The Seasons of Our Bodies - 2021/2022

Are you longing for a deeper connection to your body and menstrual cycle? Do you want to attain deep and solid knowledge about how your body functions? Do you wish to be able to move through your menstrual cycle with more balance, empowerment and health? Then you are warmly welcomed to join this year-long learning journey, consisting of four full-day workshops - taught by professional menstrual health educator Siri M. Kalla.

Living with a female body, we have the cycles of nature ingrained in our very being. We move through a cycle that is strikingly similar to the seasonal cycle in the outside nature, on a more or less monthly basis. From the winter of menstruation, to the spring of the preovulatory phase, to summer at ovulation, and returning back towards winter through the autumn of the premenstrual phase. Through getting to know these cycles, we can get to know both ourselves and nature deeply.

In this workshop series, we will go on a deep immersive exploration journey into both the physiology of the female body and our psycho-spiritual-emotional relationship to the cyclical movement - in our bodies and in the rest of nature. Combining down to earth teachings on menstrual cycle health, with more intuitive explorations of our deeper selves. The goal is to give you hands-on practices to bring with you and practice in your daily life, to deepen your relationship with yourself, your body, and the cycles in nature.

Siri M. Kalla has been studying the menstrual cycle for over a decade. She is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and holistic menstrual cycle health coach, with a unique and well-integrated expertise. Through this one-year seasonal journey, she will share her gathered knowledge and experiences, in an easily accessible and participatory manner.

By getting to know our own cycles and the cycles of nature, we can integrate wisdom that allows us to flow more smoothly through the cyclic shifting energies - both on a strictly physiological level, and on a more psycho-emotional-spiritual level. A process that will give us more energy and flow in our lives.

We will look at each part of the cycle in the corresponding part of the year through one full-day (10 am-5 pm) workshop:

☽ December 11, 2021 - Menstruation: Our Inner Winter ☾

When winter is closing in on us, it can feel like a heavy cloak is settling over life. Similarly, many feel that menstruation is a heavy period of the month. This experience is multiplied if we experience menstrual difficulties, like heavy bleedings and/or menstrual pain.

Many indigenous cultures considered both winter and menstruation as times for going inwards - a sacred pause, a time for deep connection to oneself, and a magical place of vision and transformation. In this approach, the darkness of winter and menstruation can become not a heavy cloak - but a warm enfolding space that allows for rest, rejuvenation and transformation. A necessary break from the ever-flowing stream of outer life, and a dip into our inner waters.

Through accessible practices, we will explore this new relationship to menstruation. We will also explore functional medicine practices for improved menstrual health, that can resolve problems like heavy bleeding and menstrual cramps.

Teachings will include:

• Becoming deeply familiar with what happens in our bodies during menstruation.

• Getting a firm understanding of the root causes behind menstrual problems like menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding.

• Speaking about menstrual products and practices that can improve our well-being during this phase.

• Exploring how menstruation and winter can become periods of deep rest, rejuvenation and transformation.

☽ March 12, 2022 - The Follicular Phase: Our Inner Spring  ☾

Just like the birds begin to chirp and seeds begin to sprout at the first touch of the new spring sun - so does new eggs begin to mature in our ovaries each menstrual cycle. The first quarter of the menstrual cycle - the follicular phase - is often forgotten and hidden behind the more dramatic events in the cycle. But it is actually here, in the very beginning, that the health of the whole cycle is being determined. It is the seeds we saw in the spring phase that will determine the harvest later in the cycle.

In our society, fertility is regarded as something that is only important if we are trying to conceive. However, a woman’s fertility is intrinsically inseparable from her overall health. In this part of the series, we will explore what it takes to grow healthy eggs and produce healthy amounts of hormones. And why is it important to care for our fertility, even if we are not interested in becoming pregnant?

We will also explore how we use the potent energy in this phase of the cycle to plant the seeds of our dreams and visions, and nurture them so that they can grow and flourish.

Teachings will include:

• Becoming deeply familiar with your body through understanding how our fertility works.

• Getting a firm understanding of the root causes behind fertility problems like anovulation, irregular cycles, PCOS and PCO.

• Learning how that which happens at the beginning of the cycle affects how we will feel during menstruation and the premenstrual phase.

• Learning how hormonal birth control works, and how it affects our menstrual cycle.

• Exploring the potent energy of spring, and how we can use it to plant the seeds of our visions and watch them grow.

☽ June 11, 2022 - Ovulation: Our Inner Summer ☾

Did you know that we only can become pregnant for a few days each cycle, leading up to ovulation? During these days around ovulation, the hormonal milieu in the body is giving us a lot of energy - we are in full bloom, just like the nature around us in the summertime.

When approached consciously, this can be a time of deep connection to our power, radiance, flow, life force and beauty. A time of empowerment, where we can channel energy into the projects and relationships that matter most to us.

In this workshop, we will explore our own relationship to this power and life force - and how the energy is flowing even stronger during the days around ovulation. You will also get a basic understanding of how the sympto-thermal method for natural birth control works.

Teachings will include:

• Becoming deeply familiar with how ovulation works and how to recognize it.

• Getting a basic understanding of how natural birth control works, as a starting point for further learning

• An introduction to cervical health.

• A safe exploration of our relationship to our power and life force.

• Exploring the potent energy of summer, and how we can channel it to nourish our dreams and our personal growth.

☽ October 1, 2022 - The Premenstrual Phase: Our Inner Autumn ☾

The wheel is turning, and we are again starting to move our gazes inwards.  Autumn and the premenstrual phase is a time of letting go - of harvesting and preparing to shed our leaves so that those things which do no longer serve us can become healthy compost for new growth. We can learn to use our premenstrual emotions as a compass in this process - and this is what we will be exploring during this last workshop of the year.

Premenstrual emotional can be good guidance - but if we experience extreme mood changes during this phase, it is usually a sign of an underlying physiological imbalance. In our exploration of menstrual cycle health we will look into problems in the premenstrual hase; which include both emotional, mental and physical symptoms of PMS. We will also speak about who low progesterone can cause problems with fertility.

Teachings will include:

• Becoming deeply familiar with the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and with the hormone progesterone.

• Understanding what supports progesterone production, and how insufficient progesterone is connected to fertility problems and premenstrual symptoms.

• Embodied practices to help form a healthy relationship to our emotions.

• Exploring how autumn and the premenstrual phase can become periods of sorting our experiences, harvesting and letting go - and how this process can serve us on our life journeys.

TESTIMONIALS:

Here is how some of the previous participants in the workshop series has experienced their journey:

"My experience of the seasonal journey workshops with Siri has been wonderful. The content and organisation were well balanced, and Siri has a calm and beautiful way of sharing her in-depth knowledge. These workshops have taught me about the physicality of my body, the societal implications of our current structures and the emotional/spiritual aspect of these incredible feminine bodies we live in, not to mention spiked my own curiosity to go deeper with these topics and practices. I will admit that my interest is more in the psychological/spiritual realms, but Siri's way of sharing has made me fascinated by the physical also. I would recommend the workshop for any woman who wishes to gain knowledge and a deeper relationship to herself, her surrounding environment and experience the true wonder and magic it is to be a woman in an intimate and grounded group of sisters. I can honestly say that these 4 magical workshops have  changed my life."⁠ - Isla⁠

"Siri has taken us on a journey through the female cycle. It has been a strengthening, liberating and deep experience, and I have strengthened my relationship with myself as a woman and how I relate to the outside world. Siri holds amazing circles, which works holistically with both the physical, mental and spiritual. Thank you so much for this magical journey! ”

- Guro

"Awareness-raising and wonderful workshops! So glad I got to learn this about the cycles - I wish all women would get to take part in this knowledge!"

- Vibeke

ABOUT SIRI:

Siri M. Kalla is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and coach in holistic hormonal health. She has a deep dedication to teaching about how we can live in harmony with our menstrual cycle, and treat our menstrual bodies with nurturing love and respect. Her interest in the menstrual cycle began in 2009, when she began to explore her own relationship to her cyclic body through the discovery of natural birth control. Since then she has been dedicated to deepening her understanding of the female body.

Siri is a trained Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner through Justisse College International in Canada, from where she graduated in 2017, and a certified Fertility Awareness Educator through Association for Fertility Awareness Practitioners. Her training has given her substantial knowledge in holistic physiology, endocrinology, nutrition and menstrual cycle charting.

In her practice, she is working to support women and other menstruators in finding back to a loving and nurturing relationship to themselves and their bodies, and her experience is that our relationship to our menstrual cycle plays a key role in our relationship with ourselves. She has founded Our Fertility as a platform for this work - a place to meet, develop skills, build knowledge and find information and inspiration about Fertility Awareness and holistic reproductive health. Siri is also the chairperson for the Nordic Union for Fertility Awareness.

In addition to her work with Fertility Awareness, Siri is a practitioner of nature-based spirituality. She has nearly two decades of experience from a dedicated personal practice, is trained in shamanic work, is co-facilitating ceremonies and retreats for women, and is a student of psychological astrology. In her work, she is aiming to over-bridge the gap between our psycho-spiritual reality and physiological science; with the firm belief that this is what a new paradigm of health care will be built from. Siri is also active in the ecological and environmental movement and experiences her work with menstrual health as deeply intertwined with her work for a healthier planet.

Learn more about Siri and Fertility Awareness at https://www.ourfertility.no/

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

The workshops are held for a small closed group - journeying through the year together. This creates a safe and nurturing environment, that allows us to dive deep and explore ourselves in a safe environment.

All the workshops take place from 10:00-17:00, with an hours lunch break.

The workshops are suitable for anyone who have or have once had a menstrual cycle. There is no requirement for previous knowledge of how the body works - teachings will be given at a level that is suitable for everyone. Anyone who has a menstrual cycle is warmly welcome to attend the workshops - regardless of gender identity.

LOCATION:

Norsk Taiji Senter is an oasis in the midst of central Oslo. It is home both to dedicated taiji practitioners and to the Deep Ecology movement in Oslo. Founder Pamela Hiley has created a beautiful space; where the energy is held, clear and grounded. It is very easy to get here by public transportation (walking distance from Oslo S), and it has a variety of good close-by options for having a delicious lunch during the lunch breaks.

INVESTMENT:

• Full series, early bird:  4400 nok - until September 24th 2021

• Full series, regular: 5000 nok

A payment plan can be set up, dividing the payment over the whole year. Use the registration form in this link to register with a payment plan.

The group is held small in order to keep a safe and intimate atmosphere. In order to secure your spot, register by buying your ticket below or by using the link above.

Warmly welcome to this immersion in the wisdom of our bodies. I am looking much forward to going on this exploratory journey together!