Banish hot flushes for ever

OF ALL the challenges women face as they age, the menopause can be the most physically and mentally gruelling. All those changes to your body often happen just as your life is being transformed when the children grow up and leave home. It can be tricky to cope with.

I was one of the lucky ones. To be honest, I didn’t even know the menopause was happening until it was over. Thankfully, I wasn’t afflicted by the hot flushes and mood swings which can be so debilitating.

Of course, it’s impossible to say whether me sailing through the menopause is down to my regular yoga practice — our bodies are complex machines, after all, and yoga is definitely not a cureall — but I like to think it helped.

So if you’re perimenopausal, or in the throes of the menopause itself, it’s worth trying yoga. It won’t harm you — and it is likely to help.

Again, the reasons why yoga can assist menopausal women are down to the fact it is a system that can help both the body and mind.

Biologically speaking, yoga can stimulate the glands, as well as calm the raging hormones which dictate the ebbs and flows of a woman’s reproductive lifespan.

Let me explain. Before the menopause strikes, a woman’s menstrual cycle is governed by the hypothalamus. Sitting at the base of the brain, the hypothalamus regulates all manner of bodily functions.

It is the hypothalamus which tells the pituitary gland to produce the hormones required for reproduction. This then stimulates production of oestrogen and progesterone in the ovaries, vital for a woman to become pregnant.

Then comes the perimenopause. And everything changes. The ovaries naturally decrease the levels of oestrogen and progesterone. However, the pituitary gland senses this drop and sends more hormones to the ovaries to try to compensate.

SuddenLy, the body finds itself at crosspurposes and the erratic hormonal fluctuations which ensue can leave you suffering. Such ups and downs can go on for years, and hormones only start getting back on track after a woman has had her last period. even then, though, there is a brave new world to adjust to, as your body adapts to an existence with fewer hormones than before.

And many women seek a natural way to ease these symptoms. Which is where yoga can assist.

It goes without saying that yoga can’t increase your oestrogen production — it’s a powerful practice, but not that powerful!

But some of its poses can soothe an overwrought nervous system and may help improve the functions of the glandular system, helping your body adapt to hormonal fluctuations.

Perhaps the most common — and frustrating — symptom of the menopause is the hot flush. nearly 80 per cent of women get them. When they strike in public, they can be embarrassing; and if they occur at night, they can disrupt sleep and leave you feeling exhausted.

It’s not clear what causes the hot flush, but some scientists think a fall in oestrogen causes a glitch in the way the hypothalamus senses body temperature, making it think that you are too hot. The sweat glands then kick in to try to cool you down.

How can yoga help? Well, it’s a practice built on breathing — deep regular inhales and exhales, which promote a connection between the mind and the activity of the body. Such breathing can be immensely cooling, expelling some of that rapid heat the hot flush brings on.

As well as this, deep breathing neutralises anxiety — which can fuel the onset of hot flushes. Indeed, oestrogen spikes can bring on a state of anxiety, nervousness and irritability.

The adrenal glands respond by creating adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormones which put your body into ‘ fight or flight’ mode.

We examined yesterday how an overtaxed adrenal gland can increase your appetite — but a more basic down side of too much adrenaline is that you feel terribly edgy. yoga can help — firstly, by promoting deep relaxation, and secondly, by regulating the adrenal gland itself.

Movements such as Cobra and Crescent Moon — which I showed you yesterday — help keep these glands in excellent condition.

Regular yoga can also reduce high blood pressure, and promote good blood circulation — which can also help when it comes to night sweats.

Joint aches and pains are another symptom of the menopause, along with a general feeling of being under par.

As well as helping heal some of these pains by promoting greater flexibility, yoga makes us better able to cope with pain — perhaps because the stress it releases leaves us more resilient.

The poses I showed you on Saturday – like the upwards Stretch and Forward Bend — are a good starting point in helping joint aches.

The menopause, of course, doesn’t just bring physical frustrations. Some women find themselves mentally afflicted, suddenly losing their train of thought or having ‘foggy’ heads.

even women who have previously had a memory like an elephant can suddenly find themselves struggling for facts or dates. Such fuzzy thinking often happens at moments of great hormonal fluctuation. Many women find yoga helps clear the cobwebs, especially if it is exacerbated by lack of sleep or increased agitation.

Any inverted positions — such as the Pose Of dog, which I’ll show you tomorrow — can help collect the thoughts by bringing blood to the brain.

Fatigue often goes hand in hand with the dreaded hot flush. experts say that dips in progesterone could be at fault for such exhaustion.

YOgA can boost energy and put you in a better frame of mind. gentle back stretches, such as the Backward Bend that I showed you on Saturday, open the chest and often bring renewed vitality.

deep breathing also improves circulation and lifts the spirits — sorely needed during the menopause. It’s a time that signals the end of the childbearing years, and many women mourn such a period, seeing it as the end of youth. There can be a sense that a life they once knew is over.

Regular yoga can provide structure to a life that has started to drift, and give a precious chance for some ‘me time’.

Improvements in posture can bring positive mood changes. And any pose that brings about improvements in circulation can bring a new sense of lightness.

The Chest expansion pose, as shown on Saturday, stimulates blood flow to the head and neck, as well as relieving tension in this area, the site where so many stresses and strains reside.

Indeed, there’s perhaps no stronger ‘cure’ than the stressrelief provided by yoga. Our bodies are literally strangled by tension, from the skin on our faces to our innermost cells.

Anything that can allow us to drop our tight shoulders, relax our tense foreheads and sleep better will help.

When your body feels out of control, as it does before and during the menopause, yoga can be an invaluable support.

IntervIew by MAUreen BrOOKBAnKS. For more information, visit barbaracurrieyoga.com. Barbara Currie’s the Power Of Yoga DvD and her 10 Minutes In the Morning: Yoga And Diet Plan book, published by thorsons, are available from amazon.co.uk