The period talk is a delicate topic for menstruators. Every individual has a different experience with their periods – while some have it easy, most people have to suffer the tough week of constant mood swings, cramps, uneven or heavy flow, nausea or even, at times, dizziness.
Though it’s not the most fun time, we ought to bear it every month and hence need to learn how to adapt our body for the less agonizing and more comfortable way through periods.
Can we do Surya Namaskar during periods or not is a question often asked by a lot of menstruators out there since being the most easily practicable, yoga is almost India’s favourite way towards fitness and health.
While Surya Namaskar or sun salutation is a popular yoga practice, the answer to the question of whether it should be practised while menstruating or not depends on a whole lot of factors and mainly, your body!
Table of Contents
Can We Exercise During Periods?
Skipping your ordinary exercising routine isn’t always in any respect recommended during menses. It gives your frame comfort from headaches, cramps and lethargy in the course of menstruation. But there are some specific sets of exercises that could emerge as boosting your torments rather than assuaging them. Hence you have to keep away from them whilst menstruating.
An intense cardio session or weight training can boost the soreness of menses. They stimulate a heavy menstrual go with the drift making your experience uneasy. It’ll be best for you to rather pass those for a week. Instead, strive for lighter exercises or low-intensity workouts or aerobics that’ll console your body and soothe your aches.
Can We Do Yoga During Periods?
Yoga is a great way to balance your mind, body, and soul. It disciplines your entire system for a more streamlined and relaxed lifestyle. While yoga has its fair share of pros, it also has certain cons. Doing yoga during periods is a great way to alleviate cramps and manage heavy flow, but certain asanas or postures could trigger your ache and hence result in more back pain, boosted cramps, and overflow, amongst other drawbacks. Therefore it is advisable to look up on the internet, book or contact a regular yoga trainer/ yogi to know which postures can be practised during menstruation.
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Can We Do Surya Namaskar During Periods?
Surya Namaskar, or sun salutation, was practised as a Marathi tradition over many years but was first systematically introduced by the Raja of Aundh, Pant Pratinidhi, to the world through his 1928 book, The Ten Point Way to Health: Surya Namaskars. Since then, the world has regarded this unique system of 12 yoga postures coming together to give your body, mind and consciousness a more refined shape.
Practising Surya Namaskar’s multiple cycles in a day is a great way to boost your energy. Its unique combination of 12 asanas or postures provides full-body fitness. It is popular and hence is often a part of many people’s morning yoga routine. Many people kickstart their day with a few cycles of Surya Namaskar; hence the question ‘can we do Surya Namaskar during periods’ is something that is asked by many menstruators very often.
The answer to the question lies with your body and its way of dealing with different physical exercises. Though working out is great, if done with necessary precautions, during periods yet, Surya Namaskar is not advisable. While menstruating, doing Surya Namaskar can affect and mess with your flow. It also exerts pressure over your pelvis region and abdominal area aggravating body ache and cramps. But if you’re someone who’s used to a lot of physical exercises and/or has normal flow and no cramps, then you might try doing fewer than your usual cycles of Surya Namaskar while on menses.
Best Yoga Poses During Periods
Do not get disheartened if your body does not permit you to do Surya Namaskar during periods; there are a bunch of other yoga poses that’ll best tend to alleviate your pain and stress away all along (:
Balasana (Child’s Pose)
The Child’s pose or Balasana is a great way to tackle and alleviate your pelvic pain during menses. It is a kneeling pose that stretches your hip, thighs and ankles, providing relief from the period’s pain. It also soothes your cramp, so what more could you ask for? You have to kneel and touch the floor with your forehead comfortably while lying your palms alongside your body, facing them upwards.
You can also support your posture with a blanket or pillow if you need it. Some people also spread their knees a little wide and stretch their arms to feel more comfortable while practising Balasana during periods.
Baddha Konasana (Butterfly Pose)
Interestingly, the Butterfly pose or Baddha Konasana is also popularly referred to as Cobbler’s pose, named after the posture in which Indian cobblers usually perch during their work. This pose is a seated one, and hence it does not exert any unnecessary pressure over your body, nor does it mesh with your period’s flow.
In the sitting position, you’ll have to stretch your knees outwards, fingers interlocked and facing outwards with your feet. Throughout the asana, you’re supposed to keep your back erect and pull your feet as close to your body as possible, hence feeling the stretch.
Supta Matsyendrasana (Reclining Twist)
Supta Matsyendrsana is often considered a heart opener. It facilitates the potency of your spine and also induces better digestion in the body. Often done at the end of a workout or yoga session, this pose of Reclining twist relaxes, stretches and calms your muscles. This will help you relax and attenuate your body’s pain during menstruation.
You’ll simply have to lie down on your back, bend one knee and cross it over your other leg while keeping the other leg intact with the mat. Keep your arms stretched wide open on both sides of your body. Focus on your breathing and feel the stretch in your obliques, glutes and chest.
Marjaryasana (Cat-Cow)
Credited as a great warm-up exercise, the cat-cow pose or Marjaryasana is very beneficial for assuaging the brutal back pain that comes along with every period. Quite fun and relaxing, this pose helps you stretch your back, spine, neck, and shoulder muscles and slowly acts to soothe away the ache that’s been lingering around there during your menses.
To do this pose properly, you’ll have to bend down on all fours, with your palms touching the floor and your feet facing upwards. Gradually you just have to inhale and bulge your chest out, back bending inwards, while when you exhale, you’ll have to form a rounded back like a camel’s hump.
Viparita Karani (Inverted Leg Pose)
Just as the name suggests, Viparita Karani involved inverting or reversing your leg. Typically known as the legs on the wall pose, it is a posture where your body goes upside down, keeping your feet upwards. It builds steadiness in your body and is mostly practised by people during periods to soothe their back pain.
While doing the Inverted Leg pose, you need to put your head down and push your legs off the ground with support from the hands under your waist. People often support their posture with rolled blankets and/or put their legs along the wall for better assessment. Retaining the pose for a minute or so will make you fill the stretch, and gradually you can also access your body relaxing under its effect.
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Verdict: Can We Do Surya Namaskar During Periods?
Surya Namaskar, since it includes 12 different yoga poses involving various body parts, is not often advised to be practised during the periods. The answer to ‘Whether can we do Surya Namaskar during periods or not’ is something that lies with your body at the end of the day.
Yet we should keep in mind that Surya Namaskar involves postures that can provoke pain in the abdomen, back and pelvis due to the pressure exerted upon them while doing Surya Namaskar. While menstruating, you would surely want to avoid any possible chances of aggravating your cramps and aches. Also, the fact that Surya Namaskar can mingle with your flow pattern is not a great sign to do it. It might cause heavy overflows making your periods worse.
Yet you can go on to practice a few cycles of Surya Namaskar during periods if you feel your flow is light and you’re not easily prone to cramps and body aches.
Choose your way to deal with it after consulting your mind over your body’s preferences and the threshold!
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