Voices by Viv highlighting Haley Cada

Meet Haley, a Menstrual Cycle Coach & Holistic Nutritionist! We met Haley by obsessing over her Insta feed, relating to talking about periods, & finally agreeing to meet virtually. No surprise, we clicked instantly! We learned so much about the menstrual cycle from Haley in just one convo & we knew we needed to collab to share her insights with all of you! Stay tuned on our instagram @vivforyourv for an Instagram Live with Haley on June 1st. 

Tell us about your passion for the menstrual cycle and helping women find a connection to their bodies?

My journey with my menstrual cycle began when my body rejected birth control. I got on hormonal contraceptives when I was in college because I thought it was a smart idea & it seemed to be what everyone else was doing.  I quickly began to experience extreme fatigue, hormonal breakouts & brain fog. I transitioned off within 3 months because it was clear that this wasn’t working for my body. A couple years later, I got in a serious relationship and decided I needed to give birth control another try. Similar to the first time, I began to experience intense symptoms and transitioned off once again. 

My next experiment with birth control was the Paragard IUD. I thought this was a god sent because it had no hormones and I could have it up to 10 years. Unfortunately, this turned out to be even worse. I had debilitating periods that lasted 7 days, was going through a pack of Midol every time I was bleeding, and was literally out for the count 2 days every month- curled up in bed, in pain and misery. I was told by doctors it would get better and my body would get used to it. It never got better, it only got worse. After one debilitating period I finally saw all my symptoms as my body’s way of communicating a severe imbalance & a rejection of this intrauterine device. Once I got my IUD taken out, I left the doctor’s office with a handful of condoms and them wishing me luck. There was no advice I was given around natural birth control or learning to understand my body's rhythms. 

I was terrified because I knew nothing about my menstrual cycle, but I was determined to learn & have natural birth control work for me. I began studying the menstrual cycle and natural fertility because I needed to learn how to protect myself against pregnancy. That was how my journey with the menstrual cycle started & it has evolved infinitely from there.

Was it difficult in the beginning for you to set aside period stigmas in order to feel comfortable with your career? 

Absolutely. I think every woman has some internal shame surrounding their menstrual cycle, even if they don't realize it. Unfortunately, I think a lot of that stems from it not being a topic of conversation. I remember when I got my period and I didnt have a tampon I would whisper to another woman “Do you have a tampon?”. Or, if I was going to change my tampon somewhere I would put it up my sleeve so no one would see it. These are behaviors and actions that didn't necessarily come from me personally, but more of a collective standpoint. 

This was highlighted when I first started sharing menstrual cycle education on my social channels. My platform was actually directed at something else so when I began speaking more openly about periods, menstruation & womb wisdom people were definitely a little confused. I went through a big period of time where I lost a lot of my old followers & my engagement dropped. This was when I realized that periods are still seen as shameful & taboo in our modern world. 

What was your biggest break-through moment, where you realized this was the career path for you?

I sat on a panel that had to do with navigating relationships with food and body image. Towards the end someone in the audience knew who I was and basically said ‘You are the period queen, you are the hormonal girl, can you share a little more about this?’  It was an intimate panel, there were maybe 35 people there. So we started talking about birth control, hormones, periods. Everyone's hands started raising because they felt comfortable asking questions. Afterwards, there was a line of women that wanted to talk to me. I thought, woah, this is actually something women are really curious about. Women are thirsty to understand their bodies and to understand a cycle that dictates so many aspects within their lives. 

Haley offers a complimentary consultation to see if 1:1 menstrual cycle coaching would be a good fit. What does this look like? 

For anyone that wants to explore what 1:1 coaching looks like I offer a complimentary connection call to see if we are a good fit for one another. It's a good time for us to connect on what this woman is moving through in regards to her menstrual cycle & for me to see if I am the right person to support her. It serves as a good connection for coach and client to see are we a good match and in alignment.

What are your next steps with your work?

In the middle of June I will be running my signature group program, Rooted. Rooted is a 9 week group program designed for the modern woman who wants to develop a radical connection with her body + cycle. It is an incredible journey for the woman who is wanting to anchor into the ageless wisdom of her body & begin to live according to her own internal rhythms.

A little more I would like to come up with a podcast & do more in person events!

We are so excited to team up with Haley. Be on the lookout for her on our social in the near future! But in the meantime, if you want to learn more on Haley and what she does go check her out at avoeats.com or on her Instagram @avoeats!

Want to learn more about Viv for your V? Check us out: www.vivforyourv.com