health

by Nina Tough Weed by Melina Meza My sister in law, who never suffered much from headaches before, found that menopause brought on debilitating migraines. Other women find that normal, tension headaches become more frequent with hormonal fluctuations. In fact, although the most common complaint women in the US have during perimenopause and menopause is hot flashes, in Japan (where hot flashes are less common) women complain much more frequently about headaches. Baxter and I have already written on the blog about migraines and other headaches, both on how to prevent them (see Preventing Migraines and Other Headaches, Part 1 and Part 2 ) and how to practice when you have one (see Yoga and Migraine Headaches ). Unfortunately we don't know of any special techniques for treating hormonally triggered headaches (in the book The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health , in the chapter on menopause, Patricia Walden simply recommends her standard headache practices for headaches experienced dur...

by Nina I thought that today I�d introduce you to some of favorite quieting poses: supported forward bends. A supported forward bend is one where you use a prop, such as a bolster, stack of blankets or a chair seat to support your head and arms as you stay in the pose. Relaxing onto the support helps remove straining from the pose and enhances the quieting quality of the forward bend. These are gentle, inward-turning poses that both calming and nurturing. You can do supported forward bends in two forms: standing and seated. Standing supported forward bends are particularly good for stress as they are partial inversions. See Just in Time for the Holidays: Inverted Poses for information about why inverted poses, including partial inversions, are so beneficial for stress management. Because the supported seated forward bends are less active than the standing versions, they are more quieting. And because you�re resting the weight of your head and relaxing your neck, these poses may also h...