This month my cycle was 33 days and my last 4 cycles were around 37-42 days. This is the first time ever that my period has been so regular. I credit Menstrual Cycle Awareness and Hormone Yoga for this wonderful transformation.
My Irregular Period Story
Ever since I got my first period when I was 14, it was irregular. It is normal for young girls to have an irregular period when they start menstruating but for me it continued way after my teen years into womanhood.
For years I didn’t really pay much attention to my menstrual cycle, always feeling that not having it every month was actually quite convenient for me. For a year of two in my twenties I was on the pill but I went off it as I didn't feel very good taking pills. Without the pill, my period would come sometimes every 60 days and sometimes it would be absent for as long as 90 or more days. I loved being active so it was handy not having to deal with it. A few times, I went to a gynaecologist to ask about why it was so irregular and was told that I have PCOS - polycystic ovary syndrome, which often causes very irregular periods.
My eating has been quite good for many years. I have struggled with weight problems in the past (as a teen/child) so I always tried to eat healthy with a good range of foods in my diet.
At the age of 30 I started practising yoga on a regular basis and I also became vegetarian
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My yoga practice has been very consistent since then (2016) but my period still continued to come pretty randomly. I wasn’t in a relationship so I never worried if I could be pregnant if my period was “late”. There was no such thing as a late period for me! It was always coming at random times so that was quite normal for me.
Encountering Hormone Yoga
In 2020 I qualified as a yoga teacher having completed 200h in an ashram in India. After my qualification I started teaching and diving deeper into the practice of yoga. My practice changed - it became more about the subtle energies rather than getting into specific poses. I became hugely interested in how yoga can affect women’s health and energy and this led me to hormone yoga therapyome in 2021, which I have been practising and teaching ever since. When I came across hormone yoga, I decided to try to fix my irregular period without taking any medication (prescribed by my doctor just a few months earlier, something that didn’t make me feel comfortable).
What is Hormone Yoga?
Hormone yoga therapy was founded by Dinah Rodrigues to help women with hormonal imbalances. The practice focuses on balancing hormones in order to help to reduce symptoms of PCOS, PMS, perimenopause and menopause and also to improve fertility.
The practice consists of yoga asanas (yoga poses) and revolves around pranayama (breathing technique) called Bhastrika (bellow’s breath). This pranayama is a strong abdominal breath that stimulates the glands to produce female hormones and to affect the endocrine system. It massages the lower abdomen and ovaries providing nourishment and harmonising energy to the pelvic organs as well.
In this practice, we also work with a buddhist technique called Circulation of Energy where we distribute the prana (vital energy) to the glands (ovaries, adrenals, thyroid and pituitary gland). This technique allows our awareness to shift to the glands consciously spreading the nurturing energy to the endocrine system.
When I first practised hormone yoga, I felt deeply nourished. It was so refreshing to be sending prana (vital energy) to these specific places in our endocrine system so that they could function well, healthily and happily.
Sometimes I send harmony to the glands, sometimes it is love and kindness as they need that a lot. As women we neglect our pelvis a lot and connecting to our ovaries and our womb space is part of this energetic practice.
Importance of relaxation in hormonal balance and menstrual health
There is also a lot of relaxation and visualisations in the hormone yoga practice in order to soothe the nervous system so we can reap the benefits of the practice. I think this is one of the most important parts of the practice. Looking back at my life, I think that in the past I lived on the go, which was enjoyable at the time but I do feel that it was probably impacting my menstrual health and my nervous system.
Encountering a mindfulness practice called Menstrual Cycle Awareness
Along with the hormone yoga, I came across a mindfulness practice called Menstrual Cycle Awareness (formed by The Red School founders, Alexandra Pop and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer). And so, I started my journey with it as well around the same time as I started practising hormone yoga.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness is many things - but in a nutshell it is about staying aware of how we are, how is our nervous system and where we are in your menstrual cycle. There is so much wisdom in our bodies that can help us understand ourselves better and make better choices for ourselves in that given moment.
In October 2021 I started Menstrual Cycle Coaching Professional Training, which was both for myself and for sharing with others. First I needed to understand how it impacts my own body so I could share it with other women. And so I have implemented a lot of mindfulness around my cycle. At first my cycle was still about 50-60 days but slowly that started changing. I started listening to my body more - understanding when I needed more rest and when I felt more sociable and more inclined to be productive. All of this information came from the wisdom of my body and being in tune with it has had an incredible effect on my overall wellbeing.
Within a couple of months, my cycle became regular with my period coming every 40/42 days and at times every 37 days. This month my period came after 33 days!
I am simply amazed how this journey with Hormone Yoga and Menstrual Cycle has impacted my menstrual health.
Results and transformation : trusting the wisdom of my body
I am feeling more in tune with my body and I am also understanding shifts in my energy better, which has been helpful in my professional and personal life. There is nothing worse than wanting to be productive and social when you are just before your period and your body is asking for some introspective time! Our body has a lot of wisdom. I feel that the key is to allow ourselves to trust this wisdom. That is when the big transformation happens!
Key takeaways
Self-awareness work is the key (always knowing how we are, what are our needs, where we are in the cycle)
Self-care practices such as Hormone Yoga to connect to the feminine energy, to send prana, love, kindness to the glands and relaxation and calming practices to soothe the nervous system
Having self-care toolkit for when we need it the most, keeping the nervous system happy is the key to balanced hormones.
Listening to the wisdom of our bodies - they know what we need, all we need is do is to listen to the messages from within
Would you like to connect more with your cycle?
Check the Menstrual Cycle Awareness Course Online here for more in-depth exploration of your menstrual cycle.
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