Yoga and menopause-Staying cool, calm, and collected
by: Natalie Guy-Hazard, 200RYT, Children’s Yoga Instructor, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Instructor
In exploring ways to help with menopause symptoms like night sweats, weight gain and general insomnia it is evident that a regular yoga practice can help decrease some of the symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause. As women get older we all experience these changes in our bodies and if we pay attention to the changes and do a little research, we know we can help with decreasing the discomfort through a very easy to follow routine. We can do this routine at home every day or at least every other day to help alleviate some of the not so very nice symptoms of growing wiser.
The first pose to try is cat/cow. This simple but beneficial pose helps with moving your spine through a range of motion. This engages your sympathetic nervous system and your parasympathetic nervous system. During menopause, your joints start to dry out. By fluidly moving from the back of the spine to the front of the spine you massage joints and tissues around the spine keeping them soft, supple, and young.
The second pose is a lunging pose. This pose stretches hip flexors and the psoas muscle. The psoas muscle connects the lower back to the upper thighs. The psoas can get tight if you spend a lot of your day seated. It also constricts when you get stressed. Menopause can cause shallow breathing so opening the psoas frees up your breath and releases pent up tension.
The third pose to do is a standing wide legged forward fold. As we age our muscles shorten and tighten. The two muscle groups affected most are the hamstrings and inner thighs. This posture helps stretch both areas simultaneously. This posture is also an inversion which will lower blood pressure, heart rate, and mental activity. This is a safe and cooling pose to help calm down the nervous system.
The fourth pose to try is sphinx pose. This pose helps to open the chest and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. It can help combat sluggishness and depression. This stimulating pose is energizing and rejuvenating.
The last pose to try is a wide knee child’s pose. This is a resting pose for any practice, but it is my absolute favorite pose for menopause. This is why, it stretches the inner thighs, stimulates the front of the thighs, stretches the spine and because the head is lower than the heart it calms and cools the nervous system. It also rejuvenates the pelvic region. If you want to explore yoga for menopause further please join me for a class anytime!
