Check any health magazine, and you’ll find there are yoga poses for many of the problems that inflict the human body. Yoga is an ancient practice developed as a way for your mind to stay in tune with your body. It involves deep breathing, inner focus, and a series of poses, or asanas, designed to activate specific parts of your body, including the mind. Its poses can also be effective remedies for migraines, joint pain, sore muscles, and even depression.
A yoga therapist can put together a yoga routine that targets your exact issues, but people also experience rewards by just practicing simple yoga poses that offer numerous benefits. This guide will explore seven yoga poses that can benefit any woman interested in pursuing a holistic lifestyle.
Recommended Yoga Poses for Women’s Health
A relatively new realization in the yoga sphere is its distinct benefits to women’s health. Many women are aware of the rewards associated with prenatal yoga and weight loss, but not many realize how beneficial yoga can be to a woman’s overall health. Here are a few yoga poses that are particularly valuable for women and how you can incorporate them into your daily life.
Child’s Pose – Balasana
Child’s pose is perfect for problems with tight hips and thighs, especially when associated with menstruation. It also stretches the spine, lower back, and hamstrings. It’s often used as a resting pose between more difficult ones, but it has a string of benefits, including supporting blood circulation, digestion, and tension relief.
Get into child’s pose by kneeling on your yoga mat. Take a deep breath in, and on the exhale, bend forward as far as you can, ideally until your forehead touches the mat. Stretch your arms out in front of you, placing your palms flat on the mat. Relax your muscles and continue taking deep breaths.
Reclining Bound Angle – Supta Baddha Konasana
Women are typically the caretakers of home and hearth, which doesn’t leave them any time to take care of themselves. The reclining bound angle pose is an answer to that age-old dilemma, working to aid in digestion and relieve symptoms of menstruation and asthma. This pose is also great for pregnant women, because it relieves abdominal discomfort and works the thighs, hips, and abdominal muscles.
Get into the reclining bound angle pose by laying on your back with your arms extended at your sides, palms down. Bend your knees until the soles of your feet touch, and bring your heels as close to your groin as possible. Let your knees fall to the sides. Take deep breaths and focus on what you feel happening inside your body.
Goddess Pose – Utkata Konasana
This standing pose offers advantages to the female reproductive system as well as treating arthritis and sciatica. It strengthens core muscles, improves circulation, tones arms and thighs, and aids in stress reduction.
Get into goddess pose by standing with your feet roughly 4 feet apart, toes facing outward. Lower yourself into a mid-squat position with your knees directly above your toes. Hold your arms out to the sides and bend at the elbow, so your hands are parallel to your ears. Hold the pose for 30 seconds or longer, taking deep breaths.
Pigeon Pose – Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
Another sitting pose that opens the hips and stretches tendons is the pigeon pose. The increased range of motion it provides in the hip joints helps effectively treat pain from PMS, sciatica, and lower back issues. Yoga masters tout its ability to help practitioners manage stress and emotional trauma.
Get into the pigeon pose by sitting on the mat and fully extending one leg behind you. Shift your sitting weight to the other side and bend the other leg in front of you. Place your hands on the mat parallel to your hips. Straighten your posture and hold the pose for 30 seconds.
Energy Freeing Pose – Apanasana
This pose is used to strengthen the mind-body connection and feel centered. It helps eliminate the body’s impurities through the lungs and excretory systems. It stretches the spine and hips to relieve pressure, which is excellent for pregnant women or those suffering from PMS or symptoms of menstruation.
The energy freeing pose is one of the simplest of all yoga poses. Just lay on your back and draw your knees to your chest. Disengage the muscles in your shoulder blades and widen your collar bone. Wrap your arms around your knees and relax your feet and ankles. Hold the pose for 30 seconds or more while breathing slow, deep breaths.
Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana
The cobra pose strengthens the arms, back, and abdomen and increases flexibility. Yoga masters say it opens the heart chakra, helps heal emotional wounds, and opens the door to self-love. It’s a great pose for a morning yoga routine, because it provides a burst of energy and motivation.
Get into the cobra pose by lying face down on the mat. Bring your hands under your shoulder blades with your legs extended. Push with your palms down on the mat to lift your upper body. Point your gaze forward and slightly up. Hold for 30 seconds or longer while taking slow, deep breaths.
Tree Pose – Vrksasana
The tree pose reduces issues related to menstruation, such as abdominal discomfort and leg cramps. It strengthens muscles and ligaments and increases balance and endurance. It also aligns the spine, which helps with lower back issues and equilibrium.
Many people have difficulty mastering the tree pose, and it takes practice to hold it for even a few seconds. Get into the tree pose by standing on one foot and placing the other just above the opposite leg’s knee. Raise your arms over your head and place your palms together. Fixing your gaze on an object a few feet in front of you can help maintain balance.
The female body goes through many changes in a lifetime brought on by puberty, motherhood, and aging. Each stage has its own set of hurdles to jump. Many yoga poses focus on those specific female issues and provide a type of relief you can’t find anywhere else.
Get Help From a Naturopathic Medical Professional
Yoga is a form of therapy with distinct advantages for the female body. Dr. Karen Threlkel, a naturopathic doctor serving primarily women in the Greater D.C. area, provides a holistic approach to medicine that includes the mind, body, and spirit.
Dr. Threlkel’s team combines several disciplines to offer various natural-focused remedies for treating symptoms and underlying conditions of many ailments. Contact our team to schedule a consultation for more information about yoga or to learn more about natural remedies or treatments.
