The menstrual cycle gets irregular due to several reasons and has signs of pelvic pain, bloating, and cramps. It can be easily managed by hot water compression in some cases. Practicing yoga helps to regulate the menstrual cycle and keeps you physically and mentally fit.
Make sure to consult your gynecologist to take professional advice. In some cases, your body needs expert help and medicine to treat the condition. Many women also need to change their lifestyle and habits to have healthy menstrual cycles.
Let’s find out the best yoga asana for Irregular Periods and Menstrual Pain.
What Is an Irregular Period?
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Generally, a menstrual period is a time of 28-days long, but it can range from 21-38. It is unusual if you have not had periods for above 35-days or have bleeding within 21-days of your earlier period. The irregular period may occur during the first period or menopause. But if your periods often get irregular, they need specialized medical attention.
Causes for Irregular Periods
Pregnancy
Pregnancy may cause you to miss the period or feel spotting. Other symptoms of early pregnancy may include:
- sensitivity to smells
- morning sickness
- nausea
- fatigue
- breast tingling
- tenderness
If you miss a period and had sex, then you can do a pregnancy test at home or consult your doctor to find out about the pregnancy.
If you may be pregnant and feel stabbing and sharp pain in the abdomen or pelvis that remains more than some time, then check with your doctor.
Hormonal Birth Control
Hormonal birth control medicine and hormone consist of intrauterine devices can lead to irregular bleeding. Birth control pills may have spotting between periods and induce light periods.
Breastfeeding
Prolactin is a hormone that is because of breast milk production. Prolactin suppresses reproductive hormone resulting in light periods or no period during breastfeeding.
Perimenopause
Perimenopause is a phase of transition before you are near menopause. It commonly begins in the 40s but can happen earlier. You may get signs lasting from 4-8 years, starting with changes to the menstrual cycle. Fluctuating estrogen levels during this time can affect menstrual cycles to get shorter or longer.
Other signs of perimenopause include:
- hot flashes
- difficulty sleeping
- mood changes
- vaginal dryness
- night sweats
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Irregular periods are the most normal sign of PCOS. If you have PCOS, you may miss periods and have heavy bleeding when you get your period. PCOS can also lead to obesity, weight gain, body hair, excess facial, male-pattern baldness, and infertility.
Thyroid problems
An underactive thyroid may cause heavier and longer periods. A 2015 study discovered that 44% of participants with menstrual irregularities also had disorders of the thyroid.
Underactive thyroid and hypothyroidism can cause longer and heavier periods with more cramping. You may also feel fatigued, weight gain, sensitive.
High levels of thyroid hormones, which is present in hyperthyroidism, can cause lighter periods with the following symptoms:
- sudden weight loss
- heart palpitations
- anxiety
- nervousness
- Swelling in neck
- Endometriosis
Endometriosis affects 1-10 women of reproductive age. It is a condition in which the tissue that commonly lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
Endometriosis causes painful, even debilitating menstrual cramps. It causes prolonged periods, heavy bleeding, and bleeding in periods.
Other symptoms include:
- gastrointestinal pain
- painful bowel movements
- infertility
- pain before and after intercourse
Exploratory surgery is the only reason to diagnose endometriosis. There is no cure for the condition, but signs can be cured with hormone therapy or medication.
Uterine fibroids
Fibroids are husky tumors that grow in the uterus wall. Most fibroids are non-cancerous and have different sizes.
Fibroids can cause periods with heavy and painful effects like anemia. You may also feel the following signs:
- pain in your legs
- pain during sex
- pelvic pain
- low back pain
Most fibroids do not need treatment and managed by OTC medications and iron supplements.
Being overweight
Obesity is known to cause irregularity in the menstrual cycle. Research shows that overweight affect insulin levels and hormone, which can interfere with the menstrual cycle.
Rapid weight gain can also affect menstrual irregularities. Weight gain and irregular periods are common symptoms of PCOD and hypothyroidism and should be treated by a doctor.
Eating Disorder And Extreme Weight Loss
Rapid and excessive weight loss can cause a period to stop. Not eating enough calories can affect the production of the hormone needed for ovulation.
You are considered underweight if you need a body mass index of less than 18.5. Along with irregular periods, you may also feel headaches, fatigue, and hair loss.
Consider a doctor visit if you have an eating disorder and weight loss.
Excessive exercise
Excessive and intense exercise has been shown to affect the hormones responsible for menstruation.
Women athletes and intensive training and physical activities, such as often grow amenorrhea, ballet dancer, which is stopped or missed periods. Cutting back on training and raised calorie count can help to restore periods.
Stress
Research shows that putting stress can affect with menstrual cycle by temporarily affect with brain parts, which control the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle. Your periods should return to normal after stress decrease.
Medications
Some medications can also conflict with the menstrual cycle, including:
- blood thinners
- thyroid medications
- hormone changing therapy
- chemotherapy drugs
- aspirin and ibuprofen
- epilepsy drugs
- antidepressants
Adho Mukha Svanasana
It is necessary to make sure that your stomach is empty before doing this yoga. This yoga will provide enough time to absorb the food. It is best to do this yoga in the morning.
How to Do?
Stand on four legs to forms a table-like shape.
Breath out and gently raise hips and straighten elbows and knees. Ensure your body makes a V shape.
Your hands should be level with shoulders and feet in line with hips. Make sure that toes point outwards.
Now, squeeze hands into the ground and extend the neck. Let ears reach your internal arms and stretch the neck and gaze at the navel.
Hole some seconds and then bend knees and get back to the previous table position.
Precautions
It is useful to ask a professional trainer or physician before doing this asana. Do not do this asana if you experience high blood pressure, weak eye capillaries, carpal tunnel syndrome, dislocated shoulder, diarrhea, and pregnancy.
Adho Mukha Svanasana: Beginners Tips
If you are in your early days of practicing yoga, here are some tips for you to keep in mind.
Check your alignment if you feel stress in joints. Begin and make sure your knees are right under your hips, and your hands are under your shoulder. Also, make sure that the creases on the wrist and elbows are level with the mat.
Starting it may feel difficult to release your shoulder to the right. You could do against the wall to get this toward the right.
Stand about 3-feet away from the wall by keeping the legs apart. Make sure to face the wall. Then, keep hands on the wall and walk them down till they reach the torso. Your arms should stay parallel to the floor.
Benefits of Adho Mukha Svanasana to Irregular period
Strengthens Abdominal Muscles
The inversion of the downside facing dog pose is the boat pose. It benefits to abdominal muscles to support the spine. This yoga has the same effects on the abdominal muscles. It helps to strengthen and stretch these muscles.
Improves Circulation
This yoga also helps to improve circulation when you lift your hips and drop your head below the heart. There is a reversal in the gravity pull and promote circulation.
Improves Digestion
This asana is not a complete fold, but it still follows the abdominal muscles to press the organs of the digestive system, including the kidney, liver, and spleen.
Reduce Decreases Anxiety
This asana helps to calm and relax your mind and lower anxiety. As the cervical spine and neck are stretched, the stress is released.
Ustrasana
This asana, popularly also known as Camel pose, is an intermediate level backbend. Ustra refers to a camel in Sanskrit, and it resembles a camel. It is also known to open the heart chakra and promote flexibility and strength.
This yoga also needs to perform with an empty stomach in the morning. You can also keep a 4-6 hours gap between meals and practice during other times of the day.
How to Do?
- Start the asana by kneeling on the mat and keep hands on your hips.
- Make sure knees and shoulders are level and feet soles face the ceiling.
- Breathing and draw tailbone toward the pubis and feel the pull at the navel.
- While you are doing that, bend your back. Slowly slide palms over feet and straighten arms.
- Manage neck in a level position. It should not be strained.
- Hold the position for 30-60 seconds before you release the pose.
Precautions
It is good to practice this asana under the guidance of a yoga instructor. If you are experiencing neck or back injury, high blood pressure, then avoid this yoga. Also, avoid this yoga in the condition of migraines and insomnia.
Beginner’s Tips
When you are beginning, it can be difficult to touch feet with hands without letting a strain in the neck or back. You can move toes and raise heels. If you still cannot stretch your legs, then use a wooden block, and keep both hands on them. Make sure you do not keep this pose for more than 20-seconds when you are doing this yoga as a beginner.
The Benefits Of Ustrasana
- The Ustrasana helps to improve digestion as it massages your inner organs.
- It opens up the frontal portions and chest of the torso.
- This yoga helps to strengthen the shoulders and back.
- It reduces lower back pain and reduces menstrual discomfort.
Dhanurasana
Keep your stomach and guts void before doing this yoga. Keep at any rate 4-6 hours inside training and feast. Try not to do this yoga in the wake of eating. Morning time with an empty stomach can be a legitimate time for this yoga
How To Do?
- Lie flat over the stomach, keep feet at hip distance, and arms beside the body.
- Now, lightly fold your knees and support your ankles.
- Breath in and lift chest and legs over the ground, then pull legs back.
- See straight and keep your face stress free. Smiling can help.
- Hold this position as you focus on breathing. Your body should form a shape like a bow.
- As you feel comfortable in this position, take deep and long breaths.
- After 15-20 seconds later, breathe out and release the pose.
Precautions
Avoid this yoga if you are experiencing a hernia, lower back pain, low or high blood pressure, headaches, or neck injuries.Â
Beginner’s Tips
When you do as a beginner, it might feel difficult to raise thighs over the floor. You can roll up a blanket and keep it under the thighs to provide them support to pull upward.
The Benefits Of Dhanurasana
- This yoga asana helps to strengthen back and abdominal muscles.
- It also helps to stimulate your reproductive organs.
- Doing this asana helps to stretch the chest, neck, and shoulder.
- Perform this asana to tone the legs and arm muscles.
- It increases flexibility to the back muscles.
- It relieves stress and menstrual discomfort.
Malasana
The Malasana also needs to perform with empty bowels and stomach. Eat your meals before 4-6 hours.
How to Do?
- Start with squatting. As you do squat, keep feet near to each other, using heels over the floor or hold on the ground.
- Extend out thighs, keep them lightly wider than the torso.
- Breath out and lean front to make the torso fits snugly in the thighs.
- Get palms in the Anjali Mudra, and push elbows against the inner thighs. Doing this will help to stretch the front side part of the body.
- Squeeze the inner thighs against the torso side. Stretch arms outward and swing them across the shins fit into the armpits, then hold ankles.
- Hold the pose for some seconds, breath in, and release.
Precautions
It is good to skip this yoga asana if you have a lower back or injury in the knees.
Beginner’s Tips
If you feel it difficult to squat in the beginning, sit over the edge of a chair, and let your torso and thighs form a 90-degree angle. Keep heels over the floor lightly in front of your knees. Lean forward to make the torso is in between knees. Doing this will helps to condition you to get into a squat.
The Benefits Of The Malasana
- It helps to reduce pain in the groin, sacrum, lower back, and hip.
- It promotes metabolism and the digestive system
- This yoga also tones the belly and improve posture.
- Doing this yoga increase the flexibility in the knees and ankles.
Matsyasana
Keep your stomach empty while doing Matsyasana. This yoga can be performed during the morning or evening also.
How To Do?
- Lie flat over back and keep legs together and keep hands to the sides of the body.
- Keep palms under hips such that the palms should face the ground. Now, get the elbows near to each other, keep them near to your waist.
- Cross legs in the middle and knees and thighs should be flat on the ground.
- Take a breath and raise your chest to lift the head and let the crown reach to the floor.
- Ensure the weight of the body is on the elbows and not on the head. As your chest is raised, lightly squeeze your shoulder blades.
- Hold this position only till you feel comfortable. Take a normal breath.
- Breath out and release the position, raise the head, and then drop chest to the ground and untangle legs to relax.
Precautions
- It is good to avoid this yoga in conditions with low or high blood pressure.
- Also, people with migraines and insomnia should not do this yoga.
- Do not perform this yoga with a back injury.
Beginner’s Tip
As a beginner, you might feel pressure in your neck at the start of this asana. Lightly lower your chest to withdraw strain or use a folded blanket under your head till you sense comfortable.
The Benefits of Matsyasana
- This asana stimulates nutrient absorption by stretching the neck and chest and release tension from the neck and shoulder.
- It helps to tone parathyroid, pituitary, and pineal glands.
- Doing this yoga stretches back muscles and relieve strain.
- This yoga also relieves menstrual pain and mild back pain.
How Does Yoga Benefit Irregular Problems?
Yoga effectively works when you want to regulate periods and heavy blood flow by lowering pain and cramps. Yoga is good medicine and treats menstruation problems.
- It activates the reproductive organs, which promote.
- It lowers stress and relaxes the body and mind.
- This yoga regulates metabolism and manages ideal weight.
- Doing this yoga also balances hormones.
Other Tips to Prevent and Relieve Menstrual Pain
Hydrate
Menstrual pain or light dysmenorrhea is an uncomfortable thing in life for several women. Drinking enough water helps to reduce bloating, which can be a worse symptom. Train yourself to drink 6-8 glasses of water every day, especially in your menstruation period. Include some lemon or mint to make it more beneficial. Avoid using salt, which can cause fluid retention and bloating. Also, avoid alcohol to prevent dehydration. Some women also get vomiting or diarrhea in conjunction with menstrual pain. Therefore, drink enough fluid to manage menstrual pain.
If you get bored with normal water, then drink water in interesting ways. Take one glass of fruit-infused water in the morning.
Sip some ginger or chamomile tea. Drink some flavored mineral water for hydration. Make a container of mint, cucumber, or lemon water to take the whole day. Drink one cup of low sodium brew to boost fluid intake. Keep your body well hydrated to reduce pain and cramps.
Eat to Decrease Pain
Diet Is Key
You may get a craving for sugary, fatty, or salty foods during your menstrual period, but these foods are not healthy. Avoid doughnuts and potato chips. Some females find that eating the right foods may help to relieve menstrual pain. Eat anti-inflammatory foods such as blueberries, cherries, squash, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Coldwater fish containing omega-3 fatty acids are good choices. Consume more calcium-rich beans, dark leafy greens, and almonds. These foods consist of compounds that reduce inflammation.
Avoid These
Your lifestyle and dietary habits can either help or cause the problem to your menstruation cycle. Try to avoid white and refined foods, including pasta, bread, and sugar. Also, skip trans-fat foods such as cookies, french fries, crackers, onion rings, and margarine.
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco. All these things cause inflammation and pain during the period.
Sip Chamomile Tea
Sipping chamomile tea helps to lower crams during menstruation. Chamomile tea provides plenty of inflammation-reducing prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are prepared by cells in the endometrium of the uterus. These cells release prostaglandins during the female’s period, inducing muscle contractions of the uterus, cramps, and pain.
Prostaglandins present in the bloodstream are responsible for vomiting, nausea, headache, and diarrhea during the menstrual period.
Try Fennel
According to one study, nearly 80% of a young female who consumed capsules consist of 30 mg of fennel extract 4-times a day for 3-days to the start of their menstrual period felt less pain than those who consumed a placebo. Researchers believe that fennel reduces uterine contraction that is activated by prostaglandins. Fennel extract may be the best option for around 10% of females who cannot do their normal activities for 1-3 days during their periods because of menstrual cramps.
Cinnamon
According to a study of a young female, those who consume capsules with 420 mg of cinnamon 3-times a day for the first 3-days of their menstrual cycle had less menstrual bleeding, less pain, and lowered nausea and vomiting frequency compared to women who took a placebo. The female did not report any side effects linked with consuming pills. Try a sprinkle of cinnamon on cereal or hot cocoa.
Ginger
Ginger capsules also help to relieve menstrual pains. It lowers the severity of dysmenorrhea and best drug-free alternative.
Pycnogenol
Pycnogenol is an extract of a plant that belongs to maritime pine in the southwestern part of France. The extract consists of plenty of antioxidant compounds. It helps to lower the severity of menstrual pain and regulate the period cycle.
Dill for Menstrual Pain
Researchers examined the effectiveness of dill powder versus mefenamic acid, an NSAID, for menstrual cramps treatment. Dill powder help to relieve menstrual pain.
Curcumin
Curcumin is another ingredient to relieve PMS symptoms. Women who consumed two capsules of curcumin every day for 7-days before menstruation and three days after their period start to feel a reduction in PMD symptoms compared to a female who consumed placebo pills. Scientists believe that beneficial compounds present in curcumin lower inflammation and change neurotransmitter levels, which is responsible for lowering PMS symptoms.
Vitamin B1 & Fish Oil
According to research, vitamin B1 and fish oil help to treat dysmenorrhea in younger girls.
Vitamin D
Cramps associated with dysmenorrhea can be painful. Extreme cramps linked with dysmenorrhea occur because of rising levels of prostaglandins, which induce the uterus to contract. These contractions happen due to the uterine lining dropping. Vitamin D also reduces the production of prostaglandins and decrease pain.
Mineral Calcium
Calcium is a nutrient that every woman needs, but most females do not get enough. It is important for healthy bones and proper function of muscles, heart, and nervous system. Sufficient calcium consumption may also benefit menstrual cramps. Add low-fat dairy products, canned sardines, fortified orange juice.
Every woman suffers from horrible period pains at some point. Doctors advise yoga practice to manage menstruation pain. It will help to balance the hormones.
Make sure to take advice from a yoga expert and your doctor for regulating menstruation pain. Some people have different conditions in which yoga or exercise is not allowed.
Rest other things take complete sleep of 8-hours, eat fresh fruits and plenty of green vegetables, drink enough water, and stay active.