This episode is a must-listen for every woman—whether you’re navigating your first period, deep into perimenopause, or supporting someone who is. I’m joined by menstrual health educator Heather Allmendinger, who sheds light on a topic that should be taught in every school: menstrual cycle literacy. 🩸✨

Heather’s personal journey—from painful periods and fertility struggles to becoming a triple-certified health coach and fertility awareness educator—fuels her passion to empower women of all ages with real, practical knowledge about their cycles. 🙌

🌟 Key Highlights:

• PMS and period pain are not normal 🚫—they’re signs your hormones need support
• Your cycle is a vital sign of overall health 🩺, not just a reproductive clock
• Tailoring your nutrition, exercise, and self-care to each cycle phase can boost energy, mood, and performance 💃🥦🧘‍♀️
• Heather explains how to use your body's natural signals for hormone-free birth control 🔄🌱
• Perimenopausal women: this is not the end—it’s your transition into wisdom 👑🌕

Heather’s insights will change the way you view your body—helping you reconnect, rebalance, and embrace your feminine flow 💖

🎁 Don’t miss her free Cyclical Living eGuide for practical steps you can use right now. And if you’re ready to go deeper, follow her podcast Embracing Flow and connect with her online!

🎧 Tune in now—because when you understand your cycle, you unlock your superpower. 💥🌀

👉 Listen here

FREE GIFT:

What is Cyclical Living e-guide: https://vivydus.ck.page/9e99c44894

This eGuide is designed to help you discover the incredible potential that lies within your cycle, regardless of where you are on your lifeline. It explains what the hormones are doing during different phases and how to best support your body in each phase with foods, smells, activities, affirmations, and essential oils.

Offers:

Introduction video about Girls Matter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R3-xqzJLZW14om1PhFClcU_oRSZ8zgip/view

Meet Your Unconscious Mind Workshop:

https://amplifyimpactacademy.com/um

4 – in – 1 Mind Body Practitioner Certification program https://amplifyimpactacademy.com/90-day-q3

FREE 7 Day Trial: NuCalm Products to recalibrate your nervous system / improve your sleep:: https://nucalm.com

Use my promo code at checkout: YGHJ to get 15% off your monthly subscription, every month.

Episode Summary:

Discuss menstrual health education and cyclical living with Heather Almond Dinger on the "Don't Wait for Your Wake Up Call" podcast.

Key Takeaways

• Menstrual cycle literacy is crucial for understanding overall health, not just reproduction
• PMS and painful periods are not normal, but signs of hormonal imbalance
• Stress, nutrition, sleep, and appropriate exercise are key pillars for hormonal balance
• Natural birth control methods rely on understanding one's unique cycle and body signals
• Embracing cyclical living can improve overall well-being and performance in various life roles

Topics

Heather's Journey to Menstrual Health Education

• Experienced severe menstrual issues as a teen, leading to various birth control methods
• Faced infertility, gestational diabetes, and cervical health concerns in her 30s
• Became triple-certified health coach and fertility awareness educator
• Now dedicated to revolutionizing menstrual health education for women and teens

Menstrual Cycle Literacy

• Cycle involves 12 hormones, not just estrogen and progesterone
• Standard cycle length: 24-36 days
• Cycle can indicate overall health issues (e.g., insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction)
• Ovulation timing varies among individuals, debunking common misconceptions

PMS and Period Pain Myths

• PMS is not a normal rite of passage, but a sign of imbalance
• Periods are designed to be pain-free
• Dietary factors (e.g., caffeine, sugar, fatty foods) can contribute to PMS and cramping
• Stress significantly impacts hormone balance and cycle regularity

Stress and Hormonal Balance

• Chronic stress leads to "progesterone steal" and cortisol imbalance
• Visualized stress accumulation as a tightening rubber band
• Self-care is crucial for maintaining hormonal balance and overall health

Exercise and Menstrual Cycle

• Exercise needs change throughout the cycle and with age
• Excessive exercise can be counterproductive, especially in perimenopause
• Recommend tailoring exercise type and intensity to cycle phase

Natural Birth Control

• Based on tracking cervical mucus and LH (luteinizing hormone) levels
• Fertile window typically 5-7 days per cycle
• Emphasizes understanding individual body signals and ovulation patterns

Advice for Different Life Stages

• Teens: Understand the body as a beautifully designed, interconnected system
• Perimenopausal/Menopausal women: Embrace the transition as becoming a "wise woman"
• All ages: Listen to your body's signals and work in harmony with your hormones

Next Steps

• Download Heather's Cyclical Living eGuide for practical tips on living in harmony with menstrual cycles
• Connect with Heather on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn for more information
• Listen to Heather's "Embracing Flow" podcast for deeper dives into menstrual health topics
• Implement knowledge gained to improve overall health and well-being by working with, not against, natural cycles

About the Guest:

Heather is a triple-certified health coach, certified fertility awareness educator, international speaker, best-selling author, and proud pageant titleholder, currently serving as USOA Ms. Berks County 2025. As the founder of Vivydus, The Full of Life Company, and host of the Embracing Flow podcast, she is dedicated to revolutionizing menstrual health education. Through her work, she empowers women and teens with knowledge about cyclical living, body literacy, and well-being. A widow and devoted mother of two boys, Heather bridges the gap between science and everyday life, helping individuals harness their natural rhythms for health, productivity, and confidence. She is a sought-after educator for parents, schools, and organizations, breaking taboos and fostering open conversations about menstrual health. Her passion extends to community outreach, including partnerships to provide menstrual products to those in need. With warmth, humor, and expertise, Heather inspires others to embrace their cycles as a source of strength rather than struggle.

Contact:

FB Personal: https://www.facebook.com/heather.m.allmendinger

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivydus/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmallmendinger/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Vivydus

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3Dpf8nw

Podcast: Embracing Flow

About the Host:

Melissa is an Integrative Health Practitioner and a Board Designated Trainer of NLP, Time Line Therapy®, Hypnotherarpy, and NLP Results Coaching, helping people get to the root cause of their health issues and then get lasting results. Melissa neither diagnoses nor cures but helps bring your body back into balance by helping discover your “toxic load” and then removing the toxins. Melissa offers functional medicine lab testing that helps you “see inside” to know exactly what is going on, and then provides a personalized wellness protocol using natural herbs and supplements.  Melissa’s business is 100% virtual – the lab tests are mailed directly to your home and she specializes in holding your hand and guiding the way to healing so that you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

Melissa has launched Amplify Impact Academy, with business partner, Billie Aadmi and together they train other coaches, practitioners and counsellors in the 4 mind-body healing modalities mentioned above, giving them powerful tools to use with clients to get results with greater ease, speed and grace. These courses teach life skills and anyone can take them, if you want to be a better leader, parent, partner, be empowered in your own life, these courses are for you!

Melissa’s passion project is her non-profit, Girls Matter (www.girlsmatter.ca), breaking the poverty cycle 1 girl, 1 family, 1 village at a time.  The mission is to keep girls in school and stop teenage marriages, because school isn’t free in over 50 countries around the world and when parents have to make the difficult choices of feeding their kids or paying for school, food wins. And when the girls hit their teen years, they will often be married off so that someone else becomes responsible to feed them. Keeping girls in school instead creates a generational ripple effect, because an educated girl is more than twice as likely to ensure her own children are educated. Educating girls also grows the GDP of countries, when they get into the workforce. This is how together, we can change the world. Guests on this podcast are invited to donate to this important cause. Learn more here in this short video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R3-xqzJLZW14om1PhFClcU_oRSZ8zgip/view?usp=share_link

Melissa is also the winner of the 2024 Women in Podcasting Awards in the “inspiration & motivation” category and the 2021 & 2022 Quality Care Award by Business From The Heart and is also the recipient of the Alignable “Local Business Person of the Year “Award 2022, 2023 & 2024 for Whistler.

Melissa has been featured at a number of Health & Wellness Summits, such as the Health, Wealth & Wisdom Summit, The Power To Profit Summit, The Feel Fan-freaking-tas-tic Summit, the Aim Higher Summit and many more!  She has also guested on over 90 different podcasts teaching people about the importance of prioritizing our health and how to get started.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/yourguidedhealthjourney

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