7 Surprising Benefits of Yoga on Perimenopause Symptoms
Movement is so important in perimenopause for so many reasons;
- Firing up our metabolism
- Exercising our joints
- Building muscle (the more muscle the more our bones are protected from injury and muscle burns more calories than fat)
- Maintain and increasing blood flow which brings nutrients to all our systems making sure our hormone receptors are working optimally
- Helps with weight management and
- Improves mental health by reducing anxiety, low mood and depression.
My personal joy is yoga and for good reason.
For peri ladies, the styles best suited for our needs are
- Light to moderate Vinyasa
- Flow, yin, or restorative yoga class.
Here are 8 reasons why yoga is amazing in perimenopause.
1. Reduces stress
Yoga is a series of movements with breath.
In Sanskrit focusing on breath is called pranayama, prana meaning ‘vital life force’ and yama meaning ‘gain control’.
Focusing on our breath reduces anxiety, quiets the mind, and achieves a calm mental state during yoga practice that continues off our mats.
During per, especially, it’s important to find time to quiet the mind.
I find we are always rushing and trying to fit so much in, which causes anxiety. It’s important to take time to clear our minds and breathe.
Consciously slowing down our breath and making long exhales, calms your sympathetic nervous system which controls your fight or flight response, which in turn helps us deal with stress.
2. Improves sleep
Studies have shown that long-term yoga practice improves sleep through stretching and relaxation of muscles resulting in less sleep disturbances and deeper sleep.
3. Improve blood pressure
High blood pressure can be caused by stress, lack of movement, older age, being perimenopausal and overweight. Regular yoga practice can improve better oxygenation and blood circulation throughout the body. Good blood flow brings nutrients and oxygen all over the body to function optimally.
4. Promotes good joint health
Yoga is great for strengthening and increasing flexibility in joints, a regular yoga practice will relieve joint pain such as arthritis. We also love turmeric for reducing joint pain too, more on that here
5. Reduces hot flashes
Studies have shown that regular yoga practice can reduce hot flashes in perimenopausal women by soothing our nervous system.
6. Relief from physical pain and discomfort
In perimenopause and an aging body we are more prone to aches and pains, like neck and back pain. Regular yoga practice can reduce pain and discomfort by bringing more oxygen to the muscle and improving joint mobility. Yoga also helps by stretching and strengthening muscles.
7. Helps with weight management
It’s important to try and maintain a healthy weight in perimenopause, as we start to store weight around our middles instead of our thighs and our hips. Excess weight around our middles can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes which can exacerbate peri symptoms.
A regular yoga practice
- Helps to build muscle mass
- Reduces anxiety
- and induces better sleep
- which all help to maintain a healthy weight range.
I hope I have convinced you to try Yoga or do more if you already practice. It is such a powerful tool to reduce perimenopause symptoms such as mood and hot flashes and keep those joints healthy as we age.
Go on, give it a go! xxAnge
Have you thought about doing some yoga? Tell us how it has helped you in the comments.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3667430/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18627/7-ways-yoga-can-help-women-through-menopause.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4110168/
Hormone Repair Manual, Lara Briden, ND
https://www.healthline.com/health/yoga-for-weight-loss#takeaway