Yoga During Menstruation

by Anonymous
(Hyderabad)

Can yoga and pranayama be done during mensturation? If No, then after which day of period it can be started again?


Answer

Every woman has different experiences during the menstruation period. Therefore, it is better to tone down your yoga practice during your periods depending on your health, body fitness and energy levels. If your energy is low, performing difficult poses may result in more tiredness and loss of vitality.

Your yoga practice should be an enjoyable experience. There is no point in doing asanas by stressing your body. It is advisable to relax and recover during this period with pranayama, meditation and few simple asanas you feel comfortable in doing.

You can follow restraint in your yoga practice till the flow stops completely, which generally will be say 5 days.

You are the best person to decide your yoga practice during menstruation, you can always experiment a bit. Here are some guidelines for doing yoga asanas and pranayama during menstruation:

Asanas During Menstruation.

• Asanas like shavasana, yoga nidra, trikonasana and tadasana can be quite relaxing, especially for beginners.


• If your health permits, you can attempt easy poses. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, do not attempt that asana. Here are few asanas to be avoided:
  ~~ Inverted asanas so as not to obstruct the normal flow.
  ~~ Asanas that put pressure on your abdomen.
  ~~ Suryanamaskar
  

Pranayama During Menstruation. Avoid antrik (internal) or bhaya (external) kumbhakas, bandhas, kapalabhati, bhasrika and agnisaar pranayama. You can do alom vilom and ujjayi pranayama.

Yoga Sequence During Menstruation. Most simplest and relaxing sequence can be alom vilom for 10 minutes followed by 15 minutes of shavasana. After that, you may also practice yoga nidra.

Following poses are recommended for formulating your yoga sequence during menstruation to provide relief and alleviate pain:

Padmasana (Lotus Pose), Vajrasana (Diamond Pose), Janushirasana (Head to Knee Forward Bend Pose), Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend Pose), Baddha Konasana (Butterfly pose/ cobblers pose).

Follow it up with alom vilom pranayama, ujjayi pranayama and shavasana.

Hope this helps.

Daljit


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