The Woman's Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

Continue with a balanced yoga practice, including standing poses, sitting poses, forward bends, inversions, back bends, and twists, throughout the remainder of the cycle, to help keep premenstrual symptoms at bay.

Additionally during this phase, some long, deep forward bends may provide the perfect counterbalance to rising estrogen levels.

hormone levels, reestablish a balanced mental state, and prepare the body for the next cycle.

Continue practicing them for three to five days following the end of menstruation. They help the organs to recover from menstruation, balance

menstrual flow has ceased completely, introduce the inversions,

more difficult to ignore. During perimenopause, the years leading up to the full cessation of periods, PMS may become even more intense, due to the increased fluctuation of hormones and erratic menstrual cycles.

It really depends on how things are going in a woman’s life. Feelings that may have been bubbling under the surface throughout the month may boil over in the days leading up to menstruation. Frustrations, unexpressed anger, and unfulfilled dreams become

Among the most common premenstrual symptoms are mood swings, irritability, inability to concentrate, migraine headaches, sore and swollen breasts, and food cravings. Some women experience heightened awareness of self during this phase, and it can be a time of great insight and vision.

What we do know is that each of us holds innate knowledge about our own rhythms, and that any practice that encourages greater self-awareness and body-mind interconnectedness can help us tune in to our inner wisdom more readily.