Question about Yoga

[chutch]

I've taken only a handful of Yoga classes but regularly practice with videos at home (no good studios where I live right now). The videos have a warning about avoiding certain poses when menstruating. Does anyone know why? Should I avoid it during this time or is it really okay but they have to put the warning on there?

Thanks!

[KathiCville]

Hi....I do yoga videos at home, too. I'm sure others with plenty more knowledge will weigh in, but I think the warning about menstruation and yoga has to do mainly with inversions or inverted poses. As I understand it, the idea is to avoid poses that tend to nudge menstrual fluids back into the body, rather than continue on their natural path out of the body. So you don't want to be doing poses like headstands, for example..........If you don't get other (better!) answers here, you might check out a good women's health website or maybe yogajournal.com to see if you can get a more detailed explanation. :D

I love doing yoga at home! I have a dozen or so videos that I rotate through (or can pick from, depending upon my energy level at the time.) Have fun!

[shootingstar]

I am curious..who here in TE, can still do a headstand now?

[Zen]

I don't think the inversion is hard to do with proper instruction and lots of practice.

I'm working on it:o

[KathiCville]

Not me! I don't think I've *ever* done a bonafide headstand, even as a kid. What I'd really love to be able to do again is a good cartwheel! :D

[shootingstar]

Not me! I don't think I've *ever* done a bonafide headstand, even as a kid. What I'd really love to be able to do again is a good cartwheel! :D

Same here, I could only do a cartwheel as a kid. One of my sisters was doing yoga headstands when she was in her early 40's. Not sure if she can still do it.

Let us know Zen, when you master it.

[Zen]

My class is just beginners, we aren't doing full out headstands, sort of half inversions:o

But I did find an answer (http://yoga.about.com/od/yogafa1/f/period.htm) to the original question about menstruation.

[ASammy1]

I am curious..who here in TE, can still do a headstand now?

I can! :D

[OakLeaf]

I never could do any of that as a child, so doing a headstand or a one-legged handstand against the wall is progress for me! :D

I don't have inversions in any of my DVDs - and not sure where to sequence them if I just throw them in - so I haven't done any in over a month now. :( I was starting to be able to get away from the wall, a little...

I'm beyond the whole menstruation thing though. :p

Shootingstar, we all know Yellow can do handstand push-ups. :cool:

[GLC1968]

I haven't tried a headstand in years, but I used to be able to do them. I'll give one a shot tonight when I get home. Before I got married (6 years ago), I used to randomly do handstands all the time. It always felt like a good stretch to me. I had decent balance, too.

I don't do Yoga, though.

[tulip]

My old (as in former, not age) yoga instructor told me the same thing. It's not just headstands--it's shoulder stands and anything with your hips in the air. Like KathiCville said, it has to do with gravity. I figure it makes sense, so I just don't do those poses during that time.

[chutch]

I am not up to headstands yet and probably won't be until I can get back to a class- not about to try at home alone with just a kitty for help! Thanks for the info and the link, that helps me understand.

[Biciclista]

listen to your yoga instructor; this has been taught for thousands of years!

ps last time i tried (4-6 years ago) I could do a headstand.

[alpinerabbit]

listen to your yoga instructor; this has been taught for thousands of years!

As a biologist, I see absolutely no reason why fluids should flow back into the body more during a 1-minute inversion pose than during a good night's sleep on your back. The cervix and the fallopian tubes (being the only possible openings) are tiny, there will not be significant reverse flow.
My previous yoga instructors all said not to do them during your menses, my last one dismissed it as humbug just like me.:D

Yoga has been tought by men for thousands of years, men who did not necessarily know a lot about anatomy......



I can do a headstand, or handstand, against the wall, it's actually quite easy. Headstand that is . Handstand is pretty hard on your wrists.
A free headstand - nah. Shoulderstand/Pincha Mayurasana is difficult for me as my shoulders are quite tight.

What I get from inversions are fake farts if I don't close my muscles "down there".

[ny biker]

I tend to agree with alpine rabbit. Just because people have believed something for a long time, that doesn't mean it's correct.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=31194

[OakLeaf]

I'd never heard of this before, but from the bit of googling I've done since you asked the question, there's really no agreement among yogi.

However, the issue as it's framed on many sites online has to do with the flow of energy, not flow of menstrual blood per se. Since yoga as a discipline deals entirely with energy flow, I'd be inclined to err on the side of caution. Is it really a big deal to skip inversions for one week each month (and instead, favor some of the poses that are recommended during menstruation)?

[alpinerabbit]

;);)
Good thing I do yoga not for realigning my "energy", but rather for strength, flexibility and relaxation.

[Chile Pepper]

Ithe issue as it's framed on many sites online has to do with the flow of energy, not flow of menstrual blood per se.

Where I used to take classes, certain types of breathing were limited during menstruation (and pregnancy), but not any positions that I remember. Like Oakleaf said, it's about the flow of energy.

[KathiCville]

Interesting variety of explanations! I've never heard the cautions about certain kinds of breathing during menstruation and pregnancy. Most of my yoga videos (mainly by Gaiam) just offer a general caution about doing inversions during periods and forward bends and twists during pregnancy. I wish I could remember where I read or heard the ebb-and-flow-of-fluid reasoning---probably in a class years ago! :)

[indysteel]

I had a yoga instructor that I otherwise liked who insisted on doing inversions at the end of every class. I can do and don't mind headstand, but I can't do forearm stands because of a funky elbow and handstands are okay but a little scary. Anyway, the thought of doing them each class just put me in a foul mood (which is very unyogalike) so I stopped going to her. I need to get back to my practice though.

I've done inversions while on my period, FWIW. My flow is pretty light so the thought of it goind the wrong way for all of a minute or two doesn't really bother me.

[lph]

Now if I could do headstands or handstands, and were told not to do them during my period - you bet I'd be doing them just to be obstinate ;)

[Zen]

you bet I'd be doing them just to be obstinate ;)

I like your style.
it's just like mine :D

[redrhodie]

Now if I could do headstands or handstands, and were told not to do them during my period - you bet I'd be doing them just to be obstinate ;)

I did, and I never had a problem. The worst that happened is my period lasted a little longer. Headstands are fun, so I wasn't going to let that stop me.

http://www.aysnyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175&Itemid=184

This is an interesting article about women, menstruation, and yoga. I think much of what she believes about the woman's body needing rest during menstruation comes from her patriarchal upbringing. Maybe if I were trying to get pregnant, I'd follow her advice.

My mother's generation didn't take gym class when menstruating.

[Crankin]

I've never heard that warning in the 2 years I've been doing yoga, either in a class or a video. Of course for me, it's a moot point!
Even without any medical training, the "fluids flowing backwards" sounds kind of silly to me. Perhaps the energy thing is true, but that wouldn't stop me either.
But, I can't do a headstand or handstand. I do the shoulder stand and leave it at that.