Your Cycle Is Not a Weakness—It Is a Rhythm

Honoring the Sacred Rhythm of a Woman’s Body

I hurt my back for the fifth or sixth time before I finally realized my body was trying to teach me something. Each time it happened, I wondered what I had done wrong. Was I exercising incorrectly? Was I getting older? Was my back simply weak?

Then one day, I noticed a pattern. These injuries had occurred and noticed an interesting pattern: they seemed to happen around the same time in my menstrual cycle. Of course, there are many reasons for back pains but this is one of them.

That discovery sent me researching, and what I learned changed the way I viewed my female body. I had spent years expecting my body to operate at the same level every day. Push harder. Exercise harder. Get more done. Be productive. Don't be lazy. Don't make excuses.

But a woman's body isn't hormonally the same from one week to the next. 

God created our bodies with rhythms.

And perhaps instead of fighting those rhythms, we can learn to honor them more.

There Is a Season for Your Body Too

The scriptures teach:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1

We see this principle throughout God's creations. There is day and night. Summer and winter. Planting and harvesting. Activity and stillness. Growth and shedding. Work and Sabbath. Creation moves in rhythms.

So do we.

A woman's menstrual cycle is a biological rhythm involving changing levels of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. Across the cycle, these hormonal changes can influence energy, mood, appetite, sleep, body temperature, and how we feel physically.

The female body is very different from the male body. Our female bodies have their own unique physiology. Our hormones and reproductive systems differ, and there are also average differences in our skulls, pelvises, bone structure and density, muscle mass, fat distribution, and other aspects of our anatomy and physiology. These differences are not deficiencies; they are part of the remarkable design of the female body.

Learning more about female physiology has helped me develop greater respect and gratitude for the body Heavenly Father gave me. Rather than expecting my body to function like a man's—or even expecting it to function exactly the same way from one day to the next—I am learning to understand and honor its natural rhythms.

It has taught me something important: honoring my body doesn't mean expecting myself to feel or perform exactly the same way every day of the month. It means becoming aware of what my body needs, recognizing when I have greater capacity to push and when I need more recovery, and caring for myself with wisdom rather than judgment.

Our changing capacity is not evidence that something is wrong with the female body. It is an invitation to understand it better.

Instead, I can become curious.

• What is my body telling me today?

• What kind of nourishment do I need?

• Do I feel strong enough for a harder workout, or would gentler movement serve me better today?

• Do I need more sleep?

• Do I need to push and challenge—or do I need to recover?

Every woman is different, of course. Our cycles, symptoms, health, age, stress levels, pregnancy, breastfeeding, perimenopause, menopause, medications, and life circumstances can all influence our experiences.

So this isn't about creating another rigid set of rules for women.

It is about something much deeper:

Stewardship.

Learning to understand and wisely care for the body God has personally given us.

Your Body Is Sacred

Paul taught:

“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…? …therefore glorify God in your body.” — 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

I think sometimes we talk about our bodies being temples primarily in terms of what we shouldn't do to them. But what about what we should do for them? A temple is treated with reverence. It is cared for and maintained.

We don't become angry with a temple because it needs attention. We don't consider maintenance a weakness. We care for it because it is sacred.

Perhaps we can extend that same respect to ourselves. Sisters, our bodies are not inconveniences standing between us and everything we want to accomplish.

Our bodies are extraordinary gifts through which we experience mortality. Through them we work, serve, learn, create, worship, nurture, embrace the people we love, and fulfill much of our mortal mission.

Caring for the body isn't selfishness. It is stewardship.

And stewardship requires listening.

“Do Not Run Faster Than You Have Strength”

One scripture has taken on an entirely new meaning for me:

“And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.” — Mosiah 4:27

I love those words: wisdom and order. Notice that the Lord doesn't tell us not to run. There are times to run!

There are times when we have tremendous energy and strength. There are times to work hard, exercise vigorously, create, accomplish, serve, build, and move forward. But there are also times when our available strength is different.

Wisdom is learning the difference.

That was the lesson I had been missing. I kept running when my body was asking me to slow down. I kept pushing because I thought pushing meant strength. Eventually, my body made me stop.

Now I understand that honoring my body sometimes means challenging it and building strength—and sometimes it means allowing it to recover.

Both require discipline. Both require wisdom.

I No Longer Feel Guilty for Resting

This has been one of the greatest changes for me. I used to feel guilty when I needed to rest. I worried, What if something bad happens because I neglected something?

There was always something else I could be doing. Another task. Another goal. Another person who needed something. Another responsibility I thought I should fulfill. Rest could feel like wasted time.

Now I see it differently.

Rest isn't necessarily the opposite of productivity. Sometimes rest is part of productivity.

Our muscles need recovery after being challenged. Our minds need quiet. Our nervous systems need periods of calm. Even the Lord established Sabbath rest as part of His pattern for His children.

There is a time to exert and a time to restore. Understanding my own cycle has helped me recognize those times more clearly. Nowadays, I don't automatically get angry with myself when my energy changes. I don't immediately label myself lazy. I pay attention. I adjust.

And I am learning to trust that caring for myself wisely doesn't make me weak. It is wisdom.

My cycle is not a weakness. It is a rhythm.

My Period Has Become a Time of Reflection and Release

Something else beautiful began happening as I learned to slow down. The time around my period became a natural opportunity for me to turn inward. I began journaling more. I spent more time reflecting and praying. I did Energy Balancing Sessions on myself. And instead of only asking, What does my body need? I began asking:

• What does my soul need?

• What am I carrying that I no longer need?

• What belief isn't helping me become the woman God is calling me to become?

• Is there resentment I need to release?

• Is there something I need to forgive?

• What fear am I ready to surrender?

• What has Heavenly Father been trying to teach me?

I choose to use this naturally recurring time as an invitation for reflection, release, repentance, and renewal.

For me, there is beautiful symbolism in that. As my body goes through a physical process of shedding and renewal, I can intentionally participate in a spiritual process of letting go as well. I can release old resentment, fears, expectations, beliefs, patterns and limitations.

And then I can ask:

“Heavenly Father, what would Thou have me become next?”

There Is Wisdom in Seasons

Doctrine and Covenants 89 teaches another principle that I love:

“Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.” —Doctrine and Covenants 89:11

Three words stand out to me:

Season. Prudence. Thanksgiving.

There is wisdom in recognizing seasons. There is wisdom in using prudence rather than blindly following rules. And there is gratitude in learning to see our bodies not as problems to conquer, but as gifts to understand.

This doesn't mean we need to become obsessed with tracking every hormonal fluctuation or structuring our entire lives around our menstrual cycles. It means we can pay attention. We can learn, notice patterns, nourish ourselves appropriately, and exercise intelligently.

We can recognize when our bodies are capable of more—and when they genuinely need recovery.

And we can do all of this “with prudence and thanksgiving.”

Sisters, We Don't Have to Fight Our Bodies

Women receive so many messages about what we are supposed to be. Do more, achieve more, look younger, be thinner, exercise harder, eat perfectly, take care of everyone, keep the house running, fulfill your responsibilities, serve, work, mother, and create.

And somehow maintain exactly the same energy and productivity every single day. But perhaps balance isn't about becoming a woman who can do everything at maximum capacity all the time.

Perhaps balance requires discernment.

Our bodies are not identical to men's bodies, and our bodies aren't identical to one another's either. There is strength in knowing when to work, when to push, when to say no, and  when to be still.

Nowadays, when my body tells me that it needs rest, I don't feel the same guilt I once did. I listen, observe, pray, adjust, journal, do my Energy Balancing work and nourish myself.

And instead of criticizing myself, I can say:

“Today I am honoring the body God gave me.”

Honor the Sacred Rhythm

Sisters, perhaps one of the most loving things we can do is become students of our own bodies. Learn your rhythms. Notice your patterns. Nourish yourself. Move your body with wisdom. Challenge yourself when you have strength. Rest when you need restoration. Seek understanding rather than judgment. And invite Heavenly Father into the process.

Because there truly is:

“A time to every purpose under the heaven.”

A time to work. A time to strengthen. A time to create. A time to turn inward. A time to release. A time to restore. And a time to rest.

Our feminine rhythms do not make us less capable. They invite us to become more discerning.

Maybe true balance isn't found in demanding that we be the same woman every day. Maybe it is found in understanding the sacred rhythms God placed within His creations—including us—and learning to honor each season for what it can teach us.

Your cycle is not a weakness. It is a rhythm.

And there is wisdom, beauty, and power in learning to honor it.