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Yoga poses to avoid during periods
You can always go ahead and roll out your yoga mat on your period days, but try keeping away from these poses.
1. Inversions
You must have heard yoga trainers suggest against inversions during periods. Inversions include headstand, handstand, shoulder-stand. The rationale behind this has its roots in Ayurvedic science which says that it is the energy flow (prana) we are concerned with.
“The flow of prana moves away from the abdomen in case of inversions due to the upside-down movement. Hence, traditionally, yogis recommend avoiding it,” explains Kapoor.
Simply saying that our energy flow goes downwards and turning upside down can intervene with that. Basically, the blood is oozing out for a reason, so let your body do the natural thing. Alongside, there is a risk of blood flowing back into fallopian tubes, which is believed to cause endometriosis.
That being said, Kapoor adds, “Several yogis believe that inversions can be practiced in yoga. Medical science suggests that gravity doesn’t really affect the flow of blood (explaining normal period cycles of female astronauts)”.
2. Deep forward bending
“Deep forward bends will crunch abdomen and put pressure on the uterine lining,” says Kapoor. It is likely that any form of the forward bend will exert the already bloated abdomen and can cause your pain to worsen. It can also cause swelling of the blood vessels in your uterus. Surely, that’s something you would not want to happen.
3.Core workout
For core workouts, she shares, “Your uterus and abdominal region are already under a load of menstrual management. So, loading it up with more core workouts would be unnecessary and unhealthy”.
4. Bow pose
Bow pose can actually turn out very helpful in getting rid of that irritating period bloat, but it puts a lot of pressure on the back. So, you must go easy with this if you are already experiencing a sore back during your periods.
