Yoga Asana for Menstrual Cramps: Rena Shoshana Forester

Yogic Postures & Techniques for Relieving Menstrual Cramps

Before I dive into the specific exercises, it’s important to acknowledge that practicing Yoga encourages one to feel connected to one’s body. Particularly amidst pain and discomfort, it often seems much easier to turn away and/or numb these feelings. That may work for some time, but eventually, if unattended to for long enough, these sensations may scream out in much more painful ways. I invite you to start small: maybe just five minutes of practicing Yoga to give yourself space to feel the discomfort. Over time, you can train your brain to not only hold the discomfort, but simultaneously find parts of your body that are actually comfortable. We have a natural tendency to notice areas of the body that are uncomfortable. Speaking from experience, the body is rarely 100% uncomfortable. We can learn to paint a full picture of what’s going on in our body by acknowledging the discomfort and comfort that exist in the same moment. Simply accepting these sensations with compassion is a significant first step to any sincere healing.  

A few notes on HOW to practice, before we get into the specifics of WHAT to practice.

First, we live in a society that generally rewards constantly doing and achieving. These traits are important, but equally important are the qualities of resting and being gentle. As women, we follow a cycle much like the moon where part of the time we are expanding our energy and more naturally able to DO, and part of the time our body needs to move more slowly and gently. Many women suffer from menstrual cramps simply because they are not making space for slowness. I invite you to use the practice of these postures as an opportunity to practice being slow and gentle with yourself. Even if after the practice you jump right back into a busy day of doing and achieving, having taken some time for being slow and gentle with yourself is significant. 

Second, these postures and exercises are intended to be restorative. While they may be uncomfortable, especially if you’ve never practiced them before, they are not meant to be painful. Use the following three warning signs as indications that you ought to come out of the pose, and take a moment to rest in any comfortable position:

1. Strained breathing
2. Sharp pain
3. Numb tingling

Aside from these three sensations, all other feelings are welcome parts of the process of letting go and creating space for something brighter and lighter to come in.

Now, let’s get to the techniques.

Balasana – Child’s Pose

Setting up for the pose: Start on the ground with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips, in a table tip position. Open your knees wide and bring your big toes to touch.  Bring your pelvis back towards your feet, if possible, allowing it to rest on your feet. If needed, place pillows or folded blankets/towels as supports in the creases of your knees, for your pelvis to rest on. Extend your arms out in front of your body. It may be more comfortable, especially in the first couple days of menstruation, to place pillows or folded blankets under your torso for added support. You may prefer not to use any additional supports which is fine, too. Once you’re in the pose, hold for a minimum of six seconds, or up to five minutes. I invite you to focus your attention on your exhale as a symbolic release of any tension that you may be holding. When you feel complete, gently walk your hands towards your body and take a moment to sit with your spine straight up towards the sky, taking a moment to pause and feel the effects of the posture.

How it helps to relieve and/or prevent menstrual cramps: Being in Balasana is often compared to being inside of a womb; allow yourself to tap into the safe and nurturing qualities of this pose. Simply taking a moment to pause and relieve ourselves from the stress of the outside world can be enough to reduce and relieve menstrual cramping. Physically, Balasana offers a gentle massage to the inner organs which can release cramping. Balasana can also support the relief of menstrual cramps because it opens the hips and thighs. As the pelvis rests on the legs, or on the support of pillows or blankets, pressure in the low back is able to release which can also result in relief from cramping.

Marjaryasana/Bitilasana – Cat/Cow

Setting up for the pose: Come back to that table top position with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. As you inhale, let your pelvis tilt up towards the sky as your belly drops down towards the ground, feel your shoulder blades move towards each other along the back, and lift your gaze up to the sky; this is “Cow” pose. As you exhale, reverse this position by bringing the chin in towards the chest, rounding the shoulders, drawing the belly button up towards the spine, and feeling the pelvis tilt down; this is “Cat” pose. Continue like this, alternating between “Cat” & “Cow” pose, in sync with your breath, going at whatever speed feels appropriate for you. You get to choose how deep you go with this pose based on what feels nice for your body. It’s recommended that you practice 5-10 rounds, but you could carry on with this practice for up to 2 minutes if it feels nice for you. Once you feel complete, pause for a moment with a flat back to feel the effects of what you’ve just done.

How it helps to relieve and/or prevent menstrual cramps: Practicing Cat/Cow gently massages the inner organs, especially the ones located around the pelvis supports the relief of muscle tension and the proper flow of blood, oxygen, and energy to this region of the body. I like to think of the spine like the foundation of a house, as it houses all of our internal organs. By warming up the spine, one gently wakes up the inner organs, supporting proper functioning. This gentle stretch of the back also provides a gentle stretch to the pelvic floor muscles which connect to the womb. Gently stretching these muscles can reduce and relieve cramping.

Anjaneyasana – Low Lunge

Setting up for the pose: Once again starting from that table-top position, step your right foot forwards, align your right toes with your fingertips, and feel free to use your hands to help your foot find this positioning. Check that your right knee is directly above the right ankle (it’s okay if it’s slightly behind the ankle, just avoid inching the right knee in front of the right ankle). Check that your left toes are pointed straight back behind you, and feel free to adjust that back knee if it feels like it’s needing adjustment; for example, moving it back slightly will intensify the stretch, though that’s not appropriate for everyone. Some people may be able to place their hands directly on the ground here, on either side of the front foot, but others may need to place blocks or even big books underneath each hand in order to bring the ground up to them. Once you feel stable in the position, inhale to open your chest and lift your gaze. As you exhale, allow the weight of the pelvis to sink down. You are encouraged to hold this posture anywhere from approximately six seconds to two minutes. To come out of the pose, release back into your table top position and pause for a moment to observe the difference between each side of your body. It’s in this moment, when only one side of the body has been worked, that many of the lessons of the posture can be integrated. When you’re ready, on an inhale, take the left foot forward and repeat on the second side. The intent is to hold the posture for roughly the same amount of time on each side of the body. Once again, when you come out of the pose, pause to observe its effects.

How it helps to relieve and/or prevent menstrual cramps: Your quadriceps (aka “quads”) are a set of four muscles located in the front of your thigh. These muscles impact the positioning of your pelvis. Specifically, tight quads pull down on the pelvis which not only impacts posture, but also pain. As such, stretching the quads supports proper positioning of the pelvis which is essential for menstruation experience with minimal or no cramping. 

Bhujangasana – Cobra 

Setting up for the pose: From the table top position you left off in, come to lie on your belly. Bring your legs together, pointing your toes straight back behind you, feeling the tops of your feet press into the surface below you. Bring your hands under your shoulders with your elbows pointing straight back, and start with your forehead resting on the ground. On an inhale, lift your forehead and chest and as you exhale, release your upper body back to the ground. Repeat this movement a minimum of two more times, or as many times as feels appropriate for you, for no more than two minutes. When you feel complete, roll over to lie on your back, and take a moment to feel the effects of this exercise.

How it helps to relieve and/or prevent menstrual cramps: Bhujangasana supports the relaxation of lower back muscles. With the womb located directly opposite the lower back, the muscles that support proper positioning of the womb also get an opportunity to relax in this posture. Bhjugangasana is a gentle heart-opening posture. Like all heart-opening postures, it can lower stress, reduce heaviness in the mind and body, and increase energy. These benefits aid in reducing menstrual cramping. In Bhujganasana, blood is sent to the pelvic area which can relieve challenges related to menstruation, the uterus, and the ovaries, including cramping.  It is important to note that pregnant women should avoid this posture.

Savasana – Final Resting Posture

Setting up for the pose: Traditionally, Savasana is practiced lying on the back with the legs wide and the hands about 45 degrees from the body with the palms facing up. However, what’s most important in this posture is to feel comfortable and relaxed, and lying flat on the back is not comfortable for everyone. So, feel free to adjust this posture by placing a pillow under your knees, placing your legs up on a chair, lying on one side while hugging a pillow, or in any other way that feels nice for you. It’s important to stay warm as your body rests in this posture, so you may want to put on cozy socks and/or cover yourself with a blanket. Finally, you may choose to place a light cloth over your eyes to block out any light in the room. If time permits, it is advised to rest in Savasana for 15 minutes so that your nervous system can fully reset. However, if you’re not able to give 15 minutes to this final resting posture, any amount is better than nothing! You may wish to turn on relaxing music or a rejuvenating meditation while you rest in Savasana. Or you can simply, “do nothing” knowing that actually your body is working quite hard to integrate the lessons from your practice, and all you need to do is rest in order for that to happen.

How it helps to relieve and/or prevent menstrual cramps: Savasana is one of the things that sets Yoga apart from other forms of movement and healing modalities; the ancient Yogis understood that rest is an essential part of any healing process. After practicing a number of postures target areas of need, Savasana allows the parasympathetic nervous system to be turned on; it is in this restful state that the body’s natural healing capacities are activated. Additionally, Savasana alone can reduce pain, relieve lower back pain, and increase circulation throughout the body.

Closing Thoughts and Future Initiatives

As I mentioned, when I was in the thick of suffering from menstrual cramps and PCOS, there were minimal resources on the internet that I found to support my healing. It is my honor and pleasure to make these ancient practices accessible to people like you so that you can support your body in healing itself.

I mentioned that our society prioritises constantly doing, which can be counter-intuitive to a woman’s need for rest at particular times of the month. Though we cannot change the way our society functions at large, we can make spaces for pockets throughout the day that feel particularly restful, gentle, and slow. I hope this piece can support you in doing just so.

Know that these little pockets in the day, no matter how few or far between, are significant, and will have profound ripple-effects that support reducing menstrual cramping, increasing energy, and generally supporting your health and wellness journey.

In support of you,

Rena Shoshana