every phase #9 - follicular - 3rd cycle

going the distance

Mercury Retrograde is over 🙏 & I am so grateful to be back on this visual journey with you all!I hope you were able to reset, recharge, and whatever else you needed to "re-"I know I certainly did.  While there was some recharging and rest, there was more "rethinking"& redoing."  

Which are precisely what's required for going the distance. As you know, there have been many depictions throughout history of the ovaries and uterus, and I have been inspired by all of them.  My Rocky Balboa-inspired piece represents the idea that there is internal peace through strength.  Health & wellness are gained as a result of developing yourself, facing the truth, and ultimately setting yourself free. This has definitely been true for me in my healing.

As the follicle is formed in preparation to 'bleed rainbows', the boxing gloves represent the development of strength, with the abstracted fallopian tubes shown as flowering rainbows, representing the peace & wellness gained from that strength, as it blooms into a lily. The rainbow continues to pour itself, leading the eye to the staircase within the Palace of Justice.  With, of course, the ruling decision-maker of our bodies (us) seated at the throne.

As estrogen rises during the follicular phase, the 'first' phase of the new cycle after the menstrual phase, it boosts the brain's working memory capability--the ability to handle complex processing tasks.  Estrogen's effect on the brain greatly improves the ability to solve problems, strategize, and plan.  

Egg follicles swell to prepare and estrogen increases to thicken the uterine lining so that it can host an egg--just as the possibilities in our lives reveal themselves so that we can discover them.  The day I realized I was free was like being at the top of this staircase.

What keeps me there is the understanding that the only thing you can ever be free from is your own resistance.

Through my art, I am healed, and I heal others.

& in case you've forgotten, I love you 💌

Biohack your Follicular Phase... 

Right after your period ends, you can feel fatigued and less focused. CoQ10 is an antioxidant that supports healthy energy levels, protects our cells against oxidative stress, and may even help reverse some of the damage caused by free radicals. (That is a fancy way of saying that it helps slow down aging). CoQ10 helps support balanced blood sugar, which is essential for maintaining healthy hormones, and it helps promote good ovarian response and egg health. 

*Info above from floliving.com

More info on the Follicular phase here

More info on infradian rhythm + hormonal health: Womancode + In the flo