The Ultimate Guide to Yoga for PCOS and Each Phase of Your Menstrual Cycle
One of the best forms of exercise, stretching, and overall body maintenance is yoga–there’s a different kind for just about anything you can think of! It’s particularly helpful if you are dealing with conditions like PCOS, to help keep you as regular as possible and to minimize pain and cramping (and PMS!) during your period. I have even started thinking of yoga as a type of medicine!
The other thing to know about yoga is that there are different types of yoga that are best for each phase of your menstrual cycle. Read on for more, featuring videos from my favorite online yoga teacher–Yoga With Adriene! I have no affiliation to her other than that I’m a big fan of her content. Doing yoga “with” her is like doing it with a friend–plus she has an adorable dog, Benji! So let’s learn more about yoga for PCOS!
Benefits of Yoga for PCOS
Yoga has a whole host of benefits for the body and the mind, and your hormones and monthly cycle! As you practice it more, you will start to feel the benefits in your posture and overall “flow” to feel more at peace. It’s also a good way to practice mindfulness, similar to meditation, in that it helps you focus on your breathing and sensations instead of ruminating like we do the rest of the time. You will also find that having a yoga practice helps you learn a great deal about how your body works!
But each part of your cycle is unique and is best served by different poses and routines. Let’s take a look at each phase of the cycle and some examples of videos you can try for each.
Phase 1: Menstrual Phase (Days 1-7)
One way to think of how to do yoga throughout your cycle is to go from yin (calm) to yang (energetic). Doing yoga regularly helps keep these in balance, which will benefit the entire body. This is especially important if you have PCOS, since the goal is to keep your hormones as balanced as possible. As Adriene often says, “It’s all connected.”
This means that at the beginning of your cycle, which is when you have your period, you should be as gentle and loving as possible with yourself, since your body is working extra hard and you may feel fatigued. You should always be kind to your body, but that is especially true now.
During this phase, try routines that involve a lot of sitting/standing quietly and focus on your breathing. Taking care to do this now will save further pain later on in your cycle–remember, it’s all connected!
Some good poses for Phase 1 are:
- child’s pose (kneeling with arms wrapped behind you)
- cobbler’s/butterfly pose (seated with wide thighs, feet touching) or supine goddess (lying down with thighs/feet the same as cobbler’s)
- downward-facing dog (hands/feet on the floor, with hips/butt raised in the air)
- soft, easy lunges or squats
- cobra (lying on stomach with torso inclined up)
- supine twist (lying on back with legs twisting to either side)
- mountain (gently standing with arms at your sides)
And check out some of these yoga routines:
Phase 2: Follicular Phase (Days 7-13)
Now that your period has ended, you can start turning up the heat back towards not yang, but not quite so much yet. Keep the softness from Phase 1 very much in mind as you start to add a little more in. Try poses such as:
- tabletop and cat-cow (on your hands and knees, alternately arching and dropping the back/belly, like the name suggests)
- downward-facing dog
- more leg lunges, but don’t push it
- plank (a push-up held for a few breaths)
- mountain or tree (one leg bent to balance on other)
Here are some routines to try:
Phase 3: Ovulation (around Day 14)
About halfway through your cycle, your ovaries will release a new egg for potential fertilization. As you likely know, if you don’t have sex around this time while the egg is hanging around the fallopian tubes and uterus, the egg will make its way down and your lining will disintegrate, giving you a new period, and the cycle will begin again.
During this time, your hormones are starting to peak, which means you may start to feel more energy or yang. If so, this is a great time to start a real workout, but within comfort for you.
Try poses such as:
- plank or side plank (shifting to balance on one side)
- deeper lunges or squats
- warrior poses (variations based on a lunge for a more full-body stretch)
This is also a great time to work on your hips and core, and to get any stress or general ickiness out of your system! As Adriene puts it, think of squeezing yourself out like a sponge. Try some of these routines to break a sweat:
- 20 Minute Yoga Flow for Detox & Digestion
- Yoga Wash Detox Flow
- Yoga for Core and Booty
- Yoga for Hips & Lower Back Release
Phase 4: Luteal Phase (Days 15-28)
This is the phase just before your period will start, when your hormones and energy will go from yang back to yin. If you are like many women, especially those with PCOS, you will likely experience PMS symptoms about a week or so before your period is expected. So keep the energetic poses going if you can, transitioning back to the ones from Phase 1 as you start to feel the need for more softness and support. Try:
- sun salutation (series of poses rising up from ground)
- warrior poses
- lunges with twists (lunge with elbow touching opposite knee)
Routines to try:
Bonus Yoga Routines
Here are a few of my all-time favorite Yoga With Adriene routines that you can use at just about any time during your cycle.
5 Minute Morning Yoga, 7 Minute Yoga Boost and 7 Minute Bedtime Yoga
Yoga At Your Desk and Office Break Yoga
Yoga for Pelvic Floor (especially great if you struggle with pelvic pain issues like vaginismus or vulvodynia)
Wrapping up: Yoga for PCOS
It can be hard to work yoga into your daily routine, with work, taking care of family, etc. But many of the routines I’ve included here are 20 minutes or even 10 minutes, so you can work them in at the beginning or end of your day, which is perfect for either getting started with work or getting ready to go to sleep. Based on your strength and how in shape you are, some of these may leave you feeling sore (and if you feel pain at any point, do not continue, and consult further with your doctor if you are feeling serious pain), but if you stick with it you will see that it’s worth it–I’ve seen it for myself! And the more that you do it, the more your body will crave it.
Trust–yoga for PCOS does work, and you’ll feel better than ever when you do it!
Here are some accessories to get you started if you are new to yoga:
And here is a resource if you want to learn more:
How to Practice Yoga for Your Period
Note: I am an Amazon Affiliate member, so I receive a small commission from any products purchased from my links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and do not claim to offer medical advice in these posts. These are meant to be informational only. Please consult further with your doctor for specific advice and treatment plans.
Photo by kiké vega on Unsplash
Comments