Let’s get real about our periods. They’re not just uncomfortable - often times they’re painful. But what if I told you that you can massage your internal organs and stretch away some of that pain? Here are eight poses that can help ease your PMS pains:
Child’s Pose
How to do it: from hands and knees, sit back onto your heels; spread the knees as much as needed to make this pose comfortable.
Why it helps: It relieves PMS pain in your lower back by stretching and relieving tension in the base of the spine. It also flexes the reproductive organs, which acts as a massage for the inside of your body.
Locust Pose
How to do it: From Child’s Pose, shift forward into kneeling plank and lower your body to the mat. Once your belly is on the mat, bring your arms to rest at your sides. Then, lift the arms, chest and legs off the mat.
Why it helps: It massages the abdomen and reproductive organs.
Seated Forward Fold
How to do it: From a seated position with your legs out in front of you, hinge at your hips, allowing your torso to fold over your thighs as much as possible.
Why it helps: opens and stretches muscles in the back, therefore reducing back pain. This pose also massages internal organs from the compression in the front of the body.
Butterfly Pose
How to do it: From a seated position, bring the soles of your feet to meet in front of you while your knees fall out to the sides.
Why it helps: This pose soothes the digestive system and stimulates the ovaries, therefore relieving cramp pain and fatigue.
Reclined Butterfly Pose
How to do it: From Butterfly, keep your legs in the butterfly position, simply leaning your torso back until you are able to bring it to the mat. Disclaimer: this pose is not for everyone and may cause lower back discomfort. If it does this for you, please skip it.
Why it helps: This pose opens the groin and causes the abdominal muscles to relax. This helps to ease menstrual cramps.
Knees to Chest
How to do it: From laying on your back, bring both knees into the chest and wrap your arms around to rest on your shins. Option to rock side to side.
Why it helps: Knees to Chest increases blood flow to the abdomen, which increases proper function of the internal organs - notably the digestive and reproductive organs.
Supine Spinal Twist
How to do it: from Knees to Chest, lower both knees down to one side of your body and hold for a few breaths before repeating on the other side.
Why it helps: This pose relieves pain in the lower belly by increasing blood flow to the digestive organs. It also eases discomfort in the lower back by stretching the hips and back. This pose, in a sense, “wrings out” our body.
Legs up a Wall
How to do it: From Knees to Chest (option to scooch your booty up to a wall for this) extend the legs straight up (option to rest the feet against the wall)
Why it helps: This pose improves circulation and increase productivity of the digestive organs. This pose also soothes the nervous system.
I hope this can help some of you get through that time of the month!
Namaste,
Leah
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