Episode 7: Jesus Conversation with Megan Ziegenfus.

Speaker 1 00:00:15 Hand, hello girls. Welcome to another episode of soul girls podcast. This is a place of conversation, featuring stories of girls like you, who have been influencing the world with the light of Jesus. Our vision is to raise a generation of girls who so in Christ and we believe our conversations will lift lead and launch you into your God destiny. So dive in. So girls today, we have it as Megan, she's a creator of body talk basics. She offers courses about female body and hopes to pass on what she has learned about the female body to the next generation. Her vision is every woman finds this information empowering. So let's welcome, Megan. Hello, Megan. We are so delighted to have you on our, so podcast today. Speaker 2 00:01:20 Um, Megan, can we start with a quick introduction? Tell us what's your purpose and assignment in life? Speaker 3 00:01:26 Sure. Um, yeah, my name is Megan and I feel like my purpose and assignment in life is really to support girls and women to appreciate and talk about and learn how to better care for their amazing female bodies. So that looks like a, a number of different things I have, of course, for moms and daughters to take together all about puberty and body development. And on my Instagram, I, um, kinda like to ask women questions and have them share about their experience. And then I'm also training to be a postpartum doula where I, you know, bring food or kind of support moms. Who've just had a baby. And so kind of feel like everything that I'm interested in some way touches on really supporting women and girls, especially in, in those big transitional moments in life, you know, puberty or having a baby or things like that. Speaker 2 00:02:18 Wow. Wow. I, uh, I think this is a very creative, uh, like I always say in all my interviews, I love creative ways. I have not really heard. Uh, I don't think a lot of people speak about, uh, what you speak about on social media and that's fantastic. I feel, and I hope the listeners enjoy because this is gonna be very different. <laugh> all right. So, uh, you know, while, uh, I think there are so many lies, uh, especially with women or girls believe, uh, you know, as per experience, what was, what's the biggest lies we believe about our bodies? Speaker 3 00:02:56 Hmm. Yeah, there's a lot, but I think the, the main one or one that a lot of these kind of individual fears come down to is this lie that our bodies are weird or broken or not normal. I think, especially, I mean, I was this, I'm not sure if you're this way, but especially growing up and going through puberty as your body's changing in all of these ways, some of which you're expecting and some that you're not, there's this kind of fear of am I, do I look like I'm supposed to look like, am I developing in a way that's normal? Or, or does this look weird? And, um, and so I think that's one of my big messages, at least in my course and kind of on my Instagram and what I love to reaffirm when I talk with women too, is just that different is normal. Speaker 3 00:03:43 You know, that we so often have this kind of ideal image of in our head of, of what we should look like. Um, or even just be like, and in reality, it's really the differences that make life so interesting. And even just thinking about, you know, if you got your friends together and you put your hands out and looked at each other's hands and fingers, you'd notice very quickly, they all look a little different. They're all hands, you know, and they all work just fine, but your nails might look a little different or your fingers might be a little, you know, longer or shorter. And we would all recognize that as totally normal and expected. But I think when it comes to other parts of our bodies, we have this sense that, you know, me, the, the way that we are different is weird or bad or broken. Speaker 3 00:04:28 And, um, I think it's so important to just reaffirm that no, there are so many ways to look. And I think that's part of just kind of celebrating like the creativity of God, as well as an artist that, you know, he creates these beings that all look so different. You know, really, if you think of any art, like if, if the, if an artist painted the same painting over and over again, we'd be like, oh, that's, that's cool. You know, if, oh, another one, oh, looks the same. That's not, you know, what is there to celebrate about that? And so I think we find that too in our bodies and the more that we lean into that, then we can celebrate our bodies and we can celebrate the bodies of other people too. Cuz there isn't as much of this comparison cuz we're not competing to be the same, you know, and you can only really be who you are anyway. So the, the sooner in life we can really lean into that. I think the better. Speaker 2 00:05:21 Yeah. I think, uh, the, an analogy or fingers, I think that was fantastic. Uh, we gotta accept that we are different, but uh, we are normal. Uh, that's fantastic. Yeah. Uh, thank you so much for sharing that. I think that, uh, that's very inspirational. Uh, you know, talking about one more, uh, very, very important topic. I think it's, uh, in India, I especially say that this is like a topic that people don't really speak about. Uh, and uh, and all the women, I know all girls, women, I know face this issue. Right. Some bigger or some way or the other, either it is physical, mental, whatever it is. And it's about period pain. Yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so yeah. Um, you know, we, oh, I, I think I remember from the time, my first time got it. Um, I was told it is normal to have a period pain, your back, your legs, your stomach or anything. Right. But I was reading through your Instagram and there was some truths that you were telling and you were breaking some lies. Do you wanna talk about it? Speaker 3 00:06:23 Sure. Yeah. I mean, that was a big thing for me too, when I first learned that I, I think there's a lot of things about being a woman that we kind of take and even are told, are just gonna be painful and you just have to kinda suck it up. And that's kind of part of being a woman. And I think there, yeah, that's, <laugh>, I think that's wrong in most ways. Um, and yeah, so I think if we think about what a period is, so a period is just the release of the lining of blood and nutrients that, um, your uterus built up to prepare for a potentially fertilized D if an egg wasn't fertilized and didn't implant in that lining, then it can safely release it and let it go. And none of that is painful. Like there's no, no part of that, that requires pain to happen. Speaker 3 00:07:16 The release of the lining doesn't need pain. Wow. Um, and so what's, what's interesting is so oftentimes, especially with, I think cramps is one thing that comes up for a lot of people when they, when they think of period pain. And so really cramps are caused by too many of these things called prostaglandins. And so prostaglandins are kind of like hormones. They're not exactly hormones, but they're little messengers. And what I love about even taking something like prostaglandins is prostaglandins, aren't bad. They have a purpose. They like hormones. People always talk about hormones. Like they're bad. Or like, you know, say, oh, I'm so hormonal or you're so hormonal, that's kind of a bad thing, but we're all hormonal. We all have hormones and hormones are really amazing and allow us to do a lot of the things that we want to do. But it's when things are out of balance, that's where we start feeling the pain. Speaker 3 00:08:14 That's where we start feeling like something is off here. I don't like who I'm becoming when I, you know, feel this way or before my period. And so prostaglandins are kind of similar. So when we have too many prostaglandins, that's when we feel the cramping as painful. So prostaglandins are supposed to help cramp or contract the uterus mm-hmm <affirmative>, um, so that it can help, you know, release the lining. But that cramping, I mean, if you just like, kind of squeeze your finger, like that's not, or you put your hand into a fist that's not painful, you know, but there's contracting there. Right. But if someone like really put, you know, their hand around your fist and like squeeze so tight, then we would be like, oh, that cramping is painful, but just the kind of squeezing of your hand, isn't painful. So that's kind of similar. Speaker 3 00:08:57 Like you might just feel a little, I kind think about like feeling just maybe a little full or something because your uterus is, you know, full of that blood that it's releasing, but it should not be where you're like laying on the couch or where you're like, I don't, I can't go on a walk or, or those kinds of things. That's where your body is really saying, Hey, I need your help. <laugh> I need your support here. And that's why our body sends us messages and pain is a powerful message, right. That gets our attention real fast or it should. And so I think it's so powerful once you start realizing that period pain is, it is a piece of communication from your body to you. I mean, we are our bodies too, but to, you know, your, um, your brain, I guess, or your, your conscious part of you to say, Hey, I need some more support here so that we can get this balance back. Hmm. Speaker 2 00:09:53 Interesting. Wow. <laugh>, you know, that's a lot of knowledge on female body. Uh, I think, uh, this is the first time I heard so extensively about, uh, why the pain and what happens and it's not normal. I mean, yeah. Uh, so true. Like every time I, me too, I mean, um, I'm just trying to set myself free as, and when I, I have been going through your, uh, post, but, uh, yeah. I mean, if you get a period, you know, you actually wait for the pain and then, you know, you, you know, you're ready to, you know, uh, start a period for that month, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, but you, you just saying that, you know, uh, it is, it doesn't require to be painful. I mean, there's no need of pain. Wow. That's kind of setting me free a little bit. Yeah. That's fantastic. Whoa. Speaker 3 00:10:43 Yeah, yeah, no, I felt that freedom too. I was like, what, no one told me that, you know, earlier, you know, it is kind of sad. I think that's, again, it goes back to these kind of lies that, Speaker 2 00:10:53 Um, Speaker 3 00:10:53 Kind of imprison us and we, we start to accept those things. And I think we, I mean, for me, at least, you know, being raised as a Christian, it was really easy to think like, oh, is, you know, God cursed me with this female body, you know, men have it so much easier. A period is curse all of these things. And once you realize, oh, actually the body is designed so wisely that, you know, it, it shouldn't be this painful experience that really helped even like spiritually for me to, to let go of those, um, barriers that I put it between myself and God, too, that, you know, God designed this pain for me. And in fact, you know, wanted me to feel this, this pain. And I don't think that that is true. Speaker 2 00:11:39 Yeah. Fantastic. You know, uh, since you know, so much about the female body, how did you start? What led you to start, you know, researching about it and talking about it? Speaker 3 00:11:50 Yeah. I mean, I feel like I'm always learning. I definitely, there are so many people I look up to who know so much more than I do. And I do wanna say too, like, I, I am not a doctor. I'm not a, you know, women's health practitioner. I'm not a naturopath or really any of those things in the health field. And some people would say, oh, then why are you talking about it? If you don't have this, you know, certification or then go to university for it or something. And I think that would be different if I, you know, had a practice where people were coming to me and I was telling them, you know, oh, take these herbs or do these things, but that's not, that's out of the scope of what I do. But I think that this is just stuff that all women should know. Speaker 3 00:12:28 You know, it's kind of like cooking. Like you don't have to have gone to, you know, chef school or something like that to just cook for your family and to know how to cook, you know, healthy food for yourself and others. And so that's how I feel about the work that I do is like learning about the menstrual cycle, learning about how to care for our bodies. That should be what all women are taught and feel confident in. Um, but so for me, it was really in college. I was in my last year of college and preparing to get married at the end of college and was starting to kind of look into birth control options, cuz we were gonna wait a little bit to have kids. And I was looking at, you know, the, the pill and the I U D and some of these other, um, hormonal contraceptives. Speaker 3 00:13:14 And I was like, these, all these are awful. You know, they just would mess. I just was reading all these horror stories about how they messed with women's bodies and their hormones. And even like the pill, I knew so many people who'd gone on the pill for their acne or for their cramps or those kinds of things. And they were told, you know, the pill is going to fix your hormones. And I think when I started researching actually what the pill does, it doesn't fix your hormones. It really turns off your body's production of your hormones, which is kind of a dangerous thing to do because there are a lot of benefits to having your own hormones running through your body. But of course we're never really told that, you know, it's like, oh, turn it off, whatever, that's fine. Um, but really when we lean into that design, it's like, well, why do we have this beautiful design of these different hormones in this cycle? Speaker 3 00:13:58 And how do we listen to our bodies when they're expressing like, oh, you have acne or you have this pain again, those are messages that we can tune into. And so when I kind of realized that that's what was happening in the body, it's like, I don't wanna turn off my menstrual cycle or I don't wanna have this little metal piece, you know, inserted into my cervix or these things that suddenly felt so violent. But I was like, what else do I do? That's all that people are, are talking about. And then I stumbled into, um, this way that people are talking about it called fertility awareness or fertility awareness method, which is the idea of learning when you are fertile, because that was another thing I had no idea. I thought you could get pregnant like any day of your cycle. Um, and really it's only, I mean, there's a little bit of variance, but really only about a week of your whole menstrual cycle that it's even possible for you to get pregnant. Speaker 3 00:14:51 And so fertil till the awareness method is all about learning your cycle signs to be able to assess is this the window of time that I can get pregnant in. And so first to do that, you have to learn what your menstrual cycle is like and what those signs are. And in doing that, you know, I was learning about estrogen and progesterone and even I think in college, if someone had said, can you describe what a, what a period is, or even like, you know, what is happening during a whole menstrual cycle? I would've probably looked at you kind of like not, there was some blood, I guess. I can't remember why, you know, it's like helping us to have a baby, but I don't think I really could have told you that was a little bit shocking and humbling that, you know, here I was gonna graduate with a, a college degree. Speaker 3 00:15:35 I'd been through high school and done really well. And I couldn't tell you a really basic fact about my female body and menstrual cycle. And so anyway, I just like started reading and reading was just so interested. And what I kept coming to is like, why was I not taught this? You know, I had to learn precalculus in high school and yet no one could take three days to teach, you know, a course about understanding your fertility and your menstrual cycle. And so I kind of stored that away. There was just this kind of sense of like, I really wish I had learned this earlier. And I wish that, you know, there was some way that I could help girls to learn this stuff earlier, but it wasn't really the time. Um, I graduated from college and I got my master's in teaching and I was a history and English teacher, um, teaching middle school. Speaker 3 00:16:23 So that's like, um, like 11 to 14 year olds and did that for three years. And then when COVID hit, I had a lot more time than we at home to kind of think through things. And I was like, you know what? This is really, this is my passion. I love middle schoolers. I love teaching, but I really want to, to teach girls this information. I also wanna teach them with their moms because I think I'm so passionate about women talking, you know, and not just learning. I think it's great when we have books and things like that. But my vision for this, wasn't like, oh, give a girl a book and she can like read it under her covers in her room privately. I wanted it to be, how can we learn and talk about the female body in the community with other women? Speaker 3 00:17:09 And so I thought, well, moms, I think are such an important part of that. And also in talking with my own mom, it was pretty clear, like she had never been taught this stuff and in conversations I've had with my grandma, she's like, I never knew any of this stuff. And so I thought, well, maybe this would be a great time for moms and daughters to be able to learn together and kind of be inspired by the female body and kind of together forge this new path for themselves and for, you know, their daughters after. And so anyway, kind of in the COVID time, I just got to work writing this curriculum and then filmed these videos and, um, really just kind of shifted gears into teaching about the body. So that was kinda a long answer to your question, but that's how I got into it and why I think like anyone can know this stuff. It's not, you don't have to go to college for it or whatever. There's obviously I respect the people who have gone on and know even more details that I'm learning from. But yeah, I think all women can, can learn this. Speaker 2 00:18:12 Yeah. That's a very interesting journey I think. Uh, and we look forward to, uh, you know, go through more of your, uh, content and learn more, uh, I think, uh, it's, it's, I think it's fantastic work. Um, we can, Speaker 3 00:18:25 I think, Speaker 2 00:18:26 Yeah. Um, so, um, you know, um, let's talk about self hygiene because I know, uh, you know, it's, <laugh>, um, it's, it's no, again, no one talks about that. Uh, and, uh, you know, even if they do, it's not spoken openly, like you said, people don't sit, uh, even women don't sit with each other and you don't wanna talk about that. They even if they do, they face a lot of challenge challenges. Yeah. Uh, so tell us about, uh, you know, period self hygiene that a women can take care of if you could. Speaker 3 00:19:04 Sure. Yeah. And maybe I'll like expand it a little bit too. And just to self hygiene in general kind of all cycle long, I think. So I'll just kind of talk about, um, like caring for your vulva and vagina. We'll go there. Um, so first I always think it's interesting to mention too, cuz this is something I don't think I was really conscious of growing up. So you have the VVA, which is really kind of like the whole area between your legs, except for the, the anus, your butthole mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and then the vagina. So a lot of people just call that area, the vagina, right. But it's not the vagina. The, the vaginal opening is, is one of the parts of the vulva, but then the vagina is the, um, like the internal part that opens up then into your cervix and then your uterus. Speaker 3 00:19:49 Um, and so I like to differentiate that cuz there's kind of different ways that we care for ourselves. So one thing I think is really interesting is, you know, hygiene is obviously really important. It's a way that we can care for ourselves and honor ourselves. But I think in a lot of ways, sometimes hygiene is taken too far and it's kind of used to make us feel dirty about things that actually are normal. So there's a lot of companies and I'm not sure what it's like in India, but at least in the, the states here, you know, you go to the store and in like the female hygiene section, there's all of these bottles that are for, you know, vaginal wash or vaginal douching, these kinds of things. And when you look at them, they are full of chemicals and really how they're marketed is like, this will help you to feel clean and fresh and to not smell, there's all this kind of, you know, idea about, oh, you know, you should be worried about how you smell down there and then buy this product to not feel worried about that smell. Speaker 3 00:20:46 And I mean, I think, you know, just body odor in general, like that can be something again, that's like a message to, to us that, oh, maybe there's kind of an imbalance of bacteria or maybe you're really stressed. Like we often smell more when we feel like really strong emotions, so it can be information. And you know, I'm not saying like, I think everyone should have like really strong body odor or anything like that. And I think, you know, you know, showering regularly and those kinds of things are important, but we don't have to smell like a cupcake or a flower, you know, like we're a human, we don't have to smell like those things. And I think about, you know, the lotions I bought growing up, you know, I was like vanilla cupcake and stuff. I'm like, why, why was I so committed to smelling like a cupcake I don't have to. Speaker 3 00:21:30 And so I think a lot of companies will, will market to girls knowing that they're kind of, self-conscious about, you know, how they smell or, you know, if, yeah, if they're okay or if they're clean. And so I like to always reaffirm, like you are not dirty or like you are not, um, gross. If you just smell like a human and you don't smell like a flower. So the other thing is I think these, um, a lot of soaps and these vaginal washes, they actually, aren't just neutral. They're actually bad. They actually can harm, can harm you. So I'll talk about why that is. So, um, the vagina is amazing. It's designed so intelligently and it actually doesn't really need our help. It's kind, it's pretty, self-sufficient, she's an independent lady. Um, the vagina, it cleans itself. It, you know, cares for itself really well usually unless you mess with her and then you kind of throw things off. Speaker 3 00:22:31 So the, that the, um, vagina is full of bacteria. And I don't know if you're like me, you know, for most of my life, I was like, oh, bacteria are bad. <laugh>, you know, we have to get rid of bacteria and it's kind of, you know, use hand sanitizer all the time, like get rid of bacteria. But really, I think we're learning, you know, more and more that actually it's more about a balance of bacteria. And in fact, in a lot of places of our body, there are certain kinds of bacteria that we really want to be present because they, um, help to, to balance that specific area. So in the vagina, um, it's full of lactobacillus bacteria, which is kind of fun. It's actually the same kind of bacteria that you find in like fermented milk products like yogurt. Like if you look at like the back of yogurt, it might say like lactic Basilus bacteria, that's kind of the same strain of bacteria that the vagina is supposed to be full of. Speaker 3 00:23:19 And what's powerful about that. Bacteria is it keeps things like yeast and other microorganisms that you don't want growing in the vagina. It keeps them out and it keeps them kind of contained. But when you add these vaginal washes or you try to put soap in your vagina or something like that, or even like a lot of water, that's gonna mess with the bacteria, the good bacteria that you want and maybe, you know, kill them, you know, kill that bacteria off or, or mess with that balance. Um, so that it's inviting the yeast and other microorganisms that can lead to infections and things like that. So again, it's like the problem isn't that, oh, your vagina's dirty and you need to clean it with these products. The problem is that the products and messing with the vagina are gonna lead to more, more problems. You know what I mean? Speaker 3 00:24:04 So I think that's, again, such a beautiful design that really we can just let it be <laugh> and not worry about it. And even with the vulva, I think, you know, I'm a big proponent of saying you do not need to use soap in that, in that area of your body, you can just use warm water and kind of, you know, use the water to kind of clean between the folds of your labia and that kind of thing. But water is just fine and the vagina doesn't even need water, just let her B <laugh> and she'll be, she'll be good. So I think those are good things to think about with hygiene, um, that sometimes less is more, we don't actually need to be using all of these products on our, on ourselves. Speaker 2 00:24:40 Wow. So, um, you know, you're saying that if we do use these products, there are more chances for us to get an infection because of the chemicals it has and it messes with the bacteria. Whoa. Wow. Right? Yeah. Like I, every AC I mean, yeah, in India, we, we are starting to get, you know, a lot of, uh, products where you, you know, you have the female hygiene, uh, you know, section, like you said, and there are a lot of, uh, companies are coming up with this, uh, you know, vagina washes. And a lot of times, if you are like, I personally have been, you know, going through in my head that, oh, should I buy it? Is it gonna be good for me? And I think you just targeted the problem. We have been told that, oh, you know, you know, you, you need to smell like a cupcake. I like that. <laugh> Speaker 2 00:25:27 I think that is the more than it been clean. We are stuck up with the fact that it should not smell. Yes. And that's why yeah. And, you know, wow. I think, uh, that's fantastic. Thank you so much for, uh, that, uh, that's gonna set a lot of girls free. A lot of them, especially, uh, the ones who are listening, I think, um, I'm gonna send this, uh, I mean, there are a lot of my friends who are waiting for this interview to happen because everyone wants to know, you know, about female hygiene. And, um, especially in India, we don't really have, uh, sessions like these even in school or anything like that. Uh, so anywhere in, everywhere it comes from, we are trying to look at okay, what should we do about our body types? Totally. Speaker 3 00:26:09 Yeah. Yeah. I hope it can be helpful. Speaker 2 00:26:11 Yeah. So, um, Megan, tell me how your work, um, you know, how do you relate your work to your work with Jesus? Speaker 3 00:26:20 Yeah, no, that's a good question. I think, I mean, I think it kind of touches on what I had mentioned before, but I mean, I think to me, I've just felt so much freedom in my relationship with God when I have kind of relearned to see him as, um, you know, like, oh, God is love. And you know, like Jesus, you know, loves all of these kinds of things that, you know, I, I heard and was like, yeah, okay. I, I believe that growing up, but I think it wasn't until I was a little bit older and I realized, oh, I'd actually had a lot of things that were kind of, it's like, oh, you know, God loves me, but also why in the world did he make me a woman? It would've been so much nicer if he needed me a man, like, is he punishing me for something, you know, I'm like, hold on. Speaker 3 00:27:12 I need to really evaluate that. And so I think to me, just learning about our bodies can be so spiritually freeing. Um, when you see God's love like written into the design of your body, you know, and you can really kind of just Marvel at how, why is Lee God made us in our bodies? And, um, yeah, I think there's a lot of this culture that, you know, our bodies are, are bad or that our bodies only lead us to sin or that our bodies are temptations all of these kinds of things. And I think we can use our bodies to do bad things. Obviously we can see that in ourselves and all around us, but we can also use our bodies to, um, connect more with God or connect more with each other. And, and so that's what I feel so passionate about is like, no, actually it's not this idea that we need to escape our bodies and that our bodies are always holding us back from, you know, true faith or from, you know, our relationship with God. But that actually sometimes the, the deeper we go into our bodies and kind of within ourselves, the, the better we can understand God and his purpose for us and at the very least is purpose for our bodies. So, yeah. That's just a little bit <laugh> to answer your question, but Speaker 2 00:28:36 Yeah. Wow. I think, uh, yeah, when, when I read this words for the first time that your body is a temple of the holy spirit, and that encourages me so much to take care of my body, like, um, if, if you are religious, like, you know, you, you you'd be like, oh, your body's not important. The way you look is not important, but, uh, it's the, actually the opposite where you need to take care of yourself. Cause it is where, you know, God dwells in and that's fantastic, isn't it? Yeah. I think, uh, what you do, um, it relates so much to the way we think and the way, uh, especially women should think about because yeah, we keep worrying about the way, uh, our bodies are, but we also have this thing, oh, are, are our bodies, you know, like, like rightly said, is it, is it too much to do? Are we falling into same? But yeah, it's a wonderful, uh, you know, I think I'm kind of like you were every time I look, I'm trying to understand my body. I can only see the wonders. Wonderful works of God. Yeah. It's fantastic. Speaker 2 00:29:41 So, um, you know, um, why is basic female hygiene important? And can you, uh, tell us some tips, you know, that we can take a look at basic tips and we, we can very easily overlook and that could create an issue. Speaker 3 00:29:57 Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think one, one hygiene tip is, um, like when you go to the bathroom wiping, like if you're using toilet paper versus a B day or something like that, um, wiping from front to back, I was taught growing up. I don't think I necessarily realized why, but in talking with other women, I realized that was actually not very common to know. Um, but if you think about it again with that bacteria, you don't want to introduce bacteria, you know, from your poop into your vagina. Like that's not gonna be a bacteria that your vagina wants. And so just think about making sure that when you're wiping that you're starting at the, you know, vulva and then working backwards, that's gonna, that's gonna really help. Um, let's see what else, um, oh, for, for period care, I meant to mention that too. Speaker 3 00:30:50 Um, I'm not sure what kinds of period products are the most, most popular, but even with, with any kind of disposable product tampons pads, it's really important if you have access to them, to using products that are organic cotton, cotton is a crop that's sprayed with pesticides a lot. And so you don't wanna put pesticides, you know, inside your vagina or near your vulva. Um, so organic cotton unbleached, again, that's a chemical. Um, and oh, this another big one is no, um, fragrance. Like you don't want, I, I looked at, I, um, I had like kind of a, a bathroom growing up where I had little box of tampons. And once I was, I was visiting my, my family recently and I found that box of tampons still kinda in the back of the drawer. And I was looking at them, you know, and it said like fresh scent or something like, oh no, that's what I was putting in myself all those years. Speaker 3 00:31:44 And you look, what is fresh scent? You know, it's all of these chemicals and the word fragrance is really dangerous. It's actually, it's a word that can legally be used to refer to. I think it's something like over 3000 different chemicals, mm-hmm <affirmative>, and it's kind of pro like protected as a trade secret. So if, if we made some kind of concoction that smelled like, you know, roses or something, but it was all these different chemicals in order to stay protected and not let other people know our secret recipe for this rose scent. We can just say fragrance on our product. The problem is when you're a consumer and you just see fragrance or perfume listed as an ingredient, you have no idea where that fragrance is from or what chemical they use to produce that scent. Yeah. And so, I mean, even in candles or in, you know, air fresheners or lotion, shampoo, you know, moisturizer or all of these things, you look at, you know, that women are putting on their bodies or, or, um, putting in their homes and surrounding themselves with are all full of these chemicals. Speaker 3 00:32:49 And a lot of these chemicals, they disrupt our hormones. So when, when our, when they're absorbed into our bodies, whether that's through our, you know, vagina with period products or, um, whether that's through our skin and our makeup or skin care, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, they act like little hormones in our body. They kind of, they pretend to be hormones and they mess with our bodies' natural hormones. And so that's when you start getting like, you know, really down the line period pain and things like that. I think a lot of it can be traced back to the products that we're using, because we're adding all of this stuff that our body has to process and get rid of. You know, I think we think of our skin as like a shield, but really it's like a sponge, you know, all of our skin, so it's gonna be pulling those things in. And so we have to be really careful with what we're putting on our bodies, especially Dean are staying clean because that can end up actually, um, being a lot more for our body to process and then leading to period pain or, or other issues with our hormones. Mm-hmm Speaker 2 00:33:50 <affirmative>, I think that's a great tip. Um, yeah. Um, I think now I think I have, I've been seeing a lot of organic, um, you know, sanitary, bad products in India as well. I think that's great. I think, um, I, I need to switch to it because I'm also kind of stuck off with the fact that it has to be with freeness Speaker 3 00:34:10 <laugh> right. Like, why not? I'll smell, I'll smell better, you know, you don't think it's a big deal. Speaker 2 00:34:15 Yeah. But really it doesn't make a difference. And I've always been worried about the plastic that is getting used. Um yes. In the regular sanitary napkin. So I think, yeah. I think switching to organic, it's a better way to do it. Yeah. So, uh, you know, uh, when, when you get a period pain, like you said, you know, it's, it's the cramping that happens. Do you, do you have any hands on tips on what can I do if that really happens? Speaker 3 00:34:41 Yeah. So, I mean, I guess there's kind of two approaches and there's probably be an entire podcast cuz it doesn't often come down to just like, oh, take this pill and it will all go away. Um, but there's kind of two ways. So there's kind of in the moment help for the period pain. And then there's also the kind of, how do you prepare all cycle long leading up, you know, cause the menstrual cycle, isn't a period. I, I still catch myself saying that sometimes, you know, menstrual cycle is the whole, the whole, um, cycle with four different phases and the period is just one of those phases. Um, and so how do we prepare kind of for our period, the whole cycle long. So there's kind of two ways to look at it. I think in the moment, I mean heat, that's why I think you see so many women using like heating pads and that kinda thing. Speaker 3 00:35:24 That's actually a really good, um, thing for your body cuz it's bringing circulation to that area. We really want to be able to, to let things flow out and not get kind of stagnant in our, in our bodies. So, you know, using heat, drinking, warm, warm drinks, like, you know, herbal teas, um, or even just like warm water, you know, versus ice water or something like that. Um, ginger has been shown to be really effective at, at helping with cramps. So, um, you know, sometimes like I'll get, I'll make a ginger tea and just, you know, steep some ginger and some hot water or um, you can even like press ginger and drink it like a, a shot. Um, what else? Um, I mean even simple, like just simple little things like wearing loose clothing, you know, leading up to your period. I think, um, just having things that aren't going to constrict and put extra pressure on your, your abdomen and your womb. Speaker 3 00:36:23 Um, so those are just a few to get started with. Like if you actually had had pain in, in that moment. Um, seeing things like raspberry leaf tea, or I know a lot of people who love eating raspberries, if you have, I don't know what fruits are, are easily accessible and I'm sure there's other comparable ones, but, but that can be helpful. And then really there's also just the, the mindset of, of preparing for your period so that, um, you, your body kinda has the resources it needs by the time it gets to your period rather than being in such a depleted state. And I mean one, so one big thing, like we already talked about if, if you can kind of making sure that your skincare body care that your home is, um, that you've reduced kinda the number of toxins that your body has to process. Speaker 3 00:37:10 And then, so that's a big one. Another one is just honestly making sure that you are eating enough. I find that especially girls that are going through puberty and some, the girls that I would work, you know, with, um, and, and teach as a teacher, you know, they would just be sitting there eating a big bag of chips and yeah, I'd say, oh, is that all you brought for lunch? Oh yeah. That's, that's all I have for lunch. Oh, what you have for breakfast? Ah, I Skipp breakfast like, oh my goodness. You know, how is your body gonna have what it needs to function? And I think, I definitely didn't think about that as a young girl that our menstrual cycle actually needs nutrients. You know, it doesn't, these things don't just happen out of thin air, but we put into our bodies, um, is, you know, ideally helping our bodies to function smoothly. Speaker 3 00:37:55 And so, um, making sure that you're eating enough, that you're eating regularly enough, not skipping meals or going a long time, especially for women, our bodies are really designed for, you know, an environment that is stable. And if you think about having a baby that is a lot to ask of your body, you know, you're giving your own nutrients, you're giving your body to the development of this little human and so your body. So when you ovulate, when you release an egg, um, it can be held off like your body is so smart. If you're in a time of stress, it will often push off ovulation so that, you know, because it's knowing, Hey, you know, you're not in a good spot to have a, to have a child if you're in a famine or if you've, you know, been exercising so much and you don't have, you know, any of the resources to nourish yourself. Speaker 3 00:38:46 So then you can end up with a cycle that's, you know, 80 days long. You're like, where is my period? You know, it's not that your period's late. It's just that it took you so long to feel safe enough to ovulate. Um, because you'll always have a period about a couple weeks. It kind of depends, but about, you know, 10 to 16 days after you ovulate. So that's a great thing about tracking your cycle is you can know when your period's gonna start, even if you ovulated really late because you were traveling or you were just so stressed that month. Um, anyway, so all that to say, you know, nourishing ourselves, feeding ourselves regularly with, with meals that have, and snacks that have protein, carb and fat is just a way to really love our bodies and be like, you are safe, you are cared for, you know, you can do what you need to do because you're in a safe environment. Um, so those are kind of two things that I think can really make a big difference in our body. You know, being able to have a period and not have it be this thing that knocks us down for four days. Speaker 2 00:39:47 Yeah. I think, uh, they are very helpful tips, um, that that should really help, especially for cramps and digging. I think they can get eating before, uh, you know, that you're going to get your periods. I think that's very important, especially girls, uh, you know, cause of weight and everything you write about your weight and you start skipping meals. I'm one of those peoples who, you know, when I know I'm going to, you know, get my period, I want a bag of chips next to me. <laugh> right. Yeah. It's just, I don't know. Yeah. But yeah, I think that's great tip. Yeah. Um, so, you know, in one of your posts, you spoke about your Tal cycle being a smoke detector. I was very interested in that. Yeah. Can you tell us, yeah, Speaker 3 00:40:30 Sure. Yeah. This is an analogy that, um, Lisa Hendrick Hendrickson Jack talks about in her book, the fifth vital sign, which is a really great book. If you're wanting to dive more into your cycle signs and, you know, looking at your cervical food and your waking body temperature to kind of know where you are in your cycle, it's a really excellent book. Um, and I thought it was a great analogy because you know, a smoke detector, you kind of forget about most of the time and you only really remember that you have a smoke detector when something is going wrong. And when it's alerting you that there is a fire or a lot of smoke. And so I kind of talk about in my course, you know, period pain is like a smoke detector going off. You know, it's like, it's so loud and it's gonna hurt tears, but it would be weird to be like, oh, that stupid smoke detector, you know, hurting my ears, you know, as your kitchen is like on fire around, you know, if you're just standing there yelling at the smoke detector, being like, this is why was I given a smoke detector detector in my home? Speaker 3 00:41:33 You know, I'm so mad about this. Why don't we cover up the smoke detector <laugh> and you like, you are, that's such a, a, you know, stupid way to go about it because your smoke detector is doing its job. It's, it's letting you know that there's a problem. And so period pain or other pain that comes up in our menstrual cycle, whether even things like, um, you know, really intense anger that suddenly overtakes you or feeling really depressed before your period, you know, all of those things are like a little smoke detector going off. And so I think it's so important to go, okay. Okay, thank, thank you. Smoke detector. I hear you. I'm, you know, seeing that there's a fire somewhere. And so how can I try to figure out why there's a fire happening and what I can do to put out the fire, you know, to get back to the, the actual issue. Speaker 3 00:42:19 And I think that's where so many women are, are kind of deceived into thinking, oh, just go on the pill or, you know, take this, um, medication, not that I'm against, you know, medication or things like that in the right time. But the danger is it's, it's like putting, you know, a bunch of towels over the smoke detector rather than putting water on the fire. You know, it's not actually ever going to help you solve the issue. And that fire is just gonna keep burning around you. And it might have started as like a little fire in your, on your stove or in your kitchen, but pretty soon it's gonna look for other things to burn, cuz it's like, you're not hearing me. <laugh>, you know, you're not fixing the problem. And so then I think, you know, if you have a lifetime of just stuffing down your period pain or stuffing down your pain or your emotions without ever stopping to say, okay, why, why am I having these things happen? It's the issues are just gonna kind of keep multiplying. So not, not as like a scare tactic, but just to say like our bodies are so smart, they're doing what they're supposed to be doing in letting us know that there's a problem. Speaker 2 00:43:21 Oh yeah. Yeah. I think that's a fantastic analogy. I think I remember that. Uh, yeah, I do. We, I mean, I, all of us that anger age is something <laugh>, which is very common. Um, mm-hmm, <affirmative> thinking of it now, when you're saying that that's like a smoke detector. Whoa. Speaker 3 00:43:39 Yeah. Right. Speaker 2 00:43:41 My mindset's changing talking to, I think I've enjoying this conversation a lot personally. Speaker 3 00:43:46 That's awesome. I love, yeah. This stuff is so good to talk about, right. That you just like feel this kind of relief. And even every time I talk about it, it's good for me to talk cuz I have to remind myself, you know, of years of, of thinking in a different way. So it's always good to even just be reminded. Speaker 2 00:44:00 Yeah. That is, that is definitely. Um, so, um, you know, basic, uh, body care, all right. Let's talk about basic body care is sleeping, exercising, taking care of your skin really important or, you know, it's okay to just Speaker 3 00:44:17 Right. Yeah, no for sure. They're really important. It's you know, this little habit that can kind of make or break things sometimes I think sleep is a big one. I really struggled with sleep when I was growing up. Um, and even went on this prescription medication for a little while in high school to help myself sleep and looking back and like, oh my body again, I was crying out for help. You know, I needed to kind of change things in my life and, and I, I didn't, but um, I mean, if you sleep tips, I think so, you know, Mela, I don't know like how much, you know, people talk about melatonin, but melatonin is like our, um, it's kinda known as like a sleep hormone. It's like a hormone of darkness. It's what helps you get tired and then sleep have restful sleep and melatonin really only kicks in, in darkness. Speaker 3 00:45:04 And so if you think about our modern world, you know, we have our lights on right. Until we're about to go to sleep, you know, and we're staring, or at least for myself, staring at a phone, you know, scrolling to relax before bed and not thinking that that message to our body is like, it's, you know, one o'clock in the afternoon, you know, like we're not getting that signal that we would've from the sun of like, okay, we're gonna wind down here. We're gonna gradually get prepared for sleep. So a lot of us, you know, with the lights on turn off the light and then you expect to just fall asleep right away. And your body's like, oh, is it, is it nighttime? You know? And so I think that's just one of this kind of sleep hygiene tips is to, um, kind of reduce the, the lights that you have on in the house. Speaker 3 00:45:53 If you have a lamp, you know, where you're just turning that on after dinner and kind of getting your body to wind down, um, screens, especially, and they're, they're like the brightest kind of light that we can look at and really trick our, our bodies into thinking that it's not time to wind down. And so, you know, if you're able to not looking at screens, you know, opting for a book or something like that or journaling, or, you know, I mean, coloring is kind of like a kids thing, but that can be just so, you know, doodling and drawing, like those kinds of habits saving those for before bed can be really helpful. So that's one is sleep, um, exercise, as you mentioned, I think, yeah. I mean, getting, getting your body moving is, is always, is always good. It's a great mood booster. I mean, I struggle with <laugh> with exercise and finding things that I like to do. Speaker 3 00:46:44 Um, but I always like to make a point too, especially for girls who are like in sports at school, I think, I mean, at least in the states kids get pushed so hard in their sports. You know, they're at like 7:00 AM basketball practice before school starts at eight. A lot of them haven't eaten breakfast yet or they're, you know, drinking coffee or something. And so I always like to just say, especially to girls, if you are exercising, being really mindful that you are eating enough, um, to not be burning through all of those, those nutrients and that energy and the exercise, and then not leaving anything left over for your other, you know, body systems. So yeah, I see, I mean, I just know a lot of, of girls who were really into sports and then they would lose their period, you know, like they wouldn't have a period very often, um, which again goes back to that stress, you know, their body was like, you're not safe to ovulate or, you know, have a baby because you're burning so much of the, the precious nutrients that we would need. Speaker 3 00:47:47 And so, yeah, I just see that in a lot of athletes that they're so committed to this sport, that they kind of forget that their bodies need, need, um, energy to function as well. Um, and then skin, yeah, skin again is, is a way that our, our body, you know, communicates with us. I've gone, you know, I had a struggle with acne at a, you know, variety of points in my life where, you know, it's like taken over my face and just feels so stressful. And so, um, I mean, concerning honestly, and it's easy to think that it's only a, um, like a topical issue, like, oh, if I could just find the right product that would solve all my skin issues and sometimes it, you know, it can turn out to be that way that maybe the product you're using is really messing with your skin. Speaker 3 00:48:33 And so switching to another one can be good. And, and that's why I think it's important to look both internally and externally. I'm a big fan of like one ingredient skincare using raw organic honey, a great cleanser. It helps it's antibacterial, it's gentle on your face. Um, it helps kind of protect that skin barrier. You can leave it on like a mask, you know, as you're brushing your teeth or whatever. Um, it's just really great for the skin. So again, you don't have to look at a bunch of ingredients and be like, what is in this cleanser as fragrance and all this stuff, honey, it can work really well. Um, I love using ha Hoba oil as just a moisturizer. I'll make a little toner for myself with, you know, a bag of green tea and you steep that for a few minutes and then put that in a little spray bottle. Speaker 3 00:49:19 And I use it throughout the week. Just things that are really simple that I can feel confident in because I know exactly what's in them. And it's funny, you can make it home, have, have your girlfriends over and you know, you can make your toner for the week or you can, you know, whatever it is. I I'm, um, infusing, um, calendula flowers in ho hobo oil right now. Cause that's also good for your skin. Something like that. You can just have fun with it and it's not, doesn't have to be something that you have to buy. Um, so that's, you know, I think it's good to cover that externally, but also just internally. I mean, when my skin was so bad, it was, it was like, I was angry on my face. You know what I mean? It was almost like a manifestation of anger and stress. Speaker 3 00:50:02 And when I looked at my life, that is exactly how I was feeling. I was so stressed out and particularly this one year of teaching and with certain coworkers, it was just like a really, really hard situation. I felt like, I couldn't say what I needed to say. And so it was like my skin. I was like trying to express that for me of like there's so much heat and anger inside. And, and so for me, a big part of that healing was actually getting to the root of it, which was I had to work through those emotions too. And I mean, for me, I ended up like leaving teaching and, and finding something that was more aligned with what I really felt like I needed to be speaking about. And so it kind of was it brought some big changes in my life, but I think that's good to remember it too, that it's not often just an external thing, that it could be a reminder of what's going on in the inside too. Speaker 2 00:50:52 Wow. I think that's, that's so true. So important to, we just keep trying on, uh, different products thinking, you know, things will work, but we gotta look in the internal as well and fix that. That's that's fantastic. Thank you so much, uh, Megan, uh, for sharing your heart out here, uh, I'm, I'm a hundred percent sure every listener's gonna be so blessed and this, uh, I'm I can't stop saying, but this, this conversation has been so helpful for me. Uh, especially I think in India, we, all girls are gonna be so blessed. You know, how did you ever think that you'd be able to speak out, get a chance to speak to people in India? <laugh> Speaker 3 00:51:33 I did not. I was so excited. I told her I was like, I be on a podcast in India, so yeah, I know that means it's a blessing to me too. Speaker 2 00:51:41 Praise God, we just thank God for your life and for the work that you're doing, we pray that you continue to do so. And, uh, you know, tell us, uh, something about any new project you're working on. How do we, you know anyone who wants to follow you, listen to you, take a look at your, um, you know, your articles or your content. What do we do to do that? Speaker 3 00:52:02 Yeah. Um, so my main website where you can find my course for moms and daughters, um, and I do ship internationally. I'm, I'm thinking about maybe launching just a digital version as well, where you get digital workbooks and that kind of thing, if that was easier for people. Um, so hopefully that's coming down the line, but so body talk, basics.com is my website. And then my Instagram is at body talk basics. And, um, it's, it's geared a little bit more towards like adult women or just kind of like you, your older teens with just some of the topics that end up coming up. Um, it's not necessarily aimed at pre-teens. A lot of my content is kind of for moms to be like, okay, you can bring this up with your daughter or, you know, with your younger sister or something. Um, and then I do have a Patreon. Speaker 3 00:52:47 Um, I don't how common Patreon is over there, but it's just kinda a way to support artists and creators. Um, and so I have that where you can kind of subscribe for the month. And I, I have like some resources there that I'll make, like, have like a snack ideas guide or, um, these like body prompt cards that you can, you know, bring to a ladies' night or something and talk about your body <laugh>. Um, and then I'm, so for that, I'm actually working on a, a video on the history of tampons. I'm kinda wanting to do like a history of these different products that were kind of created for women that really kind of changed women's lives for better or for worse. Um, cuz I love history. And so I think that will be an interesting one. You kind of see like you're talking about all this advertiser, like, oh, we can make money off of, off of these things. And so I find that really interesting and helpful to, to look at. So I'm working on a video that will be on my Patreon. So those are kinda the main ways you can find me. Speaker 2 00:53:41 Fantastic. Thank you so much for, uh, uh, coming into our, uh, podcast. Uh, we really enjoyed this conversation and we hope we are able to connect with you even more Megan, Speaker 3 00:53:52 For sure. For sure. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much for having me. Speaker 2 00:53:56 Yeah. Um, all I'm uh, just before we go, do you wanna say anything else for the podcast or your cool, like, do you wanna address the goals for anything you can do that? I'll add it in the recording. Speaker 3 00:54:13 Okay. Um, let me think here Speaker 2 00:54:15 <laugh> Speaker 3 00:54:22 I think maybe I'd say one more thing. I think like you're saying, I mean it's so powerful when women can talk and share these things, you know, and there's so much freedom in that. And so I think my encouragement for, for girls or for all women is just to continue to spend time with other women and to create circles of women where you're able to open up about these things. And I think sometimes we wonder how do we do that? How do we start the conversation? Cause it feels really intimidating. What I find is that, you know, a lot of the silence around these issues isn't that women don't want to talk about it. They just don't know how. And so I think my hope for other women or my encouragement or challenge is just start talking about it, you know, decide to be that friend who's like, so <laugh>, let's talk about our periods for a second. Speaker 3 00:55:15 You know, like what, what do you guys use for your, you know, period products or, you know, I read this thing and I thought it was, have you ever heard that before? I think just be the friend who starts, <laugh> asking your other friends about those things and if it seems really clear that they really don't wanna talk about it, then obviously you can be mindful of that. But I think, you know, like I see all the time women are like, da, da, da. Like they just both start opening up about it once they're asked, but you don't wanna be like, Hey, how are you? You know, good. I just got my period. Let me tell you all about my period and my period, you know, like we don't do that kind of thing. We we're waiting for the question. And so be the questioner, you know, bring it up and, and bring up your own experience too. I think leading with that, starting with your own, being open about your own life and even the things you're insecure about or whatever is just a great way to, um, to start the conversation and to bond. And to end up with these really kind of life giving connections with other women, Speaker 2 00:56:20 Thank you for listening and hope you Speaker 1 00:56:22 Enjoyed this episode. If you find this inspiring, I think someone needs to hear this today. Do share this episode. Link with them for sharing is caring. Also don't forget to visit our website. So girls.com and check out our weekly blogs, free resources and other exciting digital content. See you next time.