#12. Menstrual Cycle. Stress, Emotions and Family stories.

#12. Menstrual Cycle. Stress, Emotions and Family stories.

Most of us learned about the menstrual cycle from a biology textbook or a whispered conversation that felt more like a warning than a welcome. In this episode, I'm not here to teach you about hormones or phases. You can Google that. I want to invite you into something different — to look at your cycle through the lens of your own emotional experience. What do you feel when your period comes? Relief? Dread? Shame? Nothing at all? Where did that come from? We talk about menstrual cycle awareness, PMS, and PMDD — but not from a clinical place. We go deeper, into the stories that were passed down to you. Your mother's relationship with her body. What was allowed to be said — or wasn't — about bleeding, pain, femininity, desire. Your cycle holds memory. And some of that memory isn't even yours. Value your own lived experience and put it into images! This episode is for women who are curious about the emotional and ancestral layers of their menstrual health — women dealing with irregular periods, painful periods, PMDD, hormonal imbalance, or simply a complicated relationship with their own body that they can't quite name. We touch on: menstrual cycle and identity, the nervous system and hormonal health, intergenerational patterns around the female body, and what it means to actually listen to what your cycle is trying to tell you. At the end of the episode, I invite you to email me and receive a recording of a free webinar — an art therapy practice you can do at home, just with paper and a pen. No art experience needed. Just email me, and I'll send you. Marka@photoarttherapy.nl Check my site for more practice www.somatic-art-therapy.com [https://somatic-art-therapy.com/]___________ menstrual cycle awareness, emotional experience of periods, PMDD and emotions, painful periods somatic approach, hormonal imbalance and nervous system, intergenerational trauma and female body, menstrual cycle and identity, ancestral healing women, somatic art therapy menstrual health, cyclical living women.

#11 Womb Healing Meditation — Release What Is Not Yours

In this guided somatic meditation, art therapist Marka Kondrateva leads you on a gentle inner journey into your womb space — to listen, to release, and to reclaim. This practice is for you if you are living with endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS, hormonal imbalance, fertility challenges, or simply a deep sense of disconnection from your body. It is also for you if you sense that something you carry does not fully belong to you — emotions, patterns, or pain inherited from your mother, your grandmother, or your female lineage. In 15 minutes you will be guided through a full-body somatic scan, a heart-centred warm light visualisation, gentle circular touch over the ovaries and womb space, and an ancestral release practice to return what is not yours to where it belongs. You will close with a powerful reclamation — of your body, your power, and your right to heal. No experience with meditation or art therapy is needed. All you need is a quiet space, a warm blanket, and a willingness to listen. Marka Kondrateva is a somatic art therapist, Family Constellations facilitator, and Reiki Master based in the Netherlands. She has personally healed from endometriosis and PCOS, and now guides women to reach the emotional and ancestral roots of physical conditions — through the body, not around it. Learn more at photoarttherapy.nl [https://photoarttherapy.nl/] You can join my next Live Online Group "Mysteries of the Womb" - 10 weeks - only 6 women. https://photoarttherapy.nl/wombhealing_group [https://photoarttherapy.nl/wombhealing_group] Online pre recorded Art Therapy Course for Womb Healing [https://photoarttherapy.nl/feelyourwomb_courseonline] 5 Modules with effective art therapy tools and practices. Do it in your own rhythm. LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marka-photo-art-therapy/] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kondratevamarka] _____________________________________________womb healing, somatic meditation, guided meditation for women, endometriosis healing, PCOS healing, womb meditation, hormonal balance meditation, ancestral healing, female lineage healing, somatic art therapy, pelvic healing, fertility meditation, womb awakening, trauma release meditation, somatic therapy, women's wellness, body healing meditation, ovary healing, uterus healing, feminine healing, nervous system regulation, womb wisdom, art therapy meditation, guided relaxation for women, healing the womb, reproductive health, mind body healing, somatic healing, womb space, release and let go meditation

#10 Introspective Photography. Riccardo Pedica.

What if a single photograph could tell you something about yourself that words never could? In this episode, I sit down with Riccardo Pedica, Introspective Photography Coach and engineer, who discovered that picking up a camera was the beginning of a profound inner journey — one that helped him heal from burnout, reconnect with his emotions, and find his footing in a new country. We explore phototherapy techniques and how the practice of intentional photography can become a powerful tool for self-discovery, emotional healing, and personal transformation. Riccardo shares how he uses photography not just as an art form, but as a form of coaching — helping people uncover hidden emotions, overcome mental blocks, and rebuild a sense of identity and purpose. We talk about: - What phototherapy actually is and how it differs from traditional photography - How photography helped him adapt to living in a new country and process the feeling of displacement - Using the camera as a tool for burnout recovery and reconnecting with yourself - The role of mindfulness and introspection in creative practice - How anyone — beginner or experienced — can use photography for emotional healing and self-expression. And his quote that stayed with me long after we stopped recording: "One photo is a letter you write for yourself. You just need to learn how to read it." 🔗 Learn more about Riccardo and his coaching, courses, and photography retreats at www.riccardopedica.com [https://www.riccardopedica.com/] New book (in French) https://a.co/d/0j7wtvC7 [https://a.co/d/0j7wtvC7] __________________ Photo Art Therapy Course - for professionals - May 2026 https://iaetdaa.com/photo-therapy [https://iaetdaa.com/photo-therapy] __________________ Body-Mind connection through Photography https://photoarttherapy.nl/bodylandscapes_method [https://photoarttherapy.nl/bodylandscapes_method] ___________________ phototherapy, phototherapy techniques, photography for mental health, photography and burnout recovery, introspective photography, self-discovery through photography, expat mental health, photography coaching, healing through art, mindfulness photography, therapeutic photography, emotional healing, burnout recovery tools, photography and identity

#9 Masculine&Feminine in Balance.

An inspiring conversation with Maria - www.mamamariacoach.com [www.mamamariacoach.com], who was a high-achiever in the past but managed to embrace her feminine side — which had been hidden in the shadow — and found a way to balance success by including not only results and achievements, but also joy in the process, quality time with her kids, and self-care. We explore a metaphor of the Masculine and Feminine as a River flowing within its shores. When you flow with the process but at the same time feel the direction, boundaries, and don't spill over. When you manage to say No when it's needed, and Pause when you feel signals from your intuition. Check my upcoming eventshttps://photoarttherapy.nl/events_ [https://photoarttherapy.nl/events_]

#8 Collective trauma. Eastern European Women

Marka Kondrateva [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marka-photo-art-therapy/] - host, Somatic Art Therapist, Lecturer, Family Constellations Facilitator, Reiki Master. photoarttherapy.nl [https://photoarttherapy.nl/events_] _____ Anca Zinculescu [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ancazinculescu/overlay/about-this-profile/] - my guest. Anca is empowering mothers to embrace their transformation and rediscover themselves during matrescence. www.a2z.coach [https://www.a2z.coach/] _____ Collective trauma is a profound, shared psychological and emotional wound experienced by a community, society, or entire generation following a catastrophic event, such as pandemics, wars, or natural disasters. It ruptures social bonds, distorts narratives, and can cause long-lasting effects like heightened fear and intergenerational trauma.  During this conversation we reflect how eastern european collective experience effects our bodies, womanhood and relationships.