By Kreg Weiss, B HKin • October 25th, 2007

The practice of yoga postures provides a holistic journey towards physical rejuvenation and healing. Within the cycle of our lifelong practice, we experience times when we must modify the poses and the approach within our poses. Such is the case during periods of menstruation.

Menstruation can be a challenging time with symptoms like cramps, heavy bleeding, low back pain, pelvic discomfort, and emotional waves. Exploring variations of key yoga poses, one can find that a mindful Hatha yoga practice can help alleviate these symptoms.

But just as some key poses are therapeutic for menstrual cycles, other yoga postures can aggravate menstrual symptoms and should be avoided. Of particular importance, inversions (viparita sthitti) should not be performed during menstruation.

Why Inversions Should Be Avoided During Menstruation?

During the menstrual period, the pelvic vascular bed becomes more saturated with blood than at other times of the cycle. Understanding the anatomy of the uterus, the uterine blood supply enters the uterus from the right and left sides of the pelvis via the uterine arteries. The uterine arteries have thick, muscular walls and are located within broad ligaments which suspend the uterus from the pelvis structure. Unlike the uterine arteries, the uterine veins are thin-walled. The thinness of the uterine veins makes them susceptible to collapse when excessive pressure is applied to them.

During inversions, the uterus is drawn downwards by gravity resulting in a pulling motion on the broad ligaments containing the uterine arteries and veins. This pulling or stretching motion of these ligaments can also act on the uterine veins potentially leading to partial collapse or occlusions. Since the uterine arteries contain thick, muscular walls, they can resist collapse and continue to send blood flow into the uterus. Without a proper exit of blood out of the uterine veins, vascular pressure arises leading to an increase in menstrual bleeding.

Typical Inversions To Avoid:
Adho Mukha Vriksasana (Handstand or Downward Facing Tree Pose)
Bakasana (Crow Pose)
Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand Pose)
Halasana (Plow Pose)
Vrschikasana (Scorpion Pose)
Urdhva Dhanurasana (Full Bridge Pose)

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Location:  Vancouver, CA

Kreg is a co-founder of My Yoga Online and certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. Several years ago, Kreg discovered yoga while teaching health and fitness. Yoga dramatically transformed Kreg's approach to teaching health and...