If you’re a yoga enthusiast or someone looking to start practicing yoga to improve your wellbeing in general, you might be wondering how to practice yoga during your periods.
While the physical aspects of yoga are most popular today, it is an ancient philosophical system that prescribes overall lifestyle patterns to improve not only your physical health, but also your mindfulness, spirituality and sense of morality.
To truly be mindful and aware when practicing yoga, it is recommended not to train with a high intensity in which your muscles tire quickly.
When you’re menstruating, blood loss, cramps and low levels of energy can affect your ability to hold certain asanas and that’s okay.
To truly practice yoga during your periods which is calming and conscious, it’s important to find a safe intensity that may be less demanding on your muscles and heart compared to your regular practice.
Benefits of Yoga during periods
- Reduces pain and other period symptoms - Yoga helps alleviate back pain and cramps. Yoga also reduces bloating. The stretching and movement help stimulate smooth blood flow as well as relax sore and tight muscles.
- Elevates mood - The endorphins your body produces after a yoga session can significantly improve your mood and add to your energy levels. Yoga also instills a sense of peace in the mind.
- Helps maintain consistency - Practicing yoga during your periods allows your body to get the benefits of exercise. Your body will also adjust to being consistently active. You don’t have to stop your fitness regime during your periods if you don’t want to.
- Increases mindfulness and body awareness - Yoga makes the practitioner aware of where they channel their breath, as well as which muscles feel stiff, painful and relaxed. This increases the overall connection between the mind and the body, allowing you to be more accurate with where you might feel pain or discomfort.
Can I do Kapalbhati during periods?
Kapalbhati Pranayama or Skull Shining Breathing Technique is a body cleansing technique within Shatkriya.
It is often practiced when on an empty stomach, through rapid rounds of breathing and quick forceful exhalations for a number of rounds, which can be increased over time as one’s lungs and breathing capacity strengthen over time.
It is intended mainly to clear the cranial sinuses, preventing any blockage from the nasal cavity up to the skull. It also helps to improve breathing and strengthen the abdominal muscles.
Kapalbhati is not recommended for menstruating women and we advise against practicing this pranayama during your periods. This is because intense breathing can put an unnecessary load on the respiratory and circulatory system and the squeezing of the abdomen during the exhalations can worsen period cramps.
Forms of Yoga to practice during periods
There are many practices within yoga that are not only suitable but immensely beneficial for menstruating women to ease their symptoms and improve quality of life.
Asanas - One can perform gentle variations of asanas which are not too challenging on the body but provide relief, especially to the back, abdomen and pelvic muscles.
Surya Namaskar can be performed if there is no intense cramping or heavy flow, but it should be performed slowly with more emphasis on breathing.
You can check out our article (Exercises to relieve period pain- can be interlinked after its uploaded) to get a detailed breakdown of some asanas we recommend practicing during menstruation.
Pranayama - Aside from Kapalbhati there are other forms of pranayama that are suitable for menstruating women, improving mindfulness when breathing and helping to calm the mind.
You can do deep breathing in asanas like pond pose / Tadagasana or corpse pose / Shavasana.
Gentler forms of pranayama like Bhramari (Humming Bee Breath), Anulom vilom (Alternate Nostril Breathing) and Ujjayi (Victorious Breath) allow the body to achieve the benefits of pranayama without risking excess pressure on the abdomen or lungs.
Meditation - Different forms of meditation can be practiced to promote increased awareness and sensitivity, promoting inner peace.
If you prefer silent mindfulness techniques, you can practice Antar mouna in which you observe your thoughts while sitting in silence.
You can also try chanting meditation in which you repeat words like ‘Aum’ or ‘Sohum, or mantras like the Gayatri Mantra.
Ajapa japa is another form of meditation in which you focus on your breath, observing where the air flows and the sensations and changes in your body as you inhale and exhale.
Yoga Nidra is another practice which lies somewhere in between a state of meditation and sleep. It involves lying flat on your back and going through a set of steps in which you become aware of your desires, emotions, bodily sensations and breath among others.
We recommend first practicing Yoga Nidra with the help of a certified practitioner’s video on YouTube to guide you through the process.
Also read - Period craving list
Forms of Yoga to avoid during periods
Inversions - Going into inversion asanas, in which your hips are higher than your heart, during your periods can obstruct the natural flow of your blood, which can cause you to bleed for longer than usual.
Very Intense Asanas - Intense backbends, twists, and hand balances can put a lot of unnecessary stress on the abdomen and the pelvic muscles which need to heal and recover during menstruation. The strength needed to enter and hold these asanas may also be lacking during this time due to fatigue.
Heating Breathing Practices - Forms of pranayama like Surya Bedi (Right Nostril Breathing) and Bhastrika (Bellows Breath) can increase heat in the body, which can cause uneasiness and lead to heavier bleeding.
Cleaning Practices - As mentioned, Kapalbhati and Agni Sara are intense on the abdomen which is sensitive during menstruation. Practicing these forms of yoga can add unwanted pressure on the lower abdomen.
Conclusion
As each body is different, it is ultimately up to you to decide how you’d like to structure your yoga practice during periods in a way that works best for you.
Your periods can serve as a time for you to relax and become more aware of your body. Yoga is a vast system with a practice to offer for any kind of situation.
Our usual yoga practice tends to be more biased toward asanas, such that we may miss out on the benefits of deep breathing and meditation. You can use this time to reconnect with those aspects of yoga for a more holistic practice.
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