Yoga during your Menstrual Cycle

Katja on July 7, 2021

Today, I will share with you which yoga style you can practice during each phase of your moon cycle.

Last time I wrote about the 4 phases of our moon cycle in detail. Please have a look here in case you missed it.

As always: listen to your body and do what feels right for you at any given moment. The reason why I share this blog post is, that we as women are usually trained to behave in a certain way, that we are not aware of what is really going on in our bodies.

Why is it important to live in sync with your cycle?

Women are not linear. They are circular. But our whole world is created by and for linear human beings. We need to acknowledge our natural state and unlearn trained behavior. The most important fact is, that humans born with a female body are not linear, and we can’t expect our body to behave in a linear way.

I wrote a whole post about this common misunderstanding – read it here.

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Yoga Aligned to your cycle

Before we talk about what yoga styles work best in which phase of our cycle I quickly want to recap the 4 main phases of our cycle.

Recap: the 4 phases of our cycle:

Phase 1: Menstruation – Starts with the first day we bleed. Usually low energy and more introverted.
Phase 2: Pre Ovulation – Energy rises. We are more active, outgoing, and playful.
Phase 3: Ovulation Still high energy. We might feel powerful and confident.
Phase 4: Pre-Menstruation Our body slows down. Our energy level could be low. Usually a creative and sensitive time.

Yoga aligned with our body

Only because something was good yesterday doesn’t mean it’s good today. One important concept we often ignore is, that in yoga we accept who we are and where we are. Yoga is all about the union of mind, body, and breath. So, why do we often think that doing the same practice every day serves us every day? Our mind and body change every second, and so do our needs change every second.

We usually make this assumption “what felt good yesterday, must feel good today”. This is often because our mind tells us “this was perfect last time” and we make decisions based on past experiences without seeing or questioning the reality as it. Seeing the truth of what we really need in every single moment, without making any assumptions is an art in itself.

This is the reason why I strongly believe that our yoga practice should reflect our body’s state and therefore needs to be aligned with our cycle.

Phase 1: Yoga for Menstruation

This is not the time for intense workouts, take it easy and match your energy level e.g. go for a walk, yin yoga, restorative yoga, avoid inversions & banda work, or warming pranayamas.
Recommended Yoga: Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga

Phase 2: Yoga for Pre-Ovulation

Do some power workouts, exhaust yourself and be playful.
Recommended Yoga: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa, Aerial Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga

Phase 3: Yoga for Ovulation

Peak energy. use your energy for some activities like power yoga, fitness, strength, and sweaty workouts. Exhaust your energy. Otherwise, it will be stuck during the next phase.
Recommended Yoga: Power Yoga, Vinyasa, or Ashtanga Yoga.

Phase 4: Yoga for Pre-Menstruation

Take it slower, don’t push too hard, go out into nature, dance, and explore your creative side. You may find yourself called towards a slower, intentional, more embodied practice. Don’t push through. Listen to your body’s energetic whispers and give it what it needs.
Recommended Yoga: Slow Flow, Yin Yoga, Hatha Yoga.

All the things I mentioned above are more in general. Every woman is different and will experience their moon cycle differently. Besides that, my view is very superficial. There are so many more hormones active in our body and influencing our cycle. If you want to dive deeper into that topic, feel free to reach out I’m happy to point you to some resources (just send me a Mail).

Besides that, my whole work as a holistic coach is focused on working with women in different phases of our life. One main part of my work is dedicated to cycle syncing. If you are ready to take control over your life and want to reconnect with your cycle you can learn more about my current program and can apply for a free consultation with me here.

If you are ready to start today, apply for a free 1:1 Coaching Session today.

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