LIVING MORE OF A LIFE

I have benefitted personally from the work that Maisie Hill has put into educating herself and others on the menstrual cycle. In this conversation I share how her book, Period Power, acted as a catalyst for increased self-awareness and educated me on how my menstrual cycle provides the opportunity to achieve great things but also requires self-care at the appropriate times. 

Having recently recovered from chronic fatigue, I look back on my journey of recovery starting with an all important habit of tracking my body and mind. Even during my fatigue, I was able to better navigate life, making the most of my changing creativity and know when to drop the housework duties.

We think because we go through it and experience it that we know enough about it. This isn’t the case when it comes to our menstrual cycle. So many of us live without the self-awareness, knowledge or compassion to live more of a life.

Do you know why you pick fights with your partner near to your period? Do you realise that you secretly want to be alone? Maisie mentions during our conversation that her clients who track are more self-compassionate.

I start by asking Maisie about period pain which she experienced. Period pain is common, but not normal. It is normal to experience some discomfort or mild cramping but not pain which interferes with daily life. 

We talk about existing and past menstrual education and focus on avoiding pregnancy, where we miss out on how to use the cycle as a tool and how we can care for ourselves throughout the cycle. It can improve our relationships, creative process and careers if better understood. Again, I have experienced this first hand.

We discuss the difference between menstruating and pregnancy or breastfeeding where knowing how to self care and how to plan our time can be challenging because we lose our anchor. Maisie was so pleased when she finally started menstruating again.

The knowledge of the cycle allows us both to identify when we need to be alone. It has improved our relationships through being able to clearly communicate.

We discuss the pill. We discuss how it stops you ovulating when taking the combined pill so you don’t have a menstrual cycle. The period you experience is only a withdrawal bleed. We discuss how the pill can dampen down our experience of life. It can be a positive or negative depending on who we are. 

Finally, we recognise and share that it is a personal choice and only the woman taking the pill or choosing not to take it can decide what is best. The issue is, most of us don’t have the knowledge to make an informed decision. There should not be judgement or regret based on our own or others’ decisions. It is however important to educate ourselves and others on the important topic of menstruation and not shy away from it. With this knowledge, society’s influence as it is today will change to a more positive one surrounding periods and the menstrual cycle.  

If you decide to buy Period Power, join the Flow Collective or find another way to learn, you too can enjoy the power of knowing your cycle and yourself.

Maisie Hill can be contacted via:

Website: www.maisiehill.com

Instagram: _maisiehill_ 

Facebook: Maisie Hill

In case you are also interested, here’s a link to The Flow Collective.

For links to her book Period Power or that of The Red School - Wild Power, visit https://www.canidoitmyself.com/living-more-of-a-life-podcast/power-of-knowing-your-cycle-and-yourself

I'm giving away at

I have benefitted personally from the work that Maisie Hill has put into educating herself and others on the menstrual cycle. In this conversation I share how her book, Period Power, acted as a catalyst for increased self-awareness and educated me on how my menstrual cycle provides the opportunity to achieve great things but also requires self-care at the appropriate times. 

Having recently recovered from chronic fatigue, I look back on my journey of recovery starting with an all important habit of tracking my body and mind. Even during my fatigue, I was able to better navigate life, making the most of my changing creativity and know when to drop the housework duties.

We think because we go through it and experience it that we know enough about it. This isn’t the case when it comes to our menstrual cycle. So many of us live without the self-awareness, knowledge or compassion to live more of a life.

Do you know why you pick fights with your partner near to your period? Do you realise that you secretly want to be alone? Maisie mentions during our conversation that her clients who track are more self-compassionate.

I start by asking Maisie about period pain which she experienced. Period pain is common, but not normal. It is normal to experience some discomfort or mild cramping but not pain which interferes with daily life. 

We talk about existing and past menstrual education and focus on avoiding pregnancy, where we miss out on how to use the cycle as a tool and how we can care for ourselves throughout the cycle. It can improve our relationships, creative process and careers if better understood. Again, I have experienced this first hand.

We discuss the difference between menstruating and pregnancy or breastfeeding where knowing how to self care and how to plan our time can be challenging because we lose our anchor. Maisie was so pleased when she finally started menstruating again.

The knowledge of the cycle allows us both to identify when we need to be alone. It has improved our relationships through being able to clearly communicate.

We discuss the pill. We discuss how it stops you ovulating when taking the combined pill so you don’t have a menstrual cycle. The period you experience is only a withdrawal bleed. We discuss how the pill can dampen down our experience of life. It can be a positive or negative depending on who we are. 

Finally, we recognise and share that it is a personal choice and only the woman taking the pill or choosing not to take it can decide what is best. The issue is, most of us don’t have the knowledge to make an informed decision. There should not be judgement or regret based on our own or others’ decisions. It is however important to educate ourselves and others on the important topic of menstruation and not shy away from it. With this knowledge, society’s influence as it is today will change to a more positive one surrounding periods and the menstrual cycle.  

If you decide to buy Period Power, join the Flow Collective or find another way to learn, you too can enjoy the power of knowing your cycle and yourself.

Maisie Hill can be contacted via:

Website: www.maisiehill.com

Instagram: _maisiehill_ 

Facebook: Maisie Hill

In case you are also interested, here’s a link to The Flow Collective.

For links to her book Period Power or that of The Red School - Wild Power, visit https://www.canidoitmyself.com/living-more-of-a-life-podcast/power-of-knowing-your-cycle-and-yourself

I'm giving away at

When you find your kettle in the fridge and your gym socks under your pillow - is it time to make a change?

In this episode we discuss how Sophie ended up co-founding FidlLeaf, an online wellbeing platform and which points in her life were the key factors towards it. We discuss self help books and how they can be extremely helpful when it is the right time, and how with current technology, an idea like hers can really flourish. 

What is FidlLeaf? FidlLeaf is a wellbeing and personal development platform. It uses Nobel-Prize nominated science to measure 10 key wellbeing areas and gives you the support and tools you need to work on your own self improvement.

Heads up - FidlLeaf FREEBIES: 

FidlLeaf want to do something special to show their appreciation after a successful crowdfunding campaign. So they are giving 50 FidlLeaf subscriptions to people who have been affected by Covid. Complete the application form on their website to nominate yourself or someone else. Closes 31st October 2020.

Links from this episode:

www.fidlleaf.com

Instagram: @sophcoulthard

LinkedIn: @Sophie Coulthard

Twitter: @sophcoulthard

When you find your kettle in the fridge and your gym socks under your pillow - is it time to make a change?

In this episode we discuss how Sophie ended up co-founding FidlLeaf, an online wellbeing platform and which points in her life were the key factors towards it. We discuss self help books and how they can be extremely helpful when it is the right time, and how with current technology, an idea like hers can really flourish. 

What is FidlLeaf? FidlLeaf is a wellbeing and personal development platform. It uses Nobel-Prize nominated science to measure 10 key wellbeing areas and gives you the support and tools you need to work on your own self improvement.

Heads up - FidlLeaf FREEBIES: 

FidlLeaf want to do something special to show their appreciation after a successful crowdfunding campaign. So they are giving 50 FidlLeaf subscriptions to people who have been affected by Covid. Complete the application form on their website to nominate yourself or someone else. Closes 31st October 2020.

Links from this episode:

www.fidlleaf.com

Instagram: @sophcoulthard

LinkedIn: @Sophie Coulthard

Twitter: @sophcoulthard

In this episode I speak honestly about why I am putting out a different kind of episode. 

I have no food in the fridge
My house is a tip
I have loads on my mind
There is a lot of business preparation to do
I want to see and deliver food to my 96 year old grandpa

The list goes on...

This podcast is about living more of a life. We will always be failing to some degree in each area of our lives and that is OK. We just need to be mindful of what is more important to us and our values. We need to be more self-aware so we do not put unnecessary pressure ourselves. That is living more of a life. 

In this episode I speak honestly about why I am putting out a different kind of episode. 

I have no food in the fridge
My house is a tip
I have loads on my mind
There is a lot of business preparation to do
I want to see and deliver food to my 96 year old grandpa

The list goes on...

This podcast is about living more of a life. We will always be failing to some degree in each area of our lives and that is OK. We just need to be mindful of what is more important to us and our values. We need to be more self-aware so we do not put unnecessary pressure ourselves. That is living more of a life. 

Episode Summary

Do you feel selfish if you look after yourself? Helen prided herself on being a giving person. From the biblical phrase, ‘love thy neighbour as you love yourself’, she could understand the love others bit, but she couldn’t grasp the love yourself bit. Surely loving others was good enough? 

Helen became a yes woman at work. It became really easy for people to give work to her. 

She didn’t want to stand out. She wanted to be liked but not to have attention on her. She tried to blend in. 

Helen experienced Repetitive Strain Injury aka RSI and burnout

She burned out at 30. Helen typed non stop, not taking breaks. She would begin to feel pain at night in her arms, wrists and shoulders. Then she started to feel pain whilst at work. When she could no longer type, she had to say something and get some help.

As a people pleaser, she was often very aware of what others needed but had very little awareness of herself.

Helen found herself in a 18 year coercive controlling relationship without recognising the signs

She got into a relationship with someone 10 years older than her at university. He was charming, as they often are and showered her with attention and affection.

He wanted to spend a lot of time alone with her. She would spend less time with friends. He would pick up on how her friends were not nice people, creating divisions between them. He said he felt that her family were being disrespectful towards him. He was separating her from her support network.

He needed his meals at a particular time. If they weren’t ready he’d fly into a rage.

Helen did all the cooking, shopping, cleaning, a full time job and initially a weekend job as well. 

From the outside, it looked like a happy relationship. They were affectionate towards each other in public. They felt they loved each other and needed each other. 

Her body confidence was pretty good, so a remark against her body didn’t bother her so much. A remark about her being selfish would really hurt, because everything she did was out of selflessness. 

If she did something he didn’t like, for example going out with friends, he didn’t necessarily tackle the actual problem, but he would get cross about little things like the soap was in the wrong place. She learned not to repeat her actions.

If you think you are in a coercive controlling relationship and are worried about your partner searching your internet history, use incognito function.

How to recognise coercive control - by healthline.com

Domestic Abuse- How to get help during lockdown

HELPLINE for Male victims of domestic abuse

HELPLINE for Female victims of domestic abuse

Policy Paper - Cross examination in the family court factsheet - gov.uk

'Abuse Is a Pattern.' Why These Nations Took the Lead in Criminalizing Controlling Behavior in Relationships - by Time

7 Reasons Why Women Don’t Leave - by counsellor Sandra Harewood

Episode Summary

Do you feel selfish if you look after yourself? Helen prided herself on being a giving person. From the biblical phrase, ‘love thy neighbour as you love yourself’, she could understand the love others bit, but she couldn’t grasp the love yourself bit. Surely loving others was good enough? 

Helen became a yes woman at work. It became really easy for people to give work to her. 

She didn’t want to stand out. She wanted to be liked but not to have attention on her. She tried to blend in. 

Helen experienced Repetitive Strain Injury aka RSI and burnout

She burned out at 30. Helen typed non stop, not taking breaks. She would begin to feel pain at night in her arms, wrists and shoulders. Then she started to feel pain whilst at work. When she could no longer type, she had to say something and get some help.

As a people pleaser, she was often very aware of what others needed but had very little awareness of herself.

Helen found herself in a 18 year coercive controlling relationship without recognising the signs

She got into a relationship with someone 10 years older than her at university. He was charming, as they often are and showered her with attention and affection.

He wanted to spend a lot of time alone with her. She would spend less time with friends. He would pick up on how her friends were not nice people, creating divisions between them. He said he felt that her family were being disrespectful towards him. He was separating her from her support network.

He needed his meals at a particular time. If they weren’t ready he’d fly into a rage.

Helen did all the cooking, shopping, cleaning, a full time job and initially a weekend job as well. 

From the outside, it looked like a happy relationship. They were affectionate towards each other in public. They felt they loved each other and needed each other. 

Her body confidence was pretty good, so a remark against her body didn’t bother her so much. A remark about her being selfish would really hurt, because everything she did was out of selflessness. 

If she did something he didn’t like, for example going out with friends, he didn’t necessarily tackle the actual problem, but he would get cross about little things like the soap was in the wrong place. She learned not to repeat her actions.

If you think you are in a coercive controlling relationship and are worried about your partner searching your internet history, use incognito function.

How to recognise coercive control - by healthline.com

Domestic Abuse- How to get help during lockdown

HELPLINE for Male victims of domestic abuse

HELPLINE for Female victims of domestic abuse

Policy Paper - Cross examination in the family court factsheet - gov.uk

'Abuse Is a Pattern.' Why These Nations Took the Lead in Criminalizing Controlling Behavior in Relationships - by Time

7 Reasons Why Women Don’t Leave - by counsellor Sandra Harewood

This is part 2 of episode 15.

In this episode I am joined by Lucy Burls, a friend and colleague from my estate agent days. Around 12 years ago, we worked together in our early 20s with no idea how much we’d struggle with our health in later years after giving too much out and not putting enough back in. We recently reconnected and shared our stories.

We discuss what can happen when we are ‘trained’ as children to give 110% in everything without the awareness of self-care.

In this particular episode we focus on Lucy’s story. From her early 20s working hard and partying hard, Lucy has transitioned into a very different way and quality of life in her mid 30s. 

For Lucy, 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year with Covid-19 restrictions being the least of it. Despite this, she’s a lot more positive in her current situation than she ever has been before. She recognises the need for the life lesson. 

Lucy had a life plan. Lucy was just about to try to start a family. Then one after another, Lucy experienced blow after blow.

We discuss:

-PoTS - Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) - NHS

-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / M.E. 

-Giving up a dream job due to illness

-Breast cancer

-IVF preparation due to risk to ovaries

-Stopping her menstrual cycle for chemo treatment

-Chemo & radiotherapy

-2 family members also being diagnosed with cancer

-2 unexpected deaths of her ‘inner circle’

We discuss what happens when you think you will have children, and then you have your menstrual cycle stopped being put into early menopause for cancer treatment. When you can’t go out for dinner and if you do, you can’t carry out a day’s work. When health means cancelling as bridesmaid for your best friend’s wedding and your new husband takes the strain of financially supporting you because you can’t work due to health.

Many of us grow up thinking that if we want something and work towards it enough, we can have what we want. That is all very well except when your health doesn’t allow it. We often don’t plan for or consider this. As Lucy so nicely recaps it “health is wealth”.

We discuss how once upon a time humans lived in a different way where holistic education wasn’t needed in the same way.

Links from this episode:

Lucy can be contacted via: 

Instagram @ s_h_o_c_k_asinelectric

Facebook @ Lucy Sophie Burls

In this episode I reference a previous episode with Dr Madlena Kantscheff, who also received a fatigue and cancer warning. The episode is S1: E3 - Dr Madlena Kantscheff - Should We Listen Before Disease?

Contact LIVING MORE OF A LIFE podcast host, Jane Tarrant:
Website: www.canidoitmyself.com
Instagram: @incrementaljane
LinkedIn: Jane Tarrant
Facebook: Jane Tarrant

This is part 2 of episode 15.

In this episode I am joined by Lucy Burls, a friend and colleague from my estate agent days. Around 12 years ago, we worked together in our early 20s with no idea how much we’d struggle with our health in later years after giving too much out and not putting enough back in. We recently reconnected and shared our stories.

We discuss what can happen when we are ‘trained’ as children to give 110% in everything without the awareness of self-care.

In this particular episode we focus on Lucy’s story. From her early 20s working hard and partying hard, Lucy has transitioned into a very different way and quality of life in her mid 30s. 

For Lucy, 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year with Covid-19 restrictions being the least of it. Despite this, she’s a lot more positive in her current situation than she ever has been before. She recognises the need for the life lesson. 

Lucy had a life plan. Lucy was just about to try to start a family. Then one after another, Lucy experienced blow after blow.

We discuss:

-PoTS - Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) - NHS

-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / M.E. 

-Giving up a dream job due to illness

-Breast cancer

-IVF preparation due to risk to ovaries

-Stopping her menstrual cycle for chemo treatment

-Chemo & radiotherapy

-2 family members also being diagnosed with cancer

-2 unexpected deaths of her ‘inner circle’

We discuss what happens when you think you will have children, and then you have your menstrual cycle stopped being put into early menopause for cancer treatment. When you can’t go out for dinner and if you do, you can’t carry out a day’s work. When health means cancelling as bridesmaid for your best friend’s wedding and your new husband takes the strain of financially supporting you because you can’t work due to health.

Many of us grow up thinking that if we want something and work towards it enough, we can have what we want. That is all very well except when your health doesn’t allow it. We often don’t plan for or consider this. As Lucy so nicely recaps it “health is wealth”.

We discuss how once upon a time humans lived in a different way where holistic education wasn’t needed in the same way.

Links from this episode:

Lucy can be contacted via: 

Instagram @ s_h_o_c_k_asinelectric

Facebook @ Lucy Sophie Burls

In this episode I reference a previous episode with Dr Madlena Kantscheff, who also received a fatigue and cancer warning. The episode is S1: E3 - Dr Madlena Kantscheff - Should We Listen Before Disease?

Contact LIVING MORE OF A LIFE podcast host, Jane Tarrant:
Website: www.canidoitmyself.com
Instagram: @incrementaljane
LinkedIn: Jane Tarrant
Facebook: Jane Tarrant