Yoga, Not a Cure but a Relief for Menopause and Its Symptoms

At the onset, we have to agree that yoga is not a cure for menopause. Menopause isn’t an illness, it is merely a stage in a woman’s life. Menopause affects women subjectively and yoga does not zero in on particular targets like modern medicines. No matter what yoga postures are done, it is not bound to cure the symptoms of menopause.

Instead, Yoga is a discipline that can be adapted to the needs of a woman's body while in this condition of biological turmoil. Significant to Yoga and menopause is its assistance to the mind and emotion that will give a woman a picture of the process that is occurring. Numerous women facing this condition have gained physical and less obvious assistance from yoga.

If you’re a newcomer to Yoga, you’d best be off to learn from a class. Actually seeing an instructor do a posture and walking you through the breathing exercises and giving you information on how your body is affected by these positions cannot be surpassed by video or book learning. Doing the postures in class will also allow you to adjust what you may read or view to your own requirements.

Just some points to consider regarding Yoga postures. The forward bend pose can ease your stress and anxieties and the back bends help bring your moods to a good one and boost your energy level. But there are several types of forward and back bends in yoga.

Every new pose is performed after a preparatory pose.  There are also what are called counter postures. These are valuable follow up to some postures and help you avoid getting injured, in the same manner as the preparatory postures.

This is a case of how each pose affects every woman differently. There are books that promote the gentle or healing positions. But some female instructors who performed yoga at menopause discovered that too much reliance on these postures only aggravated some symptoms. There were times, too, that they saw that more activity was better.

It actually varies then, according to each woman's state. Besides, menopausal conditions change over time. If you experience a lot of fatigue, in that instance you would be best served by restorative positions. Or, if you're feeling energetic a lot of times, you might be needing some other postures.

Take inversion yoga. Postures of this type, like headstand, shoulder stand, standing forward bend, etc. benefit the hormonal systems. The preparatory and counter postures are important for this type of postures. If you're suffering from a stiff neck, don't do a shoulder or head stand; the angle of your shoulders plus the weight put on them would worsen the stiffening.

There are alternative poses like triangle pose, half moon, and extended side angle. These positions expand the front of the body and the hips which are common locations for tension in many women’s bodies.

You must be adaptable in whatever pose you choose to perform. This is a phase in your life where your body is undergoing a lot of changes, in its needs, tension areas and symptoms felt and experienced. Ascertain the best response to these changes while you continue to cope with life's challenges, so you could devise the postures that would best meet your needs.

Check out Yoga Teachers Kamloops for more yoga info.

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