- Hormone balance: Clinical research demonstrates yoga can improve hormone balance in post-menopausal women. Those involved in one clinical study, underwent four months of yoga practice (2x 1-hour sessions per week) resulting in increased estrogen and improved quality of life.[1]
- Reduced anxiety: Anxiety is another symptom for peri menopausal as well as menopausal women. Studies reveal yoga can positively effect mood by increasing GABA levels in the brain – which are directly linked to stress and anxiety.[2]
- Sleep: Craving a good night sleep? Yoga ticks that box too! Sleep studies show that yoga can greatly improve the quality and duration of sleep, particularly in menopausal women.[3]
- Muscle strength: Muscle tension can be a painful symptom of menopause, caused by hormone imbalance. Yoga poses including warrior pose, tree pose and side plank (just to name a few), can directly promote and improve muscle strength and slow down muscle deterioration.
- Calms Nervous system: A decline in estrogen production during menopause can influence central nervous system function. Yoga is widely known to help regulate the nervous system (which includes the brain, spinal cord, and a sophisticated network of nerves). Poses as simple as crocodile and child’s pose – when practiced along with guided breathing – can help establish equilibrium from top to toe.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26926324/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111147/
[3] https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-020-02566-4