Nov 6, 20214 min read

Hustle Culture: Slowing Down Became Rebellion, Here's Why We Must Rebel

Hint: For our own wellbeing

Happy November Hormonoscope Fam!

As we prepare to enter winter, it's time to get comfortable with rest. It's become clear to me through my own rebellion that fall + winter are seasons of rest and society doesn't support that shift.

When we look around, people continue to rush from place to place. There's a whole lot of lack and never-ending "need" created to leave us feeling like we NEVER have time to just sit and be.

However, when we look to nature and watch the trees lose their leaves, and the greenery fade away, it reminds us of life's simplest truths. The creative cycle is one of birth, growth, harvest, and retreat. The beauty we see in the spring and summer could not exist without fall and winter, the ebb and flow of life and all things.

The same goes for you. As a cyclical being, you were not meant to operate the same way all of the time. This is one of the greatest internal struggles we face when operating within the world. So what can we do??

Do you cycle?

The menstrual cycle is the world's invisible rhythm. The monthly process that all people with ovaries go through each month is designed to ebb and flow just like the seasons do, and just like the moon does. WOW.

When you cycle, you have your own internal spring, summer, fall, and winter on top of the larger seasonal change. Meaning, we get to explore and expand upon a different side of ourselves with each shift!

Hence why we're the coolest.

If you are reading this, and you're past the ovarian rhythm phase of your life or if you're on any form of hormonal birth control, consider whether or not you've built in a monthly time of rest for yourself.

If we are honoring our cycle, we know that when we bleed, it's a time to take it easy.

Be sure to create your own space for that even if you don't get Mother Nature's reminder tapping on your womb. Additionally, operating cyclically in accordance to the moon's rhythms can bring you dynamic energy.

When you honor these rhythms to reduce your stress level, you can receive:

-More energy

-Clearer mindset

-Better mood

-Less painful period cramps

-Less feelings of overwhelm and frustration

-Self-confidence

-More presence in your life

-More love, and vulnerability

-A sense of wholeness

And much, much more.

I never recommend things I haven't tried to work through on my own. I know that it feels really difficult to slow down when we have a never ending "to do" list hanging over our heads.

Despite what's happening around us, we have to be the ones to stand up and ask for what we need and the space for it. Hustle culture won't change overnight, but by elevating ourselves, we can create change.

Here are a few things that have helped me slow down and get curious about my state of wellness:

Physically move slower.

Observe how quickly you are moving. Embodiment teacher Madelyn Moon said: "When we move quickly, we are literally embodying hustle culture." This thought helped me think a lot differently about how I live.

This practice works well during a walk, driving, or simply moving around the kitchen while preparing dinner. Stop. Observe yourself. You will come to realize that moving fast to get things done fast encourages anxious feelings.

This is because our body literally can't understand why we are moving fast, it only knows to associate the feeling of "rushing" with tension and angst. Set aside some time for a walk, preferably outside, and see how slowly you can move while enjoying the scenery around you. Remember to breathe, and observe how you feel afterwards when you're less stressed out.

Get out of fight or flight mode.

A lot of us spend way too much time in fight or flight mode AKA with our Sympathetic Nervous System activated. This used to be used solely to protect us from life threatening situations, however now in this modern world, everything can feel life threatening from a meeting with your boss to logging in to Instagram.

Become aware of how you feel in fight or flight, and when you feel it, allow yourself to stop and breathe for 4 full breaths. Breathing out for 1 second longer than you inhale will help by activating your Parasympathetic Nervous System more.

If you are consistently struggling with anxious or racing thoughts, there's a possibility you may have an deficiency in what's called GABA. GABA is essential for emotional regulation. It has a calming effect that helps protect the brain from overwhelming circumstances. Chronically imbalanced estrogen levels can act upon your thyroid's function to decrease your body's levels of GABA.

If you suspect this as a possibility, I offer 1:1 support for navigating differing hormonal imbalance. Simply contact me at hello@thehormonoscope.

Talk to yourself

Essentially, journaling is talking to ourselves, but some prefer to do this out loud and record the self-conversation. If talking it out helps you process, then go for it! Journaling is a way of talking it out through written word, and it can be very calming to get inside your own mind and see where your mindset could use some adjustments. As much as I love audio journaling or typing in our phone's notes, keep in mind that different pathways in the brain are activated with the physical act of putting pen to paper.

Raise your bodily awareness

Staying in tune with the sensations that arise in your body is a very powerful tool. This self-inquiry and curiosity is what will lead us into deeper wellness and well-being.

Our intuition is a powerful gift that lies within the feelings of our own body. If we tense up... why? If we have pain in a certain area, why? What is your anxiety telling you?

As a Holistic Practitioner, I'm training to look at all imbalance through this lens of body, mind, and spirit. The approach opens up multiple streams of potential healing, which I know you'll find more powerful than just one, singular approach.

Remember that like the trees, you need your times of rest to fully bloom. Honor this.

One year of Hormonoscope and we're still going strong! Get texts every week correlated to the phase of your cycle that you are in. Pings and reminders to help you remember to flow, and accept the shifts from week to week. We go through food, exercise, mindset, moon phases, relationships, and more.