There are women who barely notice the onset of periods. And there are women for whom the days leading up to the periods can be agonising.  The duration of the pre-menstrual period itself can vary from just a couple of days, to more than a week.

In Iyengar Yoga, an asana practice in sync with the hormonal system is recommended for all women, for the overall health of the reproductive system, over all the stages of a woman’s life; and it is especially recommended for women who have any kind of menstrual dysfunction – from cramps and emotional disturbances, to PCOS, endometriosis and fibroids.  This includes the practice on the days of menstruation (the menstrual practice), the few days leading up to menstruation (pre-menstrual practice), and also a few days immediately after (post-menstrual practice).  These practices have been defined with a great deal of nuance and sophistication, making them extremely efficacious.

This Short Course is in 4 parts:

• A short Introduction
• The ‘Restful Practice’ is recommended for women who have moderate to severe pre-menstrual symptoms (anxiety, fatigue, feeling emotional/ irritable, stomach cramps, headache, bloating etc.) Two variations of the Restful Practice are presented – the Simple and the Advanced.  This recording is an ‘Advanced’ version of the Restful Practice. It assumes familiarity with supported inversions
• The ‘Supported Practice’ is recommended for all women irrespective of the severity of the menstrual/ pre-menstrual symptoms.  Two variations of the Supported/ Adapted Practice are presented – one using simpler props, one using more extensive prop-arrangements.  this recording is an ‘Advanced’ version of the Supported Practice. It assumes familiarity with use of props in various asana categories

Note:
–  Women during menstruation are advised not to practice abdominal actions, twists, strong back arches, jumping, or any other tiring asanas.  For women with menstrual dysfunctions such as PCOS, endometriosis and fibroids, this advice extends to the pre-menstrual period as well.

– We make use of props in this practice.  If you are an asana practitioner but are not used to working with props, please pay close attention to how the props are being used.  If you are a beginner, please do this under supervision of a trained instructor.  For home practice, household object and furniture can be used,  even if the exact props are not available.

– In the interest of keeping the recording to a manageable duration, this recording does not include adaptations for ailments/ injuries like back/ knee/ shoulder etc.  If you have any such pre-conditions, please work with caution.