HPS Lydia
High Priestess
Yoga For Menstrual Health And Relief by Yogi Bhajan
[My note: All of the following is from a book written by one of his female students, given to her and other women by Yogi Bhajan. This sequence can be done daily if needed, or just the days before and/or first days of menstruation. Adjust the times accordingly, do not feel discouraged if you cannot hold a pose for 5 minutes. Do it for what you can, even 5-10 seconds will bring relief.]
The following exercises can be done on a daily basis to support your menstrual health.
1. Tiger Stretch. Sit on your right heel, left leg extended straight behind you. Stretch up with your forehead toward the sky. With your forearms at your ribs, bend your arms so the hands are at shoulder height, palms facing up. Hold the posture for up to five minutes with long, deep breathing. Repeat the exercise with the right leg back.
2. Half Wheel Pose. Lie down on your back and bring your heels to your buttocks with the feet flat on the floor. Grab your ankles, tighten the buttock muscles, and raise your torso up to the sky. Hold with long, deep breathing for up to three minutes. Gently come down and relax on your back. For an additional workout, you can inhale up and exhale down twenty-six times. I do not recommend doing this pose during the heavy flow of your cycle, as the uterus is inverted.
3. Cobra Pose. Lie on your stomach with palms flat on the floor under your shoulders. Keep your heels together with the soles of the feet facing up. Press the hips into the ground and tighten the buttock muscles to inhale into Cobra Pose. Lift the chest, allow the neck to lengthen, follow the curve of the upper back, and focus your eyes toward the sky with long, deep breathing for one minute.
4. Bow Pose. Lie on your stomach and bend your knees to grasp your ankles. Sink your hips into the floor, tighten your buttock muscles, and raise the thighs and head up off the floor. Hold with long, deep breathing for two to three minutes.
5. Bow Pose Variation. If you can do Bow Pose easily for at least one minute, you may try this variation; otherwise please do not proceed. Bring yourself up into Bow Pose and rock back and forth on your stomach 108 times counting aloud. Enjoy a good sweat!
[My note, this one is the one above, just rocking back and forth from your chest to your thighs. Skip this one if you are experiencing discomfort.]
6. Beginner’s Locust Pose. Lie on your belly with your hands in fists under your hips, just above the groin. With your chin on the floor and shoulders relaxed, bring your heels together, straighten your legs, and then raise your legs off the floor. Hold with long, deep breathing for one to two minutes.
7. Leg Lift. Lie on your back with the heels together and raise your legs up to a forty-five-degree angle from the floor. Do your best to keep your legs straight and hold for up to three minutes with long, deep breathing. Relax in Corpse Pose with long, deep breathing.
Source: Original Light by Snatum Kaur
[My note: All of the following is from a book written by one of his female students, given to her and other women by Yogi Bhajan. This sequence can be done daily if needed, or just the days before and/or first days of menstruation. Adjust the times accordingly, do not feel discouraged if you cannot hold a pose for 5 minutes. Do it for what you can, even 5-10 seconds will bring relief.]
The following exercises can be done on a daily basis to support your menstrual health.
1. Tiger Stretch. Sit on your right heel, left leg extended straight behind you. Stretch up with your forehead toward the sky. With your forearms at your ribs, bend your arms so the hands are at shoulder height, palms facing up. Hold the posture for up to five minutes with long, deep breathing. Repeat the exercise with the right leg back.
2. Half Wheel Pose. Lie down on your back and bring your heels to your buttocks with the feet flat on the floor. Grab your ankles, tighten the buttock muscles, and raise your torso up to the sky. Hold with long, deep breathing for up to three minutes. Gently come down and relax on your back. For an additional workout, you can inhale up and exhale down twenty-six times. I do not recommend doing this pose during the heavy flow of your cycle, as the uterus is inverted.
3. Cobra Pose. Lie on your stomach with palms flat on the floor under your shoulders. Keep your heels together with the soles of the feet facing up. Press the hips into the ground and tighten the buttock muscles to inhale into Cobra Pose. Lift the chest, allow the neck to lengthen, follow the curve of the upper back, and focus your eyes toward the sky with long, deep breathing for one minute.
4. Bow Pose. Lie on your stomach and bend your knees to grasp your ankles. Sink your hips into the floor, tighten your buttock muscles, and raise the thighs and head up off the floor. Hold with long, deep breathing for two to three minutes.
5. Bow Pose Variation. If you can do Bow Pose easily for at least one minute, you may try this variation; otherwise please do not proceed. Bring yourself up into Bow Pose and rock back and forth on your stomach 108 times counting aloud. Enjoy a good sweat!
[My note, this one is the one above, just rocking back and forth from your chest to your thighs. Skip this one if you are experiencing discomfort.]
6. Beginner’s Locust Pose. Lie on your belly with your hands in fists under your hips, just above the groin. With your chin on the floor and shoulders relaxed, bring your heels together, straighten your legs, and then raise your legs off the floor. Hold with long, deep breathing for one to two minutes.
7. Leg Lift. Lie on your back with the heels together and raise your legs up to a forty-five-degree angle from the floor. Do your best to keep your legs straight and hold for up to three minutes with long, deep breathing. Relax in Corpse Pose with long, deep breathing.
Source: Original Light by Snatum Kaur
