Moon Time and Yoga

As I age, I have found a new appreciation for my time of the month. If I listen to my body during this time, I tend to go within more often, take it easy and slow down. If possible, there is abundant self-care during this week of the month. I haven't always listened to my body in this way. In fact, when I was younger, this time of the month was seen as a nuisance; a time of bloat, cravings, irritability and disgust.

Listening to my body and becoming aware that there is a time for solar energy to flow and there is a time for lunar energy to flow through me, helps me connect more easily with the cycles of nature. There is a theory that the moon cycles and the female cycles are connected, just like the ebb and flow of tides, menstrual cycles are linked to the cycles of the moon. Therefore ideally you would ovulate around the full moon and menstruate near the new moon. Apparently even the words ‘menstruation’ and ‘menses’ are derived from the Latin word ‘mensis’ which means ‘month’ and the Greek word ‘mene’ which means ‘moon’. Maybe when we were more connected to nature as a society the moon and female cycles were connected, but data shows that this is just not the case nowadays.

So where is all this leading? I enjoyed a nice Yin Yoga Class this morning, something that I do not do fairly as often as I would like, and there are certain Yoga Poses that do not resonate with me during my moon-time. As with all of my teachings, if it resonates with you, I hope you can take what you need from it, if it does not resonate with you, just leave it behind...

When we are menstruating, our energy tends to be lower, at least I find this true for myself. This is a time when I enjoy the restorative poses and the yin classes.

If we think about what is happening when we are menstruating, the thick lining of the uterus is being shed. The lining flows with gravity, out of the body, as the menstrual flow. Now I am sure this isn't anything new to you :). But if we go back to the concept of connecting to the energy of nature, going with the flow not fighting against it (no pun intended - well maybe!), it makes sense to me that inversions during this time of the month may be counter productive. My body is designed to be perfect, so why would I reverse the flow of what my body is trying to release by inverting myself?

So back to my Yin Class this morning, at our class we did a supported bridge pose (with the support of a block under the sacrum). With the hips in a raised supported position, this pose is considered an inversion. The definition of an inversion in yoga, is any pose where the head is below the heart, therefore by that definition, downward-facing-dog would also qualify as an inversion.

The beauty of Yoga is that what makes sense for you and how you feel in your body is what is exactly right for you. When I am in downward-facing-dog during my moon-time, I do not feel as though I am going "against the flow", but a bridge pose will definitely make me feel that way.

So what did I do in my class this morning? While all of the other students were in bridge, I laid on my back with my feet on the floor close to the outer edges of the mat and my knees were bent and resting against one another. I enjoyed the benefits of a restorative pose in a way that made sense to me and my body. As a teacher, we hope that you will make adjustments and do the poses in the way that makes sense to YOU and to YOUR body. And because a woman's cycle does not always coincide with the cycles of the moon, we do not always know where you are at with the poses :)