Even a beginner can do this set of exercises.
Anastasia Ozhgikhina
Dean of the Faculty of Sports Industry at Synergy University, International Hatha Yoga Instructor
How will yoga help to cope with pain during menstruation? What exercises can I do?
For many women, critical days can be a real test: cramps, bloating, excruciating pain. Often women live with menstrual disorders, suffer severe pain in the days themselves and in their run-up.
Yoga practice perfectly calms and strengthens both body and mind. Perhaps you don't even want to move during "these days", let alone do physical exercises. But believe me, yoga classes during menstruation can bring you great benefits – balance your mood and ease cramps. Don't you believe it?
How Yoga can Help with pain during menstruation
Practice releases endorphins, which are the body's natural painkillers, they help relieve cramps and significantly improve your mood.
Some poses are especially good for affecting the areas where spasms occur most often. Stretching in the back, abdomen, hips and hip joints will relax the muscles around the uterus and may even radically change your feelings during critical days.
During menstruation, inverted and standing poses should be avoided. We have selected asanas for you that are not too tedious and are accessible even to beginners. They will help you relax, and are ideal even for those who do not have time for a full workout.
Bound angle pose
Contraindications: knee injuries.
Benefits: improves blood circulation in the pelvic organs, improves the elasticity of the muscles and ligaments of the inguinal region, stimulates the ovaries, reduces tension in the mind and body.
Technique of execution
Lie on your back, connect your feet, move them as close to the pelvis as possible and spread your knees to the sides. If the stretching in the hips is too intense, put pillows under each knee.
Place your hands palms up along your body, close your eyes.
Stay in this position for 10 breathing cycles, then lift your knees up, relaxing the groin area.
Butterfly pose
Contraindications: with caution in case of knee injuries.
Benefits: improves blood circulation in the pelvic organs, normalizes the hormonal background, relieves menstrual pain.
Technique of execution
- Sit on the floor with a straight back and straight legs, bend your knees, connect your feet together.
- Holding your feet with your hands, move your hips up and down with a small amplitude for 30 seconds.
- With an exhalation, spread your knees to the sides, go into a slope with a straight back, help yourself with your elbows. Strive to put your knees on the floor, stretch your stomach to your feet.
Hold for 5-10 breathing cycles. As you inhale, rise up and return to the starting position.
Angle pose from a sitting position
Contraindications: injuries and chronic pain in the knees, hips.
Benefits: improves the elasticity of the adductor muscles of the thigh, hamstrings and hip joints, promotes blood circulation in the pelvic area, providing health to the pelvic organs, has a calming and refreshing effect on the brain.
Technique of execution
- Sit on the floor, alternately spread your legs apart, maximizing the distance between them. Make sure that the entire back surface of the legs is pressed against the floor, the toes look clearly up.
- Grab the thumb of each foot with the index and middle fingers of the corresponding hand, straighten the spine and lengthen the rib area, point the chest upwards.
- Hold this position for a few breaths, breathe deeply.
- As you exhale, lean forward as far as your body allows, if possible, lower your head to the floor, then lengthen your neck and lower your chin to the floor. If the head does not fall to the floor yet, try to lower the chest to the floor with each exhalation.
Fix the pose for 5-10 breathing cycles, try to breathe evenly and deeply. As you inhale, lift the body up, release the grip of the feet, connect the legs and relax.
Head to knee
Contraindications: knee injuries, asthma.
Benefits: stretches the muscles of the legs and back, helps to open the pelvis, improves digestion and normalizes the work of the excretory system, calms the nervous system.
Technique of execution
- Sit on the floor with a straight back and straight legs. Bend your left leg at the knee and take it to the left, lowering the outer side of the left thigh and shin to the floor. Press your left foot against the inside of your right thigh at the crotch.
- With an inspiration, stretch your arms up, lengthening the body, with an exhalation, stretch your hands to the right foot, grab it with your palms. If the grip with a straight leg is not yet available, bend the knee of the right leg under.
- Stay in this position for five breathing cycles. Breathe deeply.
- As you inhale, lift your head and body, straighten your arms at the elbows and look up, straighten your leg at the knee and return to the starting position.
Repeat the asana on the other side.
Intensive stretching of the back
Contraindications: back injuries, lumbar hernia, inflammation of internal organs in the acute stage, full stomach.
Benefits: improves blood circulation and elasticity of the spine, calms the nervous system and restores it, reduces high blood pressure, helps with depression, irritability, insomnia.
Technique of execution
- In a sitting position, stretch your legs out in front of you so that they touch, pull your glutes back with your hands to feel the sciatic tubercles.
- On the inhale, pull the spine up, on the exhale, lean forward, trying to reach the hips with your stomach. Do not try to touch your toes, it is much more important to keep your back straight and stretch your spine. Put your hands where they will lie.
Stay in this position for 10 breathing cycles.
The dog's face-down pose
Contraindications: injuries to the hands and shoulders, severe headache.
Benefits: makes the spine more mobile between the shoulder blades, tones the whole body, helps to remove mental noise, improves cerebral circulation, which promotes rejuvenation of brain cells, relieves menstrual pain, reduces stress and mental tension, increases concentration.
Technique of execution
- Stand on all fours, palms under the shoulders, the distance between the palms and between the feet is the same, the fingers are widely spaced, the middle finger is pointed clearly forward.
- Push the pelvis up, push off the floor with your hands, move the torso to the legs, relax the neck completely. The kneecaps are tightened, the heels tend to the floor.
- When mastering the pose, it is better to keep your knees bent, focus on opening the shoulder and working out the spine.
Fix the pose for 5-10 breathing cycles, try to breathe evenly and deeply.
Intense stretching forward
Contraindications: spinal injuries.
Benefits: helps with anxiety, rejuvenates spinal nerves and brain cells, tones the liver and spleen.
Technique of execution
- Stand up straight, the body weight is evenly distributed on both legs, the legs are completely straight.
- Raise your hands up, palms forward, stretch your whole body. Take a few breaths in and out.
- On exhalation, bend forward from the waist, put your palms on the floor in front of your feet, if necessary, bend your knees or lean on a yoga cube. The neck is not tense. If you lose your balance, you can move your feet apart by 5-7 cm.
Fix the pose for 5-10 breathing cycles, breathe evenly. As you exhale, lift your head and torso, your back is straight.
Dead Man's pose
Contraindications: no.
Benefits: relaxation of the whole body, relieving nervous tension, eliminating headaches, preventing insomnia.
Technique of execution
- Lie on your back on the mat, cover yourself with a blanket or blanket, spread your legs to the sides, let your legs completely relax.
- Spread your arms out to the sides so that the armpits are open, palms facing up, close your eyes.
- Take a deep breath through your nose and with an exhalation relax your whole body to the tips of your toes and hands.
- Mentally walk with attention over the body, relaxing it: legs, arms, stomach, chest, face, shoulders, back.
- Then turn your attention to breathing, keep it steady and calm. Lie there for a while.
- Gently wiggle your toes, hands, turn your head left and right, bend your legs alternately and turn over on your right side, put your elbow under your head, stay in this position for several breathing cycles.
- Push off with your hands from the floor, slowly sit with your back straight, place your palms on your knees, slowly open your eyes.
The duration of this practice is at least two minutes.
We have already told you about the benefits of yoga during critical days. But not every sport will be safe for the female body during this period.
Source: championat
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