My menstrual cycle wasn’t just something I experienced; it was something I outsourced. Which is what led me to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which interprets the menstrual cycle through patterns across the whole body: sleep, digestion, stress, emotions and energy. Even with all the data I’d collected, I still had the nagging feeling that I was missing the point. “That’s why modern gynaecology increasingly talks about the menstrual cycle as a ‘vital sign’, alongside blood pressure and heart rate.” Around my period, McCarthy encourages movement where blood is thought to be trapped, helping to ease pain and clotting.