Last Updated:June 21, 2025, 11:35 IST
Yoga can help women recalibrate both body and mind. With simple asanas and breathwork, yoga helps to calm down the nervous system.
Yoga helps women manage hormonal imbalances and chronic stress. (AI Generated Image)
In modern days, the conversations women are having with their doctors is shifting. Many aren’t just seeking relief from acute illnesses – they’re asking how to feel more energised, how to sleep through the night, and how to navigate the month without pain, anxiety, or emotional highs and lows. These aren’t minor concerns; they’re signals that the body may be out of sync, often pointing to hormonal imbalances and chronic stress.
While medical intervention remains crucial, one practice continues to emerge as a long-term ally in women’s health: yoga. Not merely as a lifestyle trend, but as a sustainable, preventive approach that helps recalibrate both body and mind.
The Hormone-Sleep-Stress Loop
In women, hormone balance is sensitive. Even small disruptions in sleep, diet, or emotional load can reflect irregular cycles, hair fall, skin changes, bloating, or anxiety.
Pritika Singh, a mental health expert and CEO at Prayag Hospitals Group, says, “In teenagers and women in their twenties, I often see this in the form of PCOS. In those approaching their forties, it presents differently, with heavier periods, fatigue that does not go away, and emotional swings that seem disconnected from daily triggers. Yoga helps by regulating the nervous system first. Practices like alternate nostril breathing or just 20 minutes of guided relaxation make a visible difference in women who deal with chronic stress.” Once the nervous system quietens, the body responds better, be it insulin regulation, thyroid function, or menstrual consistency.
Cycle Health Without a Medical File
Singh says, “Many women are prescribed hormonal pills early – sometimes at 16 or 17- for acne or irregular periods. These may be necessary for some time, but they’re not a sustainable path alone. What gets missed is body awareness – how movement, rest, and breath can affect the reproductive system directly.”
Singh explains that certain postures like malasana (squat), supta baddha konasana (reclined butterfly), and apanasana (knee hug), help relieve pelvic congestion. Practiced consistently, they improve blood flow to the uterus and ovaries.
Menopause: Managing Change, Not Fighting It
The perimenopausal years are difficult to pin down. For many women, symptoms start even before they realise what’s happening – waking up at 3 am, unexplained irritability, sudden sweats in meetings, or memory lapses that feel disorienting.
Singh explains, “Yoga here isn’t about bending or stretching. It’s about staying steady during transition. Forward bends and supported reclining postures help cool the body. Breathwork slows the racing thoughts that many women describe but rarely speak about. Over time, these small routines bring down the sense of chaos that hormonal changes can bring.”
For years, yoga has been framed primarily as a tool for fitness or flexibility. But that perspective barely scratches the surface. When integrated into daily life as a form of preventive care, its influence runs far deeper.
- Location :
Delhi, India, India
- First Published:
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