How Yoga, Meditation, and a Yogic Lifestyle Can Help Women Meet the Challenges of Perimenopause and Menopause

Yoga Postures and Exercise 

Yoga exercise and postures should suit a woman's fitness level. Starting a yoga practice in a gentle way can give women the basics of the yoga perspective of the body and movement. From this basic knowledge and experience, women can choose either vigorous or gentle practices. Exercises that release tension around the lower back and ovaries, target the liver and adrenal glands, and make women sweat to stimulate the glandular system can help them maintain the best hormonal balance. (See Appendix.)

Walking is an excellent addition to yoga postures and exercise practice. A yoga walking technique adds mantra and breath techniques to a walking regimen that helps bring this activity to a meditative level. Walking with music helps women keep a steady pace for aerobic exercise. Fresh air and the movement of walking is considered as healthy for the spirit as for the body. Kundalini Yoga suggests that a woman walk three to five miles a day.

Meditation 

Meditation is an important part of yoga practice. As much as stretching and moving help the body rest and rejuvenate, meditation is a healing balm for brain chemistry, helping to bring the mind to a state of awakened calm. Meditation and breath techniques are being studied by scientists to discover how they work in helping people relax and lift their spirits. The meditations in Kundalini Yoga are described as benefiting the brain chemistry, the hormonal balance, and the stimulation of communication between the brain hemispheres.

A relatively new field of study called neurotheology—the study of the neurobiology of religion and spirituality—studies Zen Buddhists, Franciscan nuns, and other deeply devout individuals of all faiths. Practices of deep concentration and devotion can “create a reality different from and higher than the reality of everyday experience,” according to psychologist David Wulff of Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Dr. Andrew Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania and his late colleague, Dr. Eugene d'Aguili, performed SPECT scans on individuals experiencing deeply meditative states. The results showed that deep meditation could create “roadblocks” to certain areas of the brain and thus produce feelings of timelessness and infinity.

Deep concentration, rhythmic movements, and repeated sounds, such as mantras, help tune out extraneous stimuli and activate the temporal lobe. This intense focus leads to heightened positive emotions. An intense focus also decreases input from the hippocampus to the orientation area of the parietal lobe—the area that tells us where our self ends and the rest of the world begins. Moreover, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated in yoga, thus helping to achieve relaxation and a heightened sense of spirituality (1, 2).

Meditation often dramatically slows the breath rate to as low as four times per minute. We know that slowing respiration can move the body out of the fight-or-flight stress response and can deliver a more balanced mental state, a more awakened sensitivity, and a calm perspective.

Yogic breathing—slow and conscious breathing without strain in the upper chest—and meditation can help bring oxygen to the frontal cortex, the anterior cingulated gyri, and the temporal and parietal areas of the brain. It can help slow metabolism and help send energy to areas of the brain where it is most needed (3).

Many women report that meditation practice has helped them in other aspects of life. In menopause, women may assume new roles in their lives—the role of caring for aging parents, the role of letting go yet supporting their children as they move on, in career advancement, and in increasing community activities. Often they assume the role of spiritual family leaders, as they help parents and sometimes friends pass on. Meditation can help women fulfill these roles and stay steady and healthy during the mental and spiritual challenges of death and loss as well as the physical symptoms of menopause. If a woman practices meditation and relaxation techniques, she may be more likely to sense the symptoms of menopause clearly and be more aware of her physical and mental changes. Thus, she can work with her doctor more effectively and efficiently.

Many women also report that they have greater clarity and patience when they meditate, and that they can make decisions more easily. There are so many options for women; yet medical jargon, and a plethora of poorly understood studies can cause confusion. Trusting doctors and themselves can be difficult in this fast moving information age. The simple practice of meditation can help a woman find her way with more patience and less fear.

Relaxation and Rejuvenation 

Menopause is a time for women to think of rejuvenation. This can seem impossible, considering the many challenges they routinely deal with at this stage in life: teenagers, aging parents, extending families, recharged careers—so many roles to fulfill and so little time for rest and relaxation! From the yogic perspective it is essential for women to find time to rest. To ignore the body's request for rest is to challenge the immune system and bring on more serious physical illnesses and symptoms. These are bound to demand more time than would be spent for rest and rejuvenation.

Hermann Englert has described the physiological aspect of the stress cycle. Under stressful situations the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH); the CRH circulates to the pituitary, which in turn releases the hormone adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH stimulates the adrenal glands to produce glucocorticoid hormones, which put the body on the defensive. Englert mentions that daily stress may repeatedly activate this system, without allowing for recovery (4). Some psychopharmacologists consider the shifting hormone levels during perimenopause to be a stressor on the body and brain. It is vital for women to rest, rejuvenate, and learn to manage stress, as they are already under the stress of shifting body chemistry.

For many women who don't rest, the price to be paid is more intense symptoms, depression and anxiety. It is advisable for every woman over 50 to take an 11-minute nap daily.

When in menopause—add water! Water is considered the woman's element. A swim in fresh water or the ocean can cool and calm the heat of perimenopause and the toughest emotions that can accompany perimenopause. Sitting in a bath and “fighting” with the water, a technique called “Fighting with Father Neptune,” can relieve a highly charged emotional mood.

Finally, we should address the psychological and spiritual well-being of women in perimenopause and menopause. Women often work out their challenges through conversations with peers. Taking the time to be with friends, community organizations, support groups, or yoga classes (especially special classes and workshops that address women's issues) can be of great value. A simple prescription of a weekly walk with a friend brings the benefit of shared experience. I once gave this “yogic prescription” to a woman who promptly burst into tears. She was that busy and lonely and starved for time with her friends. A weekly walk became an important part of stabilizing her menopausal transition.

Conclusion 

A yoga regimen should fit a woman's physical fitness level, and include breathing, meditation, and relaxation techniques. The best results are achieved if the student understands how to integrate mental concentration with the physical postures and exercises.

Kundalini Yoga is one style of yoga practice that integrates specified breathing techniques and mental concentration throughout all exercises. This type of yogic approach helps a woman in a holistic manner and gives her various techniques to address her specific issues. Many yoga teachers specialize in woman's yoga, and a few private lessons can be helpful before joining a class. Suggest that a patient speak to the yoga teacher directly, explaining her goals. The teacher can then address her with specific supportive suggestions and practices.

It is suggested that women practice yoga daily, or a minimum of three times a week, to experience specific benefits from the practice. Women report that daily practice—even for a short time (with longer workouts in classes)—brings the best results. Learning to take time each day for self-care is both empowering for women and creates the best climate for positive results.

Photograph credits –

Photographs by Ralph Mercer. Photography reprinted from A Woman's Book of Yoga—Embracing Our Natural Life Cycles, by Machelle Seibel, M.D. and Hari Kaur Khalsa, R.Y.T., Avery/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.