How yoga nidra can help perimenopause & menopause

In my last blog, I talked about the benefits of yoga nidra for rest, healing & recuperation at all times in our lives. This time I am going to talk about the benefits at a particular time of life for women – around perimenopause & menopause.

This topic is close to my heart as a perimenopausal woman myself, therefore I am partly writing this to support myself taking heed of this advice for myself!  

Although for many years menopause was seen as a health condition that we ‘suffer from’ or ‘cope with’, there is now the opportunity, thanks to various authors & more specific medical research, for it to be seen through a different lens. In this way, it can be viewed & hopefully experienced as a normal, organic transition which signals the end of menstruation & the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. With that comes more choice & knowledge about how we approach & understand that transition & all that it entails – all of which might look very different for each individual woman.

As well as physical & hormonal changes, there are also many social & emotional changes. All of which come at a time when women may also be facing other significant responsibilities (career pressures, maintenance of long-term relationships, caring responsibilities for children as well as elders), which may range from being a juggle to presenting real stressors.

To add another dimension, some authors (Pope & Hugo Wurlitzer) also discuss the menopause as a time of spiritual awakening for a woman: a time of initiation into our personal authority, purpose & leadership skill. So, even if you’re experiencing some unpleasant verging on very distressing symptoms, you are not suffering from a problem from which you need to be rescued, but a lack of recognition of & respect for the spiritual process you’re going through.

Whatever aspects of these changes you most resonate with, what is most helpful & needed during times of transition such as this is spaces for reflection, self-care & rest. And this is where yoga nidra can be so beneficial!

Given that many menopause symptoms are caused by hormones, which are exacerbated by stress, being able to access a state of deep rest through yoga nidra regularly can really benefit our systems & ease our experience of the menopause. The relaxation of our whole body reduces tension, rebalances our nervous system & can aid sleep, the awareness of thoughts gives us a way to stand apart from our everyday scripts & the act of being present with ourselves anchors us into our selves amongst competing demands. Kate Codrington also states that yoga nidra helps us to integrate, making it easier to activate our creativity, intuition & inner wellness, knowing that we are ok just as we are, whatever we are facing in life.

Given that the benefits of yoga nidra can be reaped whether you have 10 minutes or half an hour, it provides the chance to pause, relax, turn inwards & re-connect with our selves so we can better navigate all aspects of our life as well as our journey through the menopause.

With thanks to the authors for offering access to knowledge, personal stories, wisdom & choice for peri/menopausal women, the two books I’ve read & reflected on to write this blog are –

Wise Power – Pope & Hugo Wurlitzer

Second Spring – Kate Codrington