Yoga in the Menopause
Yoga is fast becoming one of the most popular approaches to help stabilise the emotional and physical symptoms of hormonal changes in the menopause.
Yoga can do so much for our body awareness and comes with so many healing benefits such as;
- Releasing old or heavy emotions from being stored in the body
- Experiencing a detoxifying or cleansing feeling within
- Soothing, toning and stretching muscles
- Helping to balance hormonal fluctuations
- Realigning how to manage stress
- Improve self-confidence
What is Yoga?
Yoga is, by definition, a spiritual practice that incorporates breath control, simple meditation techniques and performing a set of bodily postures that are designed to purify our state of mind, and open the spine so that energy can flow freely and provide physical body strength and stamina.
What do I need to start practicing yoga?
Yoga can be worked into any lifestyle, schedule or financial budget, it just depends what style of yoga you would like (hatha, vinyasa, bikram, ashtanga etc.) and what regime works best for you; a private practice in your home, a yoga class at your local gym or at a yoga studio and how many times per week you wish to practice.
Once you have decided what, how and when you wish to practice yoga, you will need to have a yoga mat for practicing at home or if you do not wish to use the communal mats when practicing in a gym/studio class. You will need to wear clothing that ensures you feel comfortable and can move freely.
What are the benefits of yoga in the menopause?
- Yoga is fantastic for bringing more balance into our life and reducing anxiety as it works with our body, our mind and our breathing, to create a true sense of calmness and stress relief, which helps to create better sleeping patterns
- Yoga can help to increase flexibility, joint mobility and muscular strength, which can relieve fatigue, chronic pain, particularly in the neck and back area which are often associated with the menopause.
- Yoga can help the body to experience less intense and frequent hot flushes by paying attention to releasing emotion such as anger, frustration and rage, which all stimulate ‘heat’ in the body.
- Yoga is amazing for reducing night sweats since it helps to significantly lower blood pressure and stimulate oxygen being carried in the blood stream, around the body, which can also help to naturally relieve PMS aches and cramping.
What can help with practicing yoga?
The most helpful advice is to simply start yoga with an open mind. When you have found a style and setting that you love to practice in, a regular practice is necessary, in order to truly see great results. You will need to be patient with yourself as your first few sessions may alert you to some muscular soreness or cardiovascular weakness.
Remember that your current level of capability, cardiovascular health, co-ordination and physical self confidence is perfectly acceptable and your yoga practice is there to help you develop in all of these areas. Even if you fancy a 10 minute session at home, following a youtube video online, it will contribute greatly to connecting to your body through the transition into the menopause.
Disclaimer:
Become™️ has a wonderful team of experts who all helped in the writing of this content. The opinions expressed within this page are the opinions of many people we asked, and from information we researched online. Become™️ is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this page. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
