find them HERE.
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Let's Connect... Monthly Virtual Coffee Chat

2/2/2021

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My word for the year of 2020 was “Safe”… Safety has been a concern for me for years… Maybe not as much as physical safety, but more of a psychological and emotional safety. It is no secret that 2020 has been as far from “safety” as one could have imagined. Yet, this overwhelming chaos forced me to redefine what safety meant to me.
 
Safety is a function of our first chakra, our root and foundation.  It is our anchor, one of our basic needs. It is related to the feeling of belonging, of being part of a community, a tribe, a family, a society where you feel acknowledged, welcomed, heard, seen, and understood. Safety also encompasses the concept of structure… a predictable, yet flexible, framework that governs our life.
 
Somehow, I’ve mistaken safety for predictability. I expected life to flow on my own terms, following my designed timeline. Although my Islamic faith taught me that life challenges are here for a reason. It taught me content, trust in God, and resilience, I was still uncomfortable with ambiguity. I’ve always hated surprises (I have good reasons for that, believe me). I noticed that I take good care to walk with my clients at their own pace holding the space for them to explore their own chaos taking all the time they need. I wasn’t that tolerant with myself, though. I wanted to know – for better or worse, it didn’t matter. I just needed to know, NOW! I dreaded the chaos, the mess I was involuntarily thrown into.
 
So, last year, I started my journey of learning to “walk in the dark”… to embrace the mess in my life. Now, I am seeing the chaos and the mess as essential parts of my learning and growing journey. I now know that safety is about learning to walk in the dark… about finding light in the midst of a sombre journey. And, belonging starts from within… from my connection with my own self and with God… 2020, was a year I had to spend in my “Innermost Cave”, in the “belly of the whale,” as Joseph Campbell puts it. It was a year of deep reflection; a year when my loneliness turned into blessed solitude and my mind-chatter gave way to a peaceful silence. Yes, the anxious worry shows its ugly face from time to time; yet, I’ve learned to reach within for my “Inner Castle,” in the words of St. Theresa of Avila, where I find my safe haven in the presence of my Lord.
 
My word for 2021 is “Connection”… I’m seeking to deepen and strengthen my connection with God, with myself, with my family, my friends, my community, the earth, and the whole Cosmos. And, since connecting is an essential part of “Connection”, I am inviting you to join me on the Second Monday of every month in a friendly “Coffee Chat” via Zoom, where we “connect,” chat, support one another and help one another heal.
 Totally Free, no strings attached…
 
Our first Zoom meeting will be on Monday, February 8th  at 6:00 PM EST.

If you are on my newsletter list or on Body Whispers FaceBook group, you'll get all the details.

Hope to see you there.
 
Have a wonderful day,
 
Amira
 
 


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    About the Author

    Hi, I'm Amira... I'm all for simple, natural, uncomplicated life... My core values are derived from my Islamic faith... My definition of wellness includes lots of smiles, human interactions, delicious food, music, joy, colorful paint, Mediterranean sunshine, blue sky and turquoise sea, care, love, compassion and deep heart-felt peace.
    I love learning… I love books and art supplies… And, I am saddened by human conflict and intolerance.
     
    I am an introvert who loves being around people... I love building communities and gathering around the kitchen table... I am a teacher at heart... I simplify complex health science and speak openly about heart and soul stuff...

    I've been helping people on their health and healing journey for more than 20 years now and I am committed to be authentic, caring and a beacon of love and peace.

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My wellness coaching, workshops, teachings, and all the services I provide are at all times restricted to education, teaching and training on the subject of natural health matters intended for general natural health well-being and do not involve the diagnosing, prognosticating, treatment, or prescribing of remedies for the treatment of any disease, or any licensed or controlled act which may constitute the practice of  medicine. 
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