Why & How Yoga Supports You During Your Menopausal Years
The eight limbs of yoga, as outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, are a comprehensive system for spiritual development and self-realisation.
These limbs are not a linear progression but rather interconnected aspects that are cultivated concurrently.
Now, when you understand each limb you quickly see the invaluable guidance they can provide women on how to handle life during peri & post menopause.
Here's a more detailed look at each limb & how they can positively influence us to navigate this new season of our life.
1. Yama (Moral Disciplines): These are ethical guidelines for how we interact with the external world and others. They include:
Ahimsa: Non-violence, compassion, and kindness
Satya: Truthfulness and honesty
Asteya: Non-stealing and not taking what is not freely given
Brahmacharya: Right use of energy and avoiding excess
Aparigraha: Non-possessiveness, letting go of attachments
Our yoga practice reminds us that we can have autonomy to make compassionate choices, unapologetically, that serve our body & mind best. When we learn this on our mat we feel empowered to make these same choices in life off the mat, during what can feel like a chaotic, unsettling time. We are reminded to find contentment in our changing body, set energetic boundaries & be honest with ourselves & our needs.
2. Niyama (Observances): These are personal disciplines & practices for self-cultivation. They include:
Saucha: Purity, cleanliness, both internal and external
Santosha: Contentment, finding joy in the present moment
Tapas: Self-discipline, austerity, and burning enthusiasm
Svadhyaya: Self-study, introspection, and learning
Ishvarapranidhana: Surrender to a higher power, faith
Menopause says “listen up.” It’s time to give more attention to You.
It seems that everything is changing (mentally, energetically & physically) & it can be difficult to feel contentment with where you are today.
It can, at times, be a stretch to find joy in small moments and surrender to this new season of our life.
Yoga allows opportunity for introspection & knowing ourselves more intimately. It teaches us to be more present and trust in the process of becoming a new version of ourselves.
3. Asana (Physical Postures): The physical postures practiced to prepare the body for meditation by promoting stability, flexibility, and balance.
During the menopausal years we shift focus towards bone & brain health. We give more attention to functional mobility (to support every day movements) & enhancing our yoga practice (our well loved & familiar poses) in ways that build muscle mass & bone density as well as increase neurological pathways to improve balance.
4. Pranayama (Breath Control): Techniques to regulate & control the breath while helping to calm the mind and body.
As modern women our nervous system is usually in a sympathetic nervous system dominant state, meaning we are continually in ‘fight or flight’ mode, even when the ‘threat’ or stressor has passed. We’ve forgotten how to down regulate and as sleep deprived, over worked, over committed women who are now also dealing with frustrating, unsettling & sometimes scary changes in our body, we are rarely in the parasympathetic nervous system (‘rest & digest’) state. We know that stress has an incredibly negative affect on every single one of our bodily systems so using the breath to re-set and down regulate is vital for overall health.
5. Pratyahara (Sense Withdrawal): This is the process of withdrawing the senses from the external world, turning inward to focus on the inner self.
It's said that during menopause there is a decrease in oxytocin - the love drug. We begin to instinctively conserve the compassion that we have so freely shared towards others previously and start giving back to ourselves. It's not without guilt of course, but time on our yoga mat reminds us that putting ourselves first is actually incredibly rewarding and so, so helpful in surviving another day.
6. Dharana (Concentration): This is the practice of focusing the mind on a single point or object, cultivating sustained attention.
Mindfulness meditation, attention to the present moment, helps us ease anxiety, worry & stress. When we are constantly dwelling on the past or focusing on the future, all that may or may not even eventuate, we become anxious and feel out of control. This only exacerbates brain fog, depletes energy and adds to fatigue. Becoming more present & getting clear is like hitting the refresh button so you can pause & begin again with more clarity.
7. Dhyana (Meditation): This is the state of sustained, unbroken concentration, where the mind remains focused on the object of meditation without distraction.
There’s a calm oasis within your mind that can actually be a really nice place to hang out. It’s the place where you are not being pulled in different directions, you feel completely at peace & there’s a contentment with who you are.
Time spent in meditation can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in life.
8. Samadhi (Absorption/Enlightenment): This is the ultimate goal of yoga, a state of deep absorption and union with the divine or the true self, where the distinction between the meditator and the object of meditation dissolves. Here we experience bliss (ananda).
We can remind ourselves that moments of bliss need not be fleeting but are available to us often. They’re the times in your day when you feel immense gratitude for the woman you were and who you are becoming; remembering that the years lived have made you wise, that the future is full of endless possibilities & the appreciation of rising to a brand new day.
Thank goodness for the practices of yoga that have helped me handle all of the different stages of my life, with as much grace as possible.
That’s ‘the beauty of yoga’ - it welcomes you, just as you are and holds space for you to be this wonderfully strong, brave & fabulous new version of You.