They are competent, versatile and successful – dynamic at work, and doting at home! They are the glue that hold many pieces of life together. Any tribute will fall short of the place women hold in our hearts and societies. But women are also stretched and stressed. While they look after everyone around them, who looks after them? The answer lies in Yoga – the balance that today’s ‘beauty with brains’ needs.
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”
Experts have recommended yoga for women to help them successfully cater to the multiple demands on their time. Women have always had it tough if they dare to dream big. They are expected to multi-task all the time, living like Superman – regular office worker by day and superhero by night. Women must, not only, take care of their domestic duties with efficiency and grace, but also work outside the four walls justifying their education and intellectual capabilities, at par with men.
Women, across the globe, need to be able to keep many balls up in the air at the same time ensuring that not a single one of them falls at any time. This is why yoga will seem like a blessing for women. Yoga is a means to achieving sanity and serenity in their trying and taxing world. Simple breathing techniques will help women calm down and handle their multiple responsibilities with proficiency and poise.
Yoga does more for women than just make their bodies supple. It lends balance to the mind and nourishment to the soul. That is why women should not consider yoga as another chore on their overloaded schedule but as a necessary activity that will help them handle their other obligations optimally. The logical question that arises in relation to yoga is when to start.
This is the icing on the cake as far as women are concerned because yoga is suitable for all ages. Read on to see how women can make the most of the numerous benefits of yoga.
Yoga – Blessing for women in adolescence
Yoga is highly recommended for women in their adolescence. This tumultuous period shapes the entire lifetime of young girls as they undergo major changes in their body and mind. Various asanas of yoga are designed for women at this stage to ensure they adapt to these multiple changes easily and painlessly. For instance, the practice of Pranayama and meditation help calm the restless, fearful and confused teenage mind. The wandering and wavering mind is a result of the physical changes the adolescent body goes through. Asanas such as Dhanurasana and Vajrasana are among those yogasanas that are ideal for women to help them develop a regular and healthy menstrual cycle. Practising these asanas regularly will ensure that women develop muscular strength, avoid obesity and develop healthy reproductive organs by keeping their hormones in balance.
Yoga – Perfect for women’s peak productive period
Women go through various physical changes during the years of conception and motherhood. Yoga helps optimise productivity for women. Women experience various ‘alien’ feelings during their pregnancy time; it is important that they achieve and maintain good physical and mental health. It is a difficult task given the various hormonal changes that are sometimes not under their control. Experts have recommended some of the asanas of yoga for women to keep them in peak shape physically and emotionally. Yoga also keeps women flexible and fit to be able to deliver normally. It ensures that they give themselves an optimal chance to tide over any complications that may occur during pregnancy or delivery.
Pre-natal yoga has many benefits that can be tailored to suit the body’s changing needs and capabilities. It also helps to strengthen women’s uterine muscles and support the spine, enabling the back to cope with additional pressure. Post-natal yoga in the form of pranayama and Yogic breathing will help women recover quickly post-delivery, restore firmness in their muscle fibres and increase lactation.
Yoga in the transitional period
This is one of the toughest ages for either sex but for women the complications are singular. Women experience menopause, weight gain, thyroid problems and other such conditions and ailments. The benefits of yoga for women during this time are substantial. Yoga has great healing powers and can help balance hormones, keep weight in check, help menopause pass smoothly and maintain a healthy digestive system. Pranayama and meditation will help women immeasurably in this difficult and rather tumultous time in their lives.
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Dr. Sujata Panda, PhD in Yoga, DNYS, N.D., Gold medallist, Founder of Su-Ham Foundation Owner of Viroga Virtual Clinic |
