Womb Yoga Manual PDF

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Course Manual for
Womb Yoga
WellWoman Yoga Therapy
Yoga for women’s health and vitality
Stroud
11 14 June, 2015
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.yonishakti.co/sites/default/files/files/2015%2520Stroud%2520Womb%2520Yoga%252… 1/86
Course design & tutoring
Uma DinsmoreTuli
Contributing tutors:
Marinella Benelli and
Sundari Miranda Falconer
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Shame, guilt and disgust at the natural healthy
functioning of women’s menstrual cycles has
World as Womb, already created an ecological disaster
because of the ‘discrete’ disposal of non
biodegradable and toxic products from the
Womb as World sanitary protection industry; synthetic
hormones from hundreds of millions of
contraceptive pill users worldwide have
Why is women’s health so important? And already polluted our waters, and everywhere
why do so many women do yoga? The on the planet women are exploited and
answers to these two questions are underpaid. It is time to awaken to the
connected. There is a powerful link between connection between our wombs and our
women and yoga now. world: to see that the way we care for our
planet mirrors the way we treat our women
The roots of yoga’s reverence for the and girls. The mirror works two ways: the
feminine power of shakti, the feminine energy rape and destruction of the natural resources
of the life force, are rooted in the of our planet is an expression of the
philosophies of ancient India. The very words disrespect in which women and our bodies
that are used to describe women’s bodies have been held.
signify power, spiritual dignity and cosmic
connections. In Sanskrit, the language of yoga, Yet there is an enormous turning of the tides
the term garbh grha, which literally means the right now: millions of women practising yoga
‘womb house’ refers to the innermost space are awakening to a higher consciousness of
of any temple, the holy of holies, the inner the importance of their own health, self
sanctum. esteem and spiritual wellbeing as a positive
step towards planetary change. Things are
The word yoni, which means womb, vulva, truly shifting. And women’s immense
and vagina, is understood to be the cosmic involvement and passion for yoga is a truly
gateway through which the power of shakti vital part of this change. We can encourage,
enters the world, both in terms of giving support and assist women as they practise
birth, and in terms of the creative powers of yoga by sharing those practices that best
manifestation, of the prana shakti working nurture and nourish the power of the life
her way into our world through women. In force in women. We can teach yoga with
the Rg Veda, the oldest of the Indian sacred respect and honour for women’s cycles.
texts, the goddess Aditi squats down to gives
birth to all the gods through her yoni, and in And with conscious awareness and respect
each woman the cosmic gateway to immense
creative power is embodied. for our own life cycles we can honour the
cycles of the natural world and bring
profound healing to our planet. We are
It is through the health and wellbeing of healing the world, one womb at a time.
women that we ensure the happiness of the Together, in circles of power and love, we
whole family, of the whole community. If we are helping this change to happen. We are
see each womb as a ‘world’ then we can see assisting at the birth of a new consciousness
that the environment of the womb is the that respects and honours the cycles of the
creative space for future life, and for the life force, in women and all beings. Yoga is
powerful, healing, creative projects of women really quite a revolutionary force for spiritual
around the world. and practical change right now, and
promoting women’s health and freedom is
If we see the world herself as the womb in the key to a future of peace and co
which we live, then we can understand how operation, respect and honour. We start one
important an ecologically responsible attitude womb at a time, one woman at a time.
is to the creation of positive health in Jagadambe mataki Jai!
women. In terms of the health of our planet, All power to the great mother of the world!
our ‘womb’, we are at a turning point now.
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Overview
This course is all about yoga for women’s issues are presented as case studies and
health and vital energy. It shares techniques others are addressed as topics arise in
to feel, nurture and build the feminine energy discussion with the group.
of Shakti for the practical healing and benefit
of women in all stages of life. It is geared for All these issues are addressed within the
yoga teachers and experienced practitioners context of a yoga therapeutic understanding
who sense that yoga could be of more of feminine emotional life, lunar cycles and
practical use to all women in managing health, the play of the elements in the female body.
vital energy and wellbeing. The course encourages you to think and feel
for yourself, and aims to provide you with
The course presents therapeutic and practical tools from yoga therapy and to help
enlivening yoga practices to support all you to build programmes specially suited to
experiences of femininity throughout a the needs of women seeking full vitality and
woman’s life. Topics covered included wellbeing.
menstruation, premenstrual tension, fertility,
sub fertility, optimal fertility, assisted The course combines theory and practice to
conception, feminine sexuality, breast health, offer you fresh perspectives, new
and perimenopausal mood swings, understandings and a deep appreciation of
headaches and hot flushes. It addresses the healing power of yoga as therapy to
health issues related to the pelvic floor, optimise health and delight in feminine
including postnatal recovery and prolapse, energy. Practices taught include mantra,
and other issues of concern to such as asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, deep
hysterectomy, surgery for prolapse, anaemia, relaxation including yoga nidra, meditations
osteoporosis, and eating disorders. Some and some simple self massage techniques.
Please note that most of this manual (with the exception of Ruth Gilmore’s session notes)
is work in progress, excerpted from YONI SHAKTI: A Woman’s Guide to Power and
Freedom through Yoga and Tantra, published by Yogawords November 2013 © Uma
DinsmoreTuli 2013. See www.yonishakti.co and also at www.yogamatters.com
SPECIAL THANKS TO SIVANI MATA for the beautiful formatting,
transliterations, translations and illustrations for the mantras, and for the Maha
Lakshmi Stotrum all at the end of the manual.
All done with LOVE XXX JAGADAMBE MATAKI JAI!
For heart melting MA BHAJANS and KIRTAN with Sivani Mata, please see
www.naturalmysticbhajans.co.uk
www.facebook.com/naturalmysticbhajans
© Uma DinsmoreTuli and Ruth Gilmore, 2008 2015 page 3 of 80
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Contents
Endometriosis – a special message 42
ESSENTIALS
Introductory thoughts 2
Overview 3 ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY
Contents 4 NOTES
Schedule 5
Anatomy & Physiology notes prepared by
PRACTICES Ruth St C .Gilmore
The pelvis and pelvic organs 43
Mudra: Greeting the womb with love 6 Pelvic floor musculature 44
Heart womb river greeting 7 Breasts 44
Honouring the elements 8 Menstrual cycle 44
Pentads in Samkhya and yoga 9 Hormonal control of menstrual cycle 45
Menopause 46
Asana sequences : Challenges to female health
Honouring prana shakti 10 Dysmenorrhoea 46
Standing full hands womb pilgrimage 11 Menorrhagia 46
Standing heartwomb river greeting 12 Fibroids 47
Other asanas from the practices 13 Cervical Cancer 47
Pawnee Women’s Dance of Life 14 Endometrial Carcinoma 47
Menstrual/fertility sequence 15 Tubal blockage 48
Base position for Chandra sequence 16 Subfertility 48
Golden cosmic womb 16 Polycystic ovary syndrome 48
Five dimensions of being /pancha kosha 17 Endometriosis 48
Menstrual Mala –yoga for menstrual cycle 18 Pelvic floor weakness 48
Brief notes on yoga nidra 23 Breast cancer 49
Bones and calcium metabolism 50
Stress and sympathetic nervous system 50
PHILOSOPHICAL AND
PRACTICAL FOUNDATIONS
CASE STUDIES
Foundations of positive menstruation 24
Alexandra Pope: ‘Power of menstruation’ Case study 1 (off the pill but no baby?) 51
25 Case study 2 (miscarriage) 53
Inner seasons / moon within 26 Case study 3 (miscarriage/s) 55
What is menstruality? A statement 27 Case study 4 (endometriosis) 57
Ayurveda and (menstrual) cycles 28 Case study 5 (subfertility) 58
Sexuality and women’s health 30 Case study 6 (prolapse) 59
The deer exercise 31 Case study 7 (fibroids) 60
How can yoga support fertility? 32 Case study 8 (menopause) 61
Yoga to avoid when seeking to conceive
33 Womb Friendly Yoga Manifesto
More on fertility and yoga 34 62
Postnatal recovery and prolapse 36 Bibliography / resources 66
Postural reeducation and prolapse 37 Learning consolidation quiz: 67
Understanding pelvic angle /organ support Sacroiliac stabilising practice: 73
38 Menstrual cycle chart: 74
Perimenopause 39
Menopause as a journey of Self discovery Mantras and shlokas: 75 ff
40
Yoga and Osteoporosis 42
© Uma DinsmoreTuli and Ruth Gilmore, 2008 2015 page 4 of 80
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© Uma DinsmoreTuli and Ruth Gilmore, 2011 2015 5
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Day 1: Thursday Day 2: Friday 12 June Day 3: Saturday 13 Day 4: Sunday

11 June June 14 June
Healthy menstruation, Menstrual challenges, Postnatal recovery, Menopause, beyond –
fertility subfertility prolapse, peri cyclical wisdom and
menopause integration
This first day begins at 0830 start each day – please arrive promptly – as we begin with a welcoming
1030. Please arrive1000, so morning yoga nidra: you really don’t want to miss that!
you can settle in.
0900 – Mantra, chants, meditation and mudra each morning, with specific focus
each day to set tone and promote intuitive connection with the theme, healing insights.
1030 Welcoming yoga nidra. 0930 Satsang – shakti circles 0930 Satsang shakti circles

1100 Introduction: shakti morning check in small morning check in small
circle. A model practice for groups: postnatal recovery groups: menopause and
well woman yoga therapy 0930 Satsang – shakti circles and perimenopause beyond
group sessions morning check in small
groups: menstrual health 1000 Postnatal recovery, 1415 Collaborative
and fertility including case studies on consolidation. 1515
uterine prolapse, split rectus questions arising
1130 Key yogic, tantric, 1100 cultural contexts for 1100 Menopause: Frances’

1000 Ayurvedic approaches
ayurvedic understandings of postnatal recovery – and story, every woman’s
women’s health. to menstrual cycles – links with perimenopause. journey.
15 Seasons of the cycle : 11 00 Practice honouring 1130 Practice yogic 1200 practice – yoga for
foundations of healthy the monthly cycles, positive remedies for prolapse, menopause
menstruation sexuality, fertility yoga and useful practices for pelvic
breast health sequence health postnatally, 1245 1115 Understanding
1200 Practice menstrual perimenopausally – self menstruality and integrating
mala – seasonal variations. care and postural re yoga therapy and cyclical
Yoga therapy for healthy education wisdom.
menstruation and fertility
1300 1400 lunch + +
13001400 lunch daily – 1400 – 1500 walk in the Heavens – 1530 daily
collaborative learning
chants to the divine feminine
exercise
1600 Structure and function: 1600 Anatomy and 1600 Anatomy and 1430 Collaborative learning

the female pelvis and the physiology: menstruation physiology, including exercise feedback
three sisters: experiential and fertility yoga therapy postnatal recovery and
anatomy and geography case studies menopause – the links, and 1500 Practice – as
postural support … requested: Coming home to
1700 Yoga and ourselves, yoga practice for
menstruation, happy sisters/. 1630 sacro iliac stabilizing women’ well being.
Discussion. practices for pelvic health
17301800 Afternoon, themed Yoga Nidra practice each day restore, renew, revive FINISH 1630
Homework –reflecting on
1800 – 1900 DINNER longer questions in learning
exercise.
1600 Practice menstrual
1930 case studies: yoga for 1600 Practice Fertility
1930 case studies: yoga for 1610 Practice, sacro iliac
1930 Menopause, the 1710 Slide show. Spirals and
yoga therapy honouring the
healthy menstruation: yoga: supporting
the support of fertility stabilizing sequence, and
wider picture: case studies, circles, understanding links
premenstrual tension constitutional differences.
menstrual pain,
endometriosis, menstrual 2000 taking it home+
anaemia beyond: shakti circles
FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework –

reading essentials in manual, reading intro to Yoni Shakti reading manual +Tara in YS
Tara chapter Yoni Shakti
Page 7
Greeting the womb with love:
Heartwomb river gesture/ hridayayoninadi mudra (above)
(above right) Heart space gesture / hridaya mudra (illustration: the fertility yoga seq by
Uma DinsmoreTuli in The Baby Making Bible Emma Cannon (Macmillan 2010)
Above: Heartwomb river greeting gesture (Hridayayoni nadi namaskara)
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Movement and sound meditations:
greeting the womb with love
Heartwomb meridian:
the river of energy between love and creativity
All of these greetings begin with consciousness in the heart and bring it to the womb. The
channel through which the awareness flows is the heartwomb meridian, a pranic link
between the energies of the heart and those of the womb. This particular meridian is
acknowledged both in Traditional Chinese Medicine (heartuterus meridian) and in
Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system that shares the same philosophical framework
of understanding (Samkhya darsana) that underpins the whole of yoga. I refer to this
energetic connection between heart and womb as the HridayaYoni Nadi, which literally
means the river (nadi) of energy that flows between the space of the spiritual heart (hridaya)
and the source of creation or the womb (yoni).
Heartwomb riverocean greeting gesture: (Hridayayoni nadisagara namaskara)
1 2 3. 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
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Honouring the elements
with sound and gesture (Tattwa bija mantra puja)
Use the same ‘twist and give’ gesture shown for earth to honour each element in turn,
sounding the bija mantra as you move:
earth (LAM), reverence to mother earth. Then water (VAM); fire (RAM)
(YAM) space (HAM) close up of space mudra.
heavenly crown lowered back to earth.
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Pentads in Samkhya and yoga
(based on Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati’s presentation in Tattwa Shuddhi)
PANCHA PRITHVI APAS AGNI VAYU AKASHA

TATTWA Earth Water Fire Air Ether / Space
(5 elements)
Tanmatra Gandha Rasa Rupa Sparsha Shabda (sound)

(5 subtle (smell) (taste) (form) (touch)
essences)
Jnanendriya Ghrana Jihwa (tongue) Chaksu Twacha (skin) Srotra (ears)

(5 organs of (nose) (eyes)
knowledge)
Karmendriya Payu (anus) Upastha Pada (foot) Pani (hand) Vak (speech)

(5 organs of Excretion (genitals) locomotion grasping expression
action) Reproduction
Elemental Heavy Cool Hot Erratic Mixed
Nature
Elemental Weight Fluidity Heat Motion, Diffused,
Qualities Cohesion Contraction Expansion Movement Space giving
Positive Secure Creative/fertile Powerful/ Loving Authentically

Manifestation Stable /potent directed Giving expressive
Colour Yellow White Red Blue/grey Black/ multi

coloured
translucent
Tattwa yantra Quadrangular Crescent moon Triangular Hexagonal Bindu/dot

Shape/ symbol
Chakra Muladhara Swadisthana Manipura Anahata Vishuddhi

Energy centre
Bija mantra Lam Vam Ram Yam Ham

Seed sound
Antarkarana Ahamkara Buddhi Manasa Chitta Pragya

State of mind ego discrimination thoughts psychic content intuition
Kosha Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vigyanamaya Anandamaya

Layer of being
Prana vayu Apana Prana Samana Udana Vyana

Vital flow
Hasta mudra Prithvi Apas Chin Hridaya: index Padma /
Hand gesture thumb to ring thumb to little thumb to index to thumb root, Kamala
thumb to mid Open lotus
& ring
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Honouring prana shakti
Standing heartwomb river greeting
(Hridayayoni nadi namaskara / tadasana)
Page 12
Honouring prana shakti
Standing full hands womb pilgrimage
These practices reconnect your awareness to your womb or wombspace as the seat of a
nourishing inner wisdom. They are simple but powerful greetings that use movement, breath
and gesture to direct consciousness into the heart of the womb. The practices integrate
awareness of the womb as a physical organ or literal space, and as a symbolic connection
with Mother Consciousness. This consciousness exists energetically within every woman as
the sacred potentials for love, nurture, generosity and creativity: the qualities of the womb
herself. To experience these qualities as real powers in our lives is to embrace our ancient
blood wisdom. This embrace is initiated by offering loving greetings to the womb/womb
space within us.
Start and follow with standing heartwomb river greeting on previous
page
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Honouring prana shakti – standing
Heart womb river – ocean dive
(Begin with Standing heartwomb river greeting gesture)
Follow with Standing heartwomb riverocean gesture/discovering the ocean
Page 14
Other asanas from the practices
Fierce goddess roars/ devijai utkatasana
Prana mudra nataraja variation
Squatting tree
Page 15
Pawnee Women’s Dance of Life
Performed by the women of the Pawnee tribe of the Cherokee nation to promote and
nourish their heart connection with the earth as women, farmers, mothers, sisters, wives,
wise women.
This beautiful and accessible movement sequence promotes a powerful connection between
the heart and the earth. It is very similar in many ways to some of the yoga sun salutation
modifications for pregnancy in the rest of the manual, and also to the golden circle practice.
It provides a lovely option for a standing, energising practice suitable through all stages of
pregnancy because it can be so easily adapted to suit everyone and has a powerful spiritual
message that is easily felt through its physical effects.
Sub text:
Open to the feminine side, integrate in the heart. Stand ready and willing.
Open to the masculine side, integrate in the heart. Stand ready and willing.
Turn to face the next direction, gather unwanted energy. Stand ready and willing.
Offer out to that direction all energies and qualities you wish to be free from.
Draw in from that direction all energies and qualities you wish to take on.
Integrate in the heart. Stand ready and willing.
Actions: Initial opening and closing only:
Salute the North (silence, left hand on heart, right palm raised._)
Start of each round:
Amatikewaah (Left out)
Nyohey (Squat to salute the Earth)
Oh Shona (Raise hands to salute the Sky)
Hii no, Hii no (Circling down hands into the Heart)
Heyi yaah (hands open )
(Repeat above twice left, then right)
Turn 90 degrees to face East
Hey, Hii no (Gather unwanted energy)
Heyah !! (Throw out left)
Hii no, Hii no (Haulin wanted energy to Heart)
Heyi yaah (hands open)
Return to start, repeating in each direction. Final round silent.
Thanks to Martin Barker, Interfaith Minister, for sharing the words and
actions to this dance, and to the Santosa morning dancers who practised
this dance each day, barefoot in the morning dew in the Healing Field
Meadow in Somerset during the Santosa Festivals 2008 2011. Thanks
also to Ben Jarlett, singer, for sharing a beautiful new tune to the words
at the Cotswold camp in 2011
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Healthy menstruation/fertility
practice:
structuring concepts: swadisthana chakra, apana prana, links between annamaya &
pranamaya koshas
1. preliminary earthing ‘pawanmuktasana’
practice: [pelvic / ankle & foot health] 9. mudras / bandhas in wide knee
• toe flipping at appropriate angle shashankasana [pelvic floor awareness]
• front foot stretch with weight • ashwini mudra
• sole of foot stretch (heel up) with weight • sahajoli mudra
• loose foot, ankle, knee, buttock jiggle • moola bandha
OR seated lotus feet breathing 10. Womb Pilgrimage / chakki

chalanasana
2. savasana [ease / flowing breath / [movement from hip / shakti bandha]
healing recovery of resting body] • clockwise & anti clockwise
• low abdominal breath
• full yogic breath wave awareness 11. chandra sequence (move on
• anuloma viloma exhalations. Do left side first)
(psychic triangle breath) [lunar practice / easeful way into re
energising of pelvic area]
3. seed/flower [opening space across See next page for base position illustration.
pelvis / clearing breath into throat and chest] • vajrasana namaste, rise on knees
• knees wide • left foot forward, arms spread wide
• arms above head • left arm back, then right arm back
• synchronise both movements • left arm down, then right arm down
with breath • left hand to right foot, right hand to left
foot
4. supta pawanmuktasana • namaste, left foot back to vajrasana
[foetal comfort pose / rhythmic rocking / • majariasana
massage for belly / breath awareness] • parvatasana [downward dog] raise and
• squeeze close on exhalation lower each leg
• shashankasana
5. kandharasana /setu bandha sequence • vajrasana namaste, then rise on knees
[pelvic movement awareness / flexibility]
• sacral tilt and clock
• neutral lift and lower 12. padadhirasana
• full lift and lower • balancing breath with hands
under armpits
6. Sita’s story / advasana rest [ease /
surrender / breath awareness check] 13. nadi shodana pranayama
• pubic bone to floor awareness
14. VAM chanting swadisthana
7. bhujangasana & shashank awareness
bhujangasana
[pelvis grounded / some women find it 15. yoga nidra [lake, moon, reflections and
works well for menstrual pain / water current]
NB contraindicated for fibroids] can be done in the golden cosmic womb
restorative pose (see over for illustration)
8. shashankasana
[pelvis grounded / some women find it
works well for menstrual pain] Chants for connecting with feminine aspect of
• fists in groins the divine energy
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Base position for Chandra namsakara (see previous page for instructions)
Golden cosmic womb /hiranya garbha restorative pose aka ‘The queen’
Illustrations from the ‘yoga fertility sequence’ (Uma DinsmoreTuli) in Emma Cannon’s The
Baby Making Bible. Macmillan. 2010
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Pancha Kosha Sequence
Integration of asana, mudra and mantra
Case
Page 19
Menstrual mala
A circle of yoga for your menstrual cycle
Introduction
A mala is a circular string of beads used for meditation: each time a bead is passed through the
fingers, another mantra or prayer is recited (audibly or mentally). It is similar in function to a rosary:
the beads serve to count the number of repetitions and to keep the mind focused on the practice. The
mala beads can be used with lightness and ease, passing rapidly around the circle, flicking swiftly
from one bead to the next to provide an almost subliminal source of familiar comfort; or the beads can
be used with great intensity, holding tight to each one as the mantra or invocation is repeated, to
provide strength and support in a time of challenge. Because the beads are strung in a circle, the
practice is always cyclical, bringing the practitioner back to a fresh start at the end of each cycle, just
like our menstrual cycle. With each repetition of the cycle we grow in understanding and awareness.
This circle of yoga practices can function like a mala: as a circular string of relaxed practice to create
balance and ease on the journey through the cycle’s monthly rhythm. The individual yoga practices
can also be used in a more focused manner, to assist with the difficult physical or emotional passage
at a particular point in the monthly rhythm, perhaps a place that causes struggle or pain, during which
time it is helpful to focus more on certain practices that provide relief. So you can keep the circle of
practices ticking over throughout your cycle or you can focus on practices to bring relief at certain
points, or (most likely) you can do a mixture of both.
Whether you are using the practices for the creation of a general balance in your cycle, or to relieve
difficulties associated with certain parts of that cycle, the circle of yoga practices brings benefits by
focusing your mind on the practices suited to each part of your cycle, and by deepening your
awareness of the cyclical nature of fertility. There is nothing linear about it. The arc of the circling
cycles holds us within its rhythm, and this yoga practice gives us the opportunity to deepen our
connection with the rhythm of life itself. As deeper understanding grows through the practice of yoga
we learn that certain experiences during our cycle need simply conscious management and support:
for example deeper rest, finer awareness through meditation, or more profound release through
breath and movement.
And so at the centre of the circle is a set of core practices to provide balanced support for natural
fertility throughout the cycle. The central programme is a monthlong commitment, in that it is suited
to most days. All the practices are entirely safe to practice if you have conceived that month. They
include a range of active and passive practices to create balance throughout the cycle, building a
harmonious relationship between times when we are more able to give out (energy, emotions, focus,
activity) and times when we need to focus more within, to be protective of our quiet space and inner
life. But there is no sense of rigidity: no need to do all of it everyday. Be aware of the circular nature of
the cycle and recognise that there will be days when you feel like doing less, but other days will circle
round when you feel more engaged with the more active practices. The deep aim of this circle of
women’s yoga practices is to enable you to accept and honour the rhythms of your monthly cycle.
The heart at the centre of the Circle:
a women’s practice to create balance throughout the cycle
Bear in mind that an authentic and healing practice of yoga never works simply with the physical
body. All these practices work with the dance of the elements from which we are created (earth,
water, fire, air and space) to create a sense of good balance and health to benefit your energy body,
and your mental and emotional life. To keep this consciousness of the holistic nature of the practices,
always begin by centring your breath and returning your awareness to breath throughout each
practice as you mentally connect with the elemental forces awakened by each practice.
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Nine core practices:
1. Full yogic breath and inner awareness (in super deluxe savasana ) – (five to ten minutes)
2. Seed to flower: alternating between opening and protection (three to five minutes)
3. Shakti Bandha – freeing of feminine energy (three to five minutes)
4. Chandra sequence: honouring the moon (with variations) (five to nine minutes)
5. Forward bend (and restorative variations) (three to five minutes)
6. Lying twist (still and moving variations) (three to five minutes)
7. ‘The queen’ (Golden Womb) (five to fifteen minutes)
8. Yoga nidra with prana vidya for reproductive organs (five to forty five minutes)
9. Mudras and meditations for honouring feminine power (three to fifteen minutes)
The maximum amount of time you might want to spend on this whole programme would be 110
minutes for a full leisurely practice. An abbreviated version could take fifteen minutes, or a short
complete version would be about half an hour. There are suggestions for modifications and
adaptations to suit your cycle after the descriptions of the practices.
Tailoring the core practice programme to your changing needs
These nine key practices are at the heart of my recommendations for promoting a positive connection
with the rhythms of the menstrual cycle. They form the heart of a feminine practice of yoga that is
safe and supportive through your whole cycle, and also safe if you are in the very early stages of
pregnancy. However, it is likely that at certain points in the cycle you will wish to modify this basic
sequence.
There are two approaches to modifying the basic practice:
If you need to make changes because of pressure of time, then it is best to follow this guidance:
practices 1, 7, 8 and 9 are always worth making time for, but they can be shortened to take less time.
Instead of spending 5 minutes with practice 1, do 2 minutes. Practices 7 and 8 work best in
combination, and are effective even if you spend only 10 minutes.
If you need to make changes because of how you are feeling in response to your cycle, then you can
adapt the basic sequence to meet your needs, either by making use of the restorative variations (for
example if you feel less inclined to be active, use the supported version of the forward bend, and the
still versions of the lying twist) or by removing or adapting practices 2, 3 and 4 and replacing them, or
expanding your focus within them according to the cyclespecific recommendations described below.
The key to gaining a positive benefit from your practice of yoga is to focus your attention within:
practice 1 is always the place to start. Gauge your own needs and respond to the cyclical changes by
honouring the place you are in.
Yoga during preovulatory phase
The focus for yoga practice here is to nourish and grow. Give full attention to your full yogic breath
and allow yoni mudra to help you connect with your ovaries, nestling just beneath your palms. This
can be the time to focus your attention on a sense of growth and expansion: pay attention to the full
owning feeling of the sunflower open position, and extend into your fingertips as you practice Chandra
namaskara (honouring the moon).
This can be a good time in the cycle to experiment with strengthening and opening practices such as
the half moon pose (number 7 in the moon salutation sequence). Add three or more repetitions of this
Page 21
pose during the moon salute. It is also a good time to work with the harecobra pair of poses from the
moon salute (number 7), so add in up to seven extra variations of this part of the sequence. The
camel pose can also feel good at this time of the cycle, and fits well within the moon sequence, just
before the final forward bend:
Camel pose (Ustrasana)
This stage can also be a helpful time to use a therapeutic inversion:
Half shoulder stand (vipariti karani)
Yoga during ovulation
The focus for yoga practice at this time can helpfully be to nourish and release potential. During this
part of the cycle, the half shoulder stand (described above) can be enjoyable, and some of the more
opening, liberating movements of the dog pose and its variations (number eight in the moon salute)
are appropriate. Alternating the cobra (number 7 in moon salute) with dog can also be very
strengthening and vitalising at this time, and if you enjoy the camel pose, then include that in your
programme too. For meditation practice, let the heartwomb mudra guide your awareness within.
If you experience pain on ovulation, these adaptations of the hare pose may afford relief: make two
fists with your hands and settle them into the groin area before you fold forwards, to bring warmth and
pressure into the ovaries; and/or place a blanket over your lower back and have a friend hold the
ends of blanket firmly down either side of your hips, bringing even pressure and warmth into the lower
back. If you are practising alone, then using the weight of a sand bag on the lower back can have
similar benefits. If you don’t have a sand bag then use a warm hot water bottle on the lower back, or
a large bag of pulses or beans on the lower back in this pose.
Yoga during the premenstruum
Let the focus of your yoga practice during this part of the cycle be to nourish and grow. Gentle but
rhythmic repetition of the shakti bandha (stirring the porridge) can help to dissipate any physical
congestion. Be sure to allow sufficient rest period, and if you are feeling edgy, then use this powerful
adaptation of the full yogic breath to release physical and mental tension:
Golden thread breath
The Golden thread works well in any position, but be aware that if you practise lying down you are
likely to fall asleep. Tune into a gentle pattern of breathing that is effortless. If you find it easy to do
Full Yogic Breath use that as your starting point. Take an extra yawn, release jaw, throat and teeth.
Allow there to be a very small space between top teeth and bottom teeth, between top lip and bottom
lip: just enough gap that you might imagine a piece of tissue paper held between the lips, such a
small gap that it is practically invisible. Breathe in through nose. Breathe out between slightly parted
lips. Feel a fine cool breeze passing out between lips. Cheeks, lips and face are relaxed. There is no
pursing the lips. They are soft. Feel breath travelling in through nose, and out through mouth. Allow
the breath to be so fine that it feels as if a fine golden thread is spinning out between the lips. It’s a
thin, golden thread, like embroidery yarn, smooth, and silky, spinning out with every exhalation. Allow
each exhalation to lengthen, without forcing, but simply letting the out breath increase in length, as the
Golden thread of breath spins out into the air in front of you. With each inhalation allow for breath to
go in through nose and feel the breeze of exhalation travelling between lips, into the air in front of your
closed eyes. Let the end of the Golden thread carry the mental attention farther and farther away with
each exhalation.
The heart of this practice is softness. You are not pursing the lips, or making them tight as if to
whistle. The lips are soft, and the breath passing between them is silent and gentle. The lengthening
of the exhalation is achieved effortlessly: simply because the gap through which the breath passes is
so tiny, it takes a long time for all the breath to get out. There is no sense of force; simply watch the
breath lengthen, following it out into the space in front of you. It should feel entirely effortless,
completely comfortable and soothing. If you are struggling to exhale because the gap is too small,
then simply widen the gap.
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Any exhalation is an antidote to pain and tension. The Golden thread’s extended exhalation makes
this antidote more powerful. The longer the exhalation, the more effective this breath is as a form of
pain and anxiety management. While staying within the comfortable limits of your own easy pace of
breath, the longer the exhalation, the farther out the mental attention travels, and the further out the
attention travels, the more the body can relax into a quiet, mind free space of healing and ease. The
longer the exhalation is, the greater the distance between mind and body. Allow the golden thread of
the breath to travel out as far as is comfortable for you, and let the body make a voyage back to its
natural healing state of easeful rest. When the mental awareness is at the far end of the long exhale,
then the body can rest.
In addition, these balancing breaths can help to cope with the demands of mood swings or turbulent
emotions. Use them at the end of your yoga programme, just before the meditation.
Breath balancing pose [padadhirasana]
This is a simple way to develop breath awareness and a balanced flow of breath in the nostrils. It
promotes an even, measured pattern of breath and helps to creates a calm and attentive frame of
mind. Sit on your heels or on a bolster or cushion to support the kneeling posture comfortably. Have
a straight spine, and let the shoulders drop away from the ears. With your hands resting on your
thighs, watch the breath for seven rounds as you establish a full yogic inhalation and exhalation.
When the breath is rhythmic and even, cross your arms over your chest, tucking the right thumb
under the left armpit and the left thumb under the right armpit. Work the thumbs up high into the
warmth of the armpits, and then let the elbows drop down towards your waist. Close the eyes and
focus the attention on the flow of the breath into and out of the nostrils. Be aware of a triangular
pattern of breath, as the air flows into the nostrils and up the sides of the nose to the tip of the triangle
at the point between the two eyebrows. Be aware of that same triangle as the breath flows down from
the bridge of the nose to the two nostrils. When you are ready, release thumbs from under armpits
and rest the backs of the hands on the thighs. Observe the pattern of the flow of the breath in the
nostrils. Note any changes that may have occurred
Yoga during menstruation
Let the focus for your yoga practice at this time be to nurture, release and cleanse. Avoid all
inversions. Be prepared to be still. But if movement feels right, use soft rhythmic repetitions
Use the shakti bandha softer and more rhythmically, and only do those elements of the mood
sequence that feel right to you. Often the hare pose feels comforting, and the version of the cobra
described below.
If you experience pain during this time, then the hare pose variations described in the ovulation
section can be helpful. Also too, it can be comforting to rest on the back and hug the knees into the
chest in, drawing the thighs in close to the belly on the exhalation [apanasana]. Supportive forward
bends can also provide comfort and relief. Sitting on the floor with legs out straight, have a bolster
between the legs and rest forwards over it as a support. Use cushions or blocks to raise the height of
your support until you can easily rest your forehead on it without straining your back. If you prefer a
higher support, then have a chair between your legs, with a cushion or bolster on the seat, to provide
support for your forehead as you rest forwards.
For some women, painful menstrual cramps are better relieved by backward bending than forward
bending. It is best to experiment for yourself to find what works for you. The Camel pose (for
instructions see the preovulatory section above) and the snake pose are both backward bends may
be helpful in the relief of pain during your bleeding time, but it is also likely that regular practice of
these poses throughout the rest of the cycle may help to prevent or lessen future suffering of this kind.
So if you regularly experience pain during menstruation, endeavour to practise these poses as part of
the core programme. They fit well within the moon salutation sequence, just at the end before the final
forward bend.
Snake pose
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If you experience painful cramps, you may find that this version of the cobra pose provides relief.
Lie flat on your front with your forehead on the floor and your arms by your sides. Have your legs
straight, your heels together. Bring your arms behind your back, moving your elbows as close
together as you can. Place the palms together and interlock the fingers. Roll your shoulders down and
back away from your ears, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Exhale. As you inhale, lift your
head and raise the front of your chest up away from the floor. Exhale. Slowly lower the arms back
down onto the back, tuck in the chin and gently rest the forehead on the floor. Move freely with the
breath, up on the inhale and down on the exhale. If the pose suits you at this time, remain in the chest
lifted position for up to seven breaths. Keep your neck long and your ears well away from your
shoulders. Feel your belly moving against the floor as you breathe fully.
If you feel in need of balance and comfort during your bleeding time, you may enjoy a resting version
of the seated alternate nostril practice described in the premenstrual yoga section above. This
version can be done lying down at the start or end of your yoga programme, it has the same effect as
alternate nostril breathing, but with no hands:
Psychic triangle balancing breath [anuloma viloma]
Establish a full yogic breath. Visualise the triangle of breath in the nose, and imagine it coming up and
down each side. The counting for the rounds is the same as the version with the hands. Always have
a sense of breathing up and down the two sides of the ‘triangle’ of the nose, so that the two nostrils
are the bottom corners of the triangle and the point between the two eyebrows is the top of the
triangle. One complete round draws the inhalation up through right nostril, exhalation out through left,
inhalation up through left nostril and exhalation out through right nostril. Always feel that this practice
is flowing easily and freely, never overstrain or fight for the breath. Let it flow.
Inner silence meditation [antar mouna] is a powerful way to settle with stillness into the core of
your experience. It can be especially helpful when practised during menstruation. Antar mouna
can teach us to observe and understand the patterns of our own thoughts and emotions. You can
practise it on its own, or at the end of your yoga programme.
Sit or lie comfortably in any pose that feels absolutely easeful. Close your eyes and establish a Full
Yogic Breath. Allow your awareness first to be with the sense of hearing. Listen to all the sounds
which you can hear. Start with bringing your attention to the loudest ones first, and then gradually
draw the focus of your awareness in closer until you attend only to the quietest, closest sounds. Be
aware of the sound of your own breath as it comes in and goes out. Then shift the focus of your
attention to the sense of touch. Become aware of the sensation of the breath passing into and out of
the nostrils. Feel the cooler air coming in and the warmer air going out. Be aware of all the different
textures and temperatures which you can detect through the sense of touch. Feel if there is any
difference between what you can feel on covered, and uncovered skin. Then return to feeling the
passage of air in the nose. Then shift the attention to the sense of smell. Be aware of any odours and
aromas around you. Give your full attention to the sense of smell. Then shift your attention to the
sense of taste. Be aware of the tongue inside the mouth. Notice if there are sweet tastes, salty
tastes, bitter, hot or astringent tastes. Give the sense of taste your full attention.
Then shift your attention to the sense of sight. Look into the closed eyelids and be aware of whatever
you may see there. Are there colours or shapes? Patterns, movement? Or blackness? Whatever
there is to see, give your full attention to the sense of sight. Finally, return your attention to the sense
of hearing, and become aware of the intimate sound of your own breath. Allow that breath to get a
little louder, and use the sound of that breath as a bridge back out to becoming aware of other sounds
in the room. Then widen your awareness until you are aware of sounds out in the wider world. When
you are ready open your eyes.
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Brief Notes on yoga nidra
Best resource for further listening and practice www.yoganidranetwork.org
Beware! Yoga Nidra is a powerful practice, working on deep levels of subconscious /
unconscious. Ensure your own complete familiarity through self practice before
teaching.
Key stages in yoga nidra
1 PREPARATION : SETTLING/ RELAXATION
2 SANKALPA (resolution / resolve)
3 ROTATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
4 PAIRS OF OPPOSITES
5 BREATHING / BODY FLOOR AWARENESS
6 VISUALISATIONS IN CHIDAKASH
7 SANKALPA
8 EXTERNALISATION & RETURN TO ALERT STATE
9 FINISH
Guidance on using yoga nidra
1 Experience live yoga nidra often. Preferably focus your experience upon one main teacher until you get
really comfortable with it. Then experience the practice with a variety of other teachers. Don’t analyse
too much how you react – just experience the practice.
2 To supplement your ‘live’ experiences, work also with audio recordings. Preferably start out with many
repeated listenings to a single recording. Then branch out into comparative listenings with a range of
other voices.
3 Once you have had some months of experiencing yoga nidra – then bring your conscious, rational mind
into operation to sharpen your understanding of the shape and form of yoga nidra: transcribe a couple of
your favourite tapes and investigate the differences.
4 Steps 1 – 3 will help you to be absolutely familiar with the form and content of the practice. Work to
deepen your understanding of the practice by daily yoga nidras – live and recorded.
5 Start to use the form and a variety of different practice contents on yourself with unspoken mental
commands until it feels effortless – you never have to pause to recall what comes next.
6 Make recordings or your own yoga nidras – try them yourself and see how they make you feel.
7 Practise on yourself – using unspoken mental commands and your own recordings and those of your
favourite teachers for many months before you even consider using it with students and/or clients.
8 Be patient. Only when you have spent some time with steps 1 – 7, maybe over a period of months (or
years) can you begin to teach the practice safely and confidently.
Tips for teaching yoga nidra
1. Ensure your students are really comfortable before you start. Fuss about it, and be picky. It’s worth it.
2. Ensure you are absolutely comfortable before you start. Except in the event of an emergency or serious
abreaction from your students, DO NOT MOVE whilst you are giving the practice. It’s really unsettling
to try and focus on a voice that sounds like it is coming from different places.
3. Don’t do anything else whilst teaching yoga nidra (including looking at other notes, silently turning pieces
of paper etc.) – even if you think noone will notice, they will.
4. Watch your students like a hawk. Watch their breath, their slightest movements, alterations in facial
muscle tone etc. Be absolutely attentive to them.
5. Keep your voice clear, with an even volume. Alterations in pitch and tone and pace can be useful
modulate these changes to meet the needs of the students.
6. Don’t rush. Give necessary time, especially at crucial junctures such as the repetition of the sankalpa and
the externalisation of awareness.
PLEASE be aware that abreactions are possible. This is a profound and transformative practice. It is
immensely powerful. Respect it fully. If you don’t feel ready to work with it – then use simpler and
less profound relaxation practices instead.
Page 25
Foundations of fertility and positive
menstruation
Key understandings from yoga, tantra and ayurveda on women’s health, well being and fertility
The foundation of fertility is a healthy menstrual cycle.
The characteristics of a healthy menstrual cycle are rhythmic regularity (not necessarily everyone has
a 28 day cycle, but each woman has her own rhythm and pattern. The menstrual pattern
accompanying ovulation from the ovary on one side may differ from the pattern accompanying the
menstruation with the ovary on the other side.
Fertility is a function of OJAS the ‘juice of life’, one’s inner vitality, nourishment, essence,
expression of sexuality and fullness. When levels of ojas in the body are high, then the reproductive
system functions well, fertility is optimal. Bear in mind, that in the ayurvedic understanding, the
organs of the reproductive system are the ‘last carriage’ in the train of other systems and organs to
receive nutrients and energy, so are therefore often the first to display signs of disruption caused by
erratic lifestyle, insufficient diet or continued stress. It is as if the ‘buffet car’ of nourishment never
gets to the end of the train, and so the reproductive organs are unable to function well, and fertility
levels drop. Irregular periods, painful periods and other menstrual problems often reveal deep
insufficiencies in terms of self nurture and sufficient rest. For example, it is well known that women
with very low body weight or those engaged in very intense exercise regimes often cease
menstruating, but it is also true that that stress, emotional disturbance, grief and lack of support can
also cause periods to stop, sometimes for months or years at a time. (For a gripping account of this,
see Luna yoga).
Requirements for fertility
Ayurveda has a clear agricultural metaphor that is helpful in understanding the interconnections
between the different aspects of fertility:
Season (rtu) – menstrual cycle
Field (kshetra) – woman’s body (womb especially)
Seed (bija) – ovum (and sperm)
Juice (rasa) – ‘the cocktail of blood, hormones, mucus and other secretions that fertilise the field and
nourish the seed’
See also the importance of physical well being and satisfaction in sexual life
See Ayurveda for Women – a guide to vitality and health by Robert Svoboda
Also Women’s Power to Heal Through Inner Medicine by Maya Tiwari
Page 26
The Power of Menstruation
By Alexandra Pope
Do you suffer from menstrual producing and more about sorting and refining
problems? Do you dread getting your what you have produced. You have a different
period every month? Maybe you think kind of energy and motivation—it’s insight in
of it as a curse or something you just to what’s working and what isn’t, and a drive
put up with. Or, could you be one of a to sort it out. Gradually this may give way to a
growing number of women who are feeling of letting be that fully takes over once
waking up to the power of the you begin to bleed.
menstrual cycle, and using that
knowledge not only to heal their bodies Don’t be fooled that this letting be is
but also to be more creative and somehow a waste of time. On the contrary
empowered in their lives. you should think of it as a time of
potentialising what you do. By allowing things
The menstrual cycle is a hidden resource in a to just be for a while, something happens.
woman’s body that once tapped in to can Other forces can come in whether it is
become the means of a rich psychological and support from others or your own deep
spiritual exploration. A woman can open to wisdom that offers insights and clarity. As you
inner forces that illuminate, guide and support pull back you create the literal and psychic
the unfolding of her life journey—this can help space for these things to emerge.
her manifest her goals, fulfill her creative
calling, and deepen in to her spiritual nature. At menstruation itself a woman can
potentially enter a more expanded
Recovering the power consciousness, experiencing highly
charged altered states that can be
There are two distinctive movements of ecstatic and visionary.
energy in the cycle—the first is one of growth
leading from menstruation to ovulation. This is The key to unlock these inner talents is
a natural movement outwards away from an awareness and respect for the changing
intimate connection to your inner self to a rhythm of your cycle. Chart it on a daily basis
refocusing on your outer work and others. and get to know your own distinctive pattern
of mood and energy over a whole menstrual
This growth phase is about asserting your will month. The changing moods are like different
and going to create and shape your life. The sources of power that you can learn to draw
second impulse of energy is from ovulation to on to manifest a more fulfilled and creative life
menstruation. This gradually draws you back
deeply into yourself again. This second Discovering your ‘hot spots’
movement creates more sensitivity and
permeability giving you greater insight, a The more you pay attention the more you will
capacity to sense into the complexity and discover hot spots times of more intense
depth of things, and in so doing to mature. feeling. Whether pleasurable or challenging
You move from a singular focus in the first half these days are moments of power, as though
of the cycle to multi focal awareness, you are being charged by another level of
channeling and managing much more tension reality.
and therefore creative potential.
You’ll find hot spots for such things as: causing
In the growth phase you have a natural clarity trouble—a good thing—that’s the moment
about what needs to be done and the focus when you’re not censoring yourself; high
and motivation to do it. As the cycle turns and productivity; least tolerance or conversely a
you enter the second half it’s less about time of feeling very magnanimous; a high time
Page 27
for partying or the secret time for dreaming or day and feel happier and thankful to be alive
getting guidance; the darkest, most alone time; and in charge of my destiny and life choices.”
and the time of most tenderness when you can
experience exquisite intimacy including with With over 20 years experience as a
your beloved. Make a mental note, or mark psychotherapist, Alexandra is author of The
them in your diary, especially if you find Wild Genie: The healing power of
yourself caught out by the challenges of your menstruation (Sally Milner Publishing, 2001)
hot spots. And then capitalise on them! and coauthor of The Pill: are you sure it’s for
you? (Allen and Unwin, 2008)
It is possible to transform your experience of
menstruation from pain to power. Restoration She has pioneered a new approach to
of the wisdom of the cycle is deeply healing women’s psychological and spiritual
and enlivening. You will find stress can fall development based on the power of the cycle.
away and this alone eases symptoms. A greater She now works as a facilitator, coach and
kindness towards yourself will seep in and you healer in the UK and Europe offering
may experience more motivation to do programmes for women based on her work.
whatever it is you need to heal and achieve
your goals. As one woman said “I have been For more information on Alexandra’s work
filled with new energy, hope, inspiration and shops, books, coaching and counselling:
power. I seem to be getting more out of each www.wildgenie.com www.womensquest.org
Connecting to your inner seasons of the
menstrual cycle and the ‘moon within’
In all my Womb Yoga classes and workshops, I begin by greeting each woman and her womb, and
then discovering where it is in the menstrual cycle that each woman is. A beautifully vivid and poetic
way to reconnect with ourselves and our cycles is to understand that each part of the menstrual
cycle corresponds to a season:
Preovulation = springtime
Ovulation = high summertime
Premenstruum = autumn and harvest
Menstruation = wintertime
It can also be helpful to focus attention on the phases of the moon and to honour how they relate to
our cycles too. These seasonal and lunar metaphors help women to understand the menstrual cycle
in a broader context, to appreciate the cyclical nature of life, and of the ebb and flow of our energies.
It also helps us to understand the patterns of other cycles such as the creative cycle, or pregnancy, or
the coming into perimenopause. When we have respect for the shifts and changes of all life cycles
then we begin to understand how important it is for us to honour our own cycles – of the seasons
and the ‘moon within.’
Page 28
What is Menstruality?1
A statement from Alexandra Pope
Menstruality is the female life process of menarche, the menstrual cycle, menopause and the mature
years. It is the woman’s ground, ‘the mother cycle’, out of which rises the initiatory path to
motherhood that is conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. Menstruality describes the
precise and multi–layered biological, psychological and spiritual system of evolution within the female
body. Menstruality is the actual lived experience of this process, the knowledge that a woman
accumulates or grows down into, and the field consciousness that this embodied knowledge
generates.
Menstruality is a means of naming and exploring the ineffable, mysterious forces within a woman—
the hidden powers that are released when consciousness is brought to bear on our biological life
changes.
Menstruality is both a woman’s unique Calling or Power and the evolutionary path by which she
realises that Power. Menarche, menstruation and menopause are the key way stations of initiation or
Awakening to the Power. The menstruating years are the practice ground for realising it, and the
mature years a time of deep fulfilment of that Calling or Power.
Menstruality describes a woman’s journey of individuation from ego–based consciousness to
participatory consciousness—an extraordinarily integrated and complete system of psychological and
spiritual growth.
Menstruality is a language, a way of articulating a woman’s experience that is rooted in natural lore
and the process of evolution. It is how women pass on our knowledge of our feminine life process
from one to another. It is a shared way of being.
Menstruality is a living body of knowledge that evolves through each individual woman’s experience
and sharing of the process. Our menstruality experience exists within a context this beautiful planet
of ours. It awakens us to our responsibility for the planet. Our menstruality is a deeply internal
process that takes us into the most intimate places within and within that reveals the World, the
Whole, and our role in serving that. It is a unifying consciousness that connects us to all of life.
Menstruality is the Feminine in action. It is the channel through which the Feminine can be
experienced and integrated back into our lives and on to the planet. Through consciously working
with our menstruality we provide the channel for restoring the power of the Feminine in to all the
areas of our lives.
Menstruality is a journey to love, an experience of being held by the ineffable, the Divine.
www.womensquest.org
www.menstrualityonline.com
www.menstruality.com
1
The term menstruality came into being to describe the female life process in 2004 when New Zealand psychotherapist, Jane
Catherine Severn, wrote an article Menstruality: the great feminine gestalt in the Gestalt Journal of Australia and New Zealand.
She was concerned with the fact that we did not have a word to describe what she calls the 4 M’s—menarche, menstruation,
menopause and the mature years. And without a word, the full power of this process could be easily ignored or dismissed. To
remedy this she proposed the word menstruality. We are indebted to Jane Catherine for bringing this word into being. Our
description of it is wholly our own. To learn more about the wonderful menstruality work of Jane Catherine go to
www.lunahouse.co.nz
Page 29
Ayurveda and the menstrual cycle
Material prepared by Marinella Benelli (www.earthmoonmala.com). Please contact Marinella for any queries about
Ayurveda and women’s health
Ayurveda, the five elements and the three doshas
Ayurveda, the science of life or living, is India’s ancient comprehensive system of holistic health care that includes
yoga, massage, nutrition and lifestyle. Ayurveda developed from the observation of nature and its laws, and so
it’s based on nature’s five great elements, the panchamabutas: earth, water, fire, air and ether/space. The five
elements are present in the human body manifesting as tissues, organisms and systems, and are constantly
interacting, working together and finding balance. According to Ayurveda, the five elements are coordinated
and managed by three forces, or doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha, that are responsible for all human biological,
psychological and pathological functions.
Vata is a combination of Air and Ether/Space; it is the moving force whose seat is in the colon, and also
governs pelvic region, bladder, urinary tract, legs and arms, bones, the nervous system and the mind;
Pitta is a combination of Fire and Earth; it is the force of assimilation whose seat is in the small
intestine and also governs stomach, umbilical area, sweat and lymph glands and the blood;
Kapha is a combination of Water and Earth; it is the force of stability whose seat is in the chest and
also governs thorax, neck, head, fat tissues and the joints.
The concept of dosha is unique to Ayurveda and is used to describe an individual’s unique constitution, called
prakruti, set at time of conception and birth, but subject to adjustments and shifts throughout our entire
lifetime, such as food, lifestyle, life cycles and the seasons, mind and emotions, relationships, events and any
other change. This is our temporary unbalanced condition, called vikruti.
The doshas and the four seasonal cycles
Ayurveda sees the qualities of the three doshas in the environment and in the cycles of nature, as well as in
four very important seasonal cycles in our life.
1. Times of the day
Kapha time morning 610am – and evening 610pm
Pitta time midday 10am2pm and night time 10pm2am
Vata time afternoon 26pm and early morning 26am
2. Seasons of the year (for most temperate countries)
Season Accumulating Aggravating Treatment
EARLY SPRING
MarchApril Pitta++ Kapha+++ Reduce (P) and (K)
LATE SPRING
AprilMay Pitta+++ Pitta++ Reduce (P)
SUMMER
JuneSeptember Vata++ Pitta+++ Reduce (P) and (V)
EARLY AUTUMN
SeptemberOctober Vata+++ Vata++ Reduce (V)
LATE AUTUMN
OctoberNovember Kapha++ Vata+++ Reduce (V) and (K)
WINTER
NovemberMarch Kapha+++ Kapha++ Reduce (K)
Ayurveda suggests to reduce the dosha that will be imbalanced in the following season before it gets
aggravated. For example: follow a Pitta reducing diet in early spring before it becomes aggravated in late spring,
with symptoms of spring fever and hay fever.
3. Digestion
AFTER EATING Kapha predominates, as it is the Pitta starts increasing as the
mass of food ingested digestive fire (agni) has been fed
with material (food) that needs
to be processed
Page 30
DURING DIGESTION Pitta predominates: the Vata accumulates, as nutrients

digestive fire is working hard, and wastes move around in the
transforming the food into system
nutrients and wastes
AFTER DIGESTION Pitta cools off, as everything has Vata works the hardest to
been reduced and passed onto assimilate nutrients and expel
Vata to be moved to the right wastes
end
4. Lifespan
Childhood (016) is Kapha time – time of physical growth. Children are soft, loving and cuddly. Kapha
problems such as coughs or glueear may develop.
Adulthood (1750) is Pitta time time to organise, manage, work hard, build a career, and have a family. Pitta
imbalances such as acne, hyperacidity, heart problems etc. can develop during this stage of life.
Later life (50+) is Vata time the time of wisdom. Elder people are thinner, drier and lighter. Vata diseases
such as osteoporosis or Alzheimer’s can develop during this time.
The fifth cycle: Ayurvedic Understanding of the Menstrual Cycle
Women enjoy an extra cycle, the menstrual cycle, which is directly linked with the lunar cycle. Ayurveda
considers the menstrual cycle a selfhealing, cleansing and rejuvenating process to keep the womb, the body and the
mind clean from toxins in order to live in harmony and alignment with nature, and also to prepare for a healthy
conception and pregnancy. So the menstrual cycle is the core of the health, wellness and happiness for a woman
in her childbearing years and beyond. A balanced cycle is determined by the balance of the doshas themselves,
which rules at different stages:
Kapha phase is the proliferative phase: from the end of the flow until ovulation (oestrogen hormone
is at its peak). The water element prevails during this phase (yin phase) and asks us to nourish ourselves and
build up for a healthy ovulation and second part of the cycle. A stronger and more dynamic yoga practice is
more suitable in this phase.
Pitta phase is the secretory phase: from ovulation until the flow begins (the progesterone hormone
takes over). The fire element prevails in this phase (yang phase) in which we shift from full ovulatory power to
the degeneration of the endometrium and the vulnerability of the premenstrual phase. A slower and gentler
yoga practice and a well balanced diet are crucial during this phase!
Vata phase dominates during the days of the flow – Apana Vayu is responsible for the downward
flow of menstruation, transporting the menstrual blood out of the body. The Air element prevails during this
phase; this is the time for absolute rest and renewal of the body: take time off, eat well, rest, sleep more,
practice yoga nidra and create a stressfree environment (also techfree) around you!
Typical Vata Cycle Typical Pitta Cycle Typical Kapha Cycle

Irregular cycle Usually regular Regular cycle
Scanty flow with thin blood, Heavy bleeding that can last for Average quantity of pale,
often dark or with clots longer time; intense blood, mucouslike blood
bright red colour
Abdominal and lower back pain Mediumstrength cramps Dull pain or cramps during
and cramps bleeding, in the back of the
belly
Spotting either before or after Acne, skin rashes or other Vaginal itches and yeast
main flow inflammations infections
Preflow constipation/loose Loose stools during or just Stiffness in the back and limbs
stools before periods and slow digestion
Premenstrual anxiety, Premenstrual irritability and Prone to water retention,
interrupted sleep or insomnia, anger, headaches swollen breasts and bloating,
nervous tension, mood swings, lethargy and drowsiness
forgetfulness, ungroundedness
Cravings for salty and savoury Increased appetite and cravings Craving for sweets and
foods for sweet and spicy foods attention
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Sexuality and women’s health
There are so many ways in which positive experiences of sexuality can improve women’s health that
an empowered encounter with this powerful manifestation of prana shakti, the life force, is really
foundational for a woman’s well being, whether she is single or partnered, celibate or sexually active,
young or old, homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual, a mother, a maiden or a crone.
Fertility looking to reestablish their own naturally
A happy and fulfilling experience of sexual occurring hormonal rhythms.
intercourse with the intended father of the
child is an absolutely crucial ingredient in Prolapse
optimising fertility. Unfortunately, it is often The physiology of female sexual response cycle
the first casualty when the desired conception is such that the entire cervix and womb are
does not happen when planned. lifted up high and away from the vaginal
opening by engorgement of tissue with blood
Premenstrual syndrome and any rhythmic muscle movement. Christine
The positive flow and release of sexual Kent, in her book on pelvic organ prolapse
energies can be of huge assistance in relieving includes an entire chapter on sex, and she has
the tensions and difficulties associated with this to say ‘the levator ani muscles of the
PMS… but then so often this and other pelvic diaphragm contract and release as
excitement and stimulation continue. At the
Menstrual difficulties height of this accelerating muscle contraction
Are greatly assisted by practising attentive and nerve stimulation, the uterus contracts
cycle awareness, and a delightful side effect of and rises out of the vagina. (Kent:112). She
practising such awareness is a heightened warmly encourages women with prolapse to
consciousness of the natural ebbs and flows of embrace their sexuality, and, in the context of
sexual feelings and responses through the a programme of selfhelp including postural re
cycle, so in some ways a respectful honouring education to tone and reposition the
of a woman’s sexual feelings is a really effective abdominal organs, and provide support for
support and encouragement for developing the pelvic organs, she believes ‘Sex is one of
monthly cycle awareness. Such awareness also the best activities to aid in this process.’
makes it possible to plan for and respond
appropriately to needs arising in the cycle (in Breast health
particular the need for rest) rather then being It is absolutely crucial to understand the
caught by surprise and reacting to these primary significance of the breasts in relation
experiences: for example understanding that to female sexual response. Contrary to many
by day 26 she often feels snappy and tired can of the common assumptions about the
help a woman to organise better rest (and/or importance of the clitoris, and patterns of
restorative yoga) to prevent the problems sexual activity that emulate the usual
arising the in the first place or to have helpful excitementarousalorgasm pattern of male
management strategies to cope. One sexual response, for women, the deepest
preventive measure for severe menstrual encounter with sexual pleasure needs to be
cramps is positive experience of orgasmic focused on the breasts. There are many
release of the muscles in the uterus, and one positive encouragements to regular massage of
perspective on anger (in addition to the the breast, and frequent selfmassage has the
recognition that it often, in terms of PMS is added advantage of helping a woman to be
simply a result of not noticing our body’s very familiar with the normal patterns of shift
signals that request more rest) is that it is and change in her breast tissue (for example in
unresolved sexual tension… certainly a tune with the menstrual cycle) in order to
remedy worth exploring. The Deer exercise identify unusual growths and thus help to
described on the next page is also helpful, prevent breast cancer. So not only is there a
especially for women coming off the pill and physiological benefit of assisting support and
Page 32
positive breast health, but there is the added Many of the tensions and difficulties associated
plus of breast massage being a pleasant kind of with PMS can surface, along with additional
‘medicine’ to take. For women who have had delights such as memory loss and vaginal
a breast removed, or otherwise surgically dryness and loss of libido. Positive engagement
altered, the energetic flow of prana to the with sexual energy is a great support during
breasts remains very powerful. the time of uncertainty and (often) exhaustion.
For the best discussion of the importance of Post menopause
respect, honour and love for breasts for There is much prudery and negativity around
women’s wellbeing, happiness and sexual the sexual power and pleasure enjoyed by
satisfaction I recommend Diana Richardson’s many older women, and a mistaken perception
Tantric Orgasm for Women and Mukunda Stiles that post menopausal women have no interest
Tantric Yoga Secrets. Both texts set out very in sensuality or sexual experiences. From the
beautifully the meditative approach to tantric perspective of yoga, that acknowledges all
encounters with human sensuality, and clearly energy as one, and sexual energy is just one
convey the healing power of love in all manifestation of it, then later life can be a time
dimensions of our being. where the skills, experience and heightened
awareness developed over years of practice
can mean that sexuality, with all it’s attendant
health benefits can continue to be a vibrant
Perimenopausal difficulties part of life for as long as a woman chooses, in
whatever way suits her best (alone, with her
partner, in meditation).
Deer Exercise
As a practical and effective selfhelp remedy for PMS, period pain, troubling
hormonal fluctuations at perimenopause, and infertility, I also recommend the Deer
Exercise, a wellknown Taoist practice that has been beautiful taught and explained by Lisa Bodley
and is included in her book Recreating Menstruation which is available as an ebook. There are many
inspiring testimonials to its efficacy here: http://www.shemiranibrahim.com/eliminatepmsdeer
exercise/. The exercise is also described in Alexandra Pope and Jane Bennett’s book The Pill and on
a number of Taoist websites including http://www.umaatantra.com/female_deer_exercise.html
Deer Exercise: done in siddhayoni asana
a) The Breast Massage:
Warm your hands by rubbing them vigorously together. Now place them over the breasts.
Lightly rub in upward and outward circles. The hands travel together up the inside of the breasts
toward the face, then outwards, downwards, inwards, and upwards again.
b) Mulabandha with awareness at third eye
First, rest your hands in your lap. Form your hands into fists by encircling your thumbs in the other
fingers. This activates a number of important acupressure points. Next, tighten the muscles of the
vagina as though contracting it. Keep breathing in a deep, relaxed manner while holding the
contraction as long as you comfortably can. You only need to do this step once after each 36
rotation breast massage. During the contraction, try to keep the anal sphincter and stomach muscles
relaxed while squeezing and lifting only the vaginal muscles.
Opinions vary about the best numbers, but Pope and Bennett (following Lisa Bodley) suggest
minimum 36 times and maximum 360 circles of the breasts. Repeat the whole sequence twice, and it
can be done twice a day. Because of the pelvic lift it is not recommended during menstruation or
pregnancy.
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How can Yoga support fertility?
1 As a therapeutic tool yoga is effective and complete. It addresses the needs of the whole
person. For example, a yoga therapy programme attends to the health of the physical
body through movement and breath, appropriate nutrition, and deep healing rest, as well
as providing clients with a huge range of breath, visualisation and focusing practices that
work with attitudes, emotions, thoughts, concentration and many other emotional,
intellectual and spiritual aspects.
2 In terms of reproductive health, the conscious and systematic movement of the physical
and energy bodies through asana (postures) has a balancing effect upon the endocrine
system and supporting healthy hormonal balance.
3 The deep relaxation attained through breath and focusing practices reduces stress levels,
steadies the heart and breathing rates and enables people to fully relax and allow the body
to recuperate and restore itself. This experience of restorative calm promotes positive
thoughts and feelings that come with a quieter, more accepting mode of being.
4 This quieter and more balanced, relaxed state can help to regulate menstrual cycles and
can be conducive to healthy conception.
Short practical session
1 Essential rest pose with knees up on chair/bolster
2 Full yogic breath with awareness techniques (using hands)
3 Basic pelvic awareness, tilts and lifts with full yogic breath (base position has feet on floor
under bent knees)
4 Pelvic opening position
5 Energising breath and movement synchronisation (arms moving above and below head,
knees opening and closing)
6 Seated pelvic energiser (‘churning the mill’ with legs open)
7 Standing postural adjustment and walking energiser
8 Gentle moving twist with breath and arm movement synchronisation.
9 Deep relaxation (Yoga Nidra) in rest pose
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Yoga practices to avoid when seeking to
conceive
See also the Womb Friendly Yoga manifesto in the back pages of the manual.
Generally speaking, any practice which feels depleting or competitive should be avoided completely.
When you are seeking to build your natural fertility, then there is no place for speed and heat in your
yoga practice because you can deplete your energy reserves if you do asanas too fast, hold them for
too long, or get too hot. Aim always to work at a pace that does not disrupt the natural easy flow of
your breath (with practice this can mean you breathe easily even during fairly vigorous asana
practice). Work at a rhythm that creates pleasant warmth, not sweaty heat. Above all let the focus of
your yoga be upon your own inner experience, and avoid any yoga teaching that fosters a competitive
ethos in the class that may distract from your inner focus on your own breath. During menstruation
avoid inversions, and encourage instead the downward movement of energy (apana) which governs
the menstrual flow.
What to avoid: Whilst attendance at some forms of general yoga classes can be a positive
investment in reproductive health, it is very important to note that not all forms of yoga are helpful.
If you plan to refer clients to yoga classes in the hope of supporting conception, it is best to avoid
strenuous, fast or heating forms of yoga such as (in order of the least suitable first):
a. Hot yoga or Bikram yoga
b. Ashtanga vinyasa yoga
c. Vinyasa flow yoga
d. Shadow yoga
e. Sivananda yoga
f. Iyengar yoga but note that in fact restorative Iyengar classes are IDEAL!
Page 35
Further reading on Yoga, fertility and
menstruation
(Excerpts from contributions to Emma Cannon’s book The Baby Making Bible, Macmillan)
Yoga and fertility: natural support for an experience of abundance
When you begin to explore your own natural fertility, seeking to conceive a new life, then you can
enter a time of major life change, which has the capacity to transform your way of being at every level.
Yoga is of great practical assistance during this time, because its techniques of breath, movement,
meditation and relaxation support your natural fertility. A sensitive and appropriate practice of yoga for
women seeking to conceive responds to the physical changes and emotional shifts of their experience
with yoga remedies and preventives that can help you to understand natural fertility as a special state
of health, a time of wellbeing and delight.
But yoga is much more than just a helpful practical companion to support the physical aspects of
natural fertility. Yoga’s underlying philosophy of ‘union’ provides a framework of understanding that
enables you to adapt with grace and acceptance to deep levels of emotional, energetic and spiritual
change. The desires and longings which lead you explore your own natural fertility can create
heightened mental and emotional experiences, or volatile shifts through a broad spectrum of feelings
and thought processes. The yoga systems of breath awareness, deep relaxation, visualisations and
meditations provide you with effective ways to process the sometimes overwhelming shifts of mood,
attitude and perceptions that can be part of exploring your fertility. Simple but profound techniques of
breath awareness and hand gesture, together with deep relaxation and mantra (sound work) can
equip you to navigate safe passage through this frequently challenging and demanding time.
During such a time, the powerful challenges of these many physical, energetic and emotional
transformations can lead women to access the intuitive wisdom in which the system of yoga is
grounded. This wisdom can be brought to consciousness through the experiences of your physical
body, vitality, thoughts and feelings.
Yoga provides very natural support for the experience of abundance of natural fertility. The practice of
yoga brings conscious awareness to a woman’s natural cycles and subtle shifts of energy and
emotion associated with the different stages of our cycles. Becoming more conscious of messages
from the physical body can lead to an uncovering of intuitive wisdom. Through this intuitive wisdom
comes a profound connection with the joyous pulse that powers the universe, and this can help
women to encounter the adventure of the cyclical nature of fertility in a spirit of acceptance and joy.
How does yoga boost Natural Fertility?
An experience of natural fertility is fundamentally an experience of fully integrated health. The
physical body, our levels of vitality, our emotions and mental function are all interconnected, and the
health of any single aspect of our experience is completely dependent upon our wellness at every
level of being. Yoga offers a very clear model for understanding this interplay between the physical
world, the energy that animates it, our emotional life and the cosmic perspective of unity with the life
force or prana.
Yoga teaches that we inhabit not one but five bodies. Our physical body is both surrounded and
pervaded by energy. Conscious attention to our breath provides the link between physical experience
and the energy, which determines the nature of that physical experience. So our breath is the bridge
between our flesh and blood, our physicality and our vitality, our energetic sphere of influence in the
world.
In yoga the flesh and blood body is called annamaya kosha – anna meaning food, maya meaning ‘full
of’, or made from, and kosha meaning sheath, or layer: so the physical body is our physical
manifestation, literally built from food. Without energy to animate this ‘food body’, it is lifeless. There
Page 36
is another body, or another ‘layer’ of experience animating the physical. In yoga this is the prana
maya kosha (meaning the body that is full of prana, or life force). Most people cannot see this energy
body, but it is what we feel pervading and surrounding our physical body. In the yoga understanding
of the energy body there are networks of energy channels called ‘nadis’ or ‘rivers’, which largely
correspond to the network of energy meridians recognised in Chinese medicine. In both systems, full
vitality and good health, including reproductive health, depends upon the free flow of energy through
these channels. In yoga we use movement, breath, sound and the movement of mental focus of
awareness to free blockages in these energy rivers.
In addition to these two bodies – the physical and the energy bodies – there are three further layers,
or koshas. The body of emotional and mental responses, our likes, dislikes, opinions and reactions is
called the manomaya kosha, or the layer of the mind. Then comes the vijnanomaya kosha, or the
place where we access a more intuitive wisdom beyond the individual mind and emotions of the
previous kosha. The last of the five is anandamaya kosha, or the bliss body, where the individual
distinctions of the previous four bodies melt away, and there is an experience of unity, or harmonious
connection.
In practical terms, the shift in levels of awareness through these five yogic ‘bodies’ helps to explain
the relationship between our state of mind, and the postures and sensations of the physical body.
When you feel physically at ease, well rested, well fed and relaxed, when your chest is free and open,
your spine free and mobile, your head lifted and neck long, it is easier to feel openhearted, balanced
and receptive to the positive experience of natural fertility. A positive emotional state, grounded in
physical wellbeing, promotes a deeper more nourishing breath that boosts your energy levels, helps
you to observe the distractions of the mind with some equanimity and can lead you to access aspects
of higher wisdom. This in turn helps you to connect with an intrinsic state of peaceful abundance that
provides the profoundest spiritual support and structure for an understanding of natural fertility. Yoga
practice naturally promotes the awareness that leads to this state.
What kind of yoga is best?
The most appropriate yoga for women seeking to optimise their fertility is any practice that feels
comfortable, that encourages the mental attention to travel within, and promotes an awareness of how
best to adapt and change the practice to suit different times in the menstrual cycle. This means it
needs to be slow enough to enable you to move with conscious awareness, so as not to over strain or
cause injury. The most beneficial yoga practice at this time enables you to flow with the natural
movement of your breath, respecting your own limitations and enjoying your body as it is, at each
point in your cycle. Yoga is most effective when practised little and often, so a regular daily
commitment to a short practice is more beneficial than a single long weekly session.
The specific practices described in chapter XX set out a sample programme that is safe and
nourishing to use at home throughout your cycle, and offers appropriate modifications and
adaptations to respond to your changing needs each day throughout the month. The aim of a
supportive and nourishing yoga practice is that it adapts to meet your needs rather than vice versa.
Page 37
Notes on Prolapse & Postnatal recovery
The key concern in managing prolapse is to take a holistic approach that enables the woman to cope
with her experience in daily life without further aggravating the condition. Education and
understanding is crucial, because there is so much misinformation about the pelvic floor and the
organs within the pelvis.
The practices set out in the case study programme are of help, and the most useful starting point is a
combination of semi supine and supported standing practices: it is important for the woman to be
able to put into practice what she has learnt when she is standing and walking.
Helpful techniques include:
1 Prithvi mudra for grounding and support
2 Bridge position with clear and precise foot and toe engagements to lift the medial arch of the
foot (pada bandha) and provide a clear channel for supportive energy to travel up to pelvic floor.
Also using the support of bolsters and/or blocks to lift and tilt the pelvis during this work is very
helpful and provides immediate relief from the downwards dragging sensation
3 Semi supine vaginal mulabandha with healing breath and tiny supta uddiyana bandha
4 Bridge position with arm movements and supta uddiyana bandha
5 Soles of feet against the wall from supine: enabling gradual ascent into half shoulderstand with
uddiyana and mulabandha.
6 Postural reeducation: see over
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Postural reeducation & women’s health
Crucial to any recovery (or indeed prevention) of prolapse is to address:
The Myth of the Pelvic Floor. Consider the natural and healthful curve in the lumbar spine and the
correct position of the pelvis when it is tilted forward, to allow the pelvic organs to rest above the
support of the pubic bones. In this position, the pelvic ‘floor’ is in fact towards the back of the pelvis
and not at the bottom. This means that the support of the pelvic organs can be understood to come
from good positioning to provide maximum support, from the boney structure of the pelvis and the
surrounding postural muscles, and is not entirely reliant on the ‘hammock’ or sling of muscles that we
usually call the pelvic floor
We shall explore the effects of anteverted and retroverted pelvic positioning on the support system
for the pelvic organs. The crucial understanding is that the instruction to ‘tuck the tailbone under’ is
not in the least helpful to promote optimal support for the pelvic organs, and in fact can be seen to
promote stress on the pelvic floor and in fact, long term, to lead to prolapse of the pelvic organs due
to insufficient support.
The very best references on this are Christine Kent’s book Saving the Whole
Woman and her useful website and forum /www.wholewoman.com/
The key understanding here is that the L5/S1 junction needs to be freely moving yet lengthened and
supported by the ‘inner corset’ of deep postural muscles in order to enable the ideal tipping angle of
the pelvis to position the pelvic organs over the pubic bone for maximum support.
Other bodyworkers who have observed the importance of anteverted pelvic positioning in terms of
general health and freedom from back pain (as well as prevention and management of prolapse)
include Esther Gokhale, whose book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back (free chapter can be
downloaded from her website: www.egwellness.com) is offering very similar guidelines. The diagrams
overleaf are helpful in encouraging our understanding. As yoga teachers it is vital that we do not
encourage people to ‘tuck under’ the pelvis, but rather understand the importance of more subtle
understandings that promote lengthening of the lumber spine and inner support from the postural
muscles, including the pelvic ‘floor’ muscles.
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Understanding the relationship between
pelvic angle and pelvic organ support
Christine Kent in Saving the Whole Woman (appendix three, page 168) offers this exercise to
‘Demystify pelvic outlet contractions’. I have added yogic instructions for the breathing so that we
can better connect with it from a yoga perspective:
1 Counternutated pelvis: Inhale. Feel your pelvic diaphragm tighten as it
Lie down, bend the knees and put the soles of lengthens from pubic bone to tailbone and
the feet on the floor. tightens across the middle.
Exhale and do mulabandha, feeling how the
tailbone can be drawn closer to pubic bone. Extend rectus abdominus by pushing navel out
Contract rectus abdominus. Inhale and over pubic bone. Feel the contraction of
the transverse abdominus deep across the
Now maintain this position as you exhale and lower belly.
bear down as if you are pushing your organs to
the vaginal opening. Feel how the Now maintain this position as you bear down,
pubococcygeus muscle offers no resistance (a as if you are pushing your organs to the vaginal
moderate prolapse will come easily down) opening. Feel how with the pelvis in this
position, the organs are being held at the front
2 Nutated pelvis of the body and can thus resist the forces of
Now arch the small of your back. intraabdominal pressure.
‘These are the dynamics of pelvic organ support created and sustained by natural female standing posture’
(ie with the natural curve of the lower back, NOT the tail tucked under.)
‘So called Kegels (pelvic floor exercises) do not life the muscles up, they only move them slightly
forward. The key to maximising the benefit of pelvic outlet contractions is to do so while keeping the
lumbar curve in place. Try it both ways, pelvic tilted forward and pelvis tilted back , and you will see
for yourself that …the (pelvic floor exercise) is a lot less effective in the backward tilt… (Kent 2006:
153).
Standing cat with agnisara kriya
NB Unsuitable during menstruation, pregnancy & immediate postnatal period
With the intention of maximising the beneficial antigravitational forces of interabdominal pressure
created in agnisara kriya, Kent has also developed what she calls ‘Whole Women Fire Breathing’
which integrates the pelvic tilt of the cat pose with the pose of agnisara kriya: exhaling into uddiyana
bandha with a very rounded back and inhaling with an arched back.
I find this exercise works well after practising “Decompression of the pelvic organs” as set out in
Mother’s Breath and based on CalaisGermain’s female pelvis exercises.
Page 40
Notes on periMenopause
Basic understandings for effective yoga responses – from bud to seed
The heart of a positive yogic response to the experience of menopause is to embrace the experience
as a fabulous opportunity for reevaluation, reflection and change at every level of being. It is
important also to see the full circle of women’s life experience at this time as a cyclic progression
from Bud, through Flower, Fruit and returning to the deep wisdom of the Seed.
This cycle can be understood for a woman as having moved through the experiences of:
girlhood (bud), through womanhood (flowering), including motherhood or involvement in myriad
other creative and nurturing conceptions, gestations, births and nurturings of projects and creations
in the world (fruiting) to pass through the great change and arrive at menopause (reseeding
the future).
The heart of yoga philosophy in terms of the acceptance of each moment as it is (Santosa) is here
presented to all women, often wrapped up in layers of tapasya or disciplined attention, and providing
the opportunity for the practice of ahimsa towards oneself, in terms of offering tenderness and
forgiveness to oneself. Deep nurture and sharp awareness are the keys to utilising the tools of yoga
to help minimise and harmonise hormonal fluctuations, and offer relief and support during times of
challenge: So the best approach comprises both Prevention and Relief as described in the case study
on the next page.
One of the most difficult aspects of the perimenopause to deal with is the experience of uncertainty,
irregularity and lack of rhythm in terms of monthly cycles at a physical level, but mental and
emotional life generally. This is where yoga has a deep and powerfully healing role to play with
pranayama and meditation to promote acceptance of change in preparation for a safe journey
through the passage to power. It is also important to acknowledge the powerful influence which
culture and environment has upon our expectations of the experiences at this point in women’s lives,
and to see the positive role for menopausal and post menopausal women in our families and wider
social networks.
The yoga practice of SATSANG has huge importance here, and the support, sharing and wisdom of
older women is absolutely crucial to the positive experience of menopause.
As a great support for this experience of satsang I warmly recommend Francina, Suza. 2003. Yoga
and the Wisdom of Menopause: A guide to physical, emotional and spiritual health at
midlife and beyond. Health Communications Inc. Deerfield Beach, Florida. Inspiring combination
of true life stories from yoga women, and sound advice from an Iyengar yoga perspective. Especially
helpful sections on yoga and perimenopausal bleeding, osteoporosis and the emotional experience of
menopause.
For a thoroughly informative read on the subject of menopause I encourage you to engage with
Foxcroft, Louise. 2010. Hot Flushes, Cold Science: A History of the Modern Menopause. Granta Books.
London. A gripping account of the medicalisation and cultural construction of what we understand to
be the menopausal experience. Compelling.
Page 41
Menopause as a journey
of Self Discovery
Material prepared by Frances Lewis BWY.
For enquiries about yoga retreats, and yoga for menopause, and to buy Frances’s book The Divine Dance in
the Sacred Landscape of Britain (with Adeline AbadPedrosa), please visit www.franceslewis.co.uk or call
07891 219 688
The changing of the hormones and periods stopping often coincides with children leaving home and
or parents dying. And if a woman has not had children – then there is the mourning of the end of that
potential. Also more recently women who have babies at a later age may come into menopause as
their children come into adolescence. Nothing really prepares us for this time of change and loss.
Often women experience – hot flushes, dry skin, and loss of libido, aching muscles and joints, mood
swings, insomnia, back ache, inability to make a decision. All of these or none of these symptoms may
be accompanied by a deep questioning: What is the purpose of life? Who am I? And what is my
purpose?
Menopause is a time of change, a major life transition. I have a sense that women during this time are
being called upon to become truly authentic and truly in their power. To walk into the wise woman
role, to draw on all of their experiences from life, to integrate all that learning from the bumpy road
of life so far. And to give up all the lifting and carrying and doing that is so much a part of the younger
years.
We live in a culture of fear and poverty mentality, such deep old fear, personal fear, family fear and
cultural fear. So it is no wonder that there can be a lot of physical stiffness and pain and mental
confusion and emotional release during menopause. All change whether perceived as positive or
negative involves grieving.
It is my sense that the hot flushes are power surges or rushes of creative energy. It is my sense that
all the physical aches and pains are related to the way we block our powerfulness and authenticity.
The confusion and the disturbed sleep a reaction to the sometimes overwhelming changes that are
going on. It is a strong and beautiful healing phase and any unfinished healing will come up for
attention.
I recommend lots of quality time with your self. Write, dance, sing and rest.
Time in nature, simply watching the clouds go by or walking with a steady pace.
Create a personal sanctuary where you can put up a do not disturb sign. Maybe call it your womb
space. Not shared and not entered by anyone unless invited. Space to moan and groan and rest and
maybe when the energy comes, to be creative and make a mess for no reason.
Again I also recommend lots of rest – time to rest and integrate do not underestimate the healing
power of rest.
Maybe connect with the full moon and the seasons of the year – so that you are connecting in with
other cycles of life. This can be very simple.
Devising a menopausal ritual can be very liberating. Honouring this major life transition in an open
way with friends and or relatives can be very helpful in making sense of this change.
Page 42
Connect with other women, maybe a menopausal group or mixed age women's group.
I recommend gentle Yoga and time to explore the full and spontaneous breath and lots of deep
relaxation.
Many holistic therapies can help ease and support this transition without suppressing the grieving that
is required. Homoeopathy, Counselling, Acupuncture, Nutritional advice, Massage, Ayurveda etc.
Begin to really listen to your intuition.
Most of all go gently with love – Namaste Frances
Menopause as a journey of transformation books
The Wisdom of Menopause by Dr Christiane Northrup, ISBN – 13 978 0553386721
This is a very wise and loving book about all aspects of menopause – I strongly recommend this book
to all women nearing or during menopause. Also Women’s bodies Woman’s Wisdom by the same Dr
Christiane Northrup. I read both of these books during my 8 month menopausal gap from teaching.
The Seven Sacred Rites of Menopause by Kristi Meisenback Boylan
Santa Monica Press ISBN – 13 978 1891661136
The vast majority of books on menopause do not address what every transitional woman instinctively
knows: menopause is much more than just a list of physical ailments; it is a spiritual journey. This
book outlines the seven rituals, or stepping stones, that a woman moves through on her menopause
voyage, marking her way through midlife.
What your Doctor may NOT tell you about menopause by Dr John Lee
ISBN – 13 978 – 0446691420 This book was recommended by Doctor Lee at Victoria Cross
Surgery – Swindon. This is about the hormones in the water system from the contraceptive pill. The
tap water is contaminated with hormones and you are getting a dose whether you take the pill or
not. This is an ecological disaster that has already happened. This is adding to menopausal symptoms
as well as low sperm count in men. This doctor favours progesterone cream and vitamin supplements
and does not support HRT.
Eat your way through the menopause by Marilyn Glenville ISBN – 13 978 1856264686
Very enjoyable and informative recipe book for menopause. I have really enjoyed trying out recipes
from this book. I always respond well to eating nourishing delicious home cooked food made with
love.
Menopause by Dr Miriam Stoppard ISBN – 13 978 – 0751334265
She details the advantages and disadvantages of Hormone Replacement Therapy. Some women may
choose HRT to ease the way through this major life transition. However, if the motivation is to keep
young and attractive and full of the kind of energy a younger woman has then there will be a loss of
the potential for maturity and deep wisdom that is so required in this culture.
The Divine Dance in the Sacred Landscape of Britain by Frances Lewis & Adelina AbadPedrosa
ISBN – 13 978 – 098551447
From ancient hill forts to dramatic cliff tops by the sea, from churches to caves this book has
everything to tempt you and invite you out of your armchair into the spectacular healing landscape of
nature and earth energy. This book provides a beautiful insight into the journey that Frances and
Adelina followed as they danced and photographed all the points where the Michael and Mary ley
lines meet in Britain. ‘This book came out of my menopause’ says Frances – the journey was a
pilgrimage to balance the male and female energies within ourselves and around the world. We
believe it has the potential to bring us into a saner, more sustainable way of living.
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Notes on Yoga and Osteoporosis
The yogic and ayurvedic perspective on osteoporosis connects it to our root chakra, to the earth, and to our
sense of being stable, supported, sheltered and safe. In her astonishingly powerful book ‘Women’s Power to
Heal: Through Inner medicine’ Mother Maya Tiwari observes that ‘osteoporosis is a condition that
literally relates to strength and support in the body and the sense of security in the mind. It occurs most
frequently in women who have psychologically not come to terms with the absolute and personal reality of
their own ageing, death, and dying.’ (225) She also presents a number of rejuvenating ayurvedic tonics and
medicines, and promotes very positively the idea that osteoporosis is in fact a reversible condition. Nutrition,
food sadhana and meditation are key to the ayurvedic response to the condition.
The possibility that osteoporosis is reversible and certainly preventable is also borne out by the inspiring work
of Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall, whose fabulous book Yoga for Osteoporosis: yoga that builds
and preserves strong bones, the complete guide (2010 Norton, New York) sets out a full range of
asanas to build bones. Osteopenic (early signs of possible osteoporosis) and osteoporotic versions of all poses
are included, and the emphasis is on WEIGHT BEARING poses to build strength:
‘Yoga safely stresses bones without impact…with many poses that avoid moving joints altogether, yoga has
been shown to strengthen bones without any evidence that it weakens joints. …There are other books on
osteoporosis and yoga, but the Fishman and Saltonstall one really takes the biscuit.
Special message about Endometriosis
This message is from Adrienne Egan, Mayan Abdominal Massage therapist and exchair of the Irish Endometriosis
society. Adrienne has been living with Endometriosis for decades: “Endometriosis is not to be underestimated. It can be
devastating on all levels, affecting quality of life, ability to work and fertility. In some cases surgery is unavoidable. It’s a
condition that requires long term care, including dietary changes, supportive bodywork, healing modalities, and lifestyle
changes. It is vital to address the health and state of the body’s energetic system, making sure all blocks to the free flow
of energy are dismantled. It is possible to live well with Endometriosis but it takes effort and a self care routine that
needs to be maintained. The rewards for this effort can be great and deeply healing, reaching further than just the
physical level to how we perceive 'the feminine principle' within ourselves and its/our place in the world. Irritation and
pressure from the bleeding often causes severe pain and the formation of adhesions which can cause further
complications as organs become ‘stuck’ together.
• Endometriosis is classified in stages 1 4 :
• I – Minimal
II – Mild
III– Moderate
IV – Severe
• Many patients often experience associated pathology such as chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia (painful
sex), dysuria (painful urination), Interstitial cystitis, intestinal upset, fatigue and lower back pain.
• Build up of blood around ovaries produces large bloodfilled cysts (chocolate cysts) or
endometriomas. Unlike regular ovarian cysts these do not resolve themselves.
• Diagnosis can be difficult – it can take some time, which can be stressful. There is an average of 10
years between onset of symptoms and diagnosis. Currently the only way to diagnose is through
laparoscopic surgery.
• Treatment – arrest of menstrual cycle by continuous oral contraceptive use or similar suppressants;
pregnancy results in temporary relief; surgery to remove tissue (Diathermy (burning) or Excision
(precision cutting)) is often necessary, usually laparoscopic.
• Infertility affects 3040% of women with endometriosis and is common as the disease progresses.
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Anatomy and physiology notes from
Ruth Gilmore (ruthstcgilmore@gmail.com)
The mind and the body are two sides of the one coin – anything that changes one will affect
the other
FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
Consists of two ovaries, two uterine (Fallopian) tubes, the uterus, vagina, external genitalia and the breasts.
The urethra is embedded in the front wall of the vagina, while the uterus lies between the bladder and the
rectum.
Uterus
Shaped like a small inverted pear.
Consists of fundus (domed part), body (main part) and cervix (neck).
Muscular wall (smooth muscle) = myometrium.
Lining = endometrium, deepest layer remains, while more superficial layer is replaced after the menses, builds
up in anticipation of pregnancy and is shed each (nonpregnant) month.
The cervix consists of fibromuscular tissue and projects into the upper vagina. It contains numerous mucus
secreting glands in its lining.
Uterine (Fallopian) tubes
One end is attached to the uterus, the other end is open and lies near an ovary.
The ovary end is widened and has a frill of soft fingerlike projections (fimbriae).
Infections can make the tube walls stick together, so the tubes become blocked.
Ovaries
Two small oval structures lying close to the open ends of the uterine tubes.
Produce ova (eggs) and hormones (including oestrogens, progestins and inhibin).
No new egg cells are made after birth, when about 2 million are present; these decline to several hundred
thousand at puberty. These egg cells are immature, in a state of “arrested development”.
The monthly cycle of egg maturation begins at menarche and ends at menopause.
Mature ova contain half the chromosome number of other cells (23 instead of 23 pairs).
Vagina
Distensible soft muscular tube, with friction and germresistant lining, similar to that inside the mouth.
Having no mucous glands, it is lubricated by cervical mucous glands and by 'weeping' of the walls.
Cervical mucus varies in quantity and consistency during the menstrual cycle.
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Vagina has a slightly acid pH during reproductive life, this inhibits growth of most opportunist bacteria.
External genitalia
The perineum = diamondshaped region bounded by the ischial tuberosities (sitting/buttock bones), pubic
symphysis and coccyx.
Vulva = area of external genitalia.
Labia majora (outer lips) enclose small labia minora (inner lips), that meet above at the clitoris.
A "wishbone"shaped mass of erectile tissue lies within labia minora and clitoris.
Clitoral erection is produced by parasympathetic nerves causing dilatation of clitoral arteries (filling erectile
tissue with blood) and constriction of the corresponding veins (preventing blood escape).
Urethral opening lies just below (behind) clitoris.
Vagina lies below (behind) urethra.
Anal opening lies just behind (below) vagina.
Vestibular (Bartholin's) glands secrete lubricant mucus into vestibule (vaginal opening).
Pelvic Floor Musculature
Hammockshaped sheet of skeletal muscle attached to internal walls of pelvis.
Muscle fibres arranged around urethral/anal openings preserve continence.
Supports pelvic organs – bladder, uterus, and rectum.
Muscle sheet is strengthened by circulating oestrogens and by use in regular sexual activity.
Breast
Breasts = mammary glands + fat (variable amounts).
Each breast is supported by suspensory ligaments attached to underlying chest muscle, but can move quite
freely against the chest musculature.
Mammary tissue = milkproducing cell clusters + ducts opening on to nipple.
Lymphatic drainage of breast tissue is complex – most passes to lymph nodes on sameside axilla (armpit), but
it can follow other pathways, including into the abdomen and across the midline.
Breast tissue is affected by hormone levels during menstrual cycle.
Menstrual cycle:
Occurs 'on average' every 28 days from menarche (first day of first menstrual period) to menopause (gradual
end of reproductive life).
Day 1 = first day of vaginal 'blood' loss (menses = dissolved endometrium and some blood).
Menstruation lasts on average 1 – 7 days, loss = 35 – 50 ml blood.
After the menses, proliferative phase – repair and replacement of endometrium.
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Day 14 = ovulation. After this, secretory phase – endometrium develops in anticipation of fertilisation.
In cycles of less/more than 28 days, ovulation occurs about 14 days before the onset of the period.
If no fertilisation, endometrium degenerates and dissolves, resulting in the menses.
The first half of the cycle is “oestrogendominated”, the second half is “progesterone –dominated”
Every month several egg cells begin the maturation process to develop into primordial follicles, under pituitary
control.
Each month usually only one of the primordial follicles in one or other ovary develops to full maturation while
the others degenerate. The “egg of the month” grows further, fluid forms around it and a blisterlike
secondary follicle is formed.
The mature follicle (1 cm diameter) moves towards the ovary surface and at ovulation it bursts, releasing the
ovum into the peritoneal cavity.
Follicle rupture can cause onesided lower abdominal pain for a few hours (Mittelschmerz or midcycle pain) –
pinpoints ovulation time.
The remaining site in the ovary reorganises to become a corpus luteum, a site of oestrogen and progestin
hormone production.
Chemical attractants steer the ovum towards the uterine tube opening.
It is wafted by cilia along the tube into the uterine cavity, taking 23 days.
Fertilisation by a sperm usually occurs in the tube. Sperm have a "nosecone" bag of enzymes that soften the
outer covering of the ovum, eventually allowing one sperm to penetrate the ovum and fertilise it.
A couple of days after fertilisation a fertilised ovum (by now developed into a hollow ball of cells) will go on to
implant (embed) in the thickened endometrium.
An unfertilised ovum dies and a few days later is passed out of the uterus with the degenerated endometrium
as the menses.
Hormonal control of the Menstrual Cycle
Hormones circulating in the blood coordinate the events each month in the ovaries and the uterus.
The pituitary gland lies under the brain, suspended by a stalk from the hypothalamus.
It consists of two parts – anterior pituitary and posterior pituitary.
The anterior pituitary is stimulated by the hypothalamus to secrete several hormones, including some that
affect the ovaries.
FSH – follicle stimulating hormone – stimulates a primordial follicle to develop further every month after the
menarche, and stimulates the production of oestrogens by the ovaries.
LH Luteinising Hormone – induces ovulation (ovum release) in the ovary and stimulates the subsequent
production of oestrogens and progestins from the corpus luteum.
As the ovum develops, surrounding follicle cells secrete oestrogens – these enhance bone/muscle strength,
maintain secondary sex characteristics, affect the nervous system, including sex drive and female behaviour,
and bring about repair and regeneration of the endometrium.
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Just before ovulation, oestrogen levels peak. A surge of LH causing ovulation occurs.
Inhibin is secreted by the follicle cells and inhibits further FSH secretion after ovulation.
After ovulation, LH causes the corpus luteum to form, and progestin (especially progesterone) secretion
begins.
Progesterone causes thickening of the endometrium in preparation for the arrival of a fertilised ovum, also
causes a slight increase in body temperature.
If no fertilisation occurs, the corpus luteum degenerates after about one week.
Progesterone and oestrogens levels then fall sharply, triggering off a response from the hypothalamus,
beginning the cycle again.
Menopause
Gradual process around 45 55 years, ovaries fail to produce oestrogens or progestins.
Early menopause due to ovariectomy surgery or autoimmune disease is associated with higher risk of
osteoporosis.
Symptoms due to oestrogen lack – vaginal dryness, atrophy of internal and external genitalia.
Other symptoms presumed to be linked with oestrogen lack – hot flushes (25% have these), sleep disturbance,
night sweats, headaches, irritability – but link not proven.
No evidence that weight gain is oestrogenlinked, probably lifestyle/psychological link.
Weight redistribution (thickening waist), chin hair, thinning of head hair all linked to the influence of the small
amount of testosterone normally produced by the female adrenals – there being insufficient oestrogen to
swamp its effect.
No evidence that menopause is directly associated with any increased degree of psychiatric disturbance.
CHALLENGES TO FEMALE HEALTH
Dysmenorrhoea
Pain associated with menstruation. Often improved after pregnancy. Symptoms – crampy lower abdominal
pain, sometimes low back pain, lasting several hours around onset of period. 10% of women lose working days
regularly.
Caused by uterine contractions and slight cervical opening, especially if clots are present in flow.
Can be accompanied by nausea, dizziness, colic, diarrhoea.
Made worse by also having PID [pelvic inflammatory desease], fibroids, endometriosis.
Treatment – antiprostaglandin analgesics (painkillers) (ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol), in severe cases, oral
contraceptives or other hormonal combinations, taken continuously (only under medical supervision).
Menorrhagia
Excessive bleeding during periods. Experienced by about 10% of women.
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Average blood loss is 40ml per period, with wide range of normal. More than 80ml regularly will result in
anaemia.
Associated with early spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), fibroids, endometriosis, infections of uterine
tubes/ovaries, IUDs, endometrial cancer, hormonal imbalances, menopause, hypothyroidism.
Treatment – depends on cause. 'D & C' (dilatation & curettage) sometimes used, also can provide diagnostic
samples for biopsy. Laser removal of the endometrium layer (endometrial ablation) sometimes suitable as an
alternative to hysterectomy.
Fibroids
Benign tumours of myometrium (muscle layer of uterus). Can become very large. Often multiple.
Present in about 20% women. Uncommon under 30 years.
Atrophy (reduce in size) after menopause.
Can cause pain, menorrhagia and infertility.
Treatment – surgical removal (myomectomy), or hysterectomy when large (commonest reason for
hysterectomy).
Carcinoma of the Cervix (cervical cancer)
Second commonest cancer of women after breast cancer. In UK incidence is rising despite screening
programmes, about 2000 deaths/year. Age of onset is dropping. Vaccine campaigns should reduce incidence
in future.
Is preceded for several years by a recognisable and easily diagnosed noninvasive condition of cervical lining
cells, the basis of cervical smear tests.
Generally symptomfree until late stage – some countries (eg Sweden) have made screening almost
compulsory – with good results.
Strong positive correlation with STD transmission of viruses, especially human papilloma (genital wart) virus
and herpes simplex (genital herpes) virus.
Risk factors – young age of first sexual activity, number of partners (high risk in prostitutes), smoking,
circumcised partner reduces risk.
Treatment – early detection of preinvasive stage and removal of affected cells prevents cancer development.
Otherwise surgery and/or radiotherapy can help, success low in late diagnosis.
Endometrial Carcinoma
Much less common than cervical cancer.
Mostly in age group 50 – 70 years. Commoner in childless women.
Often associated with high levels of oestrogens in blood.
Risk factors – late menopause, obesity, oestrogensecreting tumours, oestrogenonly HRT.
Symptoms – irregular bleeding, especially after menopause.
Diagnosis is by D & C, followed by hysterectomy. With early diagnosis the outlook is excellent.
In invasive stages radiotherapy may be used also.
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Tubal blockage
Very commonly the result of infection and inflammation of the tubes (salpingitis), usually from PID (Chlamydia,
gonorrhoea etc), but can be from peritonitis or after childbirth or abortion (spontaneous or therapeutic). The
infection may go unnoticed at the time.
IVF can achieve pregnancy in some cases.
Subfertility (formerly called infertility)
The inability of a couple to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse. Numerous causes: 30 – 40%
male problems, 20% uterine tube blockage, 15% idiopathic (no cause found).
Absent or infrequent ovulation – can be due to hormonal problems in hypothalamus/pituitary, thyroid, ovaries,
also premature menopause, and PCOS.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Commonest cause of amenorrhoea (no periods) and oligomenorrhea (scanty periods) in clinical practice.
Numerous small cysts (arrested follicles) and a thickened surface layer develop in the ovaries, impeding
ovulation.
Associated with increased secretion of androgens (testosterone) and low levels of oestrogens.
Hirsutism (excess body hair) and acne are common findings
Causes not understood, probably complex.
Fertility problems may be helped by drugs, eg clomiphene (Clomid) to stimulate ovulation.
Endometriosis
Endometrial tissue is found in abnormal sites – on ovaries, within the myometrium, uterine tubes or scattered
through the peritoneal cavity or further afield (lungs, nose etc).
This tissue responds to monthly stimulation by hormones as does the normal endometrium, bleeding during
the menses.
Irritation and pressure from the bleeding often causes pain.
Build up of blood around ovaries produces large bloodfilled cysts ('chocolate' cysts).
Most patients are in socioeconomic groups 1 and 2.
Diagnosis can be difficult it can take some time, which can be stressful.
Cause uncertain – the theory of retrograde flow of menses into tubes sometimes blamed (often used as
reason why inversions are unwise), but many women have this when lying down, without developing
endometriosis. An associated immune deficiency is thought to be present as normally the immune system
would destroy any stray cells. Thus some now classify endometriosis as an autoimmune condition. The
alternative theory that embryonic cells that will become endometrium stray from their allotted site via the
blood during development is also a possibility.
Treatment – arrest of menstrual cycle by continuous oral contraceptive use or similar suppressants, pregnancy
results in temporary relief, surgery to ablate (remove) deposits often is necessary, usually laparoscopic.
Pelvic Floor Weakness
Pelvic floor muscle tone is sustained by circulating oestrogens; often weakens after menopause.
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Associated with childbirth, especially having had several children, or perineal damage associated with difficult
delivery.
Lack of tone can result in prolapse of bladder, uterus or rectum, which either sag down (partial prolapse) or
come right down to appear externally (complete prolapse).
50% of parous women (women who have had children) will have some degree of prolapse, about 10% of these
have symptoms. It occurs only rarely in nulliparous (childless) women.
Weakness can affect sphincters closing urethra and/or anal canal, causing incontinence.
Urinary incontinence is common; two types – 'stress' (on coughing, jumping etc) and 'urge' – need to urinate
with little warning. They can coexist.
Threequarters of sufferers won't tell partner, 90% won't tell family or close friends.
About 2 million women in UK have urinary incontinence to some degree.
25% of new mothers have urinary leakage during the first 3 postnatal months, 4% have faecal incontinence.
15% will continue with urinary problems longterm.
Pelvic floor exercises without other treatment can improve 70% of women by 70%.
Urge incontinence is due to instability of bladder control, nerves controlling bladder outlet are oversensitive.
Improves with bladder training programme.
Physiotherapy with biofeedback, electrical stimulation, use of weighted vaginal cones, or surgery may be
required for some.
HRT can improve urge incontinence, and other drugs are available.
Carcinoma of the breast (breast cancer)
Commonest women’s cancer, affects 1 in 12 in UK, commonest cause of death between 35 and 54 years.
About 5% of tumours caused by dominant genes, about 9% thought to have hereditary factors.
Other risk factors – having no children, early menarche, high socioeconomic group, highfat diet, highdose
oestrogen therapy.
Symptoms – lump may be felt, skin dimpling, nipple inversion or discharge, change in breast contour. Pain can
accompany inflammatory changes in lump.
Treatment – lumpectomy, simple mastectomy (removing breast and lymph nodes), radical mastectomy
(removing breast, underlying muscle, lymph nodes),
If there is evidence of spread to nodes – chemotherapy; if evidence of local spread or if tumour is diffuse (not
a 'lump') – radiotherapy.
Oestrogenblocking drugs are useful, eg tamoxifen and newer derivatives.
Secondary spread is by lymph channels or blood, to armpit nodes then to lungs, bones and liver. Can spread
via lymphatics to other side, or to abdominal nodes.
Onethird of women have lymphoedema of the arm after mastectomy.
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Bones and calcium metabolism:
Calcium in the body exists as solid material in bones and in solution in the blood.
Bones consist of active cells (osteocytes) and protein fibres (collagen) embedded in a background matrix of
hard calcium complex.
The collagen is arranged along the lines of mechanical stress of the bone.
Where stresses are maximal, bone is solid (compact bone).
Where stresses are less, bone is like hard sponge, forming a network with spaces (cancellous or trabecular
bone).
Throughout life, the calcium complex is being dissolved and replaced on a daily basis, in such a way as to
maintain blood calcium levels within a narrow range of normal.
These processes (calcium metabolism) are controlled primarily by parathyroid hormone and vitamin D.
Bone mass increases up to the mid30's then declines.
Some women are 'fast bone losers' after the menopause, especially if menopause is premature.
Adequate dietary intake of calcium is important (1000mg/day, ideally 1500mg/day menopausally), also 400800
i.u. vitamin D.
A minimum of 30 mins weightbearing exercise 3 times/week has been shown to be beneficial (not swimming).
Smoking accelerates bone loss.
Sympathetic Nervous System:
Part of the autonomic part of the nervous system, governing internal functions, sweating and regulation of
blood flow by its constrictor effect on artery diameter.
Is responsible for activity in everyday life, eg stimulates the body during all movement and exercise.
In acute situations heightens alertness and prepares one for action by the FFF reaction (fright, flight or fight).
This does not represent the daytoday level of activity of the sympathetic, but is designed to be activated only
when danger is perceived.
During FFF, adrenaline pours out of the adrenals into the blood. When quiet and relaxed, adrenaline
production here is minimum.
FFF is designed for acute episodes and dies away quite quickly afterwards.
Chronicallyraised stress levels result in permanentlyraised adrenaline production.
Panic attacks are FFF occurring in response to an idea or a false stimulus – conditioned response.
They can disturb breathing patterns enough to cause hyperventilation – this reduces the amount of CO2 in the
blood so much that lightheadedness and tingling in the fingers can occur.
Most people are ashamed of panic attacks and do not admit to them.
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Case Study 1:
off the pill but where’s the baby?
J: aged 31, bursar and marathon runner seeking to conceive
Reconnecting with awareness of the menstrual rhythms
Prefatory comment:
This case study is presented first because the story here gets to the heart of a very common feminine
experience: that of total disconnection from the rhythms of the cycle, and lack of awareness of the
potential of healthy menstruation as the key to health and fertility. The most striking thing about the
initial meeting for this client was the repeated attempts which it took to discover when she had
actually begun menstruating. Three times when asked about this the client mentioned the date 2007,
which was in fact the year when she stopped taking the contraceptive pill. It was only on the fourth
enquiry when I pushed again to find out about the beginnings of her menstrual experience, that the
client actually reconnected with those early periods. She in fact began menstruating at 14, and
explained that she had encountered no problems for the first two years, but then (coinciding with
some profound and eventually terminal health issues which her brother had experienced at this time,
and with a change of school to college) she began to experience such profound debilitating pain and
heavy bleeding that she was prescribed the contraceptive pill by the family GP. On further enquiries,
it turned out that the ‘unbearable’ nature of the periods was usually one day of having to be at home,
off college, and resting in bed with pain and heavy bleeding. She felt that the contraceptive pill which
she had been taking had helped her to manage her periods, making them lighter and reducing the pain
so that she did not need to miss school, college or need to rest.
She took it for over ten years continuously, and expressed great surprise that this might have had any
impact at all on her problems with ovulation and conception when she decided to come off the pill
with a desire to conceive.
The picture here is very widespread that extended (over decades) use of the contraceptive pill has
entirely and effectively disconnected young women from any of the wisdom or insight that may have
come to them through the experience of the natural menstrual cycle, so when they come off the pill
it is almost as if they have never really menstruated at all and need to begin afresh with a programme
of awareness and honouring the moon and their cycles in order to access the wisdom that they have
been denied.
This client was playing the numbers game, and kept meticulous records of the dates and onsets of her
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period, and so had discovered that the cycle on the left side was longer than the cycle when the right
ovary was ovulating. She had acquired a precise mathematical understanding of the cycle but was
unaware that her cycle might have any connection with the cycles of the moon, or indeed that
understanding the rhythms of the cycle could provide any insight into the mood swings and
fluctuating levels of vitality and debilitating lack of energy and ability to relax that she had come to
yoga to gain teachings on.
First session was a group session for women’s health, after which she reported that she felt the most
relaxed she had done in years.
She returned for a one to one session, in which I took a case history, and taught the following
practices with the intention of creating a short home practice that could be done when she returned
home from work:
Full yogic breath
Ujjayi pranayama
Sounded breath ‘I CAN breathe!!’
Super deluxe savasana with calves resting horizontally supported on chair.
Supta baddha konasana, moving into the seed/flower sequence with ujjayi pranayama
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Case study 2/ Miscarriage
Recovery from and promotion of ovulation with a view to a
healthy natural conception.
A: Client background and presenting concerns
This married woman in her early thirties sought yoga therapy in the days immediately
following a miscarriage (after 8 weeks of pregnancy). She had been taking the fertility
drug Clomid to promote ovulation. She is from India, lives in London, and has until
very recently led an extremely busy professional life, running her own business, and
needing to make frequent very long haul flights for business projects. She has made
big changes in her life, deciding to slow down, take more rest time and focus on
conceiving a child. She says ‘This is my priority now’. She has done some yoga in the
past, and was following a daily pranayama programme involving kapalabhati and nadi
shodana. She arrives for the first session with her husband, who is very supportive
and engaged throughout the session.
B: Therapist response
New moon! Time for change and new beginnings – focus during session, Initial
session 90 minutes, follow up session two weeks later 60 minutes. Aim in first session
to provide healing, restful practices to promote balance and nurture following the
miscarriage.
First programme given:
1 Superdeluxe savasana rest pose with knees up on chair/bolster
2 Semisupine Full yogic breath with awareness techniques (using hands
in yoni mudra).
3 Ujjayi breath to use with synchronised movements.
4 Basic pelvic awareness tilts and lifts with full yogic breath (base position
has feet on floor under bent knees). Focus on EARTH, grounding the feet.
5 Seed to flower: alternating between opening and protection. (MiniShakti
bandhas from supta baddha konasana with healing, synchronised breath
and movement: arms moving above and below head, knees opening and
closing: followed by restorative supta baddha konasana.
6 Seated pelvic Shakti bandhas (‘churning the mill’) freeing of feminine
energy with legs open. Focus on feet anchoring and hips circling.
Followed by supported savasana.
7 Gentle moving lying twist with breath and arm movement synchronisation.
8 Restorative side lying with deep relaxation (yoga Nidra). This also could
be done in the reclining supta baddha konasana:’the queen’ (see page 246
of ‘The Baby Making Bible’
Learning support provided: Simply Calm CD for Ujjayi and yoga Nidra.
Also a marked copy of Yoga for Living: Feel Confident with the practices, which she
had done, annotated.
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Second programme provided (two weeks later)
1 Recap on the breath and synchronised movement, as per first
Sequence, items 1 – 5
2 Plus the Chandra Sequence (see previous pictures at end of document)
3 Yoga Nidra with shins resting in baddha konasana up on a chair.
C: Examples from this case history
In the first session it was noticeable that the client was breathing very erratically. She
was anxious, vulnerable and wanting to heal but not knowing quite how to go about it.
She expressed great surprise at how gentle the programme was, in comparison with
other approaches to yoga, which she had encountered. She also expressed great relief
that this was the case. She was clearly surprised by her lack of connection to her
feet and inability to move and ground her toes and heels. Her husband was keen to help
her connect with this part of the programme. She was noticeably calmer at the end of
the session.
Second session, she was very keen to attend – coming over in her lunch hour
immediately after consultation with her GP. She was delighted to share the effects of
her practices ‘ It feels right’ she said. She had more facility with lengthening her
breath, more connection to her body.
D: Practical effect of Yoga therapy in this case
This young woman was highly motivated and keen to heal and conceive. Her husband
was very supportive of her change in lifestyle and shift of focus. She practised almost
every day following the first session, usually about 25 minutes for the breath and
movement, and then with the yoga Nidra (1520 minutes in the evening).
At the second session she was evidentially more grounded, with higher vitality and
also a sense of clear focus and positivity. She explained that she had enjoyed the
yoga, that it had given her a focus to help her slow down, and that she was committed
to taking time to heal naturally: she said her GP had suggested taking Clomid again,
because she had not yet ovulated (2 weeks after miscarriage) but the client decide she
would prefer to wait and see if and when her period resumed naturally. She said she
felt the yoga gave her tools to feel positive about her cycle returning naturally and she
would work in this way and wait and see. She was very positive about the second
session, and planned to continue practice.
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Case study 3: Miscarriage/s
Supporting recovery from previous miscarriage/s, and
promotion of healthy menstruation with a view to a healthy
natural conception.
A: Client background and presenting concerns
This very fit, healthy and vital single woman in her mid forties sought yoga therapy in
the months following a miscarriage in the previous year (after 8 weeks of pregnancy).
She had recently split with her partner ‘the love of her life’ and was fully aware of her
own distress. They had previously done two rounds of IVF in the past three years, and
she had conceived, but miscarried on both occasions. She also spoke about three
previous abortions she had had after conceiving with ‘the wrong men.’ She lived in
the rural far North, and came to the yoga therapy session in London, where she was
attending a training day. The client was a highly intelligent and creative freelance
filmmaker, who is fully conscious of her deep desire to change the focus of her life
away from work and towards family. She described it as a ‘very deep, primal urge’
whose power she acknowledged.
She described herself as ‘superfertile’ – citing the ease with which she had always
conceived in the past, and her mother and sister who both had four children ‘without
meaning too’. She expressed pain and sadness that this ‘super fertility’ seemed to be
passing, and she was fully aware that at her age and in her present circumstances that
the likelihood of conceiving with her chosen partner was very slim. She was also
investigating IVF with donor sperm and adoption.
She had previously practised yoga over many years, mostly from books, and
sometimes on a daily basis (during a visit to India). This was her first one to one yoga
experience.
B: Therapist response
Initial telephone session 30 minutes; follow up session one week later 90 minutes.
Aim on telephone to counsel anxiety and get background information and provide
guidance on reading and lifestyle as requested by client: recommended Baby Making
Bible, and also work by Francesca Naish.
Aim in first facetoface session to listen to story (there was weeping) and to provide
healing, restful practices to promote balance and nurture and to get grounded and
connected to lunar rhythms. Huge full moon! Very heavy and full – client also pre
menstrual (her period began the next day) which impacted on the emotional nature of
the consultation. The focus was also to empower the client to encounter difficult
understandings about herself and her place in life as described in client background.
Programme given:
1 Semisupine rest pose with knees up on chair/bolster
2 Full yogic breath with awareness techniques (using hands in yoni mudra).
3 Ujjayi breath to use with synchronised movements.
4 Basic pelvic awareness, tilts and lifts with full yogic breath (base position
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has feet on floor under bent knees). Focus on EARTH, grounding the feet
5 Bridge pose with Mulabandha, to connect inner and outer worlds.
6 Seed to flower: alternating between opening and protection. (MiniShakti
bandhas from supta baddha konasana with healing, synchronised breath
and movement: arms moving above and below head, knees opening and
closing: followed by restorative supta baddha konasana
7 Gentle moving lying twist with breath and arm movement synchronisation.
8 Legs on chair in supported supta baddha konasana for Yoga Nidra with
emphasis on SANKALPA which we discussed at length before using a
‘just for now’ sankalpa.
Learning support provided: Simply Calm CD for Ujjayi and Yoga Nidra.
Also a marked copy of The Baby –Making Bible Yoga fertility Sequence.
C: Examples from this case history
The challenge with this client was to balance the support for healthy conception and
to address the real possibility that this may not occur easily, or even at all. The
balance of the session was very much towards listening (30 minutes). Because the
emotions of grief, loss, frustration and disappointment were so vivid, it was important
to offer a practice that was spacious and gentle enough to give the client time to settle
after all she had spoken of, yet at the same time to give her a grasp on a practice that
would be helpful to take away and utilise through the next few months with each
stage of her menstrual cycle.
D: Practical effect of Yoga therapy in this case
It was evident that the Ujjayi breath provided an immediate sense of power, release
and control. “I can feel how useful this will be to me’ she said. There was also a
sense of relief that the programme did not set additional challenges or difficulty, but
rather provided soothing and comfort, with a sense of movement and release.
The client has since been in touch by email, explaining that her period started the next
day after the session, and that she was making time in her day to do the relaxation
practices because they felt good.
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Case study 4 /Endometriosis –
pain management
Age 33
Marital status in partnership
Occupation /lifestyle – Head of a charity, lives in London, frequent intercontinental travel.
Slight build. Vegetarian
Journey to yoga? – 2 years previous yoga. Through YBT therapy classes and Well Woman yoga
one to one session for yoga and hypnotherapy
Presenting issues – intense pain during menstruation.
Since 14 or 15 – so around 16 years. Each cycle, with more intense pain every 3rd or 4th month, the
peak of pain continuing for about 6 hours and so intense that she would usually be admitted to
hospital. Usually to A&E for an overnight stay and morphine – the only drug which seems to relieve
the pain. Has tried all available pain killers, nothing else works.
Has investigated surgery for removal of endometriosis – but following surgery for removal of fibroids
(one golf ball sized, one orange sized – is reluctant for further surgery at present.
Programme
Did four or five sessions one to one.
Learnt pain management and relaxation techniques based around use of UJJAYI and self hypnosis.
After fifth session she called on telephone in the middle of an attack of severe pain.
She was seeking guidance in the use of the techniques to manage the pain – spent one hour on the
phone being guided through breath and self hypnosis for pain relief.
She called later to report that the attack had lasted for 17 hours (10 hours longer than usual) but that
much to her astonishment she had not gone to hospital:
“The Ujjayi got me through’
Further references:
Dian Shepperson Mills ‘Endometriosis’
A comprehensive guide to managing the condition using nutritional change. Her approach is holistic
and sits well with yoga therapy.
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Case study 5/ Sub fertility and
preparation for conception
Age 33
Occupation – TV researcher, lives in London
Presenting issues – seeking to conceive, been trying for a baby for 2 years.
Route to yoga – acupuncturist and friend recommended
Programme
Two one to one sessions teaching gentle movement to free pelvic energy and key restorative yoga
practices using breath awareness and yoga Nidra:
Pelvic tilting in kandharasana/ setu bandha
Blooming sunflower – rhythmic supta baddha konasana with arm movement
Variations from luna yoga
Golden thread breath
Yoga Nidra in supported supta baddha konasana
Recommended using 15 minutes to relax in this pose daily
After two sessions reappeared some months later in pregnancy yoga class – now mother to two
children, son and daughter.
Useful resources from Foresight – the organisation for preconception care
Also sequences from Relax and Renew, Judith Lasater.
See also ‘Getting pregnant faster’ Marilyn Glenville
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Case Study 6 / Prolapse
Age: 34
Occupation – ex lawyer, lives in London, now mother of two children a son 3 years and daughter 8
months
Journey to yoga –
Pregnancy yoga on first child, and postnatal recovery yoga and baby yoga on first child. Recently
referred by GP to a physiotherapist and specialist women’s health physiotherapist because of
prolapse.
Presenting issues – Mild /medium uterine prolapse following birth of daughter.
Causes discomfort when walking, especially if carrying/pushing weight.
Experienced no practical assistance or improvements when following the advice given by GP and the
other health care practitioners to whom she was referred.
“They just told me to do my pelvic floor exercises’
Programme – Intense work over four weeks – meeting once a week with set homework between:
Education (responding to needs of pitta/vata mind) – using diagrams, models and books
Explanation
Breath linked pelvic tilts and lifts from kandharasana
Abdominal breath and mulabandha in kandharasana
As above, continued using blocks, bolsters and lifts to work in elevated position.
Developed to work towards supta uddiyana bandha (see Mother’s Breath and Blandine Calais
Germaine – The Female Pelvis.
Following weeks developed all of the above to lead into
Supta uddiyana bandha 7 repetitions
Then working into rhythmic partial shoulderstand against the wall with mulabandha
Restorative poses with pelvis elevated
Finally developing ability to mobilise all the above in standing and lifting poses.
See Women’s Health, London Website for details on varieties and degrees of prolapse
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Case Study 7 / Fibroids
Age: 52
Occupation – financial consultant
Journey to yoga –
Life long interest in meditation. Regular weekly classes attended for a number of years. Attended
women’s yoga retreats. Daily self practice of some asana, but discontinued because of discomfort
from the fibroids.
Presenting issues –
Swollen belly – up to around 28 weeks pregnancy gestation equivalent.
Tenderness, soreness, pressure when lying on front. Rapid increase in size of fibroids over short
period (six months). But previously present for many years. Distress at symptoms, discomfort.
Surgery had been recommended but had elected to try alternative methods. Had already made
considerable efforts, using homeopathy changes in diet etc.
Programme –
Attendance at women’s yoga retreats annually – and then one to one session.
Home practice of YOGA NIDRA – specially developed practice utilising client’s own language,
metaphors and concerns – all voiced during a one to one session: the language in the yoga Nidra was
all about coming home to herself, about feeling at home in the womb, about truly making space for
herself to feel completely at home, to explore the feeling of being at home in her body. Literally her
experience was that the fibroid had grown to the size where there was no room for her to be at home
to herself and her own concerns in the womb. These feelings also resonated around recent
experience of her being in a caregiving role in her family following the serious illnesses of a sister
and some extreme demands around family needs.
The yoga Nidra was recorded during the one to one session and then used most days thereafter in
self practice. There was great commitment to the practice and an immediate experience that this was
what was needed.
Effect – by all accounts, remarkable. On seeing the client at a womb yoga class some four months
later, she was in a totally different place, shape, state: the fibroid had reduced so much in size that it
was now no longer perceptible to client – the 28 wk pregnant belly had totally disappeared, she had
lost weight and regained vitality – ‘ Look at me in my skinny tight leggings!’ she boasted with glee –
taking delight in her improved health and vital energy. She put the shift down completely to the Yoga
Nidra practice.
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Case Study 7 / Menopause
Age: 54
Occupation – bank cashier, mother of grown up children and yoga teacher
Presenting issues –
‘Mind wipe!’ Unable to think, concentrate or focus. Worried that she would be unable to do her job
effectively.
Emotional disturbances – extreme mood swings.
Hot flushes – drenched in sweat, trembling and raging high temperatures – random onsets – worse at
night, but also occur during the day.
Programme –
Attended weekly yoga class and had her own practice too.
One to one consultation identified key practices for management and prevention.
Management – practices to use during the day to help handle symptoms:
sheetali and sheetkari (cooling breaths) to reduce temperature, ujjayi to assist in concentration,
breath counting in small batches to hold focus.
Golden square breath with full yogic breath to calm emotional disturbances, also breath balancing.
Prevention – practices to do in the evenings and at weekends to burn off excess heat and create a
state of balance and calm:
Surya namaskar, whichever version she felt like, up to twelve rounds until heat built and released.
Selection of backward bending practices according to inclination – ranging from bridges to urdvha
danurasana. Headstand and shoulderstand followed by plough and matsyasana.
Nadi shodana in various variations – including psychic nadi shodana and triangle breath.
Yoga nidra and meditation each evening before bed, to promote deep sleep.
Amaroli for hormone balancing.
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A WombFriendly Yoga Manifesto
Part 1 / the need for wombfriendliness in the yoga world
Most of the people on this planet who practise and teach yoga are women.
Most of these women have wombs.
And many of these women have little clear understanding about the effects of yoga practice upon their
wombs.
This is because yoga was originally developed by men for men’s bodies, and has been, until only very
recently, transmitted through exclusively male lineages.
Traditional forms of teaching yoga are thus likely to have zero womb awareness,
so there is much ignorance and confusion in the yoga world about
what happens to our wombs when we practice yoga.
The aim of the WombFriendly Yoga Manifesto is to ensure that
every woman who practises and teaches yoga is fully informed
about the key techniques to avoid at certain times, so that she may
fully respect and honour the health of her womb throughout her life.
When a woman has correct and complete information then
she has the power to make appropriate yoga choices for herself.
The information provided overleaf sets out the aims and effects of certain yoga techniques and outlines
the effects of these practices on the womb.
Why bother?
The healthful energies of a woman’s womb are key to her lifelong wellbeing and vitality.
In yogic anatomy of the energy body, the womb is the seat of creativity, fertility and capacity to
nurture and grow new life, new ideas – to manifest.
It is literally the cosmic gateway for shakti (power) within.
Yoga is all about refining awareness, of body, mind, breath, emotions and energies:
it is about ‘union’ or reconnection with the source of all life.
To pay no attention to the changing needs of womb cycles is to neglect the very place within that is the
source of vitality and well being.
Respect for womb cycles is the foundation of
a refined and sensitive yoga practice for women.
I encourage you to make the inner harmony and health of your womb your first priority. I encourage
you to practice wombfriendly yoga!
Uma DinsmoreTuli / www.wombyoga.org
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Wombfriendly yoga manifesto part 2 / the information
‘Caution please – wombs present’ close connection to each other. The effects of
The following practices need to be handled all three locks when practised together are
with caution for female yoga practitioners at more intense then when they are practised
many times in their lives singly.
Inversions Pumping breaths (Kapalbhati,
One of the key purposes of inversions in hatha Bhastrika, ‘Breath of fire’)
yoga is to reverse the flow of apana. Reversed All these breaths use rhythmic abdominal and
apana does not effectively release menstrual pelvic floor contractions to facilitate forced
flow, so practising inversions during bleeding exhalations (kapalbhati) or forced inhalations
can lengthen the length of time that you bleed. and exhalations (bhastrika). They often
Practising inversions during pregnancy has an activate rhythmic lifting and lowering of the
unquantifiable effect on the blood flow to the pelvic floor and are frequently followed in yoga
womb. Since rectus abdominal muscles in practice by application of the bandhas
pregnancy are necessarily stretched, they are described above to maintain a longer pause
unable to contract to provide the usual source after exhalation (bahir kumbhaka). The
of lower back support during inversions. accurate practice of these breaths both builds
Postnatal women rarely have the necessary upon and requires abdominal strength, and so
abdominals strength to provide adequate it can be impossible to practise them correctly
lower back support for accurate practise of during pregnancy. The action of these breaths
inversions directly and rhythmically compresses, lifts and
releases the womb repeatedly. This has an
Bandhas unquantifiable effect on the baby inside the
The purpose of bandhas (locks) in yoga is to womb, and upon the oxygen and carbon
alter and contain the flow of energies in the dioxide levels in the blood circulated to the
body. Mula bandha (root lock) when placenta and the baby. It also has the effect of
practised in the classical fashion with a lift on reversing apana, so the same comments about
exhalation, is intended to reverse apana, and menstrual flow made in relation to the bandhas
this is the energy responsible for the release of apply to these breaths.
menstrual blood flow and also the flow of
blood during healing after birth. (There are Hot and/or fast yoga
alternative breath patterns which can be used The practice of yoga asana sequences which
to support this flow). Practising a strong or build heat, or which are done in a greatly
continuous mula bandha during pregnancy can heated environment are intended to promote
create a thickening of the pelvic floor muscles greater flexibility and range of motion in the
that may obstruct the passage of the baby in joints during asana practice. This can be
second stage labour. problematic premenstrually, during pregnancy
Uddiyana bandha (abdominal lift) or postnatally, especially when lactating, when
brings a powerful physical uplift to all the hormonal changes promote softness in
abdominal and pelvic organs, with the intention ligaments. Pregnant women tend to be several
of reversing the flow of apana and with the degrees hotter than usual anyway, and their
same effects on the release of blood from the resting heart rate is much higher than normal,
womb as described above. This bandha, like so speed and heat are not particularly
Jalandhara bandha (chin lock) works nurturing or comfortable at this time. Some
synergistically with the pelvic floor so that perimenopausal women find hot yoga practice
when Uddiyana and Jalandhara are practised helpful in ‘burning off’ excessive heat, and
correctly they tend to involve a simultaneous others find it profoundly enervating and
mula bandha, which will lift the vulva and vagina depleting. For women who are seeking to
and reverse the flow of apana within. conceive but experiencing difficulties, then
Maha bandha is a combination of all intense heat and speed in asana may have a
three previous locks practised at once or in ‘drying effect’, depleting their vital energies and
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compromising fertility. Hot fast yoga during At the time of conception and during
lactation can impact adversely on breast milk the first three months of pregnancy, the whole
production and postnatal recovery. of a woman’s pranas are mobilised in the
astonishing job of creating new life. It is a
Yoga and womb life: special times delicate time. Great powers working within
At these special times the practices described the womb, and so very little prana is available
above can be especially inappropriate. for anything else.
1 When menstruating
During menstruation the womb is under the 5 During pregnancy (14 weeks +)
influence of the power of a special prana (or As the pregnancy becomes securely
energy flow) called apana that, amongst other established, many physiological adaptations are
things, controls the downward release of made by the mother’s body to accommodate
menstrual blood. The practice of vigorous the growing baby. They effect every system of
pumping breaths and bandhas which reverse the body, most significantly in terms of yoga
apana, can lengthen the time it takes to release practice, the cardiovascular system and the
the blood. Menstruation is a time when prana musculoskeletal system. This means that
naturally gravitates to the uterus to effect the specially modified yoga practices are best,
shedding and renewal of the womb lining, so either in yoga for pregnancy classes, or with a
often the time before and the time during skilled and experienced teacher who has
menstruation is a time when there is simply respect for the massive changes that occur in
less available prana to put into a more the mothers body, breath, mind and heart
externalised yoga practice such as asana. during pregnancy in preparation for birth and
motherhood.
2 When your menstrual cycle is
very erratic, or absent, and you are
seeking to reestablish a more 6 During the postnatal period
regular rhythm However her baby/ies arrived, a woman who
At these times it can be wise to avoid the fast has just given birth is in a vulnerable state,
and hot yoga in order to focus the energies physically, emotionally and physiologically. Her
towards nourishing the body in order to joints may be unstable, abdominal and pelvic
encourage the menstrual cycle to return or to floor very weak, her emotional state very
become more regular. sensitive and her vitality low. Sleep deprivation
and the displacement of pelvic organs are also
3 When using an IUD (intra widespread experiences during this time. Yoga
uterine device) practice during this period can bring many
The correct positioning of an intrauterine healing benefits, but it needs to be handled
device is not only essential for its effective very carefully by knowledgeable teachers who
functioning, but also for comfort. Pumping are aware that standard approaches to asana
breaths and uddiyana bandha can sometimes and pranayama, including most of the practices
dislodge IUDs from their correct position, on the ‘Caution, wombs present’ list can often
causing pain, bleeding or losing ‘the string’. do more harm than good. The same sensitive
awareness should also be held during periods
4 When seeking to conceive, or following miscarriage or still birth.
during early pregnancy
A woman who is seeking to conceive requires 7 During lactation
all of her energies to be available to nourish In relation to yoga practice, it is important to
her womb and maintain her health. Very hot know that hormones which control milk
and fast yoga practices can compromise the production and letdown can make ligaments
rhythms of the cycle and use the pranas very lax. Fast and heating practices can also
needed for conception. Strong practice of adversely effect milk production.
uddiyana bandha can also be disruptive of these
energies. 8 Perimenopause
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In this time of uncertainty when menstrual Yoga asana (done slowly and steadily) is of
cycles may be very erratic, very heavy, or proven benefit in the prevention and
sometimes continuous, yoga practice needs to management of osteoporosis, and many of
be responsive to changing, sometimes rapidly the pumping breaths and bandhas are of
changing needs. Although some of the value in optimising vitality. Practice of
practices on the ‘Caution Wombs Present’ inversions and fast or hot yoga needs to be
list, for example inversions and some pumping cautiously evaluated according to the
breaths, can certainly be beneficial outside of capacity of the student and her previous
bleeding times, it is important to understand experience and encounters with the
that responses to menopause are highly preceding ‘special times’ (in particular her
individualised: for example fast and heating experiences with pregnancy/ies, the quality
practices may be superbly helpful for some of her postnatal recovery/ies and the
women but deeply depleting for others. nature of her menopause) which all
influence the choice of appropriate yoga
9 Postmenopause after menopause.
At a glance table for wombfriendly yoga practice.
Types of yoga practice
(Key: √ = ok; X = avoid; ! = with care;
?? with extreme caution)
Times of a woman’s life /
times in the menstrual cycle ns
hara r fast
ping iyana
d t o
PumbreathsMula bandha
Ud bandhaJaland
bandha Inversio Ho asana
During menstruation X X X X X ?
When menstrual cycle erratic / absent X √ ? ? ! X
and you are seeking to restore balance
When you are seeking to conceive X ! X ! X X
(including during IVF)
During first trimester of pregnancy X ! X ! X X
During second trimester of pregnancy X ! X ! ?? X
During third trimester of pregnancy X ! X ! X X
During immediate postnatal recovery X ? X X X X
period (first twelve weeks)
During extended postnatal recovery ! ! ! ! ! ??
period (up to 2 years)
During lactation ?? ! ?? ! ! ??
With an IUD in place X ! X ! ! !
Following miscarriage X ! X ! X X
With prolapsed pelvic organs ?? ! ! ! √ !
During perimenopause ?? ! ! ! ! ??
Post menopause, √ √ √ √ √ √
Age, desire and agility permitting!
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Bibliography and useful websites
www.yonishakti.co for downloads from Yoni Shakti – worth checking regularly, new audio and video going up
all the time. Top tip for support over menstrual and other explorations of women’s issues from a spiritually
inspired point of view is
http://www.redschool.net ‘Illuminating the path to power and wisdom’ ! A gem.
Yoga therapy resources –it’s worth signing up as a member to get access to the articles and bibliographies.
www.iyi.org.uk
1. Women’s Health London, really useful handouts and clear information on full range of women’s
health issues for you and your clients http://www.womenshealthlondon.org.uk/
2. Natracare’s girls menstruation information, schools project on women’s health:
www.natracare.com/p347/enGB/TeachersCentre.aspx
3.Big Shakti, Australian yoga therapy site cofounded by Dr Swami Shankardevananda (author of many
Bihar School Yoga Therapy books). Sound, passionate writing and guidance on all things shakti:
http://www.bigshakti.com/home/whatisshakti
4.CalaisGermain, Blandine. 2003. The Female Pelvis: Anatomy and Exercises.
Eastland Press: Seattle. Useful reference for this module – try out some of the exercises.
5.Chiarelli, Pauline. Women’s Waterworks. Neem press. A fabulous, world bestselling guide to the
female pelvic floor, written by a physiotherapist continence advisor. A free chapter is available to
down load at www.womenswaterworks.com
6. Kent, Christine, Saving the Whole Woman is a passionate and sustained argument against the
surgical approach to prolapse, it offers some radical rethinking of prolapse prevention and cause. Her
online forum is worth visiting for information on this topic http://www.wholewoman.com/
7. Naish, Francesca, Natural fertility. And see her website www.fertility.com.au Vitally important
perspective on fertility and lunar cycles, optimising natural fertility, managing conception and
contraception.
8. Northrup, Christiane. Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom; The Wisdom of the Menopause; Mother
Daughter Wisdom and indeed anything else by this inspirational US MD are absolutely essential
reading. Her website and forum is also well worth a visit: http://www.drnorthrup.com/
9.Ohlig, Adelheid. 1994. Luna Yoga: Vital fertility and Sexuality. Ash Tree Publishing: Woodstock,
New York. Comprehensive and inspiring – full of helpful modifications and good ideas.
10.Pope, Alexandra. The Wild Genie: The Healing Power of Menstruation. (Sally Milner Publishing,
2001); Walking with the Genie: The Modern Woman's Menstrual Health Kit (self published, 2001)
The Pill: are you sure it's for you? 2008 Jane Bennett and Alexandra Pope (Allen and Unwin)
Alexandra is a real menstrual guru! She runs workshops all over the world and is well worth seeking
out. Also her website www.wildegenie.com is full of really valuable links to other useful sites.
11. Saraswati, Sw. Satyananda. 1984 . Kundalini Tantra. Bihar School of Yoga. Munger. Classic
reference on chakra energetics.
12. Saraswati, Sw. Satyananda. 1992 [1977]. Nawa Yogini Tantra. Bihar School of Yoga. Munger.
Full of insight and helpful yoga guidance on many aspects of womens’ health. Essential reference for
this course, but be wary about the guidelines during pregnancy and birth. Apart from that, everything
else is trustworthy.
In addition, many of the practices taught in the course are described and/or illustrated in detail in the
following texts written by the course tutor: Mother’s Breath: a definitive guide to yoga breathing, sound
and awareness practices during pregnancy, birth, postnatal recovery and mothering. Sitaram and
Sons. London. And 2002. Yoga for Living: feel Confident. Dorling Kindersley. London.Dinsmore
Tuli, Uma. 2008. Teach yourself Yoga for pregnancy and Birth; Hodder Education, London.
Educational resources on supporting women’s health through ayurveda can be found at mother Maya
Tiwari’s site http://www.wisearth.org/ayurveda/index.html
Useful handouts and briefing on the ecological impact of the sanitary protection industry can be round
at the women’s environmental network: http://www.wen.org.uk/
Frances Lewis has inspiring blogs and articles on her site http://www.franceslewis.co.uk/
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Well Woman: Yoga for Women's Health and Vital Energy
END OF MODULE COLLABORATIVE LEARNING COSOLIDATION and SELFASSESSMENT
Section 1
Mark each statement T or F for True or False in the left hand margin. If you do not know the answer put
DK (don’t know). A correct answer scores 1 mark, don’t know scores 0 and wrong answers score minus 1, so
DO NOT GUESS! The questions are arranged in groups of five for convenience of marking only.
1. Luteinising Hormone (LH) secretion is an important trigger for ovulation.
2. In a menstrual cycle where fertilisation does not occur, the corpus luteum degenerates after about a
month’s activity.
3. In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) endometrial tissue is found in sites other than the uterine
lining.
4. Painful periods are usually associated with spasmodic uterine contractions.
5. The fundus of the uterus is the part adjacent to the cervix.
6. The cervix projects downwards into the upper vagina.
7. The clitoris is the only part of the female genitalia that contains erectile tissue.
8. The breast lies over the pectoral muscle but is only loosely attached to it.
9. The vagina contains numerous mucussecreting glands in its walls.
10. The perineum is the diamondshaped area bounded by the ischial tuberosities, coccyx tip and pubic
symphysis.
11. The deepest layer of the endometrium remains after the end of the menses each month.
12. Egg cells in the ovaries decline significantly in numbers between birth and puberty.
13. In an ovarian follicle the supporting cells around the ovum produce hormones.
14. Menarche is defined as the first day of the first menstrual period at puberty.
15. Ovulation occurs around day 14 of a 21day cycle.
16. On day 14 of a 28day cycle, the uterine endometrium is at its thickest.
17. Ovulation can produce lower abdominal pain at around the midpoint of a 28day cycle.
18. Progestins (including progesterone) produce some increase in breast size and sometimes tenderness
just before the onset of the menses.
19. The menses in an average woman would involve the loss of around 350ml of blood per cycle.
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20. The bag of enzymes at the head end of a single sperm contains enough enzymes to penetrate
through the wall of the ovum.
21. During reproductive life vaginal secretions are slightly acidic in order to protect against invading
bacteria.
22. By the time a fertilised egg embeds in the endometrium it has developed into a hollow ball of cells.
23. The lining of the uterine (Fallopian) tubes secretes a chemical attractant that encourages the ovum
to enter the open end of the tube.
24. The finger like processes at the open end of the uterine (Fallopian) tube move to waft the ovum into
the open end of the tube.
25. Each ovary is attached to the uterus by a strand of fibrous tissue called a ligament.
26. The pelvic floor muscle sheet consists of smooth muscle.
27. The pelvic floor muscle sheet becomes weaker at the menopause due partly to the drop in oestrogen
levels in the blood.
28. The secretion of hormones from the corpus luteum is controlled by the hypothalamus and anterior
pituitary.
29. Urge incontinence is caused primarily by pelvic floor weakness.
30. Chin hair development in postmenopausal women is due to testosterone secreted by the adrenal
cortex.
31. Chlamydia is the commonest sexuallytransmitted disease in UK women.
32. The uterine (Fallopian) tubes have cilia in their lining that beat in the direction of the uterus.
33. Previous pelvic infection is the commonest cause of uterine (Fallopian) tubal blockage.
34. Fertilisation occurs most commonly within the cavity of the uterus.
35. Clitoral erection occurs due to the action of sympathetic nerves on the clitoral arteries,
allowing the erectile tissue to fill with blood.
Section 2
Answer all of the questions from 1 – 5 by putting a tick against the answer or answers that you feel is most
correct for each question.
1. Which two aspects of yoga are most likely to be helpful for women who experience a range of
difficulties associated with premenstrual tension?
➢ Restorative poses
➢ Vinyasa sequences
➢ Swadhyaya (selfstudy)
➢ Hot yoga
Page 70
2. Which three chakras are the most directly influential in terms of issues
concerning the female reproductive system?
➢ Muladhara
➢ Swadisthana
➢ Manipura
➢ Anahata
➢ Vishuddhi
3. As a general guide, during perimenopause, fluctuations in temperature and mood swings can be
understood as an imbalance of which two dosha/s?
➢ Vata
➢ Pitta
➢ Kapha
4. As a general rule, in cases of subfertility, what single range of
practices are likely be the most valuable in any yoga therapy programme?
➢ Asana
➢ Pranayama
➢ Deep relaxations
➢ Kriyas
5. In management of uterine prolapse postnatally, which two of the
following bandhas (in modified forms if necessary) may prove most helpful?
➢ Shakti bandha/s
➢ Uddiyana bandha
➢ Jalandhara bandha
➢ Mulabandha
6. In management of natural fertility, which four of the following aspects of female fertility are observed
to provide guidance for conception and contraception?
➢ Cervical mucus changes
➢ Oestrogen levels
➢ Basal temperature
➢ Responses to synthetic hormones
➢ Lunar biorhythm
➢ Cycle awareness
7. During which three of the following times in a women’s menstruating life may nonovulatory and/or
erratic periods be considered perfectly normal?
➢ mid thirties
➢ teens
➢ during breastfeeding
➢ late twenties
➢ during perimenopause
8. When designing yoga therapy for menstrual difficulties of any kind, which three of the following
strategies are the most important first steps?
➢ Sufficient rest around the premenstruum
➢ Regular daily asana practice
➢ Cycle awareness diaries
Page 71
➢ Twice daily meditation
➢ Lunar cycles and biorhythm awareness
➢ Daily pranayama
9. When teaching yoga to a general class that includes women of childbearing age, which four of the
following questions are most crucial to ask (discretely, or publicly according to your relationship with
your students) before deciding what is appropriate to teach?
➢ What level of asana practice is usual for you?
➢ Have you had a baby in the past three years?
➢ How long have you been practicing yoga?
➢ What is your favourite style of yoga?
➢ Are you breastfeeding?
➢ Where are you in your menstrual cycle today?
➢ Have you got an IUD?
10. When teaching yoga to women, which three of the following categories of yoga techniques are most
likely to require caution from the teacher?
➢ Yoga Nidra
➢ Pumping breaths
➢ Forward bends
➢ Twists
➢ Inversions
➢ Longsustained standing poses
➢ Uddiyana bandha variations
➢ Restoratives
Page 72
Section 3: these are longer questions to consider at your leisure – guidance for medal answers
will be provided before the close of the course.
Please read all the following scenarios and answer all the questions pertaining to each. These case studies
are composite characters based on real experiences.
A. On menstruation:
Esther is 22 years old, and experiences a very heavy menstrual flow accompanied by extreme pain. She has been
told by her GP that the pain may be due to endometriosis, and that further investigations are recommended.
Her cycle is fairly short (less than 21 days usually) and she is also very anxious that her menstrual problems will
impede her ability to study and perform well in her upcoming degree coursework and exams.
She has already been practising ashtanga vinyasa primary series for two years.
1. What do you need to know about Esther and her life to help design a suitable holistic programme of
yoga therapy? Write five questions to ask her in the first session.
2. What three key suggestions might you make to her about the suitability of her current yoga practice?
3. What two pain relief practices would you suggest to her to be done during menstruation to manage
discomfort?
4. What two prevention practices/strategies would you suggest to her to be done throughout the rest of the
month.
5. What two techniques for management of anxiety would you suggest to her to integrate into her life?
B. On perimenopause:
Joan is 52 and experiencing frequent hot flushes (most nights and 3 or 4 times an hour on a bad day) and erratic
mood swings. She describes herself as 'Mrs Angry" and is very alarmed by the level of rage she feels, and by the
faintness and weakness and exhaustion that follows the hot flushes.
Joan has never done any yoga before, but is fit and well because she has always been a keen swimmer and hill
walker. She is desperate for some help and has been recommended to try yoga by her daughter. She is really
keen to get started.
1. What do you need to know about Joan and her life to help design a suitable holistic programme of yoga
therapy? Write five questions to ask her in the first session.
2. What three general suggestions might you make to her about yogic lifestyle during perimenopause?
3. What two heat relief practices would you suggest to her to be done during her hot flushes to manage
discomfort?
4. What two anger management practices/strategies would you suggest to her to be used during a bout of
rage?
5. What other two yoga practices (of any kind: could be asana, or pranayama or anything else) would you
suggest to her to integrate into her life with the intention to promote balance and lessen the distressing
symptoms she is experiencing?
Page 73
3. On subfertility:
Sasha is a 38 year old busy lawyer for an international merchant banking company. She works long hours in the
City, travels frequently on long haul flights. She is married and she and her husband are keen to have a family.
They have been 'trying for a baby' for the past two years.
Sasha has conceived twice in that time, but both pregnancies ended in miscarriage at 8 and twelve weeks
respectively. She is considering IVF, but a friend who recently conceived after starting a yoga class
recommended yoga and acupuncture first as a route to natural conception, so Sasha is giving the 'alternative'
approach a six month trial.
She has done a little yoga before, and enjoyed Ashtanga vinyasa and Bikram yoga. Currently though she prefers
working out in the company gym with her personal trainer, and when she has the time she likes to run.
1. What do you need to know about Sasha and her life to help design a suitable holistic programme of
2. What two key suggestions might you make to her about the suitability of her current yoga practice and
exercise regime?
3. What three general suggestions might you make to her about yogic lifestyle as a means to support
conscious conception (this may include some simple philosophical pointers)?
4. What two daily practices would you suggest to her to be done to optimise fertility?
4. On uterine prolapse and postnatal recovery:
Libby is 36 and is mother to one son and 3 daughters: her son is six years old, her oldest daughter is four years
old and the youngest two daughters are 4 month old twins. All pregnancies were healthy, and all her children
were spontaneous vaginal births in the local hospital. Her first daughter was positioned awkwardly and required
ventouse (suction cup) to assist her birth, but the other children were, as Libby describes it 'fairly
straightforward births'. The twins were, remarkably 5.5lbs and 6lbs at birth, and the pregnancy lasted for 38
weeks, which is unusually long for a twin pregnancy.
Since the birth of the twins Libby has experienced mild uterine prolapse, which especially troubles her when she
is pushing the twins in the pushchair 'it feels as though my insides are outside.' She attributes the problem to
getting up and back on her feet too soon after the birth of the twins. Other than this issue, Libby is in good
health, but complains of mild lower back ache, a saggy tummy and exhaustion.
She comes to yoga therapy primarily for help in managing the prolapse problem, and you are a 'last resort', since
she has already seen her GP, and been referred to a physiotherapist, who referred her to a personal trainer at the
local gym. None of the previous health care providers has given her anything of help.
1. What do you need to know about Libby and her life to help design a suitable holistic programme of
2. What two key primary practices might you suggest to lessen her distressing experience of prolapse
symptoms?
3. What two daily practices would you suggest to her to be done to optimise support for pelvic organs?
4. How do you suggest that Libby integrate yoga practice in her busy life?
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20/7/2016 2015 Stroud Womb Yoga manual

Day 1: Thursday Day 2: Friday 12 June Day 3: Saturday 13 Day 4: Sunday

1030 Welcoming yoga nidra. 0930 Satsang – shakti circles 0930 Satsang shakti circles

1130 Key yogic, tantric, 1100 cultural contexts for 1100 Menopause: Frances’

1600 Structure and function: 1600 Anatomy and 1600 Anatomy and 1430 Collaborative learning

FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework –

PANCHA PRITHVI APAS AGNI VAYU AKASHA

Tanmatra Gandha Rasa Rupa Sparsha Shabda (sound)

Jnanendriya Ghrana Jihwa (tongue) Chaksu Twacha (skin) Srotra (ears)

Karmendriya Payu (anus) Upastha Pada (foot) Pani (hand) Vak (speech)

Positive Secure Creative/fertile Powerful/ Loving Authentically

Colour Yellow White Red Blue/grey Black/ multi

Tattwa yantra Quadrangular Crescent moon Triangular Hexagonal Bindu/dot

Chakra Muladhara Swadisthana Manipura Anahata Vishuddhi

Bija mantra Lam Vam Ram Yam Ham

Antarkarana Ahamkara Buddhi Manasa Chitta Pragya

Kosha Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vigyanamaya Anandamaya

Prana vayu Apana Prana Samana Udana Vyana

OR seated lotus feet breathing 10. Womb Pilgrimage / chakki

DURING DIGESTION Pitta predominates: the Vata accumulates, as nutrients

Typical Vata Cycle Typical Pitta Cycle Typical Kapha Cycle

You might also like

Womb Yoga Manual PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

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Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

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Womb Yoga Manual PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

20/7/2016 2015 Stroud Womb Yoga manual

Day 1: Thursday Day 2: Friday 12 June Day 3: Saturday 13 Day 4: Sunday

1030 Welcoming yoga nidra. 0930 Satsang – shakti circles 0930 Satsang shakti circles

1130 Key yogic, tantric, 1100 cultural contexts for 1100 Menopause: Frances’

1600 Structure and function: 1600 Anatomy and 1600 Anatomy and 1430 Collaborative learning

FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework – FINISH 2030 Homework –

PANCHA PRITHVI APAS AGNI VAYU AKASHA

Tanmatra Gandha Rasa Rupa Sparsha Shabda (sound)

Jnanendriya Ghrana Jihwa (tongue) Chaksu Twacha (skin) Srotra (ears)

Karmendriya Payu (anus) Upastha Pada (foot) Pani (hand) Vak (speech)

Positive Secure Creative/fertile Powerful/ Loving Authentically

Colour Yellow White Red Blue/grey Black/ multi­

Tattwa yantra Quadrangular Crescent moon Triangular Hexagonal Bindu/dot

Chakra Muladhara Swadisthana Manipura Anahata Vishuddhi

Bija mantra Lam Vam Ram Yam Ham

Antarkarana Ahamkara Buddhi Manasa Chitta Pragya

Kosha Annamaya Pranamaya Manomaya Vigyanamaya Anandamaya

Prana vayu Apana Prana Samana Udana Vyana

OR seated lotus feet breathing 10. Womb Pilgrimage / chakki

DURING DIGESTION Pitta predominates: the Vata accumulates, as nutrients

Typical Vata Cycle Typical Pitta Cycle Typical Kapha Cycle

You might also like

Colour Yellow White Red Blue/grey Black/ multi