Aligned Feminine Leadership: How Cycle Syncing Transforms the Way We Work
Cycle syncing is the practice of aligning your diet, lifestyle, exercise, and workflow with the four phases of your menstrual cycle. Each phase brings its own energetic qualities and when we understand how these affect us, we can work more sustainably and effectively.
Whether you menstruate or not, this is something everyone in the business world should understand. It deepens your awareness of your own patterns or helps you better support the women you lead and work with. It’s also a tool for building cultures rooted in real wellbeing and long-term performance.
And yet, how many workplaces actually support that?
Most of today’s work culture is still structured around the 24-hour rhythm. But for those of us with a menstrual cycle, our bodies follow an additional rhythm that unfolds over roughly 28 days. Our hormonal landscape shifts week by week, not just hour by hour. And that difference matters.
If we want truly sustainable performance, we need to make space for both rhythms. We need to give people who have periods the option and support to work in alignment with their cycle.
That’s what cycle syncing makes possible.
But what does that actually look like in practice? Let’s walk through the four phases and how they show up in work and leadership.
Phases of the Cycle and What They Mean at Work
Phase1 – Menstruation (Inner Winter)
Your period starts. Estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest, and energy is low.
At work during your inner winter: This is a time for rest, de-stressing, slowing down, nurturing yourself, deep reflection, turning inward, and visioning the month ahead.
As a leader in your inner winter: Hold space for others through deep presence and stillness. Reflect on your direction, strategy, and vision for the month ahead. Tune into what no longer serves you and allow it to be released. This is not a time for output, but for intuitive clarity.
Phase 2 – Follicular Phase (Inner Spring)
This phase comes after your period. Estrogen and testosterone begin to rise, and energy returns.
At work during your inner spring: A great phase for brainstorming, playfulness, starting new projects, and taking first steps. During inner spring, you’re naturally more curious, motivated, focused, and open to new ideas.
As a leader in your inner spring: Step into fresh momentum. Use this time to spark creativity, explore new directions, and take inspired risks. Your leadership is energized by curiosity and optimism, so bring that to your team and your strategy.
Phase 3 – Ovulation (Inner Summer)
Estrogen and testosterone peak. Your focus is fully outward and you have high energy levels.
At work during your inner summer: This is the time for pitching, taking charge, public speaking, networking, interviews, collaborations — being out and visible, because you feel confident, social, vibrant, and magnetic.
As a leader in your inner summer:Use your charm, magnetism and optimism to inspire, influence and motivate others. Use this time to strengthen relationships, build trust, and energize your team. Do networking, and attend social gatherings.
Phase 4 – Luteal Phase (Inner Autumn)
Progesterone rises. Energy begins to turn inward again.
At work during your inner autumn: Ideal for detailed work, completing tasks, setting boundaries, editing, and using your intuition. Be mindful that your inner critic is louder now and while your tolerance might be lower, your alignment with your truth is stronger. Use that to communicate honestly.
As a leader in your inner autumn:This is a time for evaluating what is working and what isn’t. Lead with grounded presence. Focus on completing projects, and being honest about your boundaries and needs.
My Journey
For my entire corporate career, I pushed through without listening to my body. Back then, I was experiencing PMS and intense period cramps on the first day of my cycle.
I was genuinely afraid of having to come into the office when my perior started, as I was always felt completely unwell.
And yet, I still forced myself to work, because working from home wasn’t acceptable at the time.
I tried to hide how hard it was. But my colleagues saw it, even if many of them couldn’t understand what I was going through. I was pale, sweating from the pain, on the edge of fainting.
When I left the corporate world, I reclaimed the right to respect my body’s rhythm.
Now, things are different. I made a conscious decision to start living and working in alignment with my cycle — a deeply feminine, sustainable way of being.
For example, when my period starts, I take it easy. For the first 1–2 days of my cycle, I only do the most minimal work. Sometimes, I don’t work at all. And everything else? It can wait until my energy returns.
My Results After Starting Cycle Syncing
Here’s what I have experienced after starting this journey:
- Much more energy during the month
- Greater productivity and motivation as I align tasks with each phase (when possible)
- Less PMS
- Calmer inner space
- A deeper sense of self-love as I respect my rhythm
- Better understanding of my mood changes
- Much less period pain (cycle syncing + healing it naturally)
But Sometimes… You Can’t Schedule Life Around Your Period
At the same time, I want to be real and honest: sometimes it’s impossible to schedule life, work, and social things around your cycle.
This just happened to me.
I realized that my period was going to start on the exact day I was supposed to speak in front of an audience, lead group meditations, network, and be highly social at the Crush Movement conference.
It wasn’t ideal. I knew I would feel the opposite: quiet, internal, and sensitive.
I also knew that all the stress from planning and prepping the event could increase my PMS and cramps — and those horror stories from my corporate years came rushing back.
As I felt the old fear rising up, I faced it and let it go. I reminded myself: I couldn’t change the date of the event, and I couldn’t control my body either.
So I made a decision: I would show up exactly as I was. I would take care of myself, listen to my body, and allow others to see me in a softer, more inward state(which was actually perfect for leading meditations).
And the funny thing? My period started the next day after the event, when I had already booked time off to rest.
But the real lesson stayed with me:
We can’t always choose when our period shows up. But we can choose to honor our inner rhythm no matter what’s happening in our lives.
Heal with me for a sec.
If you’re a leader, support your team members to try cycle syncing. It doesn’t need to be complex — even just opening space for this conversation can shift the energy of a team.
If you are curious to start your cycle syncing journey: Start tracking your cycle and bring awareness to how your energy shifts during the different phases. Then – where possible – align tasks, meetings, and creative work with your cycle and remember to be flexible and compassionate when it doesn’t align.
Essi Koski-Lammi
Essi Koski-Lammi is a Wellbeing Trailblazer, Feminine Executive Coach, Healer, Clairvoyant and Conscious Interior Designer. She believes that how we live, work, and care for ourselves is deeply influenced by the connection between the spaces within and around us. With a diploma in interior design, over 22 years of experience in energy healing and meditation, MSC in Business and a strong background in global branding and marketing, Essi combines her expertise to empower women to transform their homes, businesses, and lives — and most importantly, themselves — so that every part of life feels aligned and truly their own.
