Transform Your Family Life with Cycle Syncing: A Deep Dive w/ Cassandra Mulhern

Welcome back, eco-minded mamas! In Part 2 of our enlightening conversation with Cassandra Mulhern (mama of 2 and Cycling Syncing expert from Cycle Synced), we dive deeper into the transformative practice of syncing up your life with your menstrual cycle and its profound impact on family dynamics. If you missed Part 1, be sure to check it out to understand the basics of cycle syncing.

In this episode, we explore:

• Cycle Syncing for Happier Homes: How aligning your life with your menstrual cycle can bring more happiness and reduce stress for your entire family.
• Communicating Your Needs: Practical tips on how to discuss your cycle with your partner and kids to foster understanding and support.
• Tangible Steps to Start Today: Easy-to-implement actions to begin your cycle syncing journey immediately.
• Overcoming Mindset Blocks: Addressing the feelings of guilt and selfishness that may arise when prioritizing your well-being.
• Creating Supportive Environments: The benefits of making cycle syncing a normal part of family and workplace routines.

Cassandra shares her personal experiences and actionable advice on tracking your cycle, communicating effectively with loved ones, and integrating cycle syncing into everyday life. We also discuss how to use digital tools and shared calendars to keep everyone on the same page, making it easier to navigate the ups and downs of each phase.

Don’t miss this empowering episode packed with insights to help you and your family thrive through the power of cycle syncing.

P.S. Please subscribe and leave a review if you found this episode helpful. Share it with fellow mamas who could benefit from the life-changing practice of cycle syncing! 🌸

Resources:

• Download Cassandra's free Cycle Syncing Toolkit here
• Register for her live webinar on June 22nd and use the special discount code "ecosync" for our listeners to receive 20% off
• Follow Cassandra on Instagram @cycle.synced 
• Join our Eco-Minded Mama Collective (below) for an exclusive Live Q&A with Cassandra, as well as several more perks!! 

Pssst--
🌟 It's Jumpstart June! 🌟 June is my favorite month because there is so much I'm personally celebrating, and I'd love to spread the joy by gifting you ONE FREE month inside our Eco-Minded Mama Collective! ➡️ Use the code JUMPSTART at checkout to receive one free month and let's jumpstart your sustainable living journey with instant access to everything you need to start saving money & reducing your stress levels + carbon footprint!

⏰ code expires at midnight on June 30th, 2024

Transcript

Katie Kurpanek: 0:00

Okay, welcome back Mama's. So in part one of our conversation with Cassandra Mulhern, we covered the basics of what cycle syncing is and how it can benefit our lives. So if you missed that episode, you are going to want to pause this right now go back one and listen to part one. So it sets up the whole foundation for what we're gonna talk about today. So now we're going to round out this conversation by talking more in depth about how cycles thinking our lifestyle can impact our family dynamics. And then we'll unpack more like specific steps to start taking so you can start syncing up your life with your cycle today. I'm Katie, if we haven't met yet, I'm a mama coach and a podcaster focused on empowering eco minded mamas like yourself to live sustainably, so you can live with less stress. So let's get into it. Cassandra, this is something that you actually share a ton about on your social media. I love following you for that reason. So what have you and your family experienced since you began cycle syncing your routines? And communicating about that with them?

Cassandra Mulhern: 1:00

In one word, happiness, right? Don't we all deserve to have a little bit more happiness in our lives? Absolutely. One thing that really stands out to me, it was a statistic that I saw, like a week or so ago about how many people over the age of 18 are on a mental health medication. Of that the rate for women is about two times the rate of men. So that stands out to me huge that like women are just mentally feeling... What's the word I'm looking for? Let down, right? We try and keep up like I had said in the previous episode in this male driven society of go go go. And we are not capable of doing that. And that is affecting our mental health. Right? So cyclical living and cycle syncing has brought about a lot of happiness for both myself and for my family, right learning to communicate my feelings has reflected in less resentment in our household, more help with the duties that's like sometimes slack for me during that luteal phase, right? And that just elevates everyone. Like there's less grinding, there's less resentment, all of the things which is again equals more happiness.

Katie Kurpanek: 2:09

Hmm. Oh, I love that so much. So I don't know about you, but I would guess maybe it was the same way. Talking about my period growing up was like taboo, you just didn't do it. Or if you did, it was like a girls only thing. And I actually really want to change this like I, in my home currently, I have a son. And I want this kind of conversation to be just just not taboo, I want to be normalized. All that to say, I feel like this can be navigated so much better than how we were raised with. So I would love to hear more about like, how do you talk about this with your partner? And with your kids? How do you talk about your cycle and your own needs through each of the four phases?

Cassandra Mulhern: 2:54

For sure. Well, it definitely wasn't easy. In the beginning, it felt weird. It definitely felt weird. But it was something that like a discomfort zone, if you will, that I pushed myself through to make it happen. And now like occasionally, my husband will ask me like, What cycle day are we on? Like, how's your luteal phase going? What can I do to help out right? Well, it's my kids like so for me, I take it as you know, during my follicular phase, it's a lot more about that serving and giving and connecting. So I'm intentionally finding ways that I can do things with my kids, show up for them, speak their love languages, and just serve, right. And so they see that and I'll speak about that in a way of like, Hey, I'm feeling really great today. Let's do something that you want to do. But then when I'm in my luteal phase, I definitely mention like mommy's feeling a little grumpy. Today, I'm gonna need a little space. And I always highlight it with if I'm yelling today, or feeling extra mad, it's not your fault. It's just how I'm feeling today, right? But in doing that, even just mentioning that, they are less likely to aggravate me or do the things like I'll ask them to do something, and they'll do it the first time rather than on the fifth time. So there's less chance of me yelling, right? And so communicating that just opens that door for help and understanding. So that we're grinding less, right. And so I'm just I'm making sure that like through each of the phases, like everybody knows, when I start my period, we're taking the day off, I'm not making dinner. And you know, my kids are bringing me stuff to lay down on the couch and take a nap. Right? And again, they know that I am I'm actively engaged during my follicular phase. And so they find that balance between like, Oh, Mommy is really here during these two weeks, and then mommy really needs some rest and like, I'll take them to the kids to the park, right? And they know like, Hey, we're at the park today, but I'm enjoying the park this time from the bench rather than running around playing tag with you. So it's the way that I communicate about how I'm I'm intentionally connecting with you or Mommy needs some space.

Katie Kurpanek: 4:57

Hmm, that's amazing and I know I didn't send you this question ahead of time but I know that you touched on it in your recent webinar. Do you feel like you've had to work on like your own mindset around this with the idea of being selfish or selfless? Because when you're describing that, I automatically notice in myself this little like, hesitation that creeps up. And I, if I think about myself communicating these kinds of needs, to my partner, or my son, and like, automatically, it's just that feeling of like, oh, that, like, I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if that feels like it would be coming across as selfish, right? Like the idea that your kids would be gracious and kind to you and bring you something to take a nap on the day you start your period is like a dream to me. So did you have to work through that mindset at all?

Cassandra Mulhern: 5:52

It more just came like with the practice, right of communicating how I was feeling. Yes, in a way, like you always want to show up and be your best and do all of the things. But I also realized, like in doing that I'm depleting my patience cup. And when you're raising kids, like they're depleting that like pretty quick regardless. So the more that I can fill up my cup, the more that I can be the mom that I want to be, and walking the walk and talking the talk and showing them how to be that woman as well. And then, like, I don't have boys, but the same thing for boys for them to be raised in a house where that type of communication is normal and that type of understanding is normal, was worth any sense of like getting over that sense of being so selfish all the time. Because that's not what it is, like we are selfless as mothers around the clock, right? So taking back that sense of yourself so that you can show up better next week is well worth it.

Katie Kurpanek: 6:51

Yeah, yeah. And I feel like I want to have like, I want to push myself in this way because I want to have conversations with you know, my son, and if we have any future kids, like about self care and well being and like advocating for yourself in a more powerful way than I think what we grew up with in you know, our earlier society. And I think that it definitely shouldn't be seen as selfish to speak up for your needs, like if you are extra tired or grumpy on a day, like people are not the same all the time. So we should be able to talk about that. So I love that you are sharing this and that you are coaching people in how to do all of this. So I'm curious, what are some of the tangible steps that our listeners could take as soon as today to begin their own cycle syncing journey, like, they don't have to have this all figured out yet. They could, you know, download your resources that are linked in the show notes, and they can get in touch with you or in The Eco Minded Mama Collective. But just after listening to this episode, what are like a couple things that they could just start right away?

Cassandra Mulhern: 7:57

The number one thing that I tell women to do, even off of my webinars, anything, like the best thing you can do for yourself is just start tracking. There are hundreds of apps out there. So download like 10 of them and see which one really speaks to you. But the most important things that you want to be tracking are your cycle day and how you feel. Because I am a feelings expert, right? I'm not like a bio expert. So tracking your temperature and all of that stuff definitely is another facet of knowing your body and your cycle. But we're tracking feelings here and managing our emotions. So the best thing that you can do is be able to correlate like, Oh, I'm on cycle day 27 that correlates with this feeling consistently month to month, or I'm on cycle day 10 that correlates to this feeling pretty consistently, month to month. And the more that you can just be on top of like, oh, cycle day 10 feels like energized. Cycle day 27 feels like tired, moody. And just like know that, the more that you'll be able to be on top of planning and having the foresight and using that toolkit to plan accordingly to your schedule.

Katie Kurpanek: 9:02

Yeah, that's huge. And I know that that I mean, that takes a level of commitment, right? Because you're gonna have to wait for at least a few months to start actually recognizing patterns. So I know when I first started out a few years ago, and I had my you know, just basic journal, and started tracking. Like I was doing something similar to you. I was checking like, what day of the cycle it was. So what season or phase was I in? And how did I feel that day? And then I tried to check in with any like physical symptoms, like am I cramping? Am I feeling bloated? Or like what are those things? But I mean, really, like, if you are listening right now and you're feeling like Ooh, that's a commitment. I would just encourage you like, you're in it for the long game anyway, like, this is your this is your body and you're going through this cycle month after month anyway, so you might as well be in tune with it. And that cycle syncing toolkit that you created, like I'll just re emphasize Is that again, like download that in the show notes, because it's a really cool tool I'm planning on printing mine now. And you had mentioned like, you could even laminate it so that you can use whiteboard markers, put it on your fridge, and just, you know, reuse that week after week. I absolutely love that idea, too.

Cassandra Mulhern: 10:16

And then I also encourage people that do download that and laminate it and make it a regular thing, put it up on your refrigerator, right? So if you're that type of person that feels a little icky about talking about your period, it's just slapped there in the public for people to walk by and read and see, like, generally speaking, where your energy levels are going to be or what cycle day you're on, right? Or what types of meals we're having during that week. So just keeps us all in alignment without you having to speak up every day. And I don't speak up every day. But I try to check in at least once, maybe twice a week, and just just remind everybody where we're at.

Katie Kurpanek: 10:52

Yeah, well, it's so funny, because even a couple of weeks ago, I was having the thought that like, I was on my period, and I was like, Man, if I could just have like a signal, some kind of like red flag green flag. These are the conversations or the topics that I am open to having with my husband right now. And these are the things that I do not have the capacity to talk about right now. I was like mentally thinking about how nice it would be to just have some sort of signal that like I didn't have to try to explain. Because when you are in your menstrual phase, or even like your luteal phase, you might not have like the emotional capacity or even the brainpower to like really get into all those tough conversations. So this toolkit kind of provides that like if it's up on your fridge, and your partner knows, like, Okay, this is the phase or the cycle day that she's in, like, you know, this is what her mood is like, it may not be a good day to broach this subject.

Cassandra Mulhern: 11:48

Yeah, don't tell me about what you're annoyed with right now. Right. And one of the other things I do that I didn't even mention at the webinar that you were on is I create a digital, like a shared calendar between my husband and myself. And I literally make a calendar event for each of my phases, so that my husband can tap into that calendar event and read the notes and know exactly what are the expectations for where I'm going to be. And so for instance, that cycle day 19 or 20, that I tend to speak about quite a bit, when your progesterone is rising the most. And your mood tends to be the most unstable, right? It actually says in the notes conversation, like don't bring up difficult conversations with me today, I need help with dinner, I need help with bedtime, like, please be nice to me, let me nap, you know, that type of stuff. So it just keeps him there. And again, it's just automatically on his calendar. So that's another great tip that I recommend is just creating a digital calendar for each of the phases of your cycle.

Katie Kurpanek: 12:45

I am so all about that right now. Like if I could describe the level of joy that I just like am experiencing because I'm such an organized person. And I have no idea how I didn't think to do this before, but I'm totally going to do it now. And I think about even like if more workplaces were to acknowledge first of all, that this is even a thing and to make, you know, some I don't want to say accommodations because it's not like something negative that you have to accommodate, but like if we had this sort of shared calendar or a note system, you know, within like your circle of coworkers, How amazing would that be? And how much like workplace conflict would that resolve or just avoid altogether? Right?

Cassandra Mulhern: 13:27

Oh my gosh, yes, girl, like we both just, the light bulbs. You know, when I was first starting out with this, I was like, Oh my gosh, I could bring this to everywhere, I could bring it to the gyms, like trainers need to know how to train their clients better. I see so many male trainers teaching female, you know, athletes, things when it's like they could be more in tune with their cycle. And also with the workspace. I fully agree with that. And I was like, what if there was just like a little red and green flag that you could just stick on your desk like red flag, please do not have difficult meetings with me this week. Like I need to just sit down and do my emails and get my work done to myself. Or green flag like, Yeah, let's collaborate, let's work together. I am all for it. Like how can I help you out? Right? So I fully agree about like the workspace and just the understanding right of that culture of understanding that women are different. And so if men can be more on that same page, they would have more empathy and compassion for our capabilities, those superpowers, right? Yeah.

Katie Kurpanek: 14:25

Oh, that's huge. And there's, man, there's just like so many more questions that I have for you. But you know, for the sake of time, we're gonna have to wrap this up here. But this I definitely want to have you back on the show at some point. But also, this is why like, you do what you do. There's just so much depth to this topic. And so you offer live webinars, you offer more personalized coaching, do you want to speak a little bit about the variety of resources that you have to offer?

Cassandra Mulhern: 14:52

For sure. A lot of it is just through the webinars and workshops. If you're here locally in Denver, I do plan in person workshops. And those are kind of great to get a feel for multiple women and what they experience and how we can manage a variety of things. The online webinars are great, but we're obviously limited with time and doesn't have like quite the community vibe. And then I do offer one on one coaching, I can do a one month consultation. But ultimately, I recommend that we do three cycles, right. So the first cycle, I'm really walking you through it, the second cycle, you're really getting to know it. And by the third cycle, you have mastered this technique of managing everything, so that you can just take off and increase your own happiness on your own.

Katie Kurpanek: 15:35

That's amazing, like investing three months, essentially three cycles worth of your lifetime, into your well being. And then overall, like we've talked about, your family's well being because your relationships are going to be better off. That's just a no brainer to me. That's amazing. So I will be sure to link all of your information below, how people can get in touch with you, how they can download that free cycle syncing toolkit. So that's awesome. I also want to re emphasize two important things. I said these in the previous episode as well. But Cassandra will be hosting a live webinar more in depth on this topic on Saturday, June 22. And she has created a special discount code just for our listeners. So if you go to the show notes for this episode, you will find that there and you can register. And then she will also be featured as one of our experts as a guest inside The Eco Minded Mama Collective. This is the online membership program that I've created for eco minded mamas just like you who are wanting to support each other in all the different facets of living sustainably, month after month, week after week. So we are going to have a Live Q&A with Cassandra the week after her her webinar in June. So if you need a space for like more personal questions, that would be where you want to go. So you can check that out in the show notes. And that leads me to my second and final thing to mention, which is that this month is Jumpstart June, I am honoring my birthday, my wedding anniversary, Father's Day all these exciting things in June. And so I am gifting you all one free month for The Eco Minded Mama Collective. So if you've been kind of on the fence about whether or not you should join, if this is even for you, you should use the code JUMPSTART that's linked in the show notes at checkout. And you will receive one month for free. The code expires at the end of June. So midnight on June 30. And if you use that, you will have instant access to our digital library of video courses, any previous Live Q&As that we've had those are recorded and saved, and then you could join like the Live Q&A with Cassandra. We have a mom friends community, it's just really amazing. So check out the show notes for all these different resources. And Cassandra, thank you so much again for your time and sharing your expertise with us. This is such an important topic and I'm so glad that you do what you do.

Cassandra Mulhern: 17:57

For sure, my pleasure. I could talk periods until I'm blue in the face. So I appreciate you having me. Happy birthday and Happy anniversary, all of the things.

Katie Kurpanek: 18:06

Thank you. I appreciate that!