By: Lisa Doering
Many women have the image of Yoga as hard postures and twists, chanting and different music. However, the movement of yoga is so much more. If you practice yoga regularly it can help you by calming your nerves, relaxing your mind, and relieving you of many menopause symptoms.
How? Well Yoga naturally helps to enhance mental clarity and emotional balance. Yoga will help you see aging not as a loss but as a gain of wisdom, strength, health and intuition. Yoga is for every age and every stage of a women’s life.
I just started practising yoga at the age of 45.
I have found that the practise of Yoga has helped me with the many struggles of menopause: emotional balance, inner strength, plus the added benefits of enhanced confidence as well as calming my mind and listening to my inner guidance.
Here are some Yoga tips on a few of the most common symptoms of Menopause:
Hot Flashes:
This is one of the most common symptoms. These power surges in a women’s body produce heat, which can disappear as quickly as they appear. Ways to calm and cool are some restorative poses. Any tension in the body can make hot flashes worse, so using props such as bolsters, blankets and blocks to help support the body are a great idea. So during forward bends you can place your head on a bolster and this will help calm the body and relax the nerves. Supported reclining poses such as Supta Baddha Konasana, help with relaxation and allow the body to soften, and release tightness in the chest and belly.
Also Inverted poses like the bridge pose can help your body to lower blood pressure relax and balance your hormones. Since stress or tension amplifies nearly all menopause symptoms, the Bridge Pose can help you manage stress and potentially reduce hot flashes. Using a bolster helps to relax even more deeply in a Supported Bridge Pose.
This is one of the most common symptoms. These power surges in a women’s body produce heat, which can disappear as quickly as they appear. Ways to calm and cool are some restorative poses. Any tension in the body can make hot flashes worse, so using props such as bolsters, blankets and blocks to help support the body are a great idea. So during forward bends you can place your head on a bolster and this will help calm the body and relax the nerves. Supported reclining poses such as Supta Baddha Konasana, help with relaxation and allow the body to soften, and release tightness in the chest and belly.
Also Inverted poses like the bridge pose can help your body to lower blood pressure relax and balance your hormones. Since stress or tension amplifies nearly all menopause symptoms, the Bridge Pose can help you manage stress and potentially reduce hot flashes. Using a bolster helps to relax even more deeply in a Supported Bridge Pose.
Anxiety, Irritability, and Insomnia:
When a person is under stress, the sympathetic nervous system responds by accelerating the heart rate, slowing down the muscles of the digestive tract, and increasing blood circulation to the brain to fight the stressor.
When a person is under stress, the sympathetic nervous system responds by accelerating the heart rate, slowing down the muscles of the digestive tract, and increasing blood circulation to the brain to fight the stressor.
Once the stress dissipates, the parasympathetic nervous system responds by doing just the opposite; slowing the heart rate back to normal, stimulating the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, and bringing the body’s systems back into balance.
When the body is under continual stress, the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenals can get stuck in overdrive and over work in your body.
So, Forward bends, such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) and Prasaita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend)—in both cases with the head resting on a bolster or blankets—can help reduce irritability and mental tension, because bending forward and shutting out external distractions can soothe and calm the mind and reduce the effects of stress. The nervous system then receives the signal that all is well, and the adrenals and sympathetic nervous system stop working so hard. If insomnia is a problem, inversions can sometimes help because they ground the body’s energy and burn off excess anxiety. When followed by restorative postures, they encourage a deep state of rest.
Depression and Mood Swings:
Menopause signals the end of the childbearing years for many women, it can be a time to mourn the end of their youth, however, yoga practitioners have long known that everything you do with your body can affect your thoughts and attitude. Sometimes something as subtle as a shift in posture can lighten a dark mood. If a woman stands tall, with dignity—opening and broadening her chest—and walks with confidence, she announces to the world (and, most importantly, to herself) that she is grounded, happy, and in tune with her surroundings.
Menopause signals the end of the childbearing years for many women, it can be a time to mourn the end of their youth, however, yoga practitioners have long known that everything you do with your body can affect your thoughts and attitude. Sometimes something as subtle as a shift in posture can lighten a dark mood. If a woman stands tall, with dignity—opening and broadening her chest—and walks with confidence, she announces to the world (and, most importantly, to herself) that she is grounded, happy, and in tune with her surroundings.
Poses create a mental state that positively affect the mind. Back bends, especially if supported, allow a sense of lightness into the body. They stimulate the adrenals and massage them into action. Also, the heart and lungs open and take in more oxygen. Chest-expanding poses energize the body by improving respiration and circulation, and thus counter feelings of depression. Many yogis have discovered that inversions, such as Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand), can help improve a depressed mood. This is done by turning everything upside down, inversions influence your emotional being in a positive way.
These are just a few of the benefits when it comes to Yoga and menopause. Come out and try a class and see for yourself.
References include: www. Yogajournal.com
http://www.yogaformenopause.com , www. Secondspringhealth.com
http://www.yogaformenopause.com , www. Secondspringhealth.com
Lisa Doering is a certified Yoga Instructor that teaches Hatha Yoga at different studios in Hamilton.
L.doering11@gmail.com
http://ldoering11.wix.com/yoga-with-lisa
L.doering11@gmail.com
http://ldoering11.wix.com/yoga-with-lisa
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