Category: womanhood

Understanding Your Ovulatory Phase: The Inner Summer of Your Cycle & How to Honor This Season

The Wild Gems2 Comments

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There is a season within your cycle that feels like sunshine after a long winter.

Personally, I love this season! I feel beautiful, hot, sexy, energetic, my energy is full of love, joy and optimism!

Don’t you recognize the times you feel extra beautiful and confident in the month?? There’s reason!


Colors feel brighter. The magic that surrounds you every day is noticeable and The Diva in you is ready to play!


In this season you are more open, expressive, magnetic, and alive.
This is your Inner Summer — the ovulatory phase of your cycle.


Just as nature blooms during summer, women often experience a natural expansion during this phase. Emotionally, physically, socially, and creatively, this is often the time we feel most connected to ourselves and the world around us.


And yet, many women move through this phase without ever realizing what’s happening inside of them.


When we begin understanding our cycle as seasons instead of inconveniences, we stop fighting our bodies and begin partnering with them.

* I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning and diving more into your seasons*

Link for book


What Is the Inner Summer Phase?


Inner Summer typically occurs around ovulation — usually in the middle of your cycle.


During this phase, estrogen is high and many women experience:


● Increased energy
● Greater confidence
● A desire to socialize
● Clearer communication
● Higher creativity
● Increased libido
● A feeling of lightness or motivation


This is often the season where you naturally feel more outward-facing.


You may notice:


● You want to be around people more
● feel inspired to create
● You want to clean, organize, or start projects
● Conversations feel easier
● You feel more radiant in your own skin

Your body is biologically designed for connection during this phase. There is nothing “vain” about feeling beautiful, expressive, or magnetic here. This is part of your natural rhythm.


This is often the time to:
● Speak up
● Share ideas
● Create content
● Go on dates
● Spend time with friends
● Teach
● Host
● Try new things
● Dream bigger


If Inner Winter is rest and reflection, Inner Summer is expression and embodiment.


This season reminds us that we were never meant to stay hidden all the time.
But Inner Summer Isn’t About Productivity
Many women only value themselves when they are “doing more.”


But honoring Inner Summer is not about squeezing every ounce of productivity from yourself because you finally have energy again.


It’s about allowing yourself to experience joy without guilt.
To laugh loudly.
To take up space.
To feel confident without shrinking yourself.
To enjoy your body instead of criticizing it.
This phase can teach women what it feels like to receive life instead of constantly surviving it.


Ways to Honor Your Inner Summer

  1. Spend More Time in Community
    This is a beautiful phase for connection.
    Plan coffee dates.
    Host a dinner.
    Call a friend.
    Go to yoga class.
    Be seen.
    You may naturally feel more emotionally available and expressive during this season.
  2. Move Your Body in Energizing Ways
    Your body may crave more movement during Inner Summer.
    This could look like:
    ● Pilates
    ● Dancing
    ● Hiking
    ● Swimming
    ● Long walks
    ● Strength training
    ● Outdoor yoga
    Move in ways that feel freeing, not punishing.
  3. Create & Express Yourself
    Inner Summer is deeply creative.
    You may feel inspired to:
    ● Write
    ● Paint
    ● Decorate
    ● Record videos
    ● Start projects
    ● Share your voice online
    ● Rearrange your home
    ● Try something new
    This is a beautiful season for self-expression.
  4. Nourish Your Body With Fresh Foods
    Think colorful, hydrating, vibrant foods.
    Fresh fruit.
    Smoothies.
    Salads.
    Cold water with lemon.
    Foods that feel alive.
    Support the energy your body is naturally moving through.
  5. Let Yourself Feel Beautiful
    Not for validation.
    Not for attention.
    But because there is something healing about fully inhabiting yourself.
    Wear the dress.
    Do your hair.
    Go makeup-free if that feels aligned.
    Sit in the sun.
    Take the photo.
    You are allowed to feel radiant.

Every Season Matters
The beauty of cyclical living is realizing that no phase is “better” than another.
Inner Summer is beautiful because Inner Winter exists.
Expansion feels meaningful because rest exists.
Your cycle is not something to conquer.
It is something to listen to.


Some weeks you will bloom.
Some weeks you will retreat.
Some weeks you will release.
And all of it is sacred.


The more we honor these inner seasons, the more we return to ourselves.

Why Is Learning To LOVE OURSELVES So Hard

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Learning how to love ourselves can be challenging for several reasons, often tied to deeply rooted beliefs, societal influences, and personal experiences. Here are some of the key reasons why self-love can be so difficult:

1. Cultural and Societal Conditioning

• Many societies emphasize external validation and achievement, leading us to base our self-worth on how others perceive us or on meeting certain societal standards. This can create a sense that our value is conditional, making it hard to truly love ourselves unconditionally.

2. Negative Self-Talk and Inner Critic

• We often have an internal dialogue that’s far harsher than how we speak to others. This inner critic, fueled by past experiences or insecurities, can make us focus on our perceived flaws, failures, or inadequacies, overshadowing our strengths and worthiness.

3. Unresolved Past Trauma

• Experiences of trauma, rejection, or abandonment—especially in childhood—can deeply affect our ability to love ourselves. These experiences can create deep-seated beliefs that we are unworthy of love or that we have to earn it through certain behaviors or achievements.

4. Fear of Egoism or Narcissism

• Many people fear that loving themselves will come across as selfish or narcissistic. There’s often a misunderstanding between healthy self-love and egoism, leading some to suppress their self-appreciation to avoid being perceived negatively by others.

5. Comparison Culture

• With the rise of social media, comparing ourselves to others has become even more pervasive. Constant exposure to idealized images and lifestyles can lead to feelings of inadequacy, making it harder to appreciate and love ourselves as we are.

6. Conditioned Beliefs About Worthiness

• From a young age, many of us are conditioned to believe that love and worthiness must be earned through good behavior, success, or pleasing others. These beliefs can make us feel that we are only worthy of love under certain conditions, which complicates the journey to self-love.

7. Fear of Vulnerability

• Truly loving ourselves requires facing and accepting our vulnerabilities, imperfections, and past mistakes. This process can be uncomfortable and scary, as it involves confronting aspects of ourselves that we may have avoided or denied for a long time.

8. Lack of Role Models

• If we didn’t grow up seeing examples of healthy self-love, it can be difficult to know what that even looks like. Without role models who practice self-love, we might struggle to develop it ourselves.

9. Overemphasis on External Achievement

• Society often prioritizes success, productivity, and external accomplishments over inner well-being. This focus can lead us to seek validation from achievements rather than from within, making it harder to develop a sense of self-love that isn’t tied to external outcomes.

10. Difficulty in Accepting Ourselves as We Are

• We are often our own worst critics. Accepting ourselves with all our flaws, imperfections, and mistakes can be challenging, especially when we hold ourselves to unrealistic standards of perfection.

11. Deep-Seated Guilt or Shame

• Guilt and shame, often stemming from past actions or internalized beliefs, can block self-love. These emotions can be powerful and difficult to overcome, making it challenging to feel deserving of love and compassion.

12. Need for External Validation

• We often seek validation and love from others, which can become a substitute for self-love. When we rely too heavily on others for our sense of worth, it becomes difficult to cultivate an internal sense of self-love.

13. Complexity of Self-Discovery

• Self-love requires self-awareness and understanding, which involves delving into our true selves, including our desires, needs, and values. This journey of self-discovery can be complex and uncomfortable, making self-love harder to achieve.

14. Societal Norms Around Self-Sacrifice

• Many cultures glorify self-sacrifice, especially in roles like parenting or caregiving, where putting others’ needs before your own is often expected. This can lead to neglecting self-care and self-love, as it’s seen as less important than caring for others.

Learning to love ourselves is a journey that requires patience, self-compassion, and often unlearning old beliefs and patterns. It’s a process of gradually building a healthier relationship with ourselves, where we can appreciate our own worth, embrace our flaws, and treat ourselves with the kindness and understanding we deserve.

Breaking Down The Traditional 4 SEASONS OF A WOMAN

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The concept of the “four seasons of a woman” is often used as a metaphor for the different phases of a woman’s life or menstrual cycle, each reflecting the changes in energy, emotions, and focus. These phases are likened to the natural cycles of the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—each bringing its own rhythm and purpose.

Here’s a breakdown of the four seasons in terms of the menstrual cycle:

1. Spring – Follicular Phase (Post-Menstruation)

Energy: This is the time just after menstruation, when energy levels begin to rise.

• Associated with: Renewal, growth, creativity, and optimism.

• How you might feel: Rejuvenated, inspired, more mentally clear, and motivated to start new projects or take action.

• Best activities: Learning, planning, setting intentions, trying new things, physical activities like yoga or exercise.

2. Summer – Ovulation Phase

Energy: This is the peak of a woman’s cycle, when energy is high, and social connections feel easy and fulfilling.

• Associated with: Fertility, connection, communication, and radiance.

• How you might feel: Confident, magnetic, outgoing, and emotionally open. It’s often a time when relationships feel easier, and you might feel more attractive and connected to others.

• Best activities: Social events, networking, creative expression, nurturing relationships.

3. Autumn – Luteal Phase (Pre-Menstruation)

Energy: Energy starts to decline as your body prepares for menstruation.

• Associated with: Reflection, grounding, letting go.

• How you might feel: More inward-focused, analytical, sometimes irritable or sensitive, but also able to address deeper truths and cut through the superficial.

• Best activities: Organizing, completing tasks, setting boundaries, journaling, self-care practices, and letting go of what’s not serving you.

4. Winter – Menstrual Phase

Energy: Energy is at its lowest during menstruation, and it’s a time of rest and renewal.

• Associated with: Release, introspection, stillness, and healing.

• How you might feel: Tired, reflective, needing rest and solitude. It’s a time to honor your body’s need for restoration.

• Best activities: Resting, meditating, reflecting on the past cycle, and setting intentions for the next one. This is a powerful time for self-reflection and spiritual connection.

The Seasons as Phases of Life:

This concept can also apply to the phases of a woman’s life:

1. Spring (Maiden): Youth, discovery, and growth.

2. Summer (Mother): Nurturing, creativity, and building.

3. Autumn (Queen): Wisdom, leadership, and mastery.

4. Winter (Crone): Rest, reflection, and spiritual depth.

Each season has its own beauty, purpose, and challenges. Embracing the ebb and flow of these cycles can help with self-awareness, self-care, and alignment with your natural rhythms. 

A book I highly recommend is ‘4 seasons in 4 weeks’ by Suzanne Mathis McQueen.

The author approaches the menstrual cycle a bit differently from the traditional breakdown I just shared. In her model, Autumn (Fall) is aligned with menstruation.

She shifts everything one season forward but still keeps the cyclical nature of energy flow. It’s really more about perspective and how the phases are framed around energy and renewal.

Are you in tune with your seasons?

xox marie