Inspired with Nika Lawrie

Boost Productivity and Feel Better by Syncing with Your Cycle with Renae Fieck

• Renae Fieck • Season 2024 • Episode 96

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Can understanding your menstrual cycle unlock new levels of personal and professional empowerment? In this episode, I chat with Renae Fieck, an occupational therapist turned cycle-syncing advocate, about how aligning activities with the phases of your menstrual cycle can transform productivity and well-being. Renae shares actionable tips for syncing your life with hormonal shifts and embracing your cycle as a tool for growth, energy, and creativity. Plus, learn more about her new book, Cycle Sync Your Busines

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Nika Lawrie:

Welcome to the Inspired with.

Nika Lawrie:

Nika Laurie podcast. Renee Fick. Welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you here today. Thanks, I am so thrilled to be here. Yeah, so we are going to talk about something that I think is really important, that most women aren't aware of. We're going to talk about cycle syncing, and I'm really excited to have you on the show because it's something I've talked about with my clients, or I've posted some on Instagram about it, but I've never had an expert come on the show and actually talk about what it is and how it works. So I'm really excited to get into that with you today. But before we do, can you just tell me a little bit about yourself, how you got into cycle syncing? What's your backstory? Who are you?

Renae Fieck:

Yeah for sure. Well, thanks for having me. Yeah, I am an occupational therapist by trade, so I have had years in the medical space and then the you know actual science space and about I don't know. 10-ish. Eight years ago, somewhere around there, my husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor and so, yeah, I was working, I was raising kids, I found out I was pregnant. Literally everything happened in the same month, which is not how it always happens.

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, it hits you with everything at once, yeah, yeah. So we went on this like journey of really discovering like I don't want to be working away from the house all the time, like I want to be able to raise my kids. We're never guaranteed tomorrow. I think when you're faced with a real life or death situation, like a brain tumor or cancer or anything like that, you kind of it hits you different of like how you want to live. And so I started in network marketing trying to build a business, and if anybody's out there I've been in network marketing probably knows starting there and even owning your own business. Running your own business it's a lot of work, and sometimes more work than actually working your job, and so I was the hardest thing I think I've ever done in my life, and I've been through some serious challenges, yeah.

Renae Fieck:

Yes. So, rather than getting that time freedom back that I wanted, I actually was spending more time doing it, and I was spending more of the things that I was actually valued, Like I wanted more time with my kids and instead of putting them to bed each night, I was like having my husband do it so that I could get a few more posts done or I could get whatever done. And a few years into it I got to a point where I was like I can't do this anymore. This is not working. I'm sacrificing the things that really mean the most to me. And I reached out to my mentor at the time and she said business is just a numbers game. So if you're not getting the numbers that you want, you just need more. You just have to do more. And I was like there's nothing left in me to do more. I cannot physically do any more, and so that sent me on this rabbit hole of time management. And how can I become more effective with my time? How do I be more consistent?

Renae Fieck:

We hear so much about consistency with our habits and things, and I was just like what do I need to do? And somebody told me about cycle syncing, and I had learned about it in this mastermind I was in and it was very, very spiritual based and, like I said, I've come from more of this science background and so I wasn't really sure if I was like I don't know if I'm 100% into this. I'm not going to save my menstrual blood and dump it around the tree in the backyard. I just can't. That's not in me. But it kind of was the gateway and the spark for how do women operate differently and how are our hormones operating and how does that really impact us.

Renae Fieck:

And since then I've just gone on this massive journey of really realizing and understanding how our hormones are so different and how there just really has not been the science research done to really teach us, yeah, and so most of it's more anecdotal at this point in time, but this research that is coming out is like illuminating that so much differently. So I went all in on like how can I become the most effective in what I'm doing and how I'm working and how I'm showing up, but in a way that balances like the things that really matter the most to me and that give me that time off, and like give me the spaciousness that I want and like really just transformed everything about how I was looking at the way my body performed and like what were the expectations I was placing on myself at business and just really creating a much more feminine way of doing it between men and women and like how you know, men's hormones fluctuate throughout the day, but ours are that monthly thing and I'm like, oh, it really is like we're completely different beings.

Nika Lawrie:

So it was really eyeopening for me. But before we get into all that, can you, for people who are unfamiliar, can you just give like a basic description of what is cycle syncing? How do you explain that to somebody who's brand new to this concept?

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, Well, I think for me, one of the things that makes the biggest aha for you is looking at the research. Studies that are coming out now show that where you are in your cycle, so how your hormones are impacting you, literally changes the parts of your brain that are active. So there are different times of the month when different parts of your brain that are active. So there are different times of the month when different parts of your brain are more active or not and others are shifting and changing. So really, cycle syncing is learning where your hormones are, at which part of your brain is activated, what's actually happening inside your body, and being able to align your life with that. So any area of your life could be really like matched up with your cycle if you really wanted to go in depth with it. But just looking at, like, what are those things that make the biggest difference for you?

Renae Fieck:

Like, is it your food? Is it your exercise? Is it the way you sleep? Right, like there are times of my month where I'm like I'm up a buzzing bee at five o'clock ready to go in the morning, like getting so much work done, staying up way late at night, and then other nights I'm like I just can't do that. So it's like even looking at your sleep, like where in your life are you adjusting to accommodate how your hormones are showing up for you, and like how your body is adjusting, instead of seeing yourself as the same, that you need to wake up at the same every day, that you have to have the same fitness routine every day, that you have to have the same, you know, nutrition plan every single day, that you have to, you know, be the happy, loving, happy mom or whatever it is like every single day. Like it's looking at where you are in that hormone cycle and how do we accommodate and adjust based on that.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, yeah. So where are? So, if you think of like the four stages of our cycle, right, so let's start with, like, menstruation and then move kind of forward in that circle. How you know, where do we start aligning things? How do we even start with thinking about structuring this with our day-to-day activities?

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, yeah. So, like you talked about earlier too, like testosterone, for men functions in this 24-hour rhythm. We as women have estrogen and progesterone, so estrogen typically is more dominant in the front half of the month and then progesterone is more in the back half of the month, and they feel so very different, so they create so very different.

Renae Fieck:

They feel so different. They create like four distinct phases as you move throughout the month. So, like you said, the first one is your menstrual phase. Most of us know what that one is. That's like when you're bleeding.

Renae Fieck:

I like to call that the recharge phase because that really kind of categorizes like what it or characteristic of what it is for. It's like really focused on like how do you recharge, like what do you need to, like fill your cup? Like take that extra time for yourself, like a lot of women struggle with a self-care and like getting self-care in the month because it's like we're just so busy, there's so many things right, like I've got three, I've got three kids, like and mine are all in different sports, different places. Like I'm a three kids and mine are all in different sports, different places. I'm a juggling or buzzing bee after school gets out. So I get it.

Renae Fieck:

But that phase is really focused on how do you recharge and what do you need to create that little bit of spaciousness, that little bit of pick-me-up. Plan out your month Plan. Make sure like all your places or things are in the right spot, the kids have rides picked up at the right places, like all that kind of stuff is really helpful in that phase. And then that estrogen starts to pick up and that's when you enter into that follicular phase. I like to call it the accelerate phase, because it feels like that right, like if you've ever noticed those times where you're like on your period and you just feel like, oh, I don't feel like working out, I don't feel like eating really well and I don't feel like doing anything and then that point turns and you're just like give me all the HIIT workouts, give me all the big things. Like, let me go hard, you feel it right.

Nika Lawrie:

That's always my favorite. I honestly like, when I start my period, I'm like oh, like just a few days away, and then it's going to feel so good, like I always have so much more energy and, yeah, same thing, I get so much more done. I really like to kind of plan bigger projects or things that I'm working in that time, just totally like the. It's like the superpower that you have.

Renae Fieck:

Yes, yeah, and so just like that, like you said, it's a superpower. But, like you know it, when you recharge in that that phase, right before that menstrual phase, like think about how much more power you have. It's like I kind of describe it as like a slingshot. When we pull that slingshot back, it has way more power to shoot farther and faster than if we don't actually ever pull the slingshot back. So that's where that recharge phase becomes the most powerful part of your phase, because it's what's going to help you last off in that next one.

Renae Fieck:

So yeah, like you said, big projects, big things, things on your list that you feel like are just hard to do or that you struggle with doing where you don't really want to do, like you're going to have the most momentum to get them done at this phase and so, just like, tackling them and busting them out is brilliant. Then you reach the top of that estrogen curve when you're ovulating and your body is literally like hey, make a baby with me, Even if you don't want to make a baby. It is like glowing, Like there's studies now that are showing like you smell different. You, your skin, actually your facial symmetry changes, which is so incredible.

Nika Lawrie:

I know it's amazing yeah.

Renae Fieck:

Like how that actually happens, like your symmetry, your, your skin, your smell, like literally everything is changing to make you more radiant, more beautiful, more attractive, and so, even looking at like the way you communicate is different, the way you show up on camera is different, the way you interact with your partner is different. Asking for a raise, like everything like that, you're going to feel the most confident, beautiful, magnetic, radiant, like all of those types of things in that phase. So it's a great time for all of that type of stuff, like going on date nights and happy hours and hanging out with your friends and all of those social type of events, when you're connecting with other people. That's why I call it the connect phase, because it's about connecting and having those relationships with other people. I call it the connect phase because it's about connecting and having those relationships with other people and then that estrogen falls off. Estrogen is like now I'm done, I'm complete, and progesterone kicks in, and progesterone just feels so different. It feels much more like I kind of described the estrogen phase of like being your outward, your extroverted phase of the month, and your progesterone is an introverted time. It's like let me pull back in, I'm going to just recluse and I'm going to maybe be super productive. Like sometimes people kind of talk to me on social media like that luteal phase is my most productive time. Like, yeah, but what kind of tasks are you doing? Yeah, because the luteal phase can be incredibly productive.

Renae Fieck:

You might be a mad woman on like busting stuff out on the back end of your computer or writing copy or cleaning out your entire refrigerator or any of those types of things, but it's very solo in your own little box type of work. It's not dynamic, interactive, it's not live on camera, it's not, you know, making big presentations or like any of these things. It's like very detail oriented, it's very organizational and very, um, sometimes emotionally heavy. So I was like writing this copy is a really great time because you feel very emotionally connected to it. So it can be very different.

Renae Fieck:

But this is when a lot of women this was where I was like I would get so angry at my husband, so angry, and I remember vividly this one time I was like I picked up my shoe off my foot and I looked at him and I threw it at him, like standing down the hallway, and he looked at me like are you freaking kidding me. You just threw a shoe at me and I was like yes, and like even now I'm like I don't even remember why I was so mad and I don't even think in the moment I really felt all of why I was so mad. Like I just that emotion populated up so deeply that it just like erupts and explodes. It's like that is number one. That was like I know your cup of tea.

Renae Fieck:

My hormones were way out of whack at that point in time. But even then, like you, in that phase, you are going to feel so much more. You're going to feel like more limiting beliefs, more fears, more emotions, and so it's like it becomes a really, really powerful time actually for helping women heal and grow and learn. But it can be very overwhelming, like I know that's a lot of times. A lot of women come to me and they're like I just get so overwhelmed. We're like I feel like I want to burn everything down. I feel like I'm the world's worst mom, I'm the world's worst coworker, I'm the world's worst parent, like whatever. It's just like everything feels like it's crumbling and you're doing a horrible job and it's just all of those feelings and those fears and things that populate up. So when we know what each of the different phases are and like what their superpowers are and how to really work with them, that's when we really become super effective.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, I love that too. I think it's. You know, there's such a kind of I don't know if discrimination is there's stigma. It's like a stigma around PMS or our you know, our anger that we get as we're leading into our period and those kind of hide away or be ashamed of those feelings that we have. But the more I think we communicate it as women, as a group, as a culture, we start talking about like look, this is actually our hormones changing, this is why it's happening, and we normalize that, then you feel less of that stigma. You actually probably will feel less of the anger because you can identify what's actually happening in your body and you're like, oh, I'm annoyed with my husband this week because my hormones are changing. You know, maybe he's still doing something that's dumb or annoying, but likely is that you're likely more sensitive to different things because your hormones are in different, in a different phase, than they would have been a week before or a week after.

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, yeah, I think even just that awareness right. Like you're like, oh, it's luteal phase, like that's why I'm feeling this way and why I'm reacting to this, and then you can adapt, you can be like, okay, what do I need? Do I need more space? Do I need to go for a walk? Like the week or two ago when I was in that phase, my husband was like dude, just go for a walk, yeah, get out. Just like ramping all up, you know. Yeah, but I'd be curious to know too, like what I've seen and found is that for a lot of women, that really drastic extreme of the cycle like noticing those drastics is oftentimes because women are living so out of congruence with their cycle and that when they start to live into their cycle whether it be food, whether it be sleep, whether it be exercise, whatever it might be that the hormones are like oh, we can breathe, this is how we're supposed to be, and they become less drastic. So I'd be kind of curious to see if you've had any experience with that?

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, yeah, that was actually going to be one of my next questions is how do we had any experience with that? Yeah, yeah, that was actually going to be one of my next questions is how do we so? You know, we've talked kind of about sinking our activities or, daily, you know, our expectations or our, our job tasks, those kinds of things. But for me the big piece is really sinking our food with our cycle and sinking our exercise or movement, those kinds of things. And then really, once we've done that, if we're still having big issues, then we need to look at maybe our hormones are. You know, I don't really love the term out of balance, but balancing the hormones for this example right, Making sure our hormones are in the ranges that are healthy for our body. So can you talk a little bit? Let's talk about food first, because I think exercise is a whole, separate kind of circle that we could go through. So how can food? How does food change throughout the cycle to match the phases?

Renae Fieck:

Totally Well, I think and, like I said, I'm not the nutritionist like that probably be your area of expertise in terms of like the nutrition. But like, when we look at what your body's doing in each of those different phases, it's going to have different nutritional needs, right? So in that menstrual phase, you're losing so much blood and so what happens is blood is very iron rich, and so when you're losing a lot of that iron, iron is part of what gives you energy, it's like part of what makes you feel alive, you know like. And so if you're losing all of that iron, we got to make sure that we're restoring that and eating foods that are very nourishing, very iron rich, very supportive to how can we help your body replenish that iron store, replenish that blood loss, replenish and like, just nourish you. And then, as you move into that follicular phase, you, that blood loss, replenish and like, just nourish you. And then, as you move into that follicular phase, you think about it your body's trying to make an egg that's going to release. It's going to release as an ovum and like to be fertilized, and so it's like it's creation. It's like we're in creation mode. We're like burning up a lot of energy, building something and creating something.

Renae Fieck:

And so in that phase I find that a lot of women really like like I'm always the person like give me all the salads and leafy greens. And like heavy proteins. Like I will take anything green If you've. Like. There's been plenty of times where I'm like I don't want a salad at all and then this is the phase I'm like I'll eat salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just give it to me all. But like lots of. Like vegetables, lots of protein, lots of things that are going to be that like fuel source for you as you build up to create that egg.

Renae Fieck:

And then, as after that like that, that ovulation time and that progesterone kicks in progesterone tends to you want a lot more carbohydrates. You probably aren't necessarily craving the protein and the vegetables that you were craving before. You still need some of it, right, like we don't want to eliminate all of it, but you definitely are going to feel more craving some of the starches and some of the carbs and some of those things. And like honoring that I post I've been seeing going around. That was like you know you've grown up when you actually allow yourself the permission to eat like dark chocolate during your period realizing, or right before knowing, that you need more magnesium, and dark chocolate has magnesium or whatever Like.

Renae Fieck:

So it's just kind of that idea, too, of like, those cravings and those things that you probably feel naturally but maybe we're conditioned out of because you were putting in a box of like this is how we meal plan and this is how we eat and this is how we do it all the time. If we came back to being more a little bit intuitive, to like what is my body actually craving right now? Yeah, chances are. If we healed up some of the like, beliefs and the emotions and all the other things that are clouding there, your body would tell you exactly what you need to eat?

Nika Lawrie:

Oh, absolutely, and this is a big reason why I don't ever really talk about a specific diet, even if it's like a healthy you know, like people of paleo or something right and there can be really healthy aspects to that diet.

Nika Lawrie:

But I really push against that because so often we get, you know, pigeonholed into this tiny little category of food that we eat the same every single day and that's really not what's most beneficial for our hormones as they kind of ebb and flow throughout the month. One of the things kind of matching up with what you shared was I tend to teach eating with a cycle, as in eating like you would for winter, summer, spring and fall, right, and so winter would line up with your menstrual cycle. Spring is going to be your follicular side of things, and so you're going to want those brighter foods, right, you're going to want the fruits and vegetables, the leafy greens, those are starting to come out, and then, you know, as you move into fall, you tend to eat those more root vegetables, the starches, the heavier, you know, people tend to like the red meat, so the heavier proteins and that kind of phase, and so eating as if it's, you know, spring, summer, fall winter in that cycle.

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, which I mean this is a whole area I could jam out on forever but how cyclical our world is really and how we were really designed to live, and when we look at the cycles of mother nature like you said spring, summer, winter, fall it totally makes sense. I've never thought about it with food. That was an aha for me. You just sharing that because I talk a lot about like the spring, summer, winter, fall in our cycle in what we're doing, but I've never related it to like, oh yeah, in the fall I really want those like soup, like stews you know or like yeah the casserole type of stuff.

Renae Fieck:

You know that it makes total sense, but we have these cycles in our world. Just even looking at our menstrual cycles, more follows the movement cycle, the men's testosterone cycles, more like the daily sun cycle, like all these layers that like we as human beings. They're much more cyclical than we really give ourselves credit for.

Nika Lawrie:

Oh, absolutely, totally, Totally. What about exercise with that? How do we align exercise with the cycle?

Renae Fieck:

So kind of same idea of thinking of like where is my body at right now? So in that menstrual phase it's definitely in a space of more recharging and recuperation. So what does that look like? For a lot of women that might be just enough of like going for a walk or getting out. Like going for a walk and getting up, like going for a walk and getting outside is massive in so many different ways. Right. Like it just moves your body. It's it's movement in general. But being outside like yesterday I took my dog for a walk while my son was doing soccer and not in that phase, but just like how replenishing it was to be out on a walk with the breeze, with the sound of the birds, like seeing, like just getting super present to like your environment and your space, like how much that has an impact on you. But then combining that with your menstrual phase and things like that, like huge, such a powerful way to use exercise and movement in that.

Renae Fieck:

And then that follicular phase we already talked about how much we love getting things up off the ground and hitting hard. That is your time when you might be like I'm ready, you're doing a lot of weightlifting, maybe you're doing a workout class with somebody, like a bootcamp class, all that type of thing. And then as you transition to that progesterone phase, I feel it, I'm like, oh, I just want to do yoga, I just want to stretch, I just want to move. So looking at that impact really is the biggest thing you could probably look at. It's like, what's the impact that you're having? Like if in that follicular phase maybe you love going for a run, but in the progesterone phase, eludial phase, you're just going to like I'm going to just walk instead, or what is that? Cause you are definitely more at risk of injury in the, when progesterone is more dominant. So lifting all those big heavy weights and pushing really hard and doing all those cardio hit workout things, you're more likely to hit injury in those phases than if you didn't.

Renae Fieck:

So it's like really just kind of syncing up and leaning in, but ultimately, at the end of the day, I always say just listen to your body. Like listen to what you want. Because there's been times when I'm in that menstrual phase and I'm like I just want to go for a run. I just feel like I need to just like process something. So like yeah, yeah. So like let your body be the dictator. Like I know, when I'm starting to do a workout and I'm doing a HIIT workout and I'm like feeling like I'm dragging, I'm like, okay, I'm ready, Like I'm ready to switch, Like I'm ready to go back to the yoga right, Like you can tell you'll start to feel that transition Once you start doing it long enough. And you're like I'm working out, I'm working out, I know that I'm past my ovulation and I should be starting to dip. It's like that day where you're just like, oh, I just can't, like I'm dragging. You're like, okay, we've made the switch. I'm like let's lighten it up a little bit.

Nika Lawrie:

I think that's so huge too to listen to, like listen to your body or your intuition, because a lot of times people will take that as lack of motivation, like they're lazy or they don't want to get off the couch or whatever, and what it really is is just your hormones changing couch or whatever, and what it really is is just your hormones changing. And so, instead of grinding it out in the gym or pushing really hard, it's like no, the actual message that your body's sending is let's still move our body, but do something that's a little bit easier, softer, more gentle for us. Yeah, yeah.

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, I mean it is a fine line, right, like and this is where it does take some time of working with somebody like a coach or mentor, somebody that can help you kind of decipher, because we do have those limiting beliefs and those things of like I mean I, there's plenty of things I don't want to do that I know I need to do. Right, like that, I like that's how we grow. Like, if we even look at muscle, the way muscles build is by tearing them apart and then the fibers reconnecting and building stronger, and so they build more layers. And so, even when we look at that like growth doesn't come from staying comfortable all the time. Growth does come from stretching our limits and going outside of our comfort zone and pushing past those limits.

Renae Fieck:

I think the biggest difference is, like you deciphering where is that Like? Is that coming from a physiological thing or is this a mental, emotional thing? Like, how do I really understand? Cause I think that even like going back, like most of us have never really been taught to listen to our bodies, right, most of us if we just had a bunch of women lined up and we said like hey, are you feeling motivated to work out today? Or whatever. It's going to come more from a mental like conditioning, society conditioning versus true, actual being able to listen to our bodies, and so I think learning how to listen takes a little bit of time.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, I'll take. I mean, I'll take that even a step further. I think a lot of us have been told or conditioned, even you know, I think about all the pharmaceutical ads that are on TV or the different things that we see is that our bodies are broken, yes, and that you know we need some type of outside thing to fix us, whether that's a pharmaceutical drug or you know you need to eat better. You know, because it's your fault, that you don't have the willpower Right. We're always taught that our bodies are broken and it's our fault and really what it is is like we're just out of sync with our bodies. We're just haven't been taught to like align with how our bodies actually function Totally.

Renae Fieck:

Totally. I mean that could go down a whole rabbit hole like advertising and fast food and like all the things.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, yes, you touched on it a little bit, but can you talk a little bit about how syncing our cycles can really help us work through some of those, the limiting beliefs or kind of the fears, especially for women who want to? Maybe they're, you know, running a business or starting a business or, you know, in their professional field? How does this help us work through some of those mental, emotional, pieces?

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, totally. So. I think I love, like when I first started cycle syncing, like I hated my period phase and I hated that luteal phase leading up to it. And then I started to realize like all of those emotions and all those things are coming up for a reason Right, and I know one of the things like you and I have a similar business mentor and things and learning about like the greatest growth you'll see in your business comes from the inner work, and like the things that you do to heal yourself. Yes, and so I'm like looking, my dog is like chewing up when I hit shin guards, but that's okay, oh, no, so, but it comes from this place of really understanding like those are the times that you all of those fears and beliefs and things that need healing are going to come up. And so I think for the in the past, a lot of women look at the menstrual cycle as this like never ending thing that just happens monthly on this rotation. And once I shifted that perspective to seeing it as an upward spiral, that every time you go through your radial phase, it has the power to be able to help you clear out, release a limiting belief, a block, a fear, a doubt, whatever it might be. You have the opportunity to help heal yourself and then move into that next menstrual phase, which is your most intuitive time of the month to help really cast that vision of where you want to go. So it's like let's clear some blocks, let's now cast this new vision, let's step into that new identity, that new version of yourself. Let's clear some blocks, let's step into a new identity. So every single time you go through your period week or the week before, like your whole cycle, it's like every time you have this chance to up level, every single time. So every time you come through your period and you enter into that accelerate phase, you are a new version of yourself.

Renae Fieck:

A lot of women aren't doing that right. We're just going through. Each month it's just like this is my PMS moody week. It sucks, I have to put up with it, deal with it, and then we get back to life and we're productive again. Yeah, but really those two weeks become your biggest catalyst for growth and I think it's a really powerful way to kind of look at that of how can I, whether or not you're in business or not, just like in life in general, like how can I use.

Renae Fieck:

This phase of, like this weird thing is coming up. Like every time I get so angry at my kids because they leave their sock on the floor. Like why am I getting so angry about the sock? Like, what is that telling me about me? Like, is there something that needs to shift? Is there something like I'm maxed out? I need to ask for more help? Is it that I need to, like, reduce my expectations of them? What is it that needs to shift and adjust? And I think that awareness in those phases has the power to transform your entire life going forward.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, I totally agree. I think really giving yourself that space to tune in to what you're feeling is so, so key to actually work through it too and not just, you know, push through it and just think of it as an annoyance, but really turn it into a tool that's beneficial for your overall life. Yeah, definitely, yeah, okay. So you know we've talked about all the benefits. It's, it's amazing. Women need to do it. But how do we start? How do we do? Is there apps that we use? How do we start tracking it in our calendar? How do we align things?

Renae Fieck:

Okay, I'm going to put this out there. I'm not a big app fan. I'm all about the digital pieces of it. How can I make this simple and easy? The problem I see with a lot of the apps, like the tracking apps, is that they will tell you what you should be feeling. Right, you're on day eight. You're probably feeling like your energy is rising and you're going to feel amazing. It's time to tackle those big projects. Right, it's great. It's great for you to like start, maybe, and like start learning and understanding what's actually happening. But, at the core of it, like my mission is help women to learn to listen to themselves and learn to trust themselves. Right, like, ultimately, like that's my deeper mission and vision is like, how can I get more women learning to trust themselves? Right, right, like, ultimately, like that's my deeper mission and vision is like how can I get more women learning to trust themselves? And so, when we look at the apps, the apps kind of eliminate that for you. And it's funny is that, like, since I've started kind of talking about this, like as I started like getting more vocal about like stop using the apps, it's amazing how many women have said yeah, I actually didn't feel like it was congruent, like it didn't always match up with what I felt, but it's being. It's like this is what you're supposed to like. Again, we're going back to like this is what you're supposed to do. This is how you feel anyway. So I love just tracking your cycle, and tracking your cycle does look like tracking more than just your period, because your period is just the encore. Really, if we want to look at like your ovulation is your main player, like ovulation is basically the thing that sets the whole stage for the whole show. So if you can start tracking ovulation, that's great.

Renae Fieck:

A lot of women don't want to track ovulation because it does. One of the best ways to do it is basal body temperature. It's like checking your temperature every single morning and some women are like I just don't have the time for that. So there are devices that you can use. I use the aura ring Great, it'll track lots of things for you. The new Apple watch they oftentimes will track the basal body temperature. There's like a fem drop. There's all kinds of devices that you can just wear at night or wear throughout the day that are going to track that temperature for you and help you see where that temperature change is happening so you can know where ovulation is happening. There's lots of other signs you could watch for for ovulation, but that one was like a huge, like just easy one to track. So those would be the two things that I would track for sure ovulation and period track. So those would be the two things that I would track for sure ovulation and period.

Renae Fieck:

And then the rest of it, I think, really just depends on what your goals are. So for a lot of my clients they're in business. We're looking at like where are you most productive, where are you most creative? Like how much energy do you have? And then we look at those and we say where in the cycle are you feeling those things?

Renae Fieck:

There's generals, like we talked about today, like what those war phases are, and like kind of what people most people will feel, but everybody feels a little differently. So it's really just valuable to kind of like notice those things. But if you're like I'm a stay at home mom and I am just trying to get through my day with my kids, and like, whatever your goals may be different, it might look like, hey, you know what? It's more about energy. So like, what does my food look like. What does my exercise look like? What does my sleep look like? Like? How am I tracking those things? So really, just looking at what are those goals for you, what are the beginning key indicators they're going to make a big difference in tracking that for you.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, yeah, um, for when we track them. Are you so, if we're not using the apps, are you putting things into calendars? Are you writing down notebooks, like how do people kind of keep track of the actual dates or kind of how how it's moving throughout the calendar? Does that make?

Renae Fieck:

sense, totally, totally. So I, I like doing it by paper, so like at least a start. So I have a paper tracker. If people want to go grab it, they can grab a free tracker. It's just like a circle and you can kind of fill in like what are you feeling on what days, and be able to, or like what things are you craving or what things ways you're exercising, and so you can kind of start to see a trend. As you lay the paper pages, single pages, side by side by side, you can see if you're like oh, day eight, I always was wanting this. Or pages side by side by side, you can see like oh, day eight, I always was wanting this, or I always felt this way. So that can be really helpful.

Renae Fieck:

I personally have gotten to the place where I like putting it into my Google calendar, like it's in there, I'm consistent enough that it's like in my Google calendar it says what phase I'm where.

Renae Fieck:

So for me that's like how I track it and how I stay consistent. So, but it took the like learning about yourself first. So just like, start with kind of where you're at If you want to put it into an app, like like the Apple, you know, like your Apple app, they have like a cycle tracking spot that allows you to track those symptoms. That's the big thing. I think it is like tracking your symptoms rather than an app that's telling you where you should be. Yeah, so I think Clue was one that I used in the past that you can put in their different moods, you can put in their different exercise feelings, different libido ratings, like an app that would allow you to put in those things so that you can see those trends over time, rather than one that's like predictive, like hey, we're guessing you're on day 10 today. This is what you should be feeling.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, what I found with some of the apps that I've tried out is that the prediction of like when my next menstrual cycle. It's usually off by a couple of days and I'm a fairly regular cycle, but it always kind of is off, and so I found that it was just easier, you know, just to keep track of when my menstruation was happening so that I could see long term what was going on. Yeah, yeah, for women who are maybe, you know, birth control is a big factor there. So women who are on hormonal birth control or maybe moving into perimetopause that don't have, they may have an irregular cycle. Do you have any suggestions for those women of how to get into sync with their cycle?

Renae Fieck:

Yeah, for sure, I think one. It kind of brings into question like two of the things we talked about already. One is just listening to your body. I think learning to listen to that makes a huge difference, no matter where you're at and what spectrum you're at. And then the second thing is is like looking back at that idea that we are all cyclical and that women just in general are cyclical and so, whether or not you're pregnant or on birth control or whatever, your body is really smart and it picks up and it learns to adapt to the cycle, like the habits that we give it. And so for most women we're probably living more in this masculine rhythm of the daily rhythm and so it's trying very hard to like match up with that rhythm.

Renae Fieck:

What I found not a hundred percent across the board, but for a lot of women is that when they start to try to actually use, say like, the moon cycle, when they're in that variability space and they say like, okay, this is the cycle, I'm going to live this, this rhythm, this rhythm of the moon, to help kind of create that external just like guide, their body tends to learn that right. It's like if you were wanting to wake up at five o'clock in the morning but you're an eight o'clock waker and you set the alarm for five o'clock, like the first couple of weeks you're going to be like snooze, snooze, snooze, like not getting up. And then you know, a few weeks into that, after a while, your body's going to be like, okay, we're awake at five o'clock before the alarm even goes off. Right, Because it's you've reset that circadian rhythm, like that rhythm that your body has, and so your body is, thrives off rhythms, and so it's like what rhythm are we giving it? Are we helping to support habits and rhythms that are in alignment with that cyclical rhythm, of that monthly rhythm that most women have?

Renae Fieck:

So I find that when you, if you're in one of those spaces where you don't have a cycle, your cycle is super irregular, you can try it, Try like using the moon. You don't have to be like super woo, like moony person, you know, just like, oh, this is the full moon, this is where I should be scheduling my stuff, Right, To be like I'm still leaning into that. And what I've found is that over time, women tend to get very predictable, even in some of those other like areas like pregnancy, Like I've had clients go through their entire pregnancy like spot on how their cycle would have was before they were pregnant, because they were so used to living that cyclical rhythm that their body even though they were maybe a little bit more tired or they were feeling a little bit more moody or they still had all the fluctuations of their pregnancy they still like they'd get on a call and I'd be like I know exactly what phase you're in right now and it was very predictable. So it's like we just women thrive in that cyclical rhythm.

Nika Lawrie:

So that would be my suggestion I think it's so key to to really make sure we drive home the understanding kind of touched on. It is that we live in a patriarchal world based off of that 24-hour man hormone cycle where we are women functioning on, let's say, a 28 or 30-day cycle, right in a world that was not designed for how our body works, and so, unfortunately, it is now our job to learn how this actually works, because all the research is coming out now to prove that this really is what's going on with us and this is how our body is functioning and figure out how to then adjust our own lifestyle, the best we can living in this society, to really match up with that cycle to support our overall health. Yeah, so, yeah, really match up with that cycle to support our overall health. Yeah, so, yeah, so I have.

Nika Lawrie:

I have one more question for you, but before I get to the last question, two things one, where can everybody find you? And then, more importantly, can you talk about the new book that you have coming out? Super exciting. I'm so glad you've put this book together, cause I think it's really, really important for women to have all of this information.

Renae Fieck:

For sure. So I am just at my name, renee Fick, which is like weird spelling, so maybe you'll have it linked up or whatever.

Nika Lawrie:

I'll put it on the show notes.

Renae Fieck:

Yep, on Instagram. Facebook, like Instagram is definitely my favorite place to hang out, so, like, find me there. And then my website's the same. And then, yeah, I have a book coming out called Cycle Sync your Business that goes in-depth into each one of these different areas of really like how do you optimize your business and the way you're working so that you are able to create more income and create more impact in your business, and the way you're doing it with taking way more time off, like working way less hours. So, definitely, even if you are listening and you're like I don't have a business, it's still really effective.

Renae Fieck:

If you think about, like I come from an as an occupational therapist, like we talk about, like the OTs focus on the job of living, like everything our whole perspective is looking at like everything is an occupation, everything is a job.

Renae Fieck:

So there's a little gray area when I talk about work in that way, but really anything that you do in your life, whether it's taking care of the kids and doing the dishes, it all could be categorized as a job task and so you could look at how that applies, but definitely really geared towards business owners and really helping them amplify what they're doing.

Renae Fieck:

Because, like you said, most of what we're doing is very masculine, especially in the business space, and so if there's more feminine leaders creating like heart centered, impact driven businesses, like I, think that we're going to see a profound impact and ripple in the world. When more women can start aligning and getting that message that they have out there in the world, cause, like most of the women I work with, they're not doing it just about the money. They're doing it because they want to make a big difference, and so that makes such a huge difference of empowering them to be able to do that in a way that fits for them. So, yeah, the book comes out October 17th. I'm super excited. You can go to CycleSyncYourBusinesscom and get all the details on that.

Nika Lawrie:

Awesome. I'll make sure that everything's in the show notes too, but definitely pick up her book. This is so, so important. Every woman should know how to incorporate this into their lives and even, like you said, even if you're not a business owner, I think getting the basic understanding of how to use this like a skillset really to manage your life and even in your professional world, it can help you set big meetings or ask for a raise on a specific day or whatever it is. I think that's so key there, definitely. Well, renee, my last question for you before I get to that, I just want to recognize the work you're doing. Like I mentioned, I think getting this information out there is so key and I really commend you for doing the work because I think you're going to help support so many women and help them, you know, really improve their health. But also your past work as an occupational therapist my mom was an OT for a lot of my life.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, and I know how important that work is to help people. So I just want to commend you and say thank you for the work that you're doing.

Renae Fieck:

Thank you.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, appreciate that, that you're doing so. Thank you, yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, so my last question I ask every guest is what is something that you've either learned or experienced that inspired you, that you would like to share with the world?

Renae Fieck:

Well, the first thing that comes up is like looking at everything in this like play curiosity sort of way. So anytime like I remember we were I was talking to somebody recently, like when my husband was like having his brain tumor and in surgery I remember thinking like okay, this is just part of the story, like what is this here for Right? So like any sort of obstacle or struggle or anything that we're going through, like when we can approach it from that place of like this is just all a part of the game. This is all part of like the learning opportunity. Like how can I be more curious about? Like what is this teaching me? Or what is this for? What can this do for me? Or like how can I use this? Like I think it takes the pressure off in such a big way and also just makes things like it makes us more willing to take bigger risks because we're like who cares? Like it's all just part of the game. So I think that's part of that.

Nika Lawrie:

That's what came up. I love that so much. I couldn't agree more. I think you know letting go of our expectations and really just putting that good work forward. You know having those positive, putting that positive energy forward and just kind of, you know, having a vision but allowing it to play out the way it's going to play out is so key to growth and overall happiness. Yeah, yeah, well, renee, this has been phenomenal. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much for having me Absolutely.

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