Women’s yoga brings a heightened focus to feminine poses that celebrate the powerful forces of bleeding and birthing. These are powerful practices that reconnect us to a rich lush time before patriarchy took over.
Regular yoga practice has been shown to balance hormones and help reduce menstrual pain and symptoms related to pregnancy and menopause. This bolsters mental and physical resilience and enhances quality of life.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time of joy and excitement, but can also be a period of anxiety for many women. High levels of anxiety can increase the risk of complications such as a premature birth, long labour and interventions including induction and a caesarean section.
Prenatal yoga is a form of physical exercise that focuses on poses that help to strengthen the body for childbirth and improve flexibility. It is particularly useful for those with a low risk pregnancy and can be practised from the first trimester. However, pregnant women should avoid stretching poses that are not safe or have not been recommended by their gynecologist. The hormone relaxin peaks during the first trimester and loosens muscles, tendons and ligaments, increasing the risk of injury.
This systematic review of qualitative studies examined women’s views and experiences of practising pregnancy yoga. A search of eight academic databases was conducted, accompanied by extensive searching of grey literature and evidence libraries. The quality of the included studies was formally evaluated using an adapted tool.
Postnatal
Pregnancy and childbirth are a time of dramatic physical changes. For a woman, yoga is a way to help her body recover from these changes and strengthen muscles that have weakened during pregnancy.
A regular practice of yoga also has been found to increase the levels of oxytocin in women, a hormone that helps create a bond between mother and child. This is a wonderful benefit for new mothers, who can then use their oxytocin boost to reduce stress and relax.
Women can begin a yoga practice soon after giving birth, as long as their healthcare provider has deemed it safe to do so. Postnatal yoga is especially beneficial for women who have undergone a cesarean birth, as it helps them re-build their abdominal muscles. Women can choose from a variety of classes that are designed to meet the specific needs of their bodies, including strengthening their pelvic floor and helping them to overcome diastasis recti.
Menopause
Throughout their lives, women undergo massive hormonal changes, from puberty through pregnancy and menopause. Regular yoga practice can make symptoms associated with these hormonal fluctuations, such as PMT and menstrual pain, more bearable.
A recent study found that a ten-week yoga program significantly reduced physiological symptoms such as menstrual pain, hot flashes and sleep disturbances in perimenopausal women. It also improved overall quality of life in these women.
Many perimenopausal and post-menopausal women experience irregular periods, hot flushes, stress and mood swings, insomnia and weight gain. A consistent yoga practice helps improve these symptoms by balancing the hormones, improving circulation and reducing stress levels. It also encourages healthy lifestyle habits and supports a positive outlook. This holistic approach offers long-term benefits in a time of a woman’s life when it is important to maintain muscle flexibility, balance and strength. This helps to prevent osteopenia, osteoporosis and sarcopenia and boosts cardiovascular health.
Motherhood
Motherhood takes a woman on a new, profound journey. Whether she’s spent years trying to not get pregnant and is now on the edge of giving birth or she’s had her babies in quick succession and is already feeling the wear and tear, the right kind of feminine, fertility-focused yoga can help her rebuild physical and emotional strength and energy so that she can nurture her own family.
A qualitative synthesis of seven studies (a total of 92 women) that explored women’s experiences of pregnancy yoga revealed three analytical key themes. These were ‘Equilibrium’, ‘Personal Autonomy in Healthcare’ and ‘Connection’. There were also six analytical subthemes; these were ‘Intuitive Knowing’, ‘Embedding Practice’, ‘Practical Toolkit’, ‘Holistic Care’ and ‘Baby Bonding’. The thematic analysis was carried out using a systematic approach to data collection and analysis. A coding framework was developed to facilitate the identification of recurring themes across the studies. These were grouped into the analytical themes identified in Table 7. The results from this qualitative synthesis provide collateral evidence to support utility and acceptability of pregnancy yoga, for use by maternity services.