Drawing on decades of yoga teaching and personal practice experience, author and illustrator Bobby Clennell speaks to the importance of adapting asana to the cycles of a woman's life in The Woman's Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle. The foreword by Geeta S. Iyengar reminds us of Geetaji's pioneering work in women's yoga and health.
Published in 2007 by Rodmell Press and available through the IYNAUS Store, Bobby's book empowers women to observe the monthly ebb and flow of hormonal activity and fine-tune their yoga practice to coordinate with their unique menstrual pattern. Detailed, easy-to-follow sequences lead women through each phase of the menstrual cycle: from premenstrual (with poses to stabilize) through menstruation itself (with poses to restore), to the postmenstrual time (with poses to rebalance, which are featured in this excerpt) and the return to ovulation, when practice can be built back to full strength and variety. There are also sequences to ease a variety of menstrual and premenstrual problems. Best of all, Bobby supports women to draw from the strength that comes from practicing yoga.
Bobby has practiced and taught yoga for more than thirty years. She is a core faculty member of the Iyengar Yoga Institute of New York, and has studied seventeen times, in India, with the Iyengar family. She holds an Intermediate Senior I certification.
- Richard Jonas, Vice-President/Outreach Chairperson
For the Days After Your Period:Just as the climate gives us a cycle of seasons, so women have their own internal seasons, which take them through the menstrual cycle. And just as we all react differently to changes in the weather, the menstrual cycle affects each woman differently. For many women, menstruation is barely noticed. Others are miserable. Still others may recognize, however fleetingly, that the cycle of creation and dissolution that plays out every month in their cells reflects a larger rhythmic pulse.
The menstrual cycle divides into three phases. Phase I, the follicular, or the building up phase
of the cycle, actually begins during the last few days of the previous, luteal phase. The follicles
begin releasing estrogen, slowly at first, from about day three of the cycle (day one being the
first day of bleeding). The days leading up to ovulation are a time of renewal and expectation. Just
as in early spring the sap rises and buds appear on the trees, carrying the seeds of new growth,
so during this part of the menstrual cycle the egg develops in the ovary, and the lining of the uterus
thickens in preparation for the fertilized egg.
Phase II, the ovulatory phase, is a process of two or three days of surging hormonal activity that results in ovulation. Ovulation itself occurs around day fourteen of the menstrual cycle, at the midpoint, corresponding to high summer. The matured egg bursts out of its follicle, and sensual and sexual desires are heightened. This is a time of fertility and enhanced mental and emotional receptivity to the world outside. Many women experience a sense of excitement and feel a surge of creativity around this time.
Phase III is the luteal, or letting out, phase of the cycle. An egg is released into the fallopian
tubes and, if it is fertilized, it goes down to be implanted in the warmth and protection of the
uterus. If fertilization does not take place, the endometrial lining begins to detach from the uterine
wall. Just as the leaves on the trees are shed in order for new life to begin, the endometrial lining,
along with the unfertilized egg and other secretions, are sloughed off. Menstruation, like
winter, is a time to draw inward and gather energy.
Ayurveda recognizes the three days following menstruation as a transitional phase. It is worth paying attention to how you feel in the days following your period. After the cleansing and balancing that takes place during menstruation, many women feel renewed and look forward to new beginnings. Some may even experience an emotional response similar to the excitement following the birth of a baby. Others may feel a little tired, and still others, particularly if they have had an excessive or prolonged menstrual flow, feel washed out and exhausted. Where fatigue is combined with feelings of elation, a woman may tend to overdo things, and this may tax her inner reserves.
Practicing an appropriate sequence of yoga poses can help to balance the system and restore
energy. Once a student of mine arrived for class complaining that her legs were hurting and she
felt exhausted. It transpired that not only had her period just finished, but that morning she had
been to the gym for a strong workout. Some restorative poses and supported inversions (the
sequence follows) revived her. It was a learning experience for her. The next month she postponed
the gym for a few days and practiced this sequence.
Use your yoga practice to honor this phase of the cycle and embrace the fresh start that menstruation has provided. Build up your energy gradually, and counterbalance the increased internal activity that occurs as the body makes the adjustment from winter to spring.
You can download this excerpt as a pdf
or you can buy the book from the IYNAUS Store.
From The Woman's Yoga Book, written and illustrated by Bobby Clennell (bobbyclennell.com).
Copyright © 2007 by Bobby Clennell;
excerpted with permission of Rodmell Press
www.rodmellpress.com
