Here's the post⁠ by @⁠rhythmsofhealth⁠ that I explore in this episode.

I delve into the significance of the 2026 and its correlation with the Yang Fire Horse in period 9, a significant time in Chinese Zodiac that historically affected women's lives and bodies. Inspired by an insightful Instagram post by Rhythms of Health, I reflect on the industrial changes since 1846 that disrupted women's biological rhythms and cyclical living. I explore the current societal pressures, the need for body literacy, and the journey towards remembering our innate cyclical power. Listen as I inconclusively and very rambling-like discuss the challenges & adaptations our female bodies face, and the potential for societal change that aligns more closely with our natural rhythms.

🩸🖤🩸

TIMESTAMPS:

01:53 Cycle Check-In: Understanding Your Menstrual Phases

08:22 Chinese New Year and Women's Health

09:45 Historical Impact of Industrialization on Women's Bodies

25:32 Adapting to Modern Stress & Stressors

34:22 Embracing Cyclical Power in 2026

39:30 Conclusion and Reflections

🩸🖤🩸

FREE DOWNLOAD ↓

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GET MY HOLISTIC CYCLE TRACKING GUIDE HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‍ ‍

I WANT MORE CYCLE LOVING GOODNESS:

Explore the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠CYCLE POWER BUNDLE here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‍ ‍

REACH OUT!

⁠⁠⁠Email me here⁠⁠⁠⁠ or drop me a line on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@karinda.wholistix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

INTERESTED IN WORKING TOGETHER?

You can⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠book a free connection call here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to map out what working together would look like for you to achieve your health & hormone goals.

🩸🖤🩸

SHOP & DISCOUNTS:

• Shop mine & Maddie's ⁠⁠CYCLE TEAS here⁠⁠

• I use ⁠TEMPDROP⁠ for reliable basal body temperature & ovulation tracking!

• I use ⁠MODIBODI⁠ for the best reusable period undies!

• ⁠⁠SPLASH BLANKET⁠⁠ my favourite blanket for free bleeding

• The root of so many hormone imbalances is a poor circadian rhythm. Optimise your rhythm, protect your body from artificial light & harness the power of red light therapy at ⁠⁠Block Blue Light.⁠⁠ Use code KARINDA at checkout

• Podcast recording & editing software I use: ⁠⁠Descript - use my referral link to get 50% off for 2 months of the Creator Plan!⁠⁠

*I may make a small commission if you purchase from any of the above links. This helps me support myself & my business and I'm grateful if you're happy to use these links/codes and share them if you love the products.*

Everything else at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠karindawholistix.com.au

TRANSCRIPT:

Ep 25 • What The Fire Horse Year 2026 Could Mean for Women • Candid Thoughts on "The System" & Our Cycles

===

[00:00:18] ​ Welcome back to another episode of, Oh My Menses. I'm your host Karinda, uh, first episode back for 2026, and I mean

[00:00:31] ideologically, maybe that's not the right word. In my heart, I don't want the calendar year to mean anything because

[00:00:42] I just prefer to put so much more of my value on time turning on nature's clock. So I prefer to like, refer to the moon and like the seasons. And the calendar is just like, you know, a, a, a manmade timekeeping tool. So I don't [00:01:00] like to put too much emphasis or pressure on it, but I also can't help the fact that the year changes. We go through a new year period, and I do feel something, so I'm gonna acknowledge that. So, first episode of 2026, and what I want to talk about today is actually pretty much all centered on a post that I stumbled across on Instagram. Because, you know, I'm still there. I still partake in scrolling.

[00:01:30] And it's about the Chinese New Year and the symbology and energy behind this specific, Chinese Zodiac, for the year 2026 and what it means for women. I was so inspired by this post I thought. I have to talk about this in some way, I can't ignore this pattern recognition.

[00:01:53] So I'll be diving a little bit into that, but, if you are familiar with these parts, you'll know that we always start off with a cycle [00:02:00] check-in. And if this is your first time joining us, welcome. I like to start episodes with a cycle check-in, and this is just an opportunity for me to check in with myself and share that with you, and also invite you to check in with your body, yourself, your cycle.

[00:02:19] And so pretty much all you're gonna do is take a moment to reflect on where you are at in your menstrual cycle, if you have a menstrual cycle. If you are not sure about the different phases of the cycle, because it's not just one big cycle, there are phases within the whole cycle, beyond menstruation,

[00:02:36] beyond the bleeding phase. If you'd like to learn more about that, you can download my free cycle tracking guide. It's like a 21 page guide, walking you through the different phases and showing you how to track your whole cycle so you know what phase you're in, you know what your period is telling you.

[00:02:54] And you know, when you ovulate. All very important things to be aware of in terms of body literacy, [00:03:00] understanding your fertility, understanding your cyclical power. 'cause at the end of the day, it is a superpower. So, take a moment to reflect on where you're at in your own menstrual cycle. If you don't have a menstrual cycle, you might like to refer to where the moon is at in her phase, like what day she's on of her cycle.

[00:03:20] Day one being the first day of the new Moon. The middle of the cycle being the full moon. And that might be because you may be pregnant, you may be breastfeeding and your cycles haven't returned. You may be on hormonal contraception, or you may be perial postmenopausal. So the moon can be really lovely.

[00:03:39] Anchor point, external, external natural anchor point that carries with it the imprint of this feminine, cyclical nature that we see everywhere, that we see everywhere, and that we live ourselves. So [00:04:00] take a moment to tune in. For me personally, I'm on day three of my cycle, which I'm gonna use as an excuse to, to explain my poor, um, my poor.

[00:04:15] See, I can't even think of the word. Um, verbal flow. I'm still, it's taking me a while to like, think of words and then even, when I know what I'm gonna say, there's pauses and ums and ahs. So this will be a fun episode to edit, is pretty much what that means for myself. But, um, other than that, how am I feeling?

[00:04:35] This menstrual phase, instead of being like super womb cavey, like I usually am, I like to go quite inward and recluse and there was certainly time for that. But overall, I was busier During this menstrual phase, I saw clients, uh, I had social things and still kept it as homely as possible, as comfortable as possible, but just noticed that [00:05:00] my energy has been just a bit naturally more

[00:05:02] called outward during a time of my cycle where I would prefer to have that energy nourishing me inwardly, if that makes sense. But the good news is the few days before my period, I spent very, very inward, not doing much, going really gently with myself and being very well taken care of by my loving partner, and looking after myself as well.

[00:05:26] I've gotta shout myself And as a result, sometimes early in my cycle, and you might relate to this too, in my period, I, I've sort of been in this phase of giving myself so much rest and slowness. Sometimes it isn't. I wouldn't even call it like genuine rest. It's like sedentary, but it's not actually restful or restorative or nourishing.

[00:05:51] And so I can get into a phase where I've gone so slow at in the first days of my cycle that it can take a lot [00:06:00] of energy to draw myself back out. But I've, I'm just noticing doing it in this way where I went really slow before the bleed. I still had a lot of breathing room during my bleed, although was busier than usual, and now I'm kind of like picking up that natural momentum that I sort of started to cultivate from day one of my cycle.

[00:06:20] So it's been easier to get into habits, you know, normally on day three I'd be like, no, no, you know, day three, you know, I'll still, I'll keep taking it easy. I'm not gonna do much. I'm not gonna put a lot on my plate, but there has been this natural momentum that, and I'm rolling with it and, hey, maybe that's some new year energy

[00:06:36] sprinkling itself into my cycle. So that's how I'm feeling. And if this is the first time you're doing a cycle check in with yourself, I kind of like to just check in with like how I'm feeling physically. I'm feeling like physically like relatively energetic, somewhere between heavy and the heaviness dissolving.

[00:06:59] And [00:07:00] then I like to check in with how I'm feeling emotionally. Where, what is your emotional being, like, what's your emotional state like, are there any emotions that are coming to the forefront? Are there any, you know, bubbling emotions under the surface that are asking for your attention? And then also what your mental state is like.

[00:07:15] What are your thoughts like? What is your general thinking like? How you are perceiving life? And what you are thinking about what you are perceiving, you know, all of this can change throughout your menstrual cycle. So it can just be a really beautiful way to drop in with yourself.

[00:07:31] Check in with yourself. And give yourself that space and reminding yourself, reminding your female body, your cyclical body, that it's all valid and that you are here to listen to it. 'cause you know that it has a lot of wisdom and gifts to offer you. So yeah, check in physically, emotionally, mentally, maybe even spiritually if you'd like.

[00:07:52] I feel like my intuition has been a little bit more switched on lately. My dreams have been powerful, which tends to happen around menstruation. Let [00:08:00] me know if, if you experience anything similar, uh, during your bleed. And that's the cycle of check-in. And that took a bit longer than usual, and that's okay.

[00:08:11] But it's, God, when's the last time I recorded a podcast? It might be, I think it's well over six weeks. Could be nearly two months now. So anyway, always giving myself and yourself grace.

[00:08:22] So I'm just gonna dive straight into this post. There's a post I saw on Instagram. It was posted on the 20th of January by a lovely duo, I believe, Rhythms of Health.

[00:08:35] This is a duo who, let me check actually. They use Chinese medicine, print principles and natural rhythms, to help women with their health. And I love that. And if any of my clients are listening, you'll know that while I'm not a Chinese medicine practitioner, I'm not a Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, I'm a naturopath.

[00:08:56] But I do, I I really do see the benefit [00:09:00] in bringing in these, uh, more eastern philosophy, eastern medical principles into elements of my practice. And I do believe that it gets to be eclectic and, varied. I don't think we just need to be stuck to one system and one way of thinking.

[00:09:17] And I'm really grateful that naturopathy allows for a lot of outside of the box thinking. And there's a lot of room for these, like other modalities to come in, and it all fits together really nicely. And this morning I just did my Qigong uh, practice, which was really beautiful. And that's rooted in Chinese medicine.

[00:09:35] So that's the context. Again, their account is rhythms of health. So this is a carousel, so I'm gonna read it post by post.

[00:09:45] "The last time the world entered a yang fire horse in period nine was 1846. What followed permanently changed women's bodies."

[00:09:56] And just for anyone who's not familiar, 'cause I wasn't familiar myself, the period [00:10:00] nine uh, refers to a way of sort of grouping and counting the years based on cycles, uh, according to classical feng shui. " 2026, the return of Yang Fire Horse in period nine.

[00:10:14] I like to look at the patterns, not the noise of the world; documented, biological, cyclical, and historical shifts. Before 1846, women lived in biological rhythm. We followed seasons and daylight. Menstruation, pregnancy and postpartum changed labor. Recovery was socially built in. Food was local and mineral dense. Not perfect, but biologically compatible.

[00:10:42] After 1846, industrialization changed women's labor overnight. 10 to 14 hour work days, six days a week. No exemptions for bleeding, pregnancy, or postpartum. For the first time, women were required to function linearly like [00:11:00] machines. Nutrition collapsed at the same time. Food diversity declined. Refined grains replaced nourishment, protein, fats and minerals dropped.

[00:11:10] Women ate last or least energy output. Increased input decreased. The body responded during the great Irish famine, uh, which was from 1845 to 1852. Birth rates fell, menstruation frequently stopped, pregnancy loss increased. These are documented demographic outcomes, not theories. Reproductive strain appears.

[00:11:35] 19th century medical records describe rising maternal mortality, widespread anemia, female exhaustion in quotes, uterine weakness in quotes; early language for hormonal nervous system and reproductive depletion. Time itself changed factories. Introduced clock based time, fixed hours year round, shortened sleep and recovery.

[00:11:59] [00:12:00] Historians call this industrial time discipline. Human biology is seasonal. The system stopped being seasonal. Medicine shifted. Midwifery was displaced. Women's symptoms were labeled hysteria or weakness. Instead of asking, 'what conditions are women living under', medicine asked, 'What is wrong with women?'

[00:12:20] The adaptation. After 1846, women lived biologically incompatible systems. The body adapted, not by restoring, but by surviving. That survival physiology has been carried for generations, and we are the ones living it now. A cycle is ending. As the Yang fire horse rises in period nine, old structures lose their grip.

[00:12:45] The era of survival is closing. Women are returning to their innate biological intelligence, not through force, but through remembrance. This transition may feel uncomfortable, but it carries the promise of renewal and strength." [00:13:00] And I think there's a lot of valuable information in the caption as well. And honestly, I'm, I'm just gonna share, share all of it 'cause it's, it, it's resonating so strongly with me.

[00:13:10] "Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is zoom out far enough to see the cycle where we're inside. In Chinese medicine and Chinese metaphysics, time is alive. Each year and each 20 year period carries a distinct energetic quality that shapes biology, behavior, and collective focus.

[00:13:28] We are now in period nine. This year carries yang fire horse energy, strong, fast, expansive, and impossible to contain. Horse energy moves forward. Fire reveals what can no longer be suppressed. From a women's health perspective, this combination matters. Fire highlights where the nervous system is overstimulated, where hormones are strained, where the body has been asked to produce without rest.

[00:13:53] At the same time, it restores authority to the heart; clarity, intuition, and self-leadership. [00:14:00] Historically, young fire horse periods disrupt old hierarchies. They bring visibility to what has been hidden and return power to those who have adapted quietly for generations. In Chinese medicine, fire must be rooted, supported by rhythm, nourishment, rest, and seasonal living.

[00:14:17] When fire is regulated, it becomes illumination rather than depletion. That is why this period is significant for women, not because women must push harder, but because biological wisdom, cyclical living and embodied leadership are required now. This cycle doesn't ask women to rise into force. It invites women to rise into authority, aligned with the body, the seasons, and the larger cosmic rhythm, so everything can restore into place

[00:14:45] again. It's not a fast transformation. It's a wild fire that is gonna spread the next many years. Zooming out reminds us this moment is not random. It is part of a cycle, and cycles always move toward [00:15:00] balance. So I invite you not to listen to all the fear-mongering happening in the world. It's a very small part of a bigger picture, and it is trying to take attention away from our intuition and trust in life."

[00:15:12] Ah, whoa. Some really big concepts there. And I wanna repeat something they had on their last slide. "Women are returning to their innate biological intelligence, not through force, but through remembrance."

[00:15:31] When I read these words, something that stood out to me, and I mean, again, got a shout out if, if you sort of zoned out or just started listening. They are not my words. They're the words of an account on Instagram Rhythms of health. It is Dr. Gabrielle and Simone. They, they're Chinese medicine practitioners.

[00:15:51] And my goodness, you know, when I don't have the right words, thank God that there's people out there like that, that have the words that just land [00:16:00] right in the heart, right in, right in the guts, right in the womb. Landed very, very deeply. I have generally used language that has referred to, you know, in all the iterations of my business and my work, I have said things along the lines of, "helping women

[00:16:19] thrive, not just survive." And I've also used language along the lines of, "leading women back into remembering." And that's something I talk about a lot whenever I do any kind of menstrual cycle teaching or fertility awareness. With women, I like to remind them that they're not like learning something for the first time.

[00:16:42] This wisdom and this knowledge like runs very, very deeply in our body, in our DNA and that post really highlighted that. And you know, even if we are going back to before 1846, you know, a couple of centuries ago,

[00:16:59] it [00:17:00] is so important to remember that there was once a time when our cyclical nature was revered and when our cyclical nature informed our living, not the other way around, not work and commitments and obligations informing our cycles. But it was our cycles informed how we live, how we lived, how we worked, how we showed up, our role in the community, in our family.

[00:17:30] I just really want to anchor that in this work is a remembering, we're not learning something new for the first time. And you know how challenging that is when you're like taking an informa, like brand new information for the first time. It's like, whoa. Hang on. What? With this work, there will be something in your body that remembers. And it might require a kind of stillness or quietness or silent time of just quiet reflection to feel that [00:18:00] remembering, somewhere somatically in your body.

[00:18:03] But I promise you that it's there. And I almost wanna say, you know, I don't know this for sure. I don't know this really intellectually, but I know this in my heart that no matter what lineage you come from in terms of ethnicity, no matter what part of the world your ancestors were in at some point in time in our past, there would've been a deep revered ritual

[00:18:29] of cyclical living based on the menstrual cycle, based on women's rites of passage of, you know, getting their first period, their menstruating years, then their fertile years where they were maybe pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and then well into after their reproductive years, after their fertile years,

[00:18:48] as postmenopausal women who were also very revered in the group. And we can see how all those industrial changes that happened slowly but surely. And I, I [00:19:00] wonder how it would've felt at the time to be a woman, like in that time, you know, around the 1840s, 1850s. I wonder how dramatic and quickly that shift occurred.

[00:19:13] And sometimes I like to do that. I'm not, uh, incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to history, but I, I soak it up. I'm very fascinated by history and patterns in society historically. And so I just like to put myself in their shoes and go like, imagine you are fully embodied with your cycle, living in total alignment with your cycle.

[00:19:36] You work around your cycle. You don't have these expectations to work fixed hours, totally ignoring your body. And then there's these changes that start coming in. Agriculture changes, industry changes work, like just the family, family dynamics change. Community dynamics [00:20:00] changed because as soon as like,

[00:20:01] land was no longer communal and more land became privatized. And you know, then we see certainly in, Western cultures the kind of rise of capitalism and ownership. I mean, it really did change everything. And I'm just, I'm just so curious as to how quickly that would've changed everything, you know, if I was a woman in those

[00:20:24] decades, how would that have felt? And if this is like tickling your brain or really like lighting something up in you, that could just be a nice practice, to imagine yourself as a woman in your lineage, you know, as a one of your ancestors living in the 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, and just imagining what that change and what that transition would've felt like.

[00:20:48] And then maybe go back earlier, tune in and reflect on even earlier than that, when they were just living totally cyclically and there was no threat to that way of [00:21:00] living.

[00:21:00] So reflecting on my own work and, and my, my words and my desire, my purpose, to help women not just survive, but to thrive. And based on the reflections in that post, and based on what I see around me today, what I witness in society on a broad scale, but also, based on the women that I see in, in my practice, that's a tall order.

[00:21:33] Helping women to thrive, not just survive. It is a tall order and it's hefty work, and it's not easy work. And sometimes I feel that my biggest obstacle as a naturopath in 2026, specializing in women's health is, I mean, can I be so hippie and say the system? The system. [00:22:00] The way things work, the thing that feels like it's out of everyone's control, but everyone feels controlled by it.

[00:22:08] The obligations in terms of income generation and work obligations and fixed hours of work, and even just the concept of you work most of the day for five days a week and then you get a two day weekend, and that's work life balance.

[00:22:28] The biggest challenges, like when I'm working directly with women and working with their own obstacles, the biggest challenges are no doubt around showing up for work and either feeling guilty that they have to take time off if they are experiencing a menstrual issue like endometriosis or adenomyosis or, you know, severe period pain or heavy bleeding.

[00:22:57] They're either feeling guilty that they have to take time [00:23:00] off or they are so caught in the system that they can't even see it as a possibility that they could take time off to give their body sufficient rest when their body and their wombs are screaming at them with the same kind of symptom, with period pain, heavy bleeds, endometriosis, inflammation, things like that.

[00:23:26] They don't even know that it's an option. And, I see all kinds of women, but that's for the women I see who are in the workforce, it's always falling into one of those two categories. They cannot rest without guilt and shame, or they can't even rest. And that scares me. And it made me reflect on, yeah, the, the challenges and the obstacles in my work.

[00:23:55] No matter how hard I try, I can't take away guilt or shame for someone [00:24:00] else. I can't change workplace policy in terms of having menstrual leave, you know, a couple of days of the month, God forbid. Right. I can't change that. I can't change people's financial demands. Money is a really powerful tool and it has a hold on a lot of us, and that is,

[00:24:19] maybe the primary motivator for a lot of households and just a lot of individuals, I can't change that. So I reflect on the challenges when I say, "yeah, yeah, I help women to thrive, not just survive." And when I zoom out, look at that, I'm like, shivers. Like we are living in a way where we are really just what we are communicating to our bodies is "just get through this.

[00:24:45] Just survive through this." And whether that's through exposure to, you know, feeling chronically stressed from those financial demands, from those work obligations, whatever it is, whether it's that stress or [00:25:00] whether it's, you know, having higher, higher than normal levels of inflammation over longer periods of time because of what we're exposed to, again as a result of modernity.

[00:25:12] Whether it's, you know, how we eat based on the food that's available or affordable to us, again, a lot of which is compromised compared to the nutrient dense food that we would've had available to us, you know, back in those 1800s and before.

[00:25:30] There, there are a lot of challenges.

[00:25:32] I'm gonna pause myself, I wanna really hone in on this concept of adaptation. Our bodies are so, so clever and intelligent, and if there is something in our environment that is incongruent to a really nice, balanced state of health.

[00:25:52] Our body is going to sense, in one of hundreds of ways, it's going to sense that [00:26:00] change in our environment and it will adapt. It will start to shift our internal physiology, whether that's hormonal pathways or enzyme pathways, or what our liver's doing, or what our skin cells are doing, or what our gut's doing, or the neurotransmitters we're producing.

[00:26:18] It will start to shift in a way that is geared less towards optimal thriving health, and it will go more towards, "we just gotta get through this and we just gotta survive. There is a stressor in our environment. There is something in our environment that is throwing off the scales and we gotta try and correct those scales as much as we can."

[00:26:44] And so your physiology changes. And if that was just acute stuff, if, if that was just like really short term triggers that were popping up, that were where the environment resolved the trigger or the circumstance changed, whatever it was, maybe [00:27:00] we are in danger for a moment and then the danger resolves in our nervous systems

[00:27:03] temporarily adapt, and then they can go back to relaxation once the threat is no longer there. If it's just acute stuff that pops up, you know, you get an infection, your body adapts, resolves the infection, cool. You go back to a nice balanced state. That's one thing. But the issue with modernity and how so many of us live is that these environmental stresses become prolonged and chronic.

[00:27:29] They, they, they're not going away. The environmental change or threat isn't resolved. It's our bodies that are constantly adapting to the stress. And again, if it was a short period of time, your body could adapt fairly well and you could probably come back to a really nice, balanced state where that is conducive to optimal health and thriving in your body.

[00:27:54] But what happens more often, and I mean, one of the reasons why I believe that. So [00:28:00] many women are experiencing phenomenal rates of, um, period pain, endometriosis, worse PMS, PMDD, even, heavier bleeding, more inflammation, dysregulated immunity, very dysregulated nervous systems. You know, a whole array of symptoms is because of these prolonged stresses that are built into this

[00:28:26] system of work and what we call living. And if you can just like picture that, as this, as almost like an uphill battle, your, your body's like constantly working to adapt,

[00:28:43] that isn't conducive to thriving. And something I realized only after reading this brilliant post and I felt really harsh for thinking it, but I [00:29:00] felt "Karinda, if your work is geared towards helping women thrive, not just survive, I don't think I can continue to kind of just help women help their bodies to continue to adapt to these off circumstances, to these environmental stresses.

[00:29:38] I think I wanna help more women break outta the system." But that feels like a, like immediately I'm just flooded with the thoughts and feelings of anyone listening to this who is like, "well, hang on, but I've got a [00:30:00] mortgage to pay, or I've got rent to pay. I've got kids to feed. I've got pets to look after.

[00:30:05] I have petrol. I, you know, I, I need to run my car so I can take myself to places and take my kids places and look after my family" I just feel inundated with all those pressures, again, that are mostly become tied to money, which then becomes tied to the need to work, which then results in less time for yourself, less time for your body to

[00:30:35] be its cyclical self in a safe, nourishing way. And I and I, and then I feel guilty when I even contemplate like, "God, I don't think I can just help women like keep adapting," like maladapting is probably a better way to put it. Adaptation for the sake of surviving, adapting to, again, those [00:31:00] acute short-term stresses.

[00:31:01] That's one thing. Again, and our bodies are so intelligent and powerful and it's amazing that they can do that. But encouraging women's bodies to like maladapt Oh. And, and it kind of just perpetuates things and metabolic imbalances as well, like PCOS, like that, that is this maladaptation.

[00:31:26] And I really have no conclusion from this. I'm so sorry to say. I mean, other than, you know, it's, it's just making me reflect, it's making me reflect in a really deep and nuanced way of what my work means and what I want my work to be and how I wanna help people. And at the end of the day, if someone wants to work with me and they wanna work a really intense full-time job and they, they're ready to do the [00:32:00] work and they are so open to the recommendations that I give and any prescriptions that I give and my analysis of what's going on in their body. If they are open and ready for that and they're like straight up like, "I want you to help me be able to work better," I can. I can do that. And if people are seeking my help for that and are ready and willing, I don't think I'm gonna push that away.

[00:32:25] But there is something in my heart that is

[00:32:31] calling me more towards like, "Karinda, the problem isn't women's bodies." Do you know what I mean? Like, wow. Woah. the problem isn't women's bodies and you need to help these women fix their bodies to adapt to this healthy system, right? It's not that, it's, it's, I need to fix the system, fix the dysfunctional system to [00:33:00] restore health to women's bodies because it's the dysfunctional system that is creating and initiating these changes in our bodies that aren't conducive to health or fertility or wellness or thriving, which is what I purport to support.

[00:33:17] Pardon the rhyming.

[00:33:19] I really don't have, I, I, I don't have a conclusion and, and I'm so sorry that this podcast isn't like, uh, a neat little package of, here are my top tips for beating the system. I just wanted to amplify that post. Because it really struck something deep in me and I wanted to amplify it because I'm sure there will be so many of you who hear those words and go, whoa.

[00:33:54] And something in your body, in your brain, in your soul might just go [00:34:00] ch, might just click. A certain gear, might turn within you, and that might open the pathway for your own healing wellness journey, for your own restoration of cyclical embodiment and being more in tune with your biological rhythm.

[00:34:22] And maybe the resolve, maybe my own resolve and my own conclusion for now is the post itself. I, here I am, sort of feeling down about the system and like, "oh my God, it's, it's, it's harming women's bodies. It's harming fertility."

[00:34:42] I'm feeling that, but the message of the post is like, "Hey, this is a really significant time in history. It's the first time that we are gonna be, in a Yang Fire horse year in period nine since 1846." [00:35:00] This is a time for change. And maybe my role in this is to just be another voice out of the, the hundreds and thousands and millions of beautiful female voices who are also sharing this work and this wisdom and nudging people back towards their power, back towards their cyclical self.

[00:35:25] And maybe that's my role this year is to just be like, you know what, a revolution is coming. The system is inevitably, it inevitably gonna change because this system cannot sustain itself. I think we all maybe see that in different ways. You know, just have a conversation about like house ownership, property ownership.

[00:35:46] Or having somewhere to live. Or discrimination or burnout, chronic health issues and the rise of chronic health issues, like [00:36:00] it can't sustain itself. No matter whether you look at it from a political perspective, a health perspective, a financial perspective, socioeconomic perspective. I can't really see this system sustaining itself, so I am going to embrace the energy

[00:36:15] of the Chinese New Year, of the Yang fire horse in period nine. And I'm gonna reflect on the fact that the last time we were in this symbolic energy was a time where women were informed by their biological cyclical rhythm, and then industry and work took over. And now today. This year, we are back in that energy that reflected women's embodied empowerment.

[00:36:53] We were in our power and we lived based on our biological power [00:37:00] and that informed life.

[00:37:04] I'm just imagining like the, the autonomy and the, the sovereignty that we would've felt without all these external pressures triggering our bodies, you know, harming our bodies.

[00:37:19] So this gets to be a year of change. Look at me. I'm turning it around on the spot, guys. I'm really, I've gone through a lot of feelings through this episode.

[00:37:26] This year gets to be a year of change, and maybe that's also helping me, you know, see the importance and the significance of, you know, the calendar years that I, that a part of me so wants to just ignore. Maybe there is some beautiful symbolic magic to it. And so if I'm leaning into that magic, this gets to be a year of remembering your cyclical power, remembering that there is a wise biological rhythm and intelligence working [00:38:00] within you.

[00:38:01] That is a key to feeling empowered. It's a key to feeling well in your body. It's a key to creative power. It's a key to fertility and being able to generate and procreate life.

[00:38:24] It holds the answer to so much. And this gets to be the year that we remember that and we step back into that. And maybe there's a way that we can still, obviously still work and generate incomes and contribute to our families and help support our families and contribute to our own, you know, best lives.

[00:38:48] Maybe there's a way we can continue to do that, but put our cycles and put our biological rhythm at the forefront, and go, [00:39:00] "work's important to me. Money's important to me, supporting my family and. Being in a good F financial position is important to me." Maybe all those things can can be true, "but my health and my body comes first and I let that lead the way."

[00:39:17] Yeah. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Wow. Look at that. Once again, I'm landing on the conclusion that it gets to be a "both and" situation. I didn't know where that would take me. I'm glad I got to where I landed and I really hope more than anything else, I really hope that this share, my words, but, and especially the words of rhythms of health and that post that I will link below,

[00:39:44] I really hope that got you reflecting on what biological rhythm means to you. I hope it got you reflecting on your own cyclical power and how you currently feel about your cyclical power. Do you feel like it's at the forefront? Do you feel like it's the most important thing in your [00:40:00] life? Does it feel like a strong guiding force in your life, or is it sort of being covered and like sheltered by these other external pressures and obligations?

[00:40:11] Curious. Let me know how it's landed for you. Like genuinely I'm this, this just sparked something in me. I trust that it's gonna spark something in you, but I don't know that, so please do let me know. I am so, so happy to hear from you based on any of the episodes of the Oh My Menses podcast that you listen to.

[00:40:31] If it sparks up any questions for you, ask them if it sparks up any thoughts or feelings, share them with me. You can email me. My email is in, the show notes or the description, wherever you're watching or listening to this. And you can also message me on Instagram @karinda.wholistix

[00:40:48] K-A-R-I-N-D-A-W-H-O-L-I-S-T-I-X. Yeah, let me know, let me know. And may the seed of the [00:41:00] beginning of this new year period be that we get to come back to our female cyclical power.

[00:41:10] Take care. Take a deep breath.

[00:41:17] And I will see you in the next one.