Cycle Syncing Guide Part 4: Your Luteal Phase - Decode Your Menstrual Cycle and Enhance Your Fertility with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Welcome to the FINAL part in our series: Decode Your Menstrual Cycle and Enhance Your Fertility with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. This series has everything you need to understand your menstrual cycle and its phases, and how to support your body through it all! Be sure to check out Part 1: Menstrual Phase, Part 2 Follicular Phase, and Part 3: Ovulation Phase of the series for the ultimate guide to your cycle!

What You Need to Know

The luteal phase is a time in between ovulation and the next period (days 15-28) and is known as “inner autumn”. During this time, a mature egg (corpus luteum) produces progesterone which helps thicken the uterine lining to prepare a fertilized egg for implantation. If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone levels drop, causing the thickened uterine lining to shed, which is the start of the next period. 

This time is also the notorious ‘premenstrual phase’ in which many women experience unwanted symptoms. Some of these being PMS/PMDD, acne, fatigue, migraines, swelling/water retention, or cramping. These are all signs of luteal phase dysregulation. 

How to Support Your Body

What can we do to support the body during this time? Plenty! The whole idea behind ‘cycle syncing’ is to identify the naturally occurring ebbs and flows with our hormonal system, and learn to work WITH it. Our hormonal system affects everything in our body from energy levels, digestion, immune system, to mitochondrial functions, etc. It's important to know where to support the body based on where hormones are at.

Energy levels are decreasing during this time, so opting for moderate intensity will serve you best: cycling, pilates, low incline walking, or light strength training are some good options. 

Nutritionally, focusing on:

• Vitamin b rich foods like dark leafy greens, eggs, beef, liver, seafood/fish, pumpkin, bone broth and sweet potatoes are great options to support your body in proper hormone production and for strengthening of the uterine lining. If pregnancy is your goal, vitamin b is essential for successful implantation. 

• Magnesium rich foods such as chicken, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, quinoa, dark chocolate, legumes are good for reducing any premenstrual tension, anxiety/stress, mood imbalance, and proper energy levels. 

Acupuncture is a great way to treat the root imbalances associated with follicular phase irregularities by identifying which organ systems need support and guiding them into functioning efficiently and optimally. Acupuncture can:

1. Reduce PMS/PMDD symptoms such as pain/cramping, emotional imbalances, acne, fatigue, migraines, and water retention.

2. Optimize uterine environment by optimizing mitochondrial activity, blood flow, nutrient utilization for egg/uterine lining quality and strength

3. Regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis (HPO) which strengthens the communication between ovaries and brain to address any hormonal imbalances.

Interested in getting to the bottom of your cyclical symptoms? Want to stop dreading your period? Want to learn how to use acupressure for period relief? Looking for no-BS strategies to balance hormones? Check out our on demand masterclass: How to Understand & Align With Your Menstrual Cycle

If you’re local to the Milwaukee area and you want 1-1 support, schedule a complimentary consultation at our clinic in Franklin and meet with one of our expert acupuncturists!

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