Cycle Charting for Fertility Awareness Practitioners (Episode 442)

Full Transcript: Episode 442

Lisa: This is the Fertility Friday Podcast, episode number 442.

Lisa: Welcome to the Fertility Friday podcast, your source for information about the Fertility Awareness Method and all things fertility. I’m your host, Lisa Hendrickson-Jack. I’m the author of The Fifth Vital Sign and the Fertility Awareness Mastery Charting Workbook. I’m a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner with over 20 years of experience teaching women to connect to their fifth vital sign through menstrual cycle charting, balancing hormone health, and optimizing the menstrual cycle without hormones.

I have been consistently outspoken about hormonal birth control over the past two decades and its impact on fertility and overall health because you have the right to know how your body works and how artificial hormones disrupt that natural process. I teach women’s health professionals how to utilize the menstrual cycle as a vital sign in their practices, and I host live coaching programs to help you achieve optimal fertility and health because it’s important to have healthy menstrual cycles regardless of whether or not you want to have babies.

I’m also a wife and mother of two beautiful boys and a brand new baby girl. This podcast is designed to empower you to take full control of your cycles, your fertility, and your overall health. I’m so excited that you’re here with me today.

Today I’m sharing another brand new episode in my Fertility Awareness Mastery Mentorship Practitioner Series. Today I’m sharing my episode with Courtney Kirkby, and we get into a couple of interesting topics. She shares her experience of having to come face-to-face with her cycle in the program, as well as how she has incorporated fertility awareness into her bodywork practice.

Lisa: I’m excited to be here today with Courtney. Courtney is a member of the 2022 class of FAM, and at the time that we’re recording this, we’re almost finished the program, which is really fun because it means we’ve been together for most of the year. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Courtney.

Courtney: Thank you, Lisa, for having me. I’m so happy to be here.

Lisa: I’m so happy to have you. I always say it because it’s always true, but I love doing these episodes. It’s especially fun with my practitioners because we have been together for a long time. Whenever I do the interviews, I do learn more. I hear other pieces of the story, which is really fun.

I think a great place to start is for you to tell us a little bit about yourself. How old were you when you had your first period? What brought you into fertility awareness? Give us the backstory.

Courtney: My name is Courtney, and my practice is based in Montreal. I’m a fellow Canadian, which I find kind of fun because there are a lot of Americans in the class.

I was kind of a late bloomer. I had my first period at 14, and I’d also skipped a grade. I think almost everybody else had had their period for a while. For me it was humiliation, shame, embarrassment. A friend gave me a menstrual pad. I went home and told my mom, but she was vacuuming and didn’t hear me the first time, so I had to say it again.

A day or two later I had swim class and had to figure out how to use a tampon. I remember it being the most uncomfortable thing. After that, I didn’t think about my period much. I was a competitive athlete, specifically in running. I had a pretty light period, never knew when it was coming, and never noticed symptoms.

That’s very different from a lot of people who come to this work because of struggles with menstruation or fertility. For me, the seed was planted as a teenager. I’m the youngest child, and as I was going into menarche, my mom was in perimenopause. It was an extraordinarily difficult perimenopause.

A close friend of hers passed away suddenly from breast cancer during that time. As I understood it, she had been on hormone replacement therapy, so there was a question about whether that contributed. For my mom, hormone therapy was a no-go. I remember wondering why this was so difficult for her and why there was no help except something that seemed dangerous. Everything felt taboo—from periods to perimenopause.

That stuck with me. I went on to study economics and math, worked as a radio journalist, went into mental health, and eventually into massage therapy. That’s where I became deeply interested in what I call uterus health.

Lisa: Do you want to share your designations?

Courtney: I’m a registered massage therapist. I trained as an Arvigo practitioner and Arvigo self-care teacher, and I’m a Mercier therapist. This is my second formal training in menstrual charting. I’m also trained as a birth and postpartum doula. I mostly practice abdominal massage and work with anyone who has a cycle, from menarche to menopause.

Lisa: Maybe share about your experience in the program and charting. Were you charting before the program?

Courtney: Yes. I had taken another introductory four-month course in fertility charting about a year before. I had started charting with the symptothermal method. I’ve always been a night owl with a sporadic sleep schedule, so I didn’t think charting was for me. But I realized I could adapt it.

During this program, one of my goals was to regularize my sleep schedule. Having three different charting trainings helped me see how to communicate with clients that you don’t need to live a certain way to make charting work. We make charting work for us.

I had been charting for about a year when this program started. When I began using the Justice Method, I was annoyed at first with all the notations. It felt overly specific. But once I moved past that resistance, I realized how much in-depth information was available.

My journey through the class was also personal. I signed up at the beginning of January and was about eight weeks pregnant. We hadn’t planned to conceive that quickly. I thought the nine-month program timeline would align perfectly with giving birth.

Two days before the class started, I miscarried. It was my first miscarriage. I walk clients through miscarriage often, so being on the other side was profound. I began charting with a miscarriage chart. It was bizarre. The next cycle was strange, and then things began to regulate.

Through charting, I identified luteal phase and progesterone patterns. I had to address lifestyle factors—sleep, coffee, breakfast with protein. When my temperatures were low, I felt emotionally low. Seeing the correlation helped me understand that what I was experiencing wasn’t random.

Months later, as we approached the end of the program, I noticed sustained high temperatures. I initially assumed I had just improved my progesterone. After multiple negative tests, I kept seeing high temps. I took another test about an hour before one of our calls and found out I was pregnant.

It had been almost nine months since the program began. It felt like a full gestation—processing miscarriage, regulating my cycle, doing the work, and then seeing the outcome reflected in my chart.

Lisa: Thank you for sharing that. Miscarriage is so common, yet so isolating. Within the group, others had experienced it as well. Seeing you move from being ready to try again while your partner wasn’t there yet, to now being pregnant, has been incredible.

I’d love to talk about how you’ve integrated this knowledge into your practice.

Courtney: I initially wanted charting to reduce the “black box” feeling in fertility work. But now my primary goal is helping clients develop an intimate, empowered relationship with their cycle. In a system where we’re taught our bodies belong to someone else, charting brings ownership back.

In Quebec, healthcare access is extremely limited. Many people can’t get blood tests or specialist appointments. Teaching clients to observe cervical mucus and basal body temperature provides accessible insight. A blood test is a snapshot. A chart is a living document.

It gives clients clarity and reduces the mystery of unexplained infertility. It provides another option when access to care is limited.

Lisa: One of the challenges is incorporating all of this into practice.

Courtney: My practice is in transition. I’m moving away from one-off sessions and toward structured programs. This work is transformational. It deserves time and container space. Menstrual charting requires depth and integration.

Lisa: It’s similar to learning to drive—you need practice, not just one lesson.

Courtney: Exactly. And there’s also an emotional process. Charting brings up expectations, burnout, exhaustion, relationship dynamics. It’s not separate from the rest of life.

Lisa: What would you say to practitioners considering the program?

Courtney: It was a pleasure working with you. The structure, boundaries, care, and scientific rigor gave me confidence. Many practitioners struggle with imposter syndrome. This training consolidated my knowledge and strengthened my confidence in using the menstrual cycle as a clinical tool.

Lisa: Where can listeners find you?

Courtney: I’m based in Montreal on the Plateau. I co-founded Tiger Lotus Co-op, a uterine health and education cooperative. You can find me there and on Instagram at courtney.kirkby. My work combines menstrual charting, health consulting, Arvigo and Mercier therapy, and workshops on hormonal literacy.

Lisa: Thank you so much for being here.

Courtney: Thank you for having me.

Lisa: Thank you for listening. You can find the show notes at fertilityfriday.com/442. One of the recurring themes in my practice is how difficult it can be for women to receive supportive, knowledgeable care—especially when seeking holistic approaches.

Charting helps you understand what is normal for you. When you can see consistent patterns, it builds confidence in your own observations. If a provider dismisses your symptoms, having detailed cycle data can help you advocate for yourself and seek a second opinion if needed.

You deserve to be heard. Unless you’re facing an emergency, you can take time to make informed decisions. As fertility awareness becomes more common, more women are developing confidence in their bodies and their biomarkers.

Until next time, be well and happy charting.