subject: The Gains From Yoga Enable Women To Deal With Menopause [print this page] It is a biological process affecting women's hormonal systems which occur for women aged 40 to 60 years old. This condition ushers in physical, hormonal and mental changes in women. Not all the obvious signs reveal themselves in all women.
The most obvious and experienced of these symptoms are hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, changes in sex drive, and backaches. Around 55-65% of menopausal women go through these symptoms.
During menopause, the ovaries' production of estrogen and progesterone is decreased. The diminishing production is automatically sensed by the pituitary gland which makes it trigger more production. An imbalance in the body then results. The rise and fall of hormonal production starts 6 years prior to the end of menstrual periods up to a year after the last stage. After that, there is a stabilized decrease in the production of hormones.
Yoga can assist these menopausal women and relieve their pain and other symptoms.It is not common knowledge but Yoga and menopause are linked closely. The mental imbalance caused by menopause can be normalized through Yoga. Blood circulation is enhanced by the stretch and relaxation of the muscles by the different poses and this causes a rise in the cells' oxygen levels.
Insomnia, common to the early stages of menopause, is dealt with by yoga too. Yoga has positions that are successful in putting the body and mind at rest.
For fatigue and body aches, Yoga supported back bends can give relief. These poses open the chest and heart. Mood swings and depressions are also efficiently controlled by yoga. The enhancement of blood circulation and respiration resulting from the chest expansion by these poses greatly reduce these problems.
Cardiovascular health, bone strength and density, and other mid-life and menopausal concerns are also manageable through Yoga. Yoga's long-touted stress relief powers come very handy to women at this stage. The mind and body are put or resumed balance.
The mental/emotional and physical burdens are coped with by the women when the discipline they acquire from yoga endows them with control over their mind and body, thus enabling them to control their actions.
Being able to control the mind in this situation helps women be aware of their emotions and helps them avoid doing or saying what they would otherwise have done under the conditions of menopause imbalance. This hormonal imbalance can be easily managed by Yoga poses, besides allowing women to stay cool and relaxed.
Here are some Yoga postures that can assist women facing menopausal symptoms:
- Goddess pose or Supta Baddha Konasana, which grants recharging of the needed energy
- Adho Mukha Virasana, for emotional control, to soothe mind and nerves and bring down blood pressure
- Adho Mukha Svanasana, one of the most effective positions for menopause for its effect on enhancing the course of blood to the brain and serving to neutralize faltering memory
- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, equalizes blood pressure and the body's hormonal discharge, which results in a calmed heart, mind and nervous system, and efficient management of mood swings, hot flashes and headaches
These are but a few of the Yoga postures that could assist women coping with menopause. As you can see above, Yoga's link with menopause is its effect on the biological condition and the emergence of other symptoms in this condition.
