The 4 Gifts of the Menstrual Cycle: Learning to Live in Rhythm

The 4 Gifts of the Menstrual Cycle: Learning to Live in Rhythm

In this episode, Dr. Brooke opens the door to the wisdom of cyclical living and shares how learning to understand her menstrual cycle completely changed the way she related to her body, her emotions, her energy, and even her work as a business owner. After noticing a monthly pattern of anxiety, self-doubt, and the urge to “burn everything to the ground,” Dr. Brooke began to recognize that her body was speaking through a rhythm she had never been taught to truly honor. What started as curiosity led her into a deeper understanding of the menstrual cycle — not just as a biological process, but as a God-designed rhythm filled with wisdom. Rather than turning cyclical living into another list of rules, this conversation invites women to see each phase of the cycle as an inner season with its own gifts: * Menstruation as inner winter — a time to rest, reflect, and release. * The follicular phase as inner spring — a time for renewal, fresh energy, and beginning again. * Ovulation as inner summer — a time for expression, connection, and allowing yourself to be seen. * The luteal phase as inner autumn — a time for discernment, truth-telling, completion, and refinement. Dr. Brooke also speaks to women who are not currently bleeding — whether because of pregnancy, birth control, hysterectomy, perimenopause, menopause, or irregular cycles — reminding them that cyclical wisdom is still available and deeply valuable. This episode is an invitation to stop overriding your body and begin honoring the wisdom woven into your design. You are not meant to live in one energy all month long. You are designed to live in rhythm. You are designed to thrive. IN THIS EPISODE Dr. Brooke shares: * The monthly pattern that first helped her recognize her cycle’s emotional wisdom * Why cyclical living is not meant to become another checklist * How the menstrual cycle mirrors the rhythms of nature * The four inner seasons of the cycle * How to honor your body whether you currently bleed or not * Why the luteal phase may be one of the most misunderstood gifts of the cycle * How each cycle can become an upward spiral of growth, release, renewal, and deeper self-trust RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR EXPLORING CYCLICAL LIVING If this episode sparked your curiosity and you want to learn more about cyclical living, menstrual cycle wisdom, and honoring your body’s rhythms, here are a few books I recommend exploring: * Do Less by Kate Northrup * In the FLO by Alisa Vitti * Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer * Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden * Period Power by Maisie Hill * Code Red by Lisa Lister If this conversation stirred something in you and you’d love to learn more about honoring your body’s cyclical design, stay connected. Dr. Brooke will be sharing more soon about an upcoming masterclass on cyclical living and the wisdom of your body’s natural rhythms. And if this episode spoke to you, share it with a woman in your life who needs the reminder that her body is not something to override — it is something to listen to.

Lessons from My Thyroid Cancer Journey | Part 5: Finding the Gift in the Pain

What if the experience you’ve labeled as only painful, difficult, or “bad” also carried hidden gifts that shaped who you are becoming? In this episode of Designed to Thrive with Dr. Brooke, Dr. Brooke continues sharing lessons from her thyroid cancer healing journey and opens a deeper conversation around perception, emotional healing, and nervous system transformation. Through personal stories of divorce, resentment, faith, motherhood, and healing after cancer, she explores the powerful idea that every life experience has two sides: benefits and drawbacks, pain and purpose, challenge and growth. Dr. Brooke shares how learning to see both sides of painful experiences helped her release stored emotions like guilt, shame, and resentment — and how that emotional shift created a profound change not only in her mind, but also in her body. This episode is an invitation to look at your own life with new eyes. Not to bypass the hard things. Not to pretend pain didn’t happen. But to begin asking: Where did this shape me? Where did it strengthen me? Where did it bring me closer to who I am today? Because healing is not always about fixing what happened. Sometimes, it’s about finding the place inside you where the story finally softens. You’re not broken. You’re becoming. And you are Designed to Thrive!

Lessons from My Thyroid Cancer Journey | Part 4: Moving Beyond the “Why Me?” in Healing

When you’re facing a diagnosis, chronic symptoms, or a healing crisis, it’s natural to ask, “Why did this happen to me?” In this episode of Designed to Thrive with Dr. Brooke, Dr. Brooke continues her series on the lessons she learned through her thyroid cancer healing journey. She shares how her own search for “the reason” opened the door to a deeper understanding of the body, the nervous system, and the many layers that can contribute to dysfunction. Through the lens of chiropractic and nervous system health, Dr. Brooke explores the three T’s — thoughts, traumas, and toxins — and how mental, emotional, physical, and chemical stress can all shape the way the body expresses health or imbalance. This conversation is an invitation to move beyond blame, fear, or endless searching for one single root cause, and instead begin asking: What next? What is my body trying to show me? How can this become a catalyst for who I’m meant to become? Your body isn’t broken. It may be speaking. And healing begins when we learn how to listen.

Done is Better than Perfect

What if perfectionism isn’t helping you do better… but quietly keeping you stuck? In this episode of Designed to Thrive with Dr. Brooke, we’re talking about the powerful reminder that done is better than perfect — and why taking messy, imperfect action is often the very thing that creates clarity, confidence, and momentum. Dr. Brooke shares how this lesson has shaped her own life, from growing up with perfectionistic tendencies to launching this podcast and learning to take action before everything feels polished or fully figured out. Through personal stories, nervous system insight, and faith-based reflection, she explores how perfectionism can show up as procrastination, over-preparation, self-doubt, comparison, and even the need to please or fit in. This episode is an invitation to stop waiting for the perfect time, the perfect words, the perfect plan, or the perfect version of yourself before you begin. Because the first version was never meant to be the final version. And when we choose progress over perfection, we give life room to move. In this episode, you’ll hear about: * Why perfectionism can delay growth, obedience, and opportunity * How the nervous system can default into fawning, fitting in, or people-pleasing * The difference between excellence and perfectionism * Why messy action builds confidence through repetition * How faith, motherhood, business, and personal growth all require us to let life be messy * What we model for our daughters when we release the need to perform perfectly If you’ve been waiting until you feel more ready, more clear, more confident, or more prepared… this episode is your gentle nudge to begin. Start before you’re ready. Let it be messy. Choose progress over the pressure to be perfect. Because you don’t have to do it flawlessly to be faithful to the next step. You are designed to thrive.

Your Voids Drive Your Values

In this episode of Designed to Thrive with Dr. Brooke, Dr. Brooke shares the story behind why she finally took action on starting this podcast after years of feeling the inspiration but not knowing how to begin. Through a personal reflection on childhood experiences, the power of using her voice, and a concept she learned from her mentor Dr. Alok Trivedi — “your voids drive your values” — Dr. Brooke explores how the experiences that shape us can also reveal our mission, purpose, and path forward. This conversation invites you to look at your own life with curiosity and compassion. What moments shaped your values? What experiences influenced the work you feel called to do? And what if the very places that once felt like wounds are also connected to the wisdom you’re here to share? Rooted in nervous system healing, embodied living, faith, and God-designed rhythms, this episode is an invitation to reflect on your story, reconnect with your purpose, and remember: you are designed to thrive.