Natural Rhythms Women: Following My Natural Rhythms on a Vaccine Journey

Hi! I’m Christina Marie

​I’m in year six of my own unique experience with what it means to move through the normal rite of passage called: A Woman’s Peri-meno-Post Menopausal Journey 



While this post isn’t about the complexity of my entire story up to this point, I invite you to read Love Affair With Thy Self Movement which will explain a bit of it, including why a woman and mother with a Natural Rhythm of her own is following this path.

ABOUT CHRISTINA MARIE

NOW BACK TO MY CURRENT JOURNEY

As an essential worker who works with seniors, I’ve begun my Vaccination Journey. It is my intention, desire and my commitment to move through my own Woman’s Peri-meno-post menopausal journey safely. I’ve noticed, the more I take care of myself, the more I have to give the people and places in my own life. I prefer giving via my own fullness because I’ve noticed, the more I do that the more value I can add or sprinkle on others. We all set our own bars on the life we wish to live and the love we wish to give, don’t we?

 I live in Hawaii. There are very clear indicators as it relates to the Vaccination role out and what it means to be an essential worker. Phase A1 and Phase B1. Here, you have to have documentation to prove you fit in either category. I had to have a letter from the non-profit, a collection of pay stubs, and a formal ID. All things need to be in complete alignment and on the up and up. It’s amazing to witness how important the people who are collecting this information make sure everything aligns. The letterhead needs to match the who is paying you -pay stubs. Your ID as well. 

From A Woman’s Peri-meno-post menopausal journey lens: There are distinctions and differences in these three seemingly similar yet very different phases. Being inside Peri-menopause while having PMDD since my first period as a teenager does mean I do have to be careful, mindful, cautious as it relates to my own immunity. Compromised, yet, while there is no cure for PMDD, Menopause is the cure. (I will give you a minute to digest that! 

You may be asking yourself, what is PMDD? I will create a blog on that later. For now, here's a graph I designed a few years ago based on the science and an accidental gene mutation discovered a few years back: 

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HERE IS A VACCINATION TIME - LINE IN MY OWN WORLD

In June of 2020, I was bitten by a centipede. Hawaiian Style (That is it’s own unique thing) Therefore, I went to the doctors to get my Tdap (Teanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) immunization shot. That went into my right arm. While I was there, I was also encouraged to get a flu shot and the PPSV23 (Pneumococcal-polysaccharide) shot. Instinctively I thought about how I only have two arms and three vaccinations might be one too many for my peri-menopausal body already being in a significant transformational place to handle all that. I opted to say no to the flu shot and yes to the PPSV23. With the world being the way it was, that vaccine was my way of protecting myself and I recall how good, healthy and full of myself I felt when leaving the doctor’s office after making these individualised Yes/No decisions for my own health-well-being. That was day one, yet for several weeks both my arms hurt in a way, just lifting them felt like a chore. Then they seemed to take turns. It was this entire thing. Therefore, having that self knowledge and experience caused me to be more mindful prior to the newest vaccines emergence. I began doing some arm exercises a few months ago with the idea in my head that I didn’t want to experience that again! 

That’s the thing about connecting to our own natural rhythms while honoring our phases, stages and our own experiences. It allows us to be proactive in the realm of strategizing based on our own phases, stages, our individual and collective stories combined and a lot more. Like many women with strong hormones (or women allergic to their own hormones) I like to take care of what I call my own HAZARD ZONES: 

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FAST FORWARD TO MARCH 2021
The mRNA, Pfizer-BioNTech was chosen for me. Just like many things in mid-life and for many people on the planet right now, I am living in the space in between. Add on being a middle-child (and the only girl) and I really have to confess, I am good, accustomed to living in that place in- between space on a lot of layers and a lot of levels! 

I can’t tell anyone what their experience is or isn’t going to be. All I can do is share my own experience in hopes that other women who are in touch with their own natures at this time, this stage and this phase (And those with PMDD) are able to take what they want, what helps them and use it to their advantage. In my world, the seniors are extremely happy that I am on their path, only slightly behind because many of them are done with their second vaccine and they are doing good.

Day one was good to go. 
Arm soreness within an hour. Nothing Ibuprofen didn’t fix. 

This was an extreme win for me! 

Day two tired by 9 am. Nothing a good early nap couldn’t fix. 

Day two evening. Felt like I was coming down with something. Nothing my homemade chicken noodle soup couldn’t only fix but gosh I slept so incredible that evening. 

Day three lymphatic system *swelling in that *subtle way vs anything too uncomfortable but then as the day progressed I got this wildly painful pimple underneath the same arm where I got the shot. 

(There are more than 20 lymph nodes (small lumps of tissue that are part of the body's lymphatic system, which helps fight infection) in the armpit.)

My arm was not sore but gosh that little pimple had way too much ouch power for my liking, however I didn’t want to do anything to disrupt the process of allowing my body to handle that whole thing and..... it did. 

Day three evening I slept so amazingly that night too. 

Day four-I experienced this wonderful full on 
Body feels clean
Mind is nothingness 
Heart is clean. 

All days after that: I was noticing I am releasing induced inflammation slowly and naturally. 

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AFTER ALL WAS SAID AND DONE

What I’ve also noticed about this journey process as it relates to my own. Having people to care about in the community is very encouraging in the realm of wearing masks and continuing to do what is right. By right I mean right for safety and ethics. That doesn’t always make people happy but when you are given a place in a community and you are responsible and accountable for many things-it does make it easier to re-commit when it’s dreadfully long and then it’s dreadfully too long and then it’s a year later. I miss things, like everyone else does however, it helps me to focus on myself in this stage and phase so that I may serve the best I can (which trust me, is rarely perfect!) It is my experience these past 6 years that this initiation into this rite of passage, there are a lot of unknowns with uncharted territories with continuous shifting, it seems like there is something new sometimes month to month, then year after year but it depends on a lot of factors. 

For me, I am so looking forward to the Menopausal Cure after a long journey with PMDD! Not every woman is going to be that excited about menopause. 

Hence why it is my on going, getting stronger every day belief: Our best medicine as women, is often.....to learn from one another where and when we can. 

That reminds me. These Ted Talks are so lovely

Within this generation, an extra 30 years have been added to our life expectancy -- and these years aren't just a footnote or a pathology. At TEDxWomen, Jane Fonda asks how we can think about this new phase of our lives.
This Ted talk is 9 years old. 9 years ago I wasn’t living inside the space of perimenopause. Therefore, this had no appeal to me. It does now
This falls under new science, being open to learning what is true and new in “our now” as people on the planet, changing the conversation/narrative regarding what it means to move through our rites of passages. Jane Fonda speaks life into the reality, not the romanized fu-fu version but allowing us to understand what our options truly are. 
It’s not experience, it’s reflecting on our experiences…. Who can relate to this after the year we just had? I’d say alot of us! (I’m just guessing)

Stay tuned....