Embracing your Inner Autumn

Embracing your Inner Autumn

A Gentle Yoga Nidra & Ritual for PMS

As we move through the phases of our menstrual cycle, there is one often misunderstood and dreaded......but incredibly powerful time - the luteal phase, or what many know as PMS. Rather than seeing this phase as something to “fix” or “push through,” what if we treated it as a sacred season… a time to retreat, receive, and renew?

In the rhythm of the Earth, autumn is the great exhale - a descent into stillness, a pulling back from external demands. Our inner autumn, or PMS phase, mirrors this. Hormones begin to shift, our energy turns inward, and our bodies call us to rest and reflect.

But in a world that celebrates constant productivity, this tender phase is rarely honoured. That’s why I created this Yoga Nidra journey that invites you into a space of warmth, softness, and surrender during PMS.

Let’s explore how meditation, ritual, and journaling can help you create a sanctuary within yourself, even on the coldest inner autumn days.

🌑 The Luteal Phase: your Inner Autumn

During the luteal phase (the days between ovulation and your period), your progesterone rises and then begins to decline. If progesterone is low, you will  feel more tired, sensitive, irritable, or emotionally raw. This is your body’s natural call to slow down.

Think of it like a cold, dark autumn evening - the wind howling, the leaves falling, and there’s nothing more inviting than a cosy blanket, a roaring fire, and a warm cup of your favourite beverage. That’s the energy of this phase - not broken, not weak… just asking for rest.

When we honour this season with rest, nurturing, and softness, we allow our hormones to reset naturally. This creates more balanced cycles, improved fertility, and deeper emotional wellbeing.

🧘‍♀️ A Gentle Yoga Nidra for PMS Support

Yoga Nidra is a deeply restful meditative practice that guides you into a state between waking and sleeping. It allows your nervous system to reset, calms inflammation, and helps rewire subconscious patterns around self-worth and productivity.

In this 10-minute Yoga Nidra for PMS, you’ll be guided through:

✨ A visualisation of your inner autumn: a quiet forest cabin, a crackling fire, warm blankets
✨ A journey through your body, inviting softness and awareness
✨ Gentle affirmations to support emotional safety and hormonal balance

Affirmations from the meditation:

  • I honour my need to slow down

  • This is my time to rest, to feel, to receive.

  • I nurture myself with softness and care.

This meditation is perfect before bed, during your wind-down routine, or anytime you need to pause and reconnect with yourself.

🕯️ Mini Ritual: Creating your PMS Sanctuary

To deepen the healing energy of the meditation, you can add a simple evening ritual to create a cozy, hormonal reset space:

What You’ll Need:

  • A candle (white, red, or amber)

  • A blanket or shawl

  • A warm herbal drink (like chamomile, ginger, or golden milk)

  • Optional: essential oils (lavender or rose)

Steps:

  1. Set the Space
    Dim the lights. Light your candle. Wrap yourself in something soft.
    Whisper: “This is my time. This is my space.”

  2. Womb Connection
    Place your hands over your belly. Breathe into your womb space. Imagine it glowing softly, like embers in a hearth.

  3. Affirm
    Say aloud:

    • I honour my need to rest.

    • I am allowed to slow down.

    • My body knows how to balance and renew.

  4. Sip & Soften
    Sip your warm drink with presence, feeling it nourish your hormones, nervous system, and soul.

  5. Close in Gratitude
    Blow out the candle as a symbol of release. Whisper: “I am whole.”

📝 Journal Prompts for PMS Reflection

Journaling during your luteal phase can help you listen to your emotions and give them a safe space to come through. Try one or two of these prompts after your meditation or ritual:

  • What does my body need from me right now?

  • What am I ready to release emotionally or energetically before I bleed?

  • How can I be more gentle with myself this week?

  • What would it feel like to give myself full permission to rest?

  • If my womb could speak to me today, what would she say?

Remember PMS  is an invitation to slow down. To soften. To remember that rest is not just allowed - it is essential!

By embracing Yoga Nidra, ritual, and intentional self-reflection, you create an internal environment where your body can balance hormones, release tension, and return to its natural rhythm of fertility and flow.

You are worthy of rest.
You are allowed to feel.
You are whole — even in the dark.