HEALTH Yoga for menopause

Medicine for the menopause


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Yoga can help ease the unwanted effects of the menopause during the middle years of a woman’s life. Good news for anyone dealing with or facing into this chapter of life, which many women find difficult.
Hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and fatigue – all can be helped by regular practice of gentle forward bends, backbends, twists and inverted poses. These exercises can help level out the physiological instability, promoting better blood circulation and oxygenating to all the cells and tissues in the body, which in turn helps to optimise the function of the endocrine glands and the organs of the female reproductive system. Yoga’s inverted poses are particularly useful during the menopause, allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to flow to the glands in the head and neck.
Indeed, practising yoga before the onset of the menopause can help you become familiar with all the physical postures that will benefit you during this stage of your life.
Bridge Pose supported on a bundle of blankets, may help regulate and balance the blood pressure and hormonal secretions. This pose has a calming effect on the mind and nervous system and is recommended for relieving mood swings, hot flashes and tension headaches. Placing your head lower than the rest of your body with the chest open and free can be soothing and energizing at the same time, and can assist in removing that sluggishness feeling along with feelings of depression.

• Place one bundle of folded blankets horizontally and another vertically, to form a ‘T’ shape. Position yourself near the end of the vertical blankets so that when you lie down your head is near the far end.
• Slowly slide off the end until the back of your head and shoulders rest flat on the floor. Your feet should rest comfortably on the horizontal blankets.
• Stay in this supported Bridge Pose for as long as you are comfortable, and when you feel ready to come out, bend your knees, slowly turn to your right hand side and sit up.

Lee Kennedy qualified with The BKS Iyengar Yoga Association UK, the YTTC and Ana Forrest of Forrest Yoga. She specialises in pregnancy-related yoga and also studied with Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Foundation, UK. Lee plans to run a series of yoga classes designed especially for women, including classes to help with the menopause, in 2011. Visit Yogadara.com or call 0863906343 for more information.