Practicing Yoga During Perimenopause, Menopause, and Beyond

I spent most of last weekend working my way through ten recorded modules delivered by Yoga Australia as part of a Menopause Summit. These sessions were, for the most part, talks delivered by presenters providing women (and yoga teachers who work with women) everything from current research and evidence-based advice to cultural insights and meaningful framing of menopause as a transformational, powerful rite-of-passage. There were so many valuable takeaways.

As a 25-year daily practitioner, I don’t need any convincing that yoga is good for me. Still, I was so grateful for information about what happens to female bodies as they move into the autumn seasons of life and how yoga is of benefit. Boiling it way down - keep moving your body! Practicing yoga is proven to reduce menopausal symptoms like night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings, and sleep disturbances. It can improve bone health, which can decline as estrogen drops. Yoga can help with changes in muscle mass, joint stiffness, and balance control which do arise during menopause and beyond. Yoga helps with stress management, cardiovascular health, sleep quality, and weight management - all areas in which issues can arise during and after menopause.

It wasn’t just the research and reminders about the physical and mental benefits of yoga that resonated with me. I’m turning 47 years old next month and I know that my own autumn years are drawing nearer. No particular speaker said it, but my personal takeaway was, now and in coming years, not to dismiss my own emotions and humanity as just hormonal (and there is nothing wrong with being hormonal, by the way!). Moving through perimenopause, and then menopause, are big transitions. We transform and move forward into our wise years. This comes with reflection, emotion, a life behind to process, a life to cast ahead. Very much in the spirit of yoga, I’m reminded to stay present, stay curious, and be kind to myself. I hope you’ll do the same.