September…

Only hearing its name makes me cringe a little.

Do you feel the same?

The end of summer often feels like the end of the fun and the return to a more serious rhythm.

Work schedules are back on track, calendars start filling up and those relaxing summer days already seem far away. Suddenly, everyone appears ready to wake up at 6 a.m., reorganise their entire home, start a new workout routine and become a completely different person by Monday… !

It is exhausting just thinking about it, right ?

For many of us, September also means returning to a faster and more stressful lifestyle. And when you are recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea, this transition deserves a little extra care.

I often talk to women who have HA and have regular meals, don´t exercise much and still no period. Why is that ? HA is not simply caused by “too much cortisol.” It is usually connected to a combination of factors, particularly not giving the body enough energy for everything it is being asked to do. Exercise, psychological stress and insufficient rest can add even more pressure. But stress is one of the major factor.

So, this September, what if you didn’t try to transform yourself?

What if you treated it as one more month of summer, a month to move slowly, eat well, breathe deeply and create a routine that feels reassuring rather than demanding?

Let’s talk about how to make September feel softer and maybe like another summer-ish month.

Most of us reach for our phones almost immediately after waking up.

Before our eyes are properly open, we are already reading emails, checking messages, seeing somebody’s perfect breakfast on Instagram and remembering fourteen things we forgot to do yesterday.

Your nervous system has barely woken up and it is already attending a meeting…

Try giving yourself 15 minutes before looking at your phone. You can use this time to practise either belly breathing or Nadi Shodhana, also known as alternate-nostril breathing.

For belly breathing, sit comfortably or lie down and place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Breathe in gently through your nose and feel your belly expand beneath your hand. Then breathe out slowly and allow the belly to soften again.

There is no need to take an enormous breath or push your stomach out too much. Let the breath remain soft and comfortable. Your chest may still move a little and that is completely normal. The aim is simply to encourage a slower, more relaxed breathing pattern.

Continue for two or three minutes. If you can return to it several times during the day, even better. You might practice before opening your computer, while waiting for the kettle to boil or before eating your lunch. It is honestly my favorite to instantly kick my parasympathetic system.

These tiny pauses may not look very impressive BUT repeated regularly, they can make a real difference to how you move through the day.

If you prefer a more traditional yogic practice, try Nadi Shodhana.

Sit comfortably and relax your shoulders. Using your right hand, gently close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Then close the left nostril with your ring finger, release the right nostril and exhale through the right side.

Inhale through the right nostril. Close it with your thumb, release the left nostril and exhale through the left side.

That is one complete round.

Continue slowly for two or three minutes. There is no need to hold your breath between sides. The breath should feel smooth, quiet and completely comfortable. If you feel dizzy, short of breath or congested, return to normal breathing.

In yoga, Nadi Shodhana is traditionally used to settle mental activity and create a sense of balance. It was my first breathing exercise I learnt back in the days during my Yoga trainings. It can be a beautiful way to pause and reconnect with yourself.

And no, neither breathing exercise is going to magically bring back your period by breakfast. But it may help you begin your day with a little more space and a little less urgency.

When we think about starting a routine again, it is easy to become overly ambitious, especially for Pitta women 🙂

We decide that from tomorrow, we will practise yoga for one hour every morning. Then tomorrow arrives, we have only twelve minutes and we decide there is no point doing anything at all.

This all-or-nothing thinking can follow us everywhere.

But yoga does not need to be long, difficult or impressive to have value.

In the morning, spend one minute moving slowly through Cat–Cow. Follow it with one or two minutes in Child’s Pose, with your forehead resting on a cushion. Add a gentle seated side stretch, then lie on your back with your lower legs resting on a chair or a wall.

Finish by staying still for two minutes.

That is all. If you can, you can repeat it in the evening too.

No complicated sequence. No sweating. No need to photograph yourself doing it in matching yoga clothes.

The purpose is not to burn calories or increase your flexibility. It is to release some physical tension, reconnect with your body and begin the morning with movement that gives you energy rather than taking more away.

And if ten minutes feels like too much, choose one pose. It will be enough.

September comes with a lot of messages about “getting back on track.”

Perhaps you ate differently during the summer. Perhaps you exercised less. Perhaps you had more desserts, more restaurant meals or more afternoons spent doing absolutely nothing.

Wonderful.

You do not need to compensate for any of it.

HA recovery is not the time to start dieting, skip breakfast or decide that carbohydrates are suddenly the enemy.

Your body needs enough energy, not only enough energy to survive the day, but enough to support all the functions it may have placed on hold.

So please, don’t pass on the carbs.

Rice, potatoes, bread, pasta, oats and other grains are useful and accessible sources of energy. Try combining them with protein and a generous source of fat so your meals feel nourishing and satisfying.

As the weather becomes cooler, this can be a lovely time to return to warm, comforting food. Think about creamy porridge with nut butter, dhal or lentils with rice, pasta with olive oil and cheese, nourishing soup served with bread, or baked potatoes with a topping you genuinely enjoy.

You can also add a protein of your choice, such as eggs, fish or meat, according to the way you eat and what feels satisfying to you.

And yes, the bread with the soup is important. Soup alone can sometimes be a warm drink pretending to be dinner.

Remember to include good sources of fat, such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, nut butter, seeds, eggs and full-fat dairy if you eat it.

For omega-3 fats, you might choose salmon, sardines, mackerel or trout. Walnuts, chia seeds and ground flaxseeds are useful plant sources. Omega-3s support general heart, brain and cellular health and are so important during recovery.

In Ayurveda, the transition towards autumn is associated with qualities of Vata: movement, coolness, dryness, lightness and irregularity.

You may notice similar qualities in your own life during September. Your schedule changes. The days feel different. You are rushing between activities, eating at irregular times and thinking about far too many things at once.

Ayurveda traditionally balances this with the opposite qualities: warmth, regularity, nourishment, slowness and grounding.

This is a traditional Ayurvedic perspective rather than a medical treatment for HA. But it can offer us a very useful reminder.

When life becomes more irregular, create a little rhythm.

Try eating your meals at relatively consistent times. Sit down while you eat instead of having lunch over your laptop. Choose warm, satisfying meals. Keep your body warm as the temperature changes. Give yourself small, repeated moments of rest.

Nothing dramatic is required.

Often, the practices that help us feel grounded are not very exciting. No one is going to make a glamorous Instagram reel about eating lunch on time and going to bed early.

But your body may appreciate them a lot.

If your mind feels crowded, take five minutes to write.

You don’t need a beautiful journal, a special pen or a candle that smells like an enchanted forest. Any piece of paper will do. I personally ind this tool so helpful, especially (funny enough) around the full and new moon days. It is where my head feels the most busy and need some simple and gentle ritual to organize itself.

Ask yourself: What feels heavy today? What does my body need? What can wait? Where am I placing unnecessary pressure on myself? What would make today feel just ten per cent gentler?

You don’t have to find a solution for everything you write.

Sometimes putting the thoughts on paper simply means you don’t have to carry all of them around in your head.

At night, your body needs time to move from doing into resting.

Unfortunately, answering emails in bed and then closing your laptop at 11:42 p.m. does not always create the peaceful transition we were hoping for.

Try choosing a time when the working part of your day officially ends. After that, dim the lights, reduce your screen use and allow the atmosphere around you to become quieter.

Have a satisfying dinner. Take a warm shower. Spend a few minutes with your legs supported on a wall or practise belly breathing or Nadi Shodhana. You could also write tomorrow’s tasks on paper so your brain does not spend the night repeating them to you.

You can also try Yoga Nidra before bed.

Yoga Nidra is usually practised lying down while listening to a guided relaxation. Although it is sometimes called “yogic sleep,” the aim is not to force yourself to fall asleep. You are simply guided through different points of awareness, such as the body, the breath and physical sensations.

This gives the mind something gentle to follow instead of allowing it to replay tomorrow’s schedule or that slightly embarrassing thing you said eleven years ago.

Think of it as a relaxation practice rather than another task to complete perfectly. You do not have to remain awake throughout the whole recording. If you fall asleep halfway through, Yoga Nidra will not be offended.

Your evening routine does not need twelve steps and several expensive products. It simply needs to tell your body, gently and repeatedly, that the day is ending.

And if you watch television one evening, stay out late or sleep badly, you have not ruined anything.

Recovery is not that fragile.

Perhaps you are now thinking that tomorrow you will breathe, stretch, journal, cook three nourishing meals, practise Yoga Nidra, stop using your phone and be asleep by 9:30 p.m. Please don´t.

Please don’t turn this newsletter into another project.

Choose one thing.

Maybe you will practise belly breathing for three minutes before looking at your phone. Maybe you will add bread to your soup. Maybe you will go to bed twenty minutes earlier. Maybe you will lie in Child’s Pose and decide that is enough yoga for today.

Being gentle with yourself is not about doing everything correctly. It is about letting go of the belief that you must always be doing more.

You are allowed to enter autumn slowly.

You are allowed to carry some of summer’s softness with you.

And you are allowed to build a routine that feels like support, not punishment.

If you would like to receive a free Yoga Nidra practice from me, simply reply to this email with the words YOGA NIDRA, and I will send it to you.

If you would like more personalised support during your HA recovery, you can also book a free discovery call with me.

You can visit my website to learn more about me, my approach and the online programs I offer.

With softness,
Audrey