Girls, you know that. Every 20-30 days the same thing. Drawing, painful sensations, sudden movements cause discomfort, sometimes nausea, headache, legs.
If critical days are painful for you, then this is an occasion to consult a doctor. He will tell you ways to ease the pain, prescribe drugs to alleviate the condition, tell you what physical activity will not hurt, whether it is possible to do yoga during menstruation or to give some other kind of load. Any very severe pain indicates an incorrect functioning of the body, about violations, about chronic possible ailments.
Yoga against pain. Asanas
Are you really passionate about Eastern practices that you cannot live without them for a single day? Before asking a doctor whether it is possible to do yoga during menstruation, make a decision whether you really need these days. If you do yoga infrequently and do not feel much need for these types of loads, then you should not go in cycles in this period.
- Experts advise: one of the best asanas during menstruation is the "embryo pose", helps to relax, relieves pain in the lower abdomen.
- According to experts, the asana "Jana Shirshasana" with a tilt of the head to the knee of the outstretched leg is also useful in the "women's days".
- You can do light twists and turns, the effect of which is to gently massage the abdomen, stimulate the kidneys and alleviate the condition with the slightest bloating.
- Not only yoga poses are useful during menstruation. Massaging the abdomen with light stroking movements in a clockwise direction will relieve pain and help speed up the process of menstruation.
- We usually breathe at the expense of the chest, but abdominal breathing, which requires concentration and small training, is more useful for the normal functioning of the pelvic organs and improve health.
- "Shodhana pranayama" - five minutes of breathing alternately through the left and right nostril. Thanks to him, the general condition and lymph drainage improves, the fluid is removed from the tissues. Put your favorite music for yoga, watch for evenness and calm breathing. Sit, keep your back straight, focus, take a few breaths and exhalations. Now inhale through the right nostril, covering the left, exhale through the left. Next, inhale through the left nostril, covering the right with your finger, and exhale through the right.
Prohibited
If you are used to doing yoga at home on your own, then an extra trip to the gym will not cause inconvenience associated with the need to go somewhere, especially during menstruation, when your health is not very good. Remember that during critical days it is highly not recommended:
- "Adho-mukha vrishkasana."
- Halasana.
- Bakasana
- "Viparita-karani mudra."
- "Vrishchikasana."
- "Sarvangasana."
- "Pincha Mayurasana."
- Shirshasana.
- Agnisara Dhauti
- Nauli Kriya.
Experienced instructors unanimously strongly advise against inverted poses during menstruation.
With extreme caution, it is recommended to perform active pranayama, such as Kapalabhati and Bhastrika, as well as unwanted exercises on the press and, of course, deep deflections.
Other poses are perfectly acceptable.
Yoga and Women's Days
The most important thing in this period is to listen to your body, which will tell you what is best for it. If the practice of your yoga is a long period, for example, more than 2 years, and the most difficult asanas are on your shoulder, the question is whether it is possible to do yoga during menstruation, you will not face you. After all, you already know your body perfectly. Whether yoga exercises for women who have been practicing for less than a year are acceptable or not, the doctor and trainer will decide.
The general rule is one: during menstruation, perform asanas that are comfortable and pleasant for you. Do not do those in which abdominal muscle tension and excessive tension are allowed.
Refusing to do yoga during menstruation is for those women who experience severe pain, discomfort and are prone to intense bleeding. Relaxed breathing with the stomach, a slight delay in exhalation with the raising of the diaphragm in order to relax the abdomen and relieve pain - this is what will most likely alleviate the condition.
Limit twisting to easy turns of the legs in different directions, calmly perform them lying on your back.
With painful periods, deep relaxation helps to alleviate unpleasant symptoms. Turn on your favorite yoga music, relieve tension and cramps with deep belly breathing, visualizing the incoming and outgoing airflows, also called “chakra breathing”.
Relieve pain
To relieve discomfort, you can try:
- "Viloma pranayama."
- Shavasana.
- "Supta badha konasana."
Poses are performed with rollers and pillows to provide maximum comfort. When the second day of menstruation passes, many return to full-fledged practices.
Some practitioners shared their impressions that after intensive yoga these days, they felt better and the pain went away. This applies only to experienced yoginis.
Five simple poses during menstruation
According to Ayurveda (the Indian "science of life"), menstruation is a gift that allows you to cleanse the female body and consciousness. The body removes toxins, this is a process prescribed by nature, and inverted positions disrupt movement, flows. Therefore, the "no" inverted poses, and the "yes" of the five yoga asanas during menstruation, described below. You will need a bolster (a roller for yoga), a strap, a blanket, "bricks" - supports under the hips.
"Supta Baddha Konasana"
Put a bolster on the mat, on the back edge of which lay a folded blanket. Sit on the mat. Connect the feet, spreading the knees (feet pressed to the buttocks). Use the belt to connect the feet and pelvis. Lift the pelvis slightly, pull the buttocks to the feet. Lower the spine on the bolster, bricks - under the hips. This is important: the ilium of the pelvis should be directed to the chest. Hands should not be above the shoulders, lower them to the sides and relax, hold the pose for 2-3 minutes.
Upavishtha Konasana
Put the bolster upright against the wall, sit with your back so that the top of the back, the sacrum and the back of the head rest against the roller. Spread your legs as wide as possible, press the back line of the heels, mid-calves and hips to the floor, and the fingers of your legs, the central parts of the front surface of the hips and kneecaps “look” at the ceiling. Press your forearms against the wall. Fingers on the sides of the pelvis. Look forward. Pull your legs from the pelvis, pressing them to the floor. Lift the spine up, resting your fingers on the floor. Press your forearms against the wall, pulling the spine inward. Hold the pose for about three minutes.
"Pashchimottanasana"
A posture for stretching the back of the body with an inclination forward compresses the uterus, helping to excrete secretions, which is important when doing yoga during menstruation. Is it possible to imagine that these days there is a chance to calm down and relax? This is quite realistic when your head is on a support: the brain comes to rest, the nervous system is restored, everything is stabilized. Sit on the floor, stretch your legs, spreading them to the width of the pelvis. With your hands, grab the back of the chair, lower your forehead into the seat. Your task is to stretch your legs for 2-3 minutes, pressing them to the floor.
"Setu Bandha Sarvangasana" (performed on a bolster)
This beautiful pose of the bridge will strengthen the nervous system and will serve as the basis for the excellent foundation of your next cycle.
You need to sit on the edge of the bolster, feet on the width of the pelvis, put the belt on the outer edges of the feet. Lean on your hands, slightly raise the pelvis, pull the buttocks towards the feet. Lie down on the bolster, while lowering the back of the head and shoulders to the floor, watch for the feet: they should press on the floor and slide towards the head. Stretch your legs, stretch your feet in the belt. Bent at the elbows, put on the sides of the shoulders. If you feel uncomfortable in the lower back, raise your feet higher by placing another bolster, bricks or blankets. You need to maintain leg extension. Relax completely, but pull your legs. For maximum effect, you must remain in the pose for up to ten minutes.
Other subtleties
Now that we have covered the question of whether it is possible to do yoga during menstruation or not, and you understand how and what it is worth doing or not worth it, it’s worth mentioning the following. Specialists agree that it is definitely not recommended to lift very heavy things during menstruation (this is generally a male prerogative) and take hot baths. We must forget about the bath these days, do not get involved in sexual intercourse - this is a sure way to get an infection. In general, you need to strain as little as possible and avoid too active exercises. Remember that you are a woman, and your cycle is a great reminder of this.