Yoga During Menopause: Creating Calm from Chaos

posted by Leslie Jones on 01/23/09

“Edith, if you’re going to change – Change!” Archie Bunker

Menopause. Once considered a defining moment in a woman’s life, there was a tendency to expect her to simply “get over it.” Despite our current understanding that menopause is a process that can last for years, such attitudes are still common, showing a lack of compassion for the very real distress many women experience. Indeed, many women dread the onset of menopause and feel depressed, shaken, and derailed by the entire experience. It’s time women view menopause as a natural rite of passage into a new maturity that parallels puberty as a passage into womanhood.

Menopause is the time when menses ends. As a woman ages, her ovaries slowly relinquish control of her natural hormonal fluctuations, eliminating the regular release of an egg. The ovaries become more and more inconsistent and, until her pituitary gland fully takes charge of her hormones, she can experience such symptoms as hot flashes, mood swings, irregular periods, insomnia, and decreased libido. The severity of these symptoms is as individual as the women experiencing them. Some women have multiple hot flashes in a single day while others never experience a hot flash but lie awake night after night. Others suffer from any and all symptoms related to menopause while a few will have almost none. All of these symptoms can be exacerbated by a lack of exercise, a lack of understanding and compassion, and stress.

How can we create calm out of this chaos? One way is to establish a regular yoga and meditation practice. The physical practice of yoga combined with meditation builds a strong mind-body connection that can contribute to a feeling of wholeness and steadiness. Such a practice can create an inner stillness by developing a new sense of self and a solid sense of compassion, while helping to erase feelings of isolation and ease the symptoms of menopause.

Ardha Surynamaskar is an excellent pose to begin with. It brings focus to your body, gently stretches your muscles, and centers your mind. Poses such as Virabhadrasana I and II (Warrior I and II), Trikonasana (Triangle pose), and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) all help to build a solid foundation by calming the mind, strengthening the body, and creating a sense of steadiness. The addition of standing balances such as Vriksasana (Tree pose), Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon pose), and Virabhadrasana III can further develop confidence, stillness, and composure.

Well-known teachers such as Patricia Walden and John Friend suggest that inversions are especially beneficial for menopausal women. Inversions can help balance the endocrine system, steady emotions, and provide a new perspective on life. If such advanced inversions as headstand, shoulderstand, and handstand are not a part of your practice, you can reap similar benefits by practicing Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Angle Standing Forward Bend), Halasana (Plough pose), and Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-The-Wall).

After a physical practice, make the time to lie in Savasana (Corpse pose), and allow yourself to fully relax and soak in the benefits of your practice. Follow this with at least a few minutes of quiet meditation, focusing on your breath and the beating of your heart, reveling in the stillness and sense of calm. Practicing yoga and meditation can help women recognize that menopause, rather than something dreadful that must be endured, is a natural part of our journey.

References

The Woman’s Book of Yoga & Health: A Lifelong Guide to Wellness by Linda Sparrowe with Patricia Walden.

A Woman’s Book of Yoga: Embracing our Natural Life Cycles by Machelle M. Seibel MD and Hari Kaur Khalsa.