Yoga is an ancient practice with a plethora of benefits for overall health and well-being – especially for women. Women who practice yoga regularly have reported feeling more energetic, less stressed, and more relaxed. In addition to improving mood and relaxation, yoga has also been shown to improve flexibility and strength, and can even help with weight management.
One of the most appealing aspects of yoga is that it can be done in the comfort of your own home, with no need for expensive gym memberships or equipment. All you need is a mat and comfortable clothing, and you’re ready to begin your yoga journey.
Yoga for Men vs. Women
Should the practice of yoga for women and men be different? Are there specific yoga postures for women that they should or should not do?
Traditionally, most yogic practices were created with the male body in mind, which is why women should be careful about what they practice and when they practice. Certain practices being taught around the world today are not suitable for women as they may cause physical damage and injury.
If you look at the classic yogic system, it is essentially created for the male body. They did not consider the female body because females never came for sadhana in those times.
It was not possible for them to come, for various reasons biological reasons, social reasons, the way everything else was and because yoga was not taught in a studio, it was taught by some guru somewhere in some cave, in some mountains, some forest, a woman could not go in those days.
So largely, ninety percent of the yogic system was oriented towards the male body, not towards the female body. So many systems of yoga, which are being recklessly taught today could damage a woman’s body if not properly handled. One of the things that you are learning is Mayurasana.
They told you not to do Mayurasana? Yeah, because that’s not suitable. It’s a peacock asana, not a peahen asana. So like this there are many aspects, some of them are very physical aspects, some of them more subtle, but they are there. There are certain things a woman should not do at all.
Kriya Yoga for Women
Sadhguru says that, there have been but very few, because kriya yoga demands a certain extreme sense of discipline and perseverance at certain stages of its sadhana. Generally, it is not that it’s not possible, but generally women didn’t choose kriya yoga because they don’t like that kind of hardship. It is not necessary that kriya yoga should mean hardship, no. But biologically a woman is slightly disadvantaged when it comes to kriya yoga, not essentially so but to a certain extent she is disadvantaged.
So traditionally it got established like kriya yoga means it’s for men only, not because yoga is of that nature, because social conditions were of that nature. So all the practices that were designed and structured by various masters were all male oriented because their disciples were male. Accordingly they structured the processes. This does not mean no woman has walked kriya yoga path, But the systems that are structured here are suitable for women also.
They are doing well with their practices. So can a woman walk kriya yoga? Yes she can, but if she wants to walk kriya as a hundred percent path, she’s slightly disadvantaged, so she needs little extra effort if she’s willing to do that.
But it’s always best if one wants to progress to mix all aspects of life to create a proper combination of these four dimensions of gnana, kriya, karma and bhakti. And in a woman generally the emotional dimension in her is more dominant than other dimensions, it’s good to make use of that. Why give up an advantage and take up a handicapped position? It’s better to make use of the advantages that she has.
Practices to Avoid during Menstruation
There are some aspects of yoga that are more focused on the physical practice (asana) than on the internal workings (kriya). If you have learned to do asana in a very relaxed way, then you can do all the aspects of yoga. However, if you are still struggling with some of the poses, it’s better to avoid some of the more challenging aspects until you are ready. If you do asanas properly, the struggles that you are having with your monthly cycles should completely go away. With a regular yoga practice, the pain, cramps, and other symptoms should just disappear.
There are certain things that she should not do during periods. So what she should not do at all? Sarvangasana and a few other things which we will let you know during the sessions.
Surya kriya needs to be looked at carefully because if you are taking in too much sun, it will burn you. If it’s troubling you in your feminine aspect, we need to re-adjust it, so that it’s more comfortable. It’s very important that it’s individual. There is no common prescription like that.
The severity of PMS varies from person to person, Not everybody suffers those few days as much as somebody else. For some people, it can be a mild inconvenience while for others it can feel like their whole life is thrown off-kilter while others can go through it without much disturbance to their psychological or physiological system.
Depending on the person, some adjustments might need to be made, but if the activity is something that requires a lot of effort, it’s best to avoid it. That’s because when the body is naturally seeking rest and quiet, any forceful activity – mental or physical – could cause agitation.
Yoga for Pregnant Women
Pregnancy is a momentous time for many women and has been treated with reverence in Indian culture for centuries. It’s believed that “care was taken so that life happens in the best possible way right from day one” You are not just giving a body to the child, in many ways who you are is imprinted on the child. So how you keep yourself during pregnancy is a very important thing.
Although not all types of yogic practices are advisable during this time, the practice of yoga for pregnant women is very important and even crucial in making an expectant mother’s experience of pregnancy, child birth and parenthood easier.
We offer several initiatives that make pregnancy a joy, and ensure a healthy mother and child. “Mathru Devo Bhava” is an initiative specially designed for pregnant mothers to bring more awareness about the pregnancy period and teach them how to keep their body, mind, and emotion in a pleasant way, in order to experience a joyful pregnancy.
Yogic diet for Anemia
In addition to the regular yogic diet session we offer at our studio, which covers topics like how to manage your food intake according to your body type, when to eat, what to eat and what to avoid, we also focus on women’s diets individually. This will be like an introduction to ayurveda and Siddha.
Anemia, for example, is a condition characterized by a lack of iron in the blood. This can lead to feelings of fatigue and weakness, because oxygen isn’t being carried as efficiently. This can have a ripple effect on the body, heart, and brain function because without enough iron, the body isn’t able to perform at optimal levels. So increasing the level of oxygen in the blood is one of the important things because how quickly the body is able to rejuvenate itself depends on a high level of oxygen in the blood and that capability deteriorate without it.
This is something that particularly affects women because of the biological process that lowers the hemoglobin content in their blood, which in turn reduces the oxygen levels. This makes them look exhausted and unintelligent. If the RBC (red blood cell) count is low, it leads to a feeling of being ‘dumb’ because there’s not enough oxygen getting to the brain.
One of the simplest things you can do to take care of your body and mind is to consume a little bit of honey in warm water on a daily basis. By doing this, you will slowly see the RBC content go up, as more oxygen is carried in the blood. This results in feeling more energized, with a lower level of inertia both in the body and mind.
Yoga for boosting Fertility/PCOD/Hormonal Imbalance
About boosting fertility- unless there is something very fundamentally wrong with the system some basic function is not okay if it is so it may need a different kind of attention. Otherwise the regular Kriya will create a certain amount of possibility. But if people have especially conception problems – Bhava Spandana is a good thing to do. because BSP is a very intense emotional overhaul emotionally. It will hit you where it peaks, because emotionally they open up to the level they should, the receptivity somewhere blocked either because of certain thoughts or emotions or life situations. Surya Kriya, Yogasanas, Bhuta shuddhi, Bhakti Sadhana has been beneficial dealing with reproductive health , Hormonal imbalance and PCOD.