We’ve been friends and collaborators for decades and our current project is all about

cycle tracking.

Why Cycle Tracking?

In our personal lives and our practices, we noticed a serious lack of resources for anyone trying to understand their hormonal cycles as they related to the rest of their lives. It felt nearly impossible to find useful, inviting, neutral, research-based tools for people who wanted to track their menstrual cycle. So much of what existed was fertility-focused, coded for a narrow version of relationships, and algorithm-based.

Studies have demonstrated many tracking apps accurately predict cycle phases such as ovulation at a discouraging rate of about 20%. The body is interconnected, and the hormones involved with the menstrual cycle can impact many body systems. Your hormones are connected to your physical, emotional, sexual, cognitive, and relational self.

Estrogen and progesterone receptors are found throughout the body and in most major body systems. Because these receptors are so omnipresent, you may find that your body responds to hormonal shifts in systems that you might not expect.

For both of us, working in mental health and midwifery, these connections simply felt too important to ignore. We needed a method of tracking that was safe, effective, and actually helped us all understand the potential hormonal patterns around the concerns that brought clients into our offices.

Identifying your unique hormonal cycle can illuminate your overall body functioning and feeling. Cycle tracking can even identify patterns that are totally unrelated to hormones and may be a result of life events. Vast awareness of the body and the mind is available through tracking. Understanding your cycle can even be the missing link to getting a chronic illness diagnosis or the final piece of the puzzle in understanding your mental health.

What is cycle tracking exactly?

Cycle tracking is the practice of observing the sensations you’re feeling, recording them in an organized way, and using that information to learn about yourself and your body’s patterns. It’s a mindful practice of paying attention to the signs your body and mind are sending to you. It’s a practice that can encourage a relationship of trust with your body. It’s a process of beginning to listen to your body, feelings, and thoughts and understand how they form the building blocks for every part of your life.