Yoga Poses for Period Cramps

How can yoga alleviate your PMS and period cramps?

During menstrual cycles and premenstrual stages, women experience pain in areas like lower back, hips, and thighs. Exercise can be helpful during such times to relieve pain. Yoga for menstrual cramps is a low-intensity exercise that provides a great relief by targeting painful areas. Yoga helps stretch the cramped muscles leading to reduced pain.

Yoga Asanas to Relieve Period Cramps

There are different types of yoga poses for period cramps and PMS. Let's know all these top yoga poses to give it a try:

1. Cobbler's pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)

This pose reduces pain in the lower half of your body. For this pose, you need to sit straight with folded legs and hands under the legs to relieve pelvic pain. You can also use bolsters or folded blankets to give support to your torso.

2. Forward fold (Paschimottanasana)

The forward fold helps in relieving your hamstrings and calf muscles. To do so, outstretch both your legs and bend forward. Keep your spine straight and relax your arms by the sides.

3. Legs-up-the-wall (Viparita Karanai)

This yoga for menstrual cramps helps reduce your back and hip pain. You need to lean your legs onto the wall and keep a folded blanket under your back to support it.

4. Supported bridge pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

This posture should be done gently as it involves the back and spine. It helps to relieve back pain and discomfort. You can lift up your feet and hips, and slide back with support.

Can you do yoga inversions during your periods?

Yoga inversions like handstand, headstand, forearm balance, and shoulder stand are the most feared poses during periods. Any poses that require an upside-down posture are considered inversions. It is a common belief among yogic philosophers that inversions might not be good during periods (which is downward flowing energy). But yoga is all about listening to your body. If you feel good about moving in your first two days, you can try inversion poses to relieve your pain.