Fighting For Yoga During Menstruation: The Samurai Way

Yoga can help with cramps, headaches, anxiety, back pain and other period-related symptoms. Paying attention to one’s body, understanding personal patterns, and practicing self-care are essential components of managing period-related fatigue. Many students have been taught that inverting during menstruation (i.e., practicing poses such as handstand, forearmstand, headstand, or shoulderstand) is unhealthy and unsafe, and that it should be strictly avoided-only to then practice with another instructor who says that doing inversions during menstruation is just fine. This is why some schools (including Ashtanga) advise students to take a break from a vigorous physical practice during their periods. Including high-fibre foods like oats, beans, and whole grains can help keep your digestion smooth, but if you're not used to eating a lot of fibre, add these foods slowly to give your body time to adjust and reduce the chance of bloating. According to yogic philosophy and ayurveda, apana, downward flowing energy, is responsible for both healthy elimination (including urination and other excretions) and reproductive cycles (including menstruation).

One also has to take into account the history of cultural stigma around menstruation in India. Take time for yourself, especially during menstruation, and use these poses to connect and grow to love your amazing body. During these five days, to maintain the best health we want to spend as much time resting and allowing the dominant downward energy to complete its eliminating work. Separate your knees as much as possible and bring your toes to touch each other. And no, that does not mean pushing the body to its furthest limits or sweating as much as possible. It simply means turning your attention inward and listening closely to your body. But does turning the body upside down really reverse that natural flow? And it is possible to swallow even when upside down. In fact, even in the zero gravity of space, where there is no "down," the direction of menstrual flow for astronauts has remained unchanged. Further, blood is pumped both with and against gravity within our bodies-more evidence that the orientation of our body does not alter the natural movements of our body’s systems. In fact, there is no evidence at all for this theory, and if you do a bit of research you’ll find that yoga lore is full of contradictions about whether you should or shouldn’t do yoga inversions during menstruation.

However, in contemporary yoga classes there are often inconsistencies in the application of this theory, as poses such as standing forward folds or downward facing dog (which also invert the uterus) are typically not considered to be contraindicated for students who are menstruating. Or should I do yoga at all during menstruation time? The Ashtanga Vinyasa School created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois encourages taking a "ladies’ holiday" during the first three days of one’s period (i.e., refraining from practice altogether during this time). And some days, that means practicing my yoga off the mat-taking my practice beyond physical asana. Countless other schools of hatha yoga are either strongly against or undecided as to whether practitioners should invert during their periods. Traditional hatha yoga holds that mula bandha can also disturb the natural downward flow during menstruation by creating an energetic "lock" that holds menstrual fluid in the body, rather than allowing it to naturally release. "People often worry about inevitable health issues they might face if they practice yoga while menstruating. Further, according to at least one expert, you needn’t worry that inversions will increase retrograde menstruation (and consequently, your chances of developing endometriosis), because uterine contractions, rather than your orientation to the ground, are responsible for the flow of menstrual blood.

The current view is that (at least in the absence of "overwhelming amounts of endometrial cells") endometriosis occurs when there is an impaired immune response, and/or when the endometrial cells themselves are "abnormal"-i.e., in secreting higher than usual levels of inflammatory cytokines, which make them more likely to embed and grow outside the uterus. Additionally, pranayama can help improve overall well-being by promoting deep relaxation, reducing inflammation, and boosting the immune system. In most people who experience what we might call a "normal" amount of retrograde menstruation each month, the immune system deals well with any stray uterine cells in the pelvic cavity, so that the majority of us will never develop endometriosis. Some days that means holding supta baddha konasana for this same amount of time. And you are absolutely worth the time to allow your body to rest and restore. This might be a great time to try a new class - aerial yoga anyone? We’ve written about how various yoga poses can help with your menstrual cramps, and some practices include engaging your pelvic floor. We’ll discuss the best yoga poses during period, the benefits they offer, and important considerations to keep in mind to ensure a comfortable and beneficial experience.

If you loved this short article and you wish to receive much more information relating to Yoga during menstruation generously visit the web site.