As we enter our midlife, movement is important for our general wellbeing and is a key element in your menopause management toolbox. Yoga delivers on many levels, the physical movement, the breathwork and the meditation, options of yin yoga and yoga nidra, the choice is vast, and enjoyable. Yoga will work for you whatever your symptoms are as they can be varied when your cycle is erratic and your hormone spikes and dips and are giving you more mood swings than a room full of teenagers.
Multifaceted benefits of Practising Yoga
Yoga is exercise without exhaustion, and it is clever exercise. It boosts endorphins, builds strength by stealth, gets the heart pumping, strengthens bones, eases aching joints and muscles, improves circulation and the immune system, soothes an overactive anxious mind and allows you to ease into a relaxed state, switching on our parasympathetic nervous system.
My own yoga practice has definitely changed over the last 5 years. As I have aged, my energy levels have dipped, and I’ve gone from Yang to Yin in a short space of time. Yin yoga is a wonderful option when you are feeling achy and fatigued and it’s a perfect physical way of achieving mental calmness and reducing stress levels.
The held, supportive poses of a yin practice are the polar opposite of a constantly moving flow. We can feel held, safe and let the body completely relax. This allows the parasympathetic nervous system to do its job and enable our ‘rest and digest’ response to do its magic. Myofascial tissue can become dry as we age, then add on our declining oestrogen levels, often leaving us with creaky, achy feelings in our muscles and joints. Regular movement and yin practices can lubricate the tissues and joints and help everything move more smoothly, leaving us feeling like we’ve had a good tune up.
Claudia Brown is a yoga teacher based in Cheshire but is a proud Cumbrian. Claudia is a yoga expert on the award-winning Balance Menopause app, currently used by 100,000’s of people worldwide. She contributed a chapter on mindfulness in Dr Louise Newson’s new book, ‘The Definitive Guide to Perimenopause and Menopause.’ She is an Associate of the Newson Health Menopause Society and has completed the Confidence in the Menopause certificate from Newson Health Research and Education. Claudia teaches yoga and reformer pilates privately and runs retreats and workshops. She is the resident yoga teacher at Port Vale FC and has worked at Sheffield Wednesday FC and West Bromwich Albion FC. She writes a column in the top national yoga magazine, Om Yoga. Claudia has ten years’ experience in the Yoga industry, has ran workshops at the Om Yoga Show, and is trained in Yoga Nidra, Sport Yoga, Yin Yoga and has spent time at Oxford University studying Mindfulness. Her teaching style varies from sweaty to snail pace, and her yoga is for everybody.