This episode delves into sex education, or lack of, in England and Scotland and why Periods & Pleasure came to be created. 'Why aren't we taught this?' is a question I hear myself asking again and again... and again. I speak about everything I didn't get taught, and everything I wish I had been, as well as my hopes for the improvement of sex education in the future.

If you'd like to learn more about the NSPCC campaign to improve relationships education in Scotland, click here.

Find out more about Periods & Pleasure at: ⁠⁠⁠www.periodsandpleasure.com⁠⁠⁠

Music credit:

⁠⁠⁠Untamable Love by Kurtz Martin

This episode was previously recorded as part of an online e-course called Menstrual Magic. It is a deep dive into the basics of understanding the menstrual cycle including the stages of menstruality throughout our lives, the hormonal changes and fluctuations throughout the cycle and the inner seasons.

In these three episodes, there will be references made to activities and diagrams which I will try my best to include links to below - where relevant. Please note: a lot of what I speak about, especially relating to the inner seasons, are my own experiences of my cycle journey and the most important thing that I now teach in relation to menstrual cycle awareness is that connection to your own cycle overrules absolutely everything else.

In this particular episode, I make reference to the Natural Cycles app which is the only app to be FDA cleared as birth control. I personally used this app for over two years and speak of it from my own personal experience. I have no affiliation with this app and this is not a sponsored ad. I also make reference to 'Natural Family Planning' in this episode which can also be known as Fertility Awareness Method and, of course, Menstrual Cycle Awareness.

In this episode, I also make reference to my story which you can read on my Substack blog here. This is what started my journey into cycle tracking, completely unintentionally, and led me on the path I am on today passionately speaking about and advocating for this important education.

For cycle tracking charts - the people I mentioned in this episode are Jackpine Theory and Finding Julian who both create the most beautiful visual charts if you're more creatively inclined.

Finally - a disclaimer. This episode makes reference to using cycle tracking as a method of contraception. As with any contraceptive methods, nothing is ever 100% 'safe' in preventing pregnancy. Any and all information provided by Periods & Pleasure is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You are personally responsible for your choices, actions and results both now and in the future.

For more information regarding menstruality and the inner seasons, I would highly recommend ⁠⁠Red School⁠⁠ who I trained with back in 2024 and became a Menstruality Mentor after completing their three month Menstruality Leadership Programme.

Find out more about Periods & Pleasure at: ⁠⁠www.periodsandpleasure.com⁠⁠

Music credit:

⁠⁠Untamable Love by Kurtz Martin

This episode was previously recorded as part of an online e-course called Menstrual Magic. It is a deep dive into the basics of understanding the menstrual cycle including the stages of menstruality throughout our lives, the hormonal changes and fluctuations throughout the cycle and the inner seasons.

In these three episodes, there will be references made to activities and diagrams which I will try my best to include links to below - where relevant. Please note: a lot of what I speak about, especially relating to the inner seasons, are my own experiences of my cycle journey and the most important thing that I now teach in relation to menstrual cycle awareness is that connection to your own cycle overrules absolutely everything else.

For more information regarding menstruality and the inner seasons, I would highly recommend ⁠Red School⁠ who I trained with back in 2024 and became a Menstruality Mentor after completing their three month Menstruality Leadership Programme.

Find out more about Periods & Pleasure at: ⁠www.periodsandpleasure.com⁠

Music credit:

⁠Untamable Love by Kurtz Martin

This episode was previously recorded as part of an online e-course called Menstrual Magic. It is a deep dive into the basics of understanding the menstrual cycle including the stages of menstruality throughout our lives, the hormonal changes and fluctuations throughout the cycle and the inner seasons.

In these three episodes, there will be references made to activities and diagrams which I will try my best to include links to below - where relevant. Please note: a lot of what I speak about, especially relating to the inner seasons, are my own experiences of my cycle journey and the most important thing that I now teach in relation to menstrual cycle awareness is that connection to your own cycle overrules absolutely everything else.

For more information regarding menstruality and the inner seasons, I would highly recommend Red School who I trained with back in 2024 and became a Menstruality Mentor after completing their three month Menstruality Leadership Programme.

If you would like to complete the first period activity that is mentioned in this episode, you will find instructions below:

You can journal around this if that’s something you enjoy or you can simply take some time to sit and think about what this might bring up for you.

Think back to your first period.

Can you remember it? What was it like? Were you expecting it? Did you know what it was? Did anyone teach you about what was going to happen or what was happening when it did arrive? How did you feel about it? Did you speak to anyone about it?

In some cultures, the first period (also known as menarche) is seen to be sacred and would be celebrated with some kind of ritual or ceremony. For a lot of people, especially from my own culture, there is still a lot of stigma and shame around menstruation and it is often just not spoken about. It is really important to mark this moment and take some time to think about your own journey through menstruation - regardless of where you are with it now.

Find out more about Periods & Pleasure at: www.periodsandpleasure.com

Music credit:

Untamable Love by Kurtz Martin