Women are often seen as the superstars of each household. They are required to take care of their homes/families and achieve their professional goals while ensuring that their mental and physical health supports the multiple lives they lead. Yoga helps women to maintain a balance between their physical, mental and spiritual health.
Since women go through multiple changes within their body during various stages of their lifetime, there is no restriction on the age of a woman to take up practising yoga or pilates. As an adolescent, when girls are first exposed to the concept of a menstrual cycle, asanas such as Dhanurasana, Bhujangasana, Twist poses and standing poses help in adapting to the physical changes with reduced pain. This is the age when teenage girls often have wandering minds and could be restless or confused. Meditation helps to bring about a calm state of mind that allows girls to focus their attention on the most critical aspects of life.
After marriage women need a lot of mental support to handle the different situations which she has never faced before. At that time some training is needed like mindful meditation and physical asanas are, very important to handle different issues. Yoga and meditation help in those situations.
Pre-natal yoga asanas example: Breathing, gentle stretches, relaxation are also designed to help women ease the complications they may experience during pregnancy and maintain good physical & mental health.
Further, into their life, women may experience menopause, thyroid problems, Hormonal imbalances like PCOD, PCOS, weight gain and other conditions. Practising yoga and pilates helps women tide over such problems. Yoga can help in balancing hormones, and maintain a healthy digestive system. Yoga acts as a constant companion in the life of a woman who has to undergo frequent changes throughout their life. The mindfulness that one may develop while practising yoga helps to regulate breathing and maintain a calm state of mind.
After delivery, it’s very important to practice pilates since the abdominal muscles become loose after giving birth to a new baby. Pilates is one of the most versatile, adaptable exercise methods. A great Pilates teacher understands the intensity behind the exercises, and how they should be modified for new mothers – without aggravating any symptoms. For example, a new mother should not be doing traditional exercises like Hundred but she can do the same in a seated position with her spine is in a C shape. Some of the best postpartum exercises are the pelvic tilt, half roll back, opening the shoulders and core strengthening exercises are necessary to make you feel good mentally and physically.
While I advocate yoga for both men and women, being a woman I can confidently speak about the benefits I have derived by practising yoga and pilates. My practice of yoga and pilates started in a casual manner a couple of decades ago and as I experienced the benefits of health and well-being during my various life cycles, I became not just an ardent follower of these practices but a passionate advocate of yoga and pilates for all women. I can say with certainty that yoga and pilates brought health, wellness, discipline, peace and tranquillity into my and my family members’ lives.
Written By Bhavani Pinisetti, Founder and Expert at Laxmana Yoga and Pilates (Views Are Personal)
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