We must have all done Yoga at some point in our life. Yoga can be done for various health reasons, to reduce weight, reduce stress, relieve back pain, for a good digestive system, increase blood circulation and the benefits of Yoga are countless.
In this article, I will talk about the 6 yoga asanas that will help you reduce Menstrual Cramps in Teenagers as well as Adults.
Yoga is a practice that is considered an effective way to stay focused and stay healthy.
During Menstruation, it is important for us Women to relax our bodies and mind.
Stress causes discomfort that leads to pain if not handled on time.
Many women experience symptoms like nausea, heavy blood flow, abdominal pain, body and knee pain, back pain, and even blood clots.
A yoga sequence is a good way to deal with these pains and discomforts during periods.
The various yoga position and the body alignment during each yoga pose helps to release tension, easing tightness and pain and bloating of the stomach during the periods.
Yoga helps speeds up the metabolism and helps the body to relax faster. Just ten minutes of yoga each day will help you feel better.
Yoga is so magical that with the right approach and precautions, it can promote mental clarity as well.
Few basic things to keep in mind before and while doing yoga:
- Practice if not all, but few basic yogasanas everyday even for 10 to 15 minutes every day.
- When performing yoga for the first time, perform yoga under the guidance of a yoga instructor so that you do not end up hurting you knees, joints etc if yoga is done incorrectly
- Be aware of potential pitfalls.
- Be mindful of breathing.
- Wear loose and relaxing clothing
- Stay focused as yoga is a form of meditative exercise and your mind and body needs to be in sync to provide maximum benefit to you.
Below are the 6 yoga asanas that will help balance hormones leading to better and regular menstrual cycles:
1. Vajrasanas:
Vajrasana is considered the easiest and the best asana. It helps relieve many health ailments including menstrual cramps, backaches, improves digestion, relieves constipation, helps relieve blood circulation.
This asana is considered to be the best asana for meditation. Performing breathing exercises in this pose helps to calm our body and mind and benefit us physically and emotionally.
2. Bhujangasana(Cobra Pose):
This yoga is a reclining back-bending asana for strengthening and stimulating the lymphatic drainage system and provides relief from menstrual cramps
It helps strengthen the abdominal and uterine muscles apply pressure to the ovaries and are ideal for menstrual cramps, menstrual discharge pain, and inflammatory backaches.
It also stretches the back, neck, chest, and shoulders, releases spine tension, and relaxes the mind.
3. Upavistha Konasana(Wide angle seated forward bend pose):
This asana is done by spreading your legs wise and bending forward. Do not hold the position for more than 30 seconds.
This asana helps relieve backache and period cramps.
While doing this asana, you need to relax and keep your body straight, and the bend in your knees should not exceed the bend in your elbows.
This asana can be practiced even during menstruation and even as your daily yoga practice. This posture facilitates uterine contraction and helps to treat heavy menstruation pain.
4. Matysana (Fish pose):
This asana is a wonderful pose to reduce menstrual cramps, by providing support to your lower back through mind backward bending.
As our posture tends to worsen during menstruation due to the pain, these gentle backbends help decompress the spine and reduce shoulder and neck tension that builds up during menstruation
This asana is also therapeutic for the bladder and urethra.
5. Baddha Konasana(Bound angle Pose):
This asana is ideal not only for menstruation cramps but also for digestion and constipation.
This posture helps relieve fatigue and dizziness.
Practicing this asana regularly helps relieve backache, strengthen the pelvic organs and stretch the hip area, knees and ankles.
Since you remain in the pose for few minutes, the lower body muscles are stretched. It also increases blood circulation in the abdominal region and relieves menstrual cramps.
6. Balasanas(Child pose):
This asana is a gentle forward bend with a focus to touch the ground with your forehead. This asana helps relieve tension and relieve stress.
Child pose helps you ground and helps release tension, allowing you to be more present during meditation.
This asana proves to be a safe alternative to resting on your belly during menstruation due to inversion and backbends in yoga postures, which get aggravated during menstruation due to bloating and abdominal discomfort.
This asana is generally done at the end of all the yoga asanas in order to relax your muscles from any pain or discomfort that might have been caused due to any previous yoga asanas.
Questions you may have:
Is yoga good for period pains?
When you have painful periods which affect your day-to-day activity, some gentle yoga is great. It helps release endorphins that act as a natural pain killer for your body, and the action of compressing and stretching certain areas around the uterus helps relax the muscles that cause cramping.
What food to avoid during periods?
Coffee: High content of caffeine during menstruation causes exacerbation of the pain and also lead to breast tenderness. Caffeine also causes water retention and bloating.
Sugar: If you tend to feel moody, depressed, or anxious, reduce your sugar intake as this will help regulate your mood level.
Salt: Consumption of more salt in food leads to water retention which in turn leads to bloating during your periods. Avoid added sugar and highly processed food.
Alcohol: Alcohol tends to dehydrate the body during periods that can worsen cramps, headaches and cause bloating.
So go ahead and try these yoga asanas and you will definitely benefit from this.
Till then
Cheers!
Sapna