Cycle Check-ins: Inner Autumn | Session 4 of 6
There's a week in every cycle where you stop pretending, and everything you've been putting up with starts looking exactly as it is...
Perhaps fewer messages get answered... Perhaps there's less patience for the group chat, and a quiet urge to cancel the evening and reorganise a cupboard instead. Inner Autumn is the stretch between ovulation and bleeding, and for many of us it's the season we learned to apologise for, even though it's so often the one gently telling us the truth about what isn't working, what we've been carrying and what might be ready to go. 🍂
There's something rather lovely about meeting Inner Autumn in the middle of the outer one.
When we last gathered, on Wednesday 30 September, we were at the peak of the cycle with Inner Summer. This time the cycle turns inwards, and we'll spend the session with what that really involves: what's happening biologically through the luteal phase, why sensitivity, irritability and a pull towards our own company tend to arrive here, and how all of this sits alongside the "difficult week" story so many of us have been handed. There's a great deal of power in this season too, once we stop pushing against it. A sharper sense of judgement, a strong instinct for finishing rather than beginning, and a very clear feeling for what we no longer want.
We'll make room for the harder end of it as well. For some of us this season is genuinely difficult, and we'd much rather name that honestly together than tidy it away.
New here? You're very welcome. You don't need to have been at the earlier sessions. We'll set the scene at the start, and the four-season map below will bring you up to speed.
Join Nikki Berridge and Kate Penning, co-founders of Howami, for a free live conversation exploring the hidden superpowers of your inner seasons and how to work with them rather than against them.
The season so far
This outer Autumn we're gathering the same group across six biweekly sessions, a full season together, so we can move beyond a single check-in and really deepen the relationship you have with your cycle.
Session 1 – Overview of the Four Inner Seasons (Wed 2 Sep) ✓ complete
Session 2 – Inner Spring (Wed 16 Sep) ✓ complete
Session 3 – Inner Summer (Wed 30 Sep) ✓ complete
Session 4 – Inner Autumn (Wednesday 14 October) ← this one
Session 5 – Inner Winter (Wednesday 28 October)
Session 6 – Life Stage Cycle: the seasons of one's life and weaving selfcare through them (Wednesday 11 November)
Each gathering builds on the last, so you're warmly encouraged to join the rest of the journey. Registering here brings you into the cohort.
The four inner seasons
Having a menstrual cycle means we are in constant dialogue with change. Some days we might feel energised and brimming with ideas, while other days concentration can feel a little harder. Sometimes our emotions sit close to the surface, or we find ourselves wanting more quiet than company.
While many of us recognise these shifts because we live them, few of us are ever given the opportunity to name and notice, to understand why these experiences are occurring. We explore the cycle in four inner seasons: not as boxes to fit into, but as a framework for noticing the changing landscape of our bodies and minds.
Inner Winter (Menstrual)
Inner Spring (Follicular)
Inner Summer (Ovulatory)
Inner Autumn (Luteal) ← our focus this session
At Howami, we believe awareness begins with a simple question: How am I today? When we begin to notice our own patterns with curiosity rather than judgement, we can start building a relationship with our cycle instead of being in reaction to it.
Big Red Rule: Every cycle is unique. There is no "right" way to experience these seasons. Together we'll explore what comes from paying attention to our own lived menstrual experiences.
Whether you're just beginning to learn about your cycle, supporting someone else, or simply curious to understand yourself more deeply, you're so very warmly welcome.
WHAT TO EXPECT
We want each gathering to be a relaxing and calming space. We'll begin with a mindful exercise led by Kate, inviting everyone to check in, tune in and notice.
From there, Nikki will explore the changing rhythms of the menstrual cycle, sharing practical insights, current understanding and everyday reflections that can help make sense of experiences many of us have had but never quite had the language for.
There'll be space for questions throughout, with time at the end for open conversation. Because we're journeying as a season with the same group, there's room for our understanding, and our trust in one another, to deepen session by session. Your questions won't just shape each session, they'll help shape the seasons to come.
This session: Wednesday 14 October, Inner Autumn
Time: 12 noon BST
Length: 45 minutes
Where: Live on Zoom (joining link sent after registration)
Cost: Free
Camera: Completely optional. Come exactly as you are.
Register above and we'll send everything you need before the session.
ABOUT NIKKI AND KATE
Nikki Berridge and Kate Penning are the co-founders of Howami, a values driven, social impact organisation working to transform the way we understand menstrual cycle awareness with open conversation and community.
With a focus on young menstruators, together they're building digital tools that help young people, and the adults who support them, develop body autonomy and literacy, emotional intelligence and a deeper understanding of themselves. One check-in, one conversation and one shared story at a time.