Can Yoga Help with Menopause Symptoms?

Yoga offers many benefits, but can it really help with menopause symptoms?

The research is becoming more and more advanced as yoga grows in popularity. Yoga has shown itself as a reliable method of achieving health and wellness.

Among one of the many areas of health that yoga can be beneficial for, is menopause.

It’s no secret that menopause often causes weight gain and tricky hormonal imbalances. New research shows that yoga for menopause is a great way to manage fluctuating hormones, and also activate weight loss.

It’s helpful to look into how menopause affects hormones and weight to understand how yoga can help.

Menopause & Hormones

The central characteristic of menopause is the decreasing level of estrogen and progesterone.

These two hormones send messages through the bloodstream. In menopause, the ovaries have a difficult time continuing their usual functions to regulate the hormones. Menopause happens in every woman's life, and therefore the shift in hormonal activity is inevitable.

After all, that is why it is called “the change"!

This shift in hormones can have effects on wellness down the line. Using yoga for menopause can assist in the regulation of hormones.

Why Yoga?

Yoga for menopause is a great way to regulate your hormones holistically. Instead of taking hormone supplements, you can take a more natural approach.

However, yoga is not a cure-all! It’s best to speak with your doctor about how best to treat any fluctuations you might be experiencing.

Whether you already have an established yoga practice, are just starting, or are somewhere in between, yoga for menopause can make a world of difference.

The benefits of yoga include relief of hot flashes, decreased anxiety, irritability, and insomnia, and enhanced energy, and more.

To get started, speak to your doctor and conduct some research on poses that are said to be helpful for menopause. It’s important to start off yoga incrementally so that you don’t overdo it and can gain all the benefits.

Menopause and Weight Gain

It’s well-researched that physical activity is effective in helping women keep off the excess pounds that often come with menopause.

Luckily, weight gain isn’t a requirement of menopause, and you can manage it with the help of an active lifestyle.

While those pesky hormonal changes do play a role in menopausal weight gain, they’re not the only culprit; aging, lifestyle, and genetic factors come into play as well.

Factors such as a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, and broken sleep patterns are instrumental in weight gain at all times in life, but their effects increase drastically after menopause.

How Yoga Can Help

Yoga transforms the mind, body, and soul.

How yoga can affect our mental health contributes to weight loss in that it helps us to become more aware, or “mindful”. With mindfulness, we are better able to make healthy choices when it comes to food, which plays a huge role in weight loss.

From a physical standpoint, the sheer variety of poses and sequences stands as confirmation that yoga is effective for weight loss. The most effective type of yoga for weight loss is power yoga and vinyasa flow.

Yoga cleanses our soul and, believe it or not, our spiritual health is an essential factor in our physical health and thus our ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Yoga helps us to connect with our breath and to connect with our natural divinity and unity with all around us.

It helps us understand the divine within us, helping us to treat ourselves with more compassion, healing, and positivity.

Menopause doesn’t have to be a dreaded, negative experience. With yoga and dedication to your best health, you can live mindfully and happily - even during the change.

P.S.- If you're looking for some home workout solutions (including yoga and meditation) I've used- and loved- many of these programs for years.