Suffering from period pains?
We got you, almost 80% of women suffer from cramping at some point in their lives. For some of us, it can interfere or even stop us from doing basic, daily activites. And whilst cramping shouldn't be jut accepted and overlooked, taking short-term measures to ease the pain is a great starting point (although we always recommend getting to the root cause of your period cramps.)Let's have a look at some yoga poses that can help relieve you of some of your pain🫶🏻
But First - Poses to AVOID during menstruation🚫
- Inversions of any kind (a lot of yogis believe this disrupts the direction of blood flow)
- Intense twists (poses such as revolved triangle, twisted chair)
- Back bends (gentle can be fine, but things like bhow or bound locust - best to avoid)
- Arm balances (women typically are "weaker" in their upper body and as your energy levels are low at this time, best not to try)
- Core poses (aggravates and can even induce more cramping sensations)
5 Poses to RELIEVE menstrual pain
These should all help give the womb some much needed TLC🩷
1) Childs Pose (Balasana)
This pose should be super restorative and comfort your abdomen, take a normal child's pose and if it feels comfortable, hug a pillow and lie your body onto it, lie your head to one side, this pose is more about the support to the abdomen as opposed to the spinal alignment. You could practice this posture in bed for extra comfort, or take some blankets under the knees. Rest in this posture for at least 3 minutes to feel the effect.
2) Supine Goddess Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)
The hint is in the name - GODDESS pose, our hips and heart are open in this posture, mirroring the depiction of the Hindu goddess Kali. This pose will make you feel powerful in your feminine energy as you embrace and open your hips. Place some pillows under the knees if you need to prop them up so you can stay in this posture for longer periods of time.
3) Butterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana)
Again with a hip opening posture, during menstruation, our hips sometimes feel tighter, especially for those who suffer with cramping. So gently encouraging the hips to open up helps to soothe this. Feel free to do this with your back against a wall for support, or drop gently forward to put pressure on the lower abdomen if that sensation feels good to you. If not, just the hip opener is enough.
4) Pigeon Pose (Kapotanasana)
Getting the theme yet? Lots of hip openers to encourage fluidity in the womb area, this posture is GREAT and can be adjusted for intensity, remaining upright with the body or lie the body down for some gentle pressure on the lower abdomen. You can also do this practice in a supine position.
5)Cat & Cow Pose (Maryjaryasana & Bitilasana)
These two poses together can help us feel the flow in our lower abdomen if our period makes us feel stiff, it is important to send warmth and energy to our womb area so these very gentle back bends help the Svadhistana (sacral) chakra unblock itself. As sometimes we experience blockages here during menstruation through the forms of PMS and endometriosis.
Disclaimer
You should never push your body to do what it does not want to do, and sometimes, we need to listen to the cues, so if you are experiencing problems during menstruation, give these poses a try. The main focus is to honour the hip and abdomen space, and to allow for rest.
(This is not to say you can’t practice intense yoga on your period, but it is advised to give the body rest to allow menstruation to happen as comfortable as possible.)