Often, we tie our periods up with all manner of bad habits. Whether that involves curling up on the sofa with a jumbo bar of chocolate or investing in the cheapest, closest-to-hand sanitary products without considering their impact – most of us just want to get through in whatever way we can.
However, when we slip into these slightly negative go-to’s, we inadvertently risk making things way worse in terms of the discomfort and mood swings that we experience.
Poor diet and scratchy sanitary pads can certainly push our buttons when we need to avoid doing so and are best replaced with period-specific food choices (legumes, avocado, bananas), and even generally more comfortable cotton pads or period cups.
Even outside of these obvious switches, most of us could benefit from scrapping the sofa in place of some well-implemented exercise to pair our efforts elsewhere with some much-needed feel-good hormones.
By making it easier to get in touch with both mind, body, and environment, yoga has proven especially beneficial for helping women to feel better during their red days.
Ground-based yoga moves, in particular, offer a gentle way to lift the period fog, and we’re going to discuss the best options here.
Corpse Pose
Corpse pose consists of laying flat on your back with your legs, hips, and shoulders aligned, and is something that most of us embark on at the end of a full-on practice. However, with self-care always the name of the game where period yoga is concerned, this is a great go-to to come back to far more during menstruation.
This chance to take check, level your breathing, and generally draw on your energy reserves, can certainly prove invaluable for helping you to feel on an even-keel despite notorious mood swings.
Extended Child’s Pose
In extended child’s pose, you should come to a kneeling position and extend your arms in front of you on the mat, keeping your shoulders in alignment and slowly sitting back into your legs.
Again typically used as a breather move, this is a period lifesaver in itself because it’s relaxing while also opening up your hips, and relieving pain in your lower back. Plus, this chance to stretch out when you might be reluctant to move too much is guaranteed to help you feel that bit more refreshed.
Seated Forward Bend
In seated forward bend, you should stretch both of your legs out in front of you in a seated position, and then bend forward to lean gently into the stretch, bringing your hands to your feet if that helps.
While this may seem a little more physical compared with the other stretches thus far, it’s a great follow-on from those more relaxing poses, and can help to stretch out that back pain.
Other great period moves to try from here can also include seated forward bend, supine twist pose, and even inverted leg pose. All of which can effectively help you to both address pain points, and get the feel-good hormones flowing to fight the tide of negativity otherwise.
What do you think?