Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause

by Francina, Suza

• ISBN13: 9780757300653
• ISBN10: 0757300650
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

Hormone Treatment Is Called Harmful-Washington Post, 7/10/02 Estrogen Use Linked to Higher Cancer Risk-Boston Globe, 7/17/02 31.2 million women facing menopause in America are concerned by these headlines. Most women today will live over one-third of their lives post-menopausal, but what about the age-old solution of hormone replacement therapy? In 2002 the U.S. government halted a major study of hormone therapy because it increased the risk of invasive breast cancer. Now, millions of women are left wondering whether they should approach menopause without hormones, suffering from hot flashes and low sex drive or take hormones and live in fear of being another statistic. Suza Francina has a simpler solution: Yoga. In this practical book, Francina, a leading yogi and author of The New Yoga for People Over 50, shows how yoga can be a powerful tool to help women turn menopause into a positive and empowering experience, both physically and spiritually. Included are easy-to-follow, indexed photos of yoga poses that alleviate key menopausal problems including: hormonal changes; hot flashes; irregular bleeding; fibroids; stress and anxiety, mood swings, depression and fatigue; bone loss; heart disease and cancer. Francina delivers a timely and truly heartening message to women: you don't have to get weaker or depressed when facing menopause, it can truly be an empowering, restorative time.

Table of Contents

Author's Note: Crossing the Menopausal Bridge	xi
Introduction: Welcome to Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause	xv
Why I Am Writing This Book	xix
How This Book Can Help You	xxiii
Menopause Was What Happened to Older Women---Not Me	xxviii
Judith Hanson Lasater
The Yo of Menopause: Alternatives to Hormone Therapy	1	(22)
Yoga's Unique Benefits During the Menopausal Years	2	(1)
What Is Menopause?	3	(2)
Hormones 101	5	(3)
A Word on Weight Gain During Menopause	8	(2)
Key Poses to Help Balance Your Hormones	10	(13)
Carin Seebold: I Did Not Want to Take Hormone Replacement Therapy	11	(6)
Gretchen Newmark: I Found I Needed Hormones!	17	(3)
Ingrid Boulting: Smooth Transition Due to Yoga and Diet	20	(3)
Yoga and the Endocrine System	23	(34)
The Endocrine Glands	25	(2)
Yoga, Menopause and Thyroid Function	27	(1)
The Adrenal Glands: Mood Swings and Fatigue	27	(2)
The Adrenal Hormones and Tolerating Stress	29	(2)
Yoga for Adrenal Health	31	(2)
Yoga's Great Rejuvenators---Essential Poses for Crossing the Menopausal Bridge	33	(4)
Benefits of Yoga on the Endocrine System	37	(4)
Key Poses for Adrenal Exhaustion and Fatigue	41	(16)
Julie Lawrence: First Find Rest	42	(4)
Linda DiCarlo: Compared to My Younger Years, I Now Practice with More Intelligence and Wisdom	46	(4)
Interview with Patricia Walden: This Is Not the Time to Take On More Things	50	(7)
Yoga for Pelvic Health During Perimenopause and Menopause	57	(22)
Yoga's Healing Effect on the Uterus and Ovaries	58	(1)
Yoga for Frequent or Irregular Bleeding	59	(3)
Cautions About Upside-Down (Inverted) Poses When Bleeding	62	(3)
Upside-Down Poses After the Menstrual Period	65	(2)
Yoga to Alleviate Pelvic Congestion, Pelvic Pain and Cramps	67	(1)
Menstrual Problems and Nutritional Remedies	68	(3)
Key Poses for Pelvic Health	71	(8)
Diana Rose Hartmann: Tossed Over the Bridge into Menopause	73	(6)
The Power of Hot Flashes	79	(18)
Alternative Theories on Hot Flashes	81	(1)
Hot Flashes May Be Healthy	82	(1)
Cooling Yoga Poses for Hot Flashes, Day/Night Sweats and Other Menopausal Symptoms	83	(8)
Key Poses to Ease Hot Flashes	91	(6)
Interview with Susan Winter Ward: Embracing Menopause: A Path to Peace and Power	92	(5)
Yoga Builds Healthy Bones	97	(28)
Your Skeleton: The Body's Calcium Bank Account	100	(1)
Bone Density and Osteoporosis	101	(1)
Building Healthy Bones Without Drugs	102	(3)
Why Yoga Is a Superior Form of Weight-Bearing Exercise	105	(4)
Yoga and Preventing Height Loss	109	(2)
Safe Yoga for Osteoporosis	111	(4)
Key Poses for Strong Bones	115	(10)
Gaye Abbott: Deep Discoveries About Healing from Osteoporosis	116	(4)
Elizabeth Memmel: Yoga Strengthened My Bones After Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer	120	(5)
Yoga for Coping with Cancer	125	(20)
The Current Status of Cancer Research and Treatment	126	(1)
Practicing Yoga to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk	127	(2)
Yoga for Breast Health	129	(2)
Yoga Poses for Women in Breast Cancer Treatment	131	(6)
Key Poses for a Healthy Immune System	137	(8)
Catherine Meek: Ahhh, Yoga---It Kept Me Sane and Made Me Whole Again	138	(3)
Maggie Mellor: My Journey Through Breast Cancer---How Yoga Helped Me	141	(4)
Yoga for a Woman's Heart	145	(32)
A Woman's Heart: Where Body, Mind and Spirit Converge	146	(1)
Differences Between Women and Men in Heart Disease	147	(6)
Taking Your Emotions to Heart	153	(1)
Stress, Yoga and the Heart	154	(3)
Posture Also Affects the Health of Your Heart	157	(5)
Key Poses for Heart Health and High Blood Pressure	162	(15)
Virginia Lee: A Time of Moving into the Wisdom of Cronehood	163	(6)
Denise Lamprom: Menopause as a Spiritual Gateway	169	(8)
Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause Practice Guide	177	(7)
Perimenopause Yoga Practice Guidelines	180	(1)
Yoga Props---An Investment in Your Health	181	(3)
How the Poses in This Guide Are Organized	184	(59)
Section I: Essential Restorative Yoga Poses for Crossing the Menopausal Bridge	185	(15)
Section II: Standing Forward Bends and Supported Downward-Facing Dog Pose	200	(6)
Section III: Supported Standing Poses	206	(10)
Section IV: Important Seated and Lying Down Poses During Menopause	216	(7)
Section V: Poses Using Wall Ropes and Inversion Slings	223	(6)
Lying Back Over a Backbender	229	(1)
Section VI: Key Poses to Learn Under the Guidance of a Teacher	230	(8)
Ana Forrest: Strength and Spirit	238	(5)
Resources	243	(10)
Bibliography and References	253	(14)
Index of Poses	267	(2)
About the Author	269

Excerpts

The Yoga of Menopause:Alternatives to Hormone Therapy Woman's lives are deeply affected by the ebb and flow of their hormones those mysterious and miraculous molecules that deliver vital messages via the bloodstream from one part of the body to another. Indeed, our lives are patterned by the cycles of nature, whether these are the changes of puberty, the monthly rhythms of our menstrual cycle or the passages of menopause. These changes have undisputed effects on our whole being. No woman can menstruate, give birth or cross the menopausal bridge without feeling these hormonal influences on her physical, emotional and psychological state. Yoga's Unique Benefits During the Menopausal Years Achieving hormonal balance during the menopausal years is essential to good health. Among the many benefits that set yoga apart from other forms of physical exercise is the effect yoga postures and breathing practices have not only on the muscles and bones of your body, but also on your organs and glands. In this book we explain the effect that these postures can have on your hormonal system, and how to use yoga to work with your body as it goes through hormonal and other changes during menopause. Practicing yoga can help prevent or reduce the common symptoms that affect women specifically during the menopausal years by providing a form of treatment directed at the root causes that result in the breakdown of the healthy functioning of the body. It's important to bear in mind that all menopausal symptoms are related, and using yoga to ease the unpleasant effect of one symptom generally leads to better health in the rest of the body. Every yoga pose has a multitude of effects on all the systems of the body. The experiences of longtime yoga practitioners show that certain poses and sequences of poses act as a tonic for the healthy functioning of certain body systems or organs. Equally important for your health during menopause is the overall positive effect of yoga on the body as a whole. The regular practice of all the categories of poses standing, sitting, lying down, backbends, forward bends, twists and inverted (upside down) poses stimulates and activates all the glands, organs, tissues and cells of the body. Yoga's inverted poses are particularly important during menopause, as they have a powerful effect on the neuroendocrine system, allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to flow to the glands in the head and neck. In each yoga posture (asana), different organs and glands are placed in various anatomical positions and are supplied with fresh blood, gently massaged, relaxed, toned and stimulated. Yoga's approach to health during menopause and beyond is based on the premise that the body should be allowed to function as efficiently, effectively and naturally as possible. Practicing the postures recommended for the menopause transition, in a way that is appropriate for your present physical and emotional condition, will gradually rejuvenate your b

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Excerpted from Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause: A Guide to Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Health at Midlife and Beyond by Suza Francina
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