Menstrual symptoms vary greatly among women. Some find their symptoms to be barely an annoyance, and others find that menstruation leads to days of debilitating pain. Cramps, bloating, and moodiness are the most common symptoms reported by women, and yoga can help all relieve all of these unpleasant menstrual indications.
How Yoga Can Help
Moving is one of the best ways to relieve the issues associated with that time of the month. It helps get the blood moving, distracts you from the uncomfortable state, and releases endorphins. During your period, exercising is going to be hard to convince yourself to do, even if you know it will help. Yoga, being restorative, is much easier to find the motivation to accomplish.
The gentle stretching involved in many restorative yoga poses is going to relieve a lot of cramping and stiffness associated with menstruation. The areas that are most affected are your lower back, upper thighs, and abdominals. Those core muscles are all used significantly in yoga, providing targeted comfort for you.
In addition, yoga poses can be used to help relieve bloating and other tummy troubles regularly reported during your period. Bending, folding, and twists all help move things down your digestive tract. When your belly is working better, you will find that your general mood will improve with it.
Yoga Poses that can Help
A restorative Child’s pose is going to be one pose that you will go to regularly.
- Place a pillow or two under your midsection, then lean forward into a Child’s pose.
- The support from the pillows really let you settle into the stretch, and it takes very little energy to sustain the pose.
This makes it relaxing and soothing for both back pain and hip tightness.
Backbends are another type of great yoga poses to relieve menstrual pain and discomfort. Depending on your yoga skill level and your current comfort level, you are going to want to choose poses that fit you. A full backbend may not be something you want to do when suffering from cramps. Start with a gentle Bridge pose, and then work your way to more deep stretches if you feel like it. The important thing to remember is that you are seeking the relieve, not trying to set records.
Forward folds are also going to give your back and core relieve. Downward Dog helps stretch out the back of your legs and is also recommended. A gentle twist pose is great for stretching your core and dealing with digestive trouble. Find poses that suit how you feel, there are lots of them out there.
Yoga can provide a feeling of comfort and serenity that menstrual symptoms may try to take away. Finding some relieve in stretching and moving can help you feel better. You also release natural painkillers, called endorphins when you exercise, and those will improve your mood and relieve pain. There is a number of different poses that can provide benefits to you, so try out a few poses, and see what feels good to you.
