How Cyclical Living Can Enhance & Support Your Wellbeing

Lately, I have been sharing a lot more about Cyclical Living with my mailing list subscribers (not a subscriber? join HERE!), but I haven't shared much outside the monthly Studio Newsletter, and I would like to change that.

Cyclical Living is something I've always been passionate about, and woven throughout my personal and professional spiritual and wellness practices. I've wanted to share more with my clients and community for years, but I really struggled to distill the information into easily digestible, sharable content. That is, until now!

I finally managed to create a few resources to support my own cyclical alignment, and after using and refining them, I knew they had to be shared! However, I didn't want to just put them out into the world without also offering personal guidance and support to help you integrate these healing principles into your own life.

Cyclical Living has been truly life changing for me, and the clients I have already shared it with, and I really want it to have the same impact on you. So, not only have I released some FREE downloadable resources (sign up to receive them here!), but I will also be creating a new 1:1 and small group offering that will allow me to walk beside you, providing ongoing guidance and support, as you integrate and alchemize this knowledge into your own personal practices.

For now, however, I am going to explore what Cyclical Living is, how it has supported me, how it can support you, and how to begin applying the principles in your everyday life!

Let's start with the basics; what is Cyclical Living?

Cyclical Living is founded on a few key principles:

• All life/reality is made up of energy (oneness), and its essential nature is cyclical (duality, Yin Yang). All life is born from the infinite and primordial energetic cycle of expansion and contraction (creation and destruction, life and death etc.)

• This macrocosmic (greater) cycle permeates our earthly-human experience (evident in the life, seasonal, solar, lunar, and menstrual cycles), and can be observed moving through four key phases, Death (total contraction), Regeneration (steady expansion), Life (total expansion), and Degeneration (steady contraction)

• If all life/reality is created and sustained by an infinite dance of expansion and contraction, then aligning ourselves with the ebbs and flows of this great cycle, wherever we observe it within our lives, will enhance, support and sustain our lives

To summarize, Cyclical Living as a philosophy is the understanding that all of life/reality is cyclical, moving through an infinite cycle of contraction and expansion that cannot be altered or prevented. Cyclical Living as a practice is the conscious observation of, and personal alignment with, the cyclical nature of our experience, wherever and however it appears in our day-to-day lives, by responding to our observations in a way that works with the cycle and it's phases, rather than against them.

In my personal definition, I have specified aligning with cyclicality wherever and however it appears, because while this cycle is clearly evident in nature through the life, seasonal, menstrual, lunar and solar cycles, it permeates all of reality, and thus can also be observed occurring physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, in our relationships, career, society, economy, businesses, everywhere.

Once you understand the energetics of the four key phases of the greater cycle, you can observe and align with all its minor expressions throughout your life and experience.

To highlight some of the subtle ways Cyclical Living has supported me throughout my wellness journey, I'd like to share a recent personal experience.

2024 was particularly difficult professionally, despite being incredibly profound, powerful and transformative personally…

Business slowed down significantly, and while I understood that the rising cost of living hit many people hard, and my services are often one of the first to go when people experience financial difficulties, it felt like there was something deeper at play…

What I felt, but was unable to see clearly at the time, was that my business was moving through another Winter phase (note my use of the word "another", because this has happened before, and it will happen again), but because I failed to recognize that in the beginning, I reactively fought and resisted the experience...

I tried to push, control, force, and make things happen when and the way I wanted them to. I could feel the energy of desperation in everything I did to try and expand my business. Aside from my 1:1 sessions and, later, my monthly Studio Newsletter, nothing I tried felt aligned or like it came from the heart. It all felt like a knee jerk reaction, a stress response, and yet I kept resisting, kept constricting against what was.

This reaction made sense from a protection/survival perspective - my business is my livelihood, it’s how I support myself and my family, so, naturally, a contraction felt like a threat to my safety, stability and security, and my nervous system wanted to fight back, take action - but it is not what was needed in the moment. My resistance was only deepening and prolonging my struggle, rather than alleviating it. What I needed to do was to surrender, to soften into my experience. I needed to accept the phase I was in, tune into it, and connect with what it had to tell, teach, and/or gift me.

By fighting against the natural energetic currents swirling around and within me, trying to take expansive action while immersed in a contracted phase, I was the one keeping myself stuck, stressed, and burnt out. Everything around me demanded I rest, turn inward, listen to my heart, intuition and business, but instead I was trying to change and control the state that I was in because I didn’t like it, I felt uncomfortable, unsafe, and afraid.

Softening into something that feels threatening may seem counter intuitive, but let me put it to you this way: has hating, fighting, resisting, complaining about, or trying to avoid Winter, ever made it end sooner, or stopped it from happening altogether? Has it ever enhanced your enjoyment of the season? Has it ever helped or supported you through the season?

Those were rhetorical questions because I guarantee the answer to all of them is: no.

So, why resist? How is resistance helping or supporting you? What are you actually gaining from resisting your experience? It seems pointless now, right?

Now, what would happen if you acknowledged and accepted the season you were in?

Again, rhetorical: you would likely adapt to the season, tailor your expectations, actions and activities to work with it, and in doing so, alleviate the tension, frustration and suffering that comes with resistance, and actually get more out of the season!

Another factor to consider, is that without fully embracing the season you're in, you can't truly move on to the next, and even if you did, your experience would be stunted, because the season before is what lays the foundation for the next, and so on. There is a genuine reason for every season, we can't skip the ones we hate and prolong the ones we like.

Imagine the phases as levels in a video game. Each is designed to gradually give you the tools, skills, and understandings that prepare you for the next. If you don’t complete the level you’re on, or try to cheat and rush through it, you’ll be ill equipped to handle the next one, and you will struggle to grow or progress, forced to repeat the same level over and over until you get what you need to move forward.

In Winter, seeds that were dropped in Autumn send their roots down into the earth to gather nutrients, in Spring they send their shoots up and out of the earth to soak up the sun and grow stronger, any fruits, flowers and seeds will ripen in Summer, and then drop in Autumn, and the cycle repeats. If the seeds rushed to sprout before Springs arrival, they would die of frost. If they sprout before establishing their roots, they will die from lack of nutrients. If they sprout in Spring too late, and Summer hits before they are established, they will die from heat. If they do not fruit in the Summer, there will be no seeds to drop in Autumn, and there will be no new life in Spring.

So, my point is, it wasn’t until I reconnected with the philosophies of Cyclical Living that I was able to recognize this phase in business for what it was, and it wasn't until I softened into, and gained what I needed to gain from it, that I was finally able to move through it.

This is the heart of what Cyclical Living intends to teach and instill within us. That the very nature of life and our reality is cyclical. Cyclicality is what creates and sustains life. It can't be changed, rushed, cheated or avoided, and it's through an awareness of the phases we're experiencing, learning how to best support ourselves through them, and receiving the lessons, gifts, tools, and understandings they have to give us, that allows us to continue living, growing, and thriving.

Cyclical Living philosophies and practices are what enabled me to support myself through this difficult period in my business, and as I softened into this Winter phase, I realized that these principles are vital to the foundation of my wellness practices. They are woven throughout everything that I do, offer, and the way I move through the world, and this business has been calling me to share more of this wisdom, so here I am! (I guess I received my Winter wisdom and now I'm in my Spring, finally!)

So, hopefully you now have a clear understanding of what Cyclical Living means, and are at least beginning to understand how it can support your wellbeing. However, if it wasn't clear already, resisting and constricting against your experience only perpetuates tension, pain, frustration, stagnation, and dis-ease. Conscious awareness of, and alignment with, each phase of the cycle alleviates constriction and promotes health and wellbeing through greater self-compassion and understanding, the ability to manage our self-expectations, know our limits, set appropriate boundaries, identify and better support our needs, take greater advantage of our strengths and the gifts each season has to offer, and accept that there is a reason for every season, and no season lasts forever.

As the life, seasonal, lunar, solar and menstrual cycles are just minor reflections of the greater contraction and expansion cycle, I won't be going into detail on each individual cycle here, I'll be focusing on the four core phases and their energies. I find this approach simplifies Cyclical Living and avoids the overwhelm of trying to observe, understand and align with a thousand little cycles all at once (which is how I started my journey). If you understand the energies behind the four phases, you'll be able to apply the themes and principles to every minor expression of the greater cycle.

So, what are the energies of the four phases?

The best way to explore these energies is through their common associations, however, I ask that you only use the following information as a guide. This is something that needs to be felt experientially in order to be understood and integrated into practice, so just use the information I provide as a foundation for exploring what these phases mean to you, how they feel for you, and what best supports you during each.

Death

Embodied within the Death, Winter, Dark Moon, Midnight, and Menstruation phases, this energy corresponds with the depth of darkness, death, cold, dormancy, suspension, cessation, rest and digestion, sensitivity, stillness, softness, shedding, releasing, gestation, the fertile void, flow, intuition, introversion, hibernation, emotions, and being.

This phase embodies the deterioration and decay that creates the fertile ground for the coming Spring. Essentially, everything since the previous Winter phase is being composted, alchemized, transmuted, into pure energy that can then be directed towards anything! This state is incredibly potent, and many miss it's magic due to fear and societal conditioning, but if you are willing to surrender to the destruction, what you are left with will be exactly what you need to move forward into even bigger, better things.

This phase is best supported by rest, relaxation, pausing or slowing down, just being, bringing intentionality to your day, quiet contemplation, deep feeling, self inquiry, reflection, exploration and connection, reflecting on the past and setting intentions for the future, cleansing and clearing out the old, planning and preparing for the future, laying foundations, planting seeds and putting down roots (like I mentioned earlier!)

When resisting:

You may feel creatively blocked, disconnected, lost, overwhelmed, stuck, frustrated, disheartened, heavy, fatigued, resistant, defiant, afraid, desperate, drained, a sense of needing to control, avoid, or distract yourself from your experience, or life (work, relationships, hobbies etc.) may feel unusually difficult or forced.

When surrendering:

You may feel very reflective, peaceful, calm, sensitive, tender, emotional, introverted, a sense of ease, flow, relief, release, maybe even grief or sadness that you are able to witness and surrender to without getting lost or overwhelmed. You may perceive intuitive messages more clearly, and receive inspiration and ideas more easily.

Regeneration

Embodied within the Birth, Spring, First Quarter, Dawn, and Pre-Ovulation phases, this energy corresponds with equilibrium and the steady expansion from dark to light, birth, warmth, the return of light and life, infancy/youth, innocence, opening, newness, growth, cultivation, freshness, nurturance, joy, excitement, curiosity, expansion, hope, promise, inspiration, and fertility.

This phase embodies birth and the early stages of growth, curiosity and eagerness to learn, the trial and error, innocence and joy that come with being unconditioned by life's experiences. There is fragility, as things are still new, fresh and in need of care and attention, but don't be afraid to take chances and make mistakes because they are lessons and opportunities for further growth. Many people can get disheartened or disillusioned during this phase when their plans or progress is impeded, things don't go the way they want them to, or aren't happening as quickly as they want, but if you are able to remain open, curious, and eager to learn and grow, this is your opportunity to clarify and refine your goals, intentions, and direction.

This phase is best supported by nurturance and cultivation, moving slowly, treating yourself gently, tenderly, not rushing, focusing on nurturing the seeds of plans, tuning into what they need from you to grow, slowly starting to emerge from hibernation and reconnecting with the wider community, reaching out for help or support, taking guidance and advice from those you admire, intentional networking, being open to learning, growing, reassessing and changing directions if needed, building and establishing, being open and curious while exercising discernment, and using your energy wisely.

When resisting:

You may feel desperate, rushed, pressured, overwhelmed, unsure, unconfident, unsteady, unsupported, you may struggle to progress, feeling stalled, underdeveloped, you may also resent or reject guidance or support, believing that you should know everything and shouldn't need help, you may spend too much time and energy watching others, and feel compelled to copy what they are doing out of fear of forging your own path and getting it wrong, you may struggle with feelings of failure, or things not going the way you want them to.

When surrendering:

You may feel a strong sense of energy building and growing within and around you, you may feel sensitive, fragile, renewed, fresh, open, curious, excited, expansive, hopeful, creative, joyful, playful, your ideas and pursuits may feel like they are growing and expanding easefully, when you are faced with challenges you may navigate them with ease, integrating the lessons and pivoting where necessary, you may also be able to see that these deviations were necessary, and the outcome is better for them, and you are open to guidance and advice from those more experienced than you, while also starting to discern what works for you and what doesn't.

Life

Embodied within the Maturation, Summer, Full Moon, Midday, and Ovulation phases, this energy corresponds with the height of light, the peak of life, heat, action, activity, maturity, power, energy, vibrance, strength, confidence, stability, structure, virility, vitality, completion, clarity, success, achievement, fullness, abundance, expression, and extroversion.

This phase embodies maturation and fullness, the peak of life, and is the beginning of the harvest season (literally and figuratively). All the preparation and cultivation of the Winter and Spring seasons is finally bearing fruit! The innocent, infantile trial and error phase has given way to maturity, wisdom, experience, and greater clarity of purpose. It's time to celebrate the wins, successes, and achievements, and share your wisdom and abundance with your community! Dance and rejoice in the fullness of life, and go forth with confidence!

This phase is best supported by celebrating and taking pride in your wins and achievements, being big, bold and brave, standing in your power, launching projects, sharing and expressing yourself, being in community, action and activity, and applying your energy and abundance where it’s needed. This phase is many peoples favorite as they tend to feel their best, however, this can lead to exhausting all of your energy and resources, so be conscious of your capacity, and try not to exceed it.

When resisting:

You may feel manic, erratic, unfocused, unclear, busy, overly energized with nowhere to concentrate it, jumping from one thing to the next, a sense of trying to cram too many things in at once such as filling your calendar up with lots of work/social events with little thought or consideration for your capacity, and then feeling burnt out afterwards, a sense of desperation to get things done/take more advantage of this energy, frustration at your own capacity/lack of, and fear, stress, or worry that you are not doing/achieving enough, you may also feel hyper focused on your failures/what you haven't achieved.

When surrendering: 

You may feel energized, focused, clear, inspired, social, empowered, magnetic, sensual, creative, alive, clear on goals and able to take action, aware of your capacity and discerning of how you utilize it, aware of what has not worked this season, but able to view it through the lens of a lesson learned and not a failure to be ashamed of, you may also feel a sense of inner peace, calm, and fulfillment, looking on your successes and achievements with pride and satisfaction.

Degeneration

Embodied within the Decline, Autumn, Last Quarter, Dusk, and Pre-Menstruation phases, this energy corresponds with equilibrium and the steady contraction from light to dark, deterioration, light and life diminishing, cooling, softening, fading, descending, sinking, withering, decaying, heaviness, clearing, cleansing, letting go, and preparation.

This phase embodies the decline and decay that follows the height of life, and precedes death. For many, this phase feels more loaded and taboo than the death phase. It can be quite confronting, coming down from the heightened peak state of Summer and facing our own mortality and inevitable decline. The magic of this phase is in the shedding, letting go of who you were, taking stock of who you are, assessing your resources, what worked and what didn't, and preparing to turn inwards.

This phase is best supported by harvesting the last of your fruits, slowing down, clearing, cleansing, decluttering, letting go of what's not needed, preparing and preserving what is needed, completing and closing off projects, assessing your wins, losses, what worked and what didn't in preparation for the next cycle, assessing what lies ahead and building energy stores and supports for the coming season, reducing social commitments, slowly withdrawing from extended community, and beginning to direct more energy towards yourself and your immediate circle.

When resisting:

You may feel a desperation to extend the Summer season, maintain the same work/social calendar, and connections with the wider community, you may feel fear or denial about what lies ahead, or that time is running out or moving too quickly, like you're rushing to get things done, frantic, scattered, overwhelmed, a sense of scarcity or lack.

When surrendering: 

You may feel content, complete, proud, fulfilled, reflective, introspective, peaceful, calm, relaxed, grateful, appreciative, abundant, connected to your loved ones, and like sharing all you have done and achieved with those closest to you.

Before moving on, take a moment to consider your own associations with each season, and how you feel and behave during each. Once you develop an experiential understanding of these energies, you will begin to recognize how they show up in your life and personal experience. The next step is to familiarize yourself with they impact you physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually, and what best supports you through each.

To start, I recommend using a physical cycle as your reference point, such as the Seasonal, Lunar, or Menstrual Cycle (as opposed to an abstract one like energetic, business, relationship etc.), and spend some time connecting with how you feel and what you need physically, mentally, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually during each phase. Keep a record of your reflections, and once you have experienced a few complete cycles, you will notice patterns emerging in your thoughts, emotions, sensory experience, behaviors, and needs.

I recommend using a physical cycle as your foundation because their shifts are easy to identify and observe, and they reoccur consistently. I find the Seasonal Cycle to be the most tangible - we can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel its shifts and their impact on us - however, it occurs over a 1 year period, meaning it can take time to recognize patterns in your experience. While the Lunar and Menstrual Cycles reoccur roughly every 28 days, and tend to have tangible impacts on our mental-emotional states, (along with physical, in the case of the Menstrual cycle), which allows you to observe reoccurring patterns over a shorter period.

Once you become familiar with how the phases impact your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, you will be able to identify which phase you are experiencing simply by tuning into your experience, and you will know exactly what to do to better support yourself!

I hope this post has helped you develop a deeper connection to the natural world, and your self, and I can't wait to share more soon! In the meantime, don't forget to join my mailing list to receive your FREE Four Phases Energy Guide chart and eBook AND register for my FREE 60-minute Cyclical Alignment Masterclass, where I will guide you through the energies of the phases, and help you explore their impact on you and what you can do to best support yourself!