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Yoga for PCOS | 5 Yogasana to help relieve your PCOS symptoms

5 min read

What’s in this 4 minutes blog for you?

  • Brief introduction of PCOS
  • Why Yoga for PCOS
  • Yoga asanas for PCOS
  • How to practice Yoga for PCOS

It’s 2023 and Yoga is popular than ever with over 21 crore women practicing Yoga around the world*

Why is Yoga so popular?

Yoga is convenient.

Yoga is cost-efficient.

Yoga is fundamental.

Ultimately, Yoga works.

Especially for managing Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Yoga is a medically proven boon.

Some benefits of correct Yoga practice on PCOS symptoms:

  • Improves blood flow in pelvic region
  • Reduces testosterone levels
  • Relieves anxiety and stress related issues
  • Regulates hormones and menstruation cycle
  • Improves metabolism and helps in weight management
  • Controlling sugar levels and inflammation

What is PCOS?

PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that happens during the reproductive years but it’s a difficult condition, far more challenging than what meets the eye.

In PCOS, the ovaries produce excessive male hormones leading to irregular (and painful!) periods, unusual weight-gain, facial hair, infertility and even anxiety and depression –  let’s not even get into the sporadic mood swings!

PCOS is ultimately a lifestyle disorder, hence Yoga is very effective since it works on the deeper levels of the body-mind connection controlling the mental-health induced causes.

Women all over the world are rushing to Yoga in the hope to find some relief from this agonizing issue. And while Yoga is a celebrated healthcare tool for women, it ultimately deals with the human body and it thus requires certain expertise.

I suggest you learn Yoga from credible and certified teachers only. Incorrect techniques of Yoga can be more damaging than helpful.

Click here to learn correct Yoga techniques to overcome your PCOS symptoms.

Chances are you typed ‘Yoga for PCOS’ and found this article so here I’m sharing a series of restorative and core centric Yoga Asanas. This will help relieve your PCOS symptoms and reduce its impact within a few weeks of consistent practice.

Remember to follow the contraindications here and practice these asanas with caution.

  1. Supta series – Supta means supine or lying on the back. With your body well supported, these restorative asanas will instantly help you relax. Great for relieving period pain and anxiety.

Learn to use the props the correct way to ensure the asana gives you maximum benefit. Regular practice will improve your digestion, reproductive and spinal health a lot.

  1. Supported Suptabadhhakonasana – learn it here

This asana is a personal favourite for instant overall relaxation. Practice the reclined butterfly asana with the support of a bolster, blanket and voila! You’ve got your quick relaxation for your back, hip joints, abdomen, breathing and mind

Suptaveerasana – reclined veerasana or hero’s posture requires some practice. Use of bolster and blanket is suggested. Learn this asana here – and experience improvement in your joint health along with your ovarian health.

Suptasukhasana – click here to learn this simplest form of reclined asana. As the name suggests Sukha meaning joy, this asana is best suited for beginner and new practitioners.

  1. Paschimottanasana Paschim means West or back of the body, Uttan means intense stretch. To practice Paschimottanasana in a safe and slow manner, click here. The forward bend creates stability in the body, strengthening the entire legs and back muscles, thus improving the blood flow. The gentle and appropriate pressure on the abdomen gives a good massage to the internal organs like ovaries, uterus, pancreas, intestines etc.
  1. Janusirasana – learn Janusirsasana here. Janu means knee, Sirsa means head. This head-to-knee asana gives a focused and gentle pressure on the internal organs. Best suited to relieve the period pain when practiced with support.
  1. Adhomukha svanasana – learn it here. Adho means downward, Mukha means facing, Svana means dog e.i. Downward facing dog, this asana is ideal to start your daily Yoga practice. Whether you are a beginner or advanced practitioner, Adhomukh Svanasana will challenge your muscular stamina and strength. It also acts as a controlled inversion for the internal organs giving them much space to relax.
  1. Marjariasana – learn it here. Marjari means cat so this is a cat stretch that gives a great massage to the abdominal organs and also improves mobility in the spine. A simple and useful relaxing asana, Marjari asana helps in relieving the period pain as well as the muscular tensions in the trunk region.

Click here to learn a few simple Pranayama techniques like Pratiloma, Anulom-vilom and Bhramari and complete your Yoga practice for best results.

Meditation has also been proven to help reduce PCOS symptoms like anxiety, depression and lethargy.

Yoga is a 5000 odd years old ancient Indian system. It has sustained so far and become more relevant than ever which means it holds knowledge, skills and processes that are fundamentally rooted in human anatomy.

It is thus reasonable to follow certain steps to learn and practice Yoga in the correct manner. The journey of learning Yoga for PCOS begins here – are you ready?

There are no shortcuts in managing PCOS symptoms. Yoga is deeply effective which makes it slow but certainly very rewarding when done consistently and patiently 😉

About the writer:

Shikha Sundriyal is a Yoga teacher mentor and a certified Yoga teacher with over 12 years of teaching experience. She finds great fulfillment in mentoring Yoga teachers to build sustainable Yoga careers for themselves.

As a partner at Body Mind Alliance (BMA) Shikha designs insightful content for BMA people like you. Get in touch with her and start your yoga teaching journey under her guidance.

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