Honouring Your Menstrual Phase

Yoga, Hormones & Understanding Your Period

Reading time: 5 minutes

It’s normal to ask yourself, “What menstrual cycle phase am I in?” when symptoms fluctuate and you can be too busy to keep track. This series of articles will help you understand each of the 4 phases of the menstrual cycle including menstrual cycle hormones, symptoms to expect, managing those symptoms, using Yoga to align with your body’s natural energy & needs as well as self-care suited to each phase you’re in. This will empower you with the knowledge to understand your body, read your symptoms like a book and give you the tools to manage and align with every phase of your cycle.

Welcome to the first part of our cycle-syncing series, where we’re beginning in the menstrual phase—your inner winter. This is the part of your cycle that invites stillness, softness, and deep rest. Rather than pushing through, your body is nudging you to slow down, release, and reset. In this article, we’ll explore how to honour this phase with gentle yoga, mindful nourishment, and compassionate self-care so you can support your body exactly the way it needs.

We often see our period as an inconvenience. It can come with challenging symptoms, ruin our social plans and is just feels like a monthly hassle. But what if it didn’t have to? What if we could flip the script and start to see it as a powerful monthly cleanse? When we understand what this phase really means physiologically, emotionally, and energetically, it becomes the most restorative part of the menstrual cycle.

Whether you track your cycle with a menstrual cycle calendar or a fertility tracker, or you still just wait for it to arrive, we know this phase has begun as the start of your bleeding marks day one of your menstrual cycle. It’s the point where hormones drop, energy shifts, and your body begins a powerful natural reset.

Understanding the Menstrual Phase

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why do menstrual cycle changes happen?” or “What menstrual cycle means?”, the answer lies in your hormones. Hormones govern all the process and symptoms we experience throughout our cycle. Similarly, lifestyle factors especially the stress we can experience has an impact on our hormones which has a knock-on effect on our cycle. If you notice changes in your period, it’s a good time to reflect on what else is going on and what might be causing those hormone shifts.

During menstruation:

Oestrogen and progesterone drop (when pregnancy did not occur)
This hormonal decline causes the uterus to contract and shed the lining that has been building up throughout the other phases of your cycle
This process & drop in hormones creates many common period symptoms we all know too well

These hormone dips are the cause of common period symptoms such as:

Low energy
Menstrual pain
Menstrual cramps in the back, stomach, or thighs
Skin breakouts
Mood changes
Tender breasts
Menstrual migraines

The Ayurvedic Perspective: Cleansing & Inner Balance

Ayurveda is like the sister science to Yoga. Menstruation from an auyervadic perspective is very much seen as a natural monthly cleanse. Dr Robert Svoboda describes ama as metabolic waste — think of all the waste that builds up throughout the month and menstruation being the body’s chance to release it. This release is governed by apana, the downward-moving energy vital for a healthy fertility cycle and regular menstruation. Apana moves the ama out of our body and ensures our bodies are cleansed during this phase.

This is one of the main reasons why it is advised not to perform Yoga inversions during your menstruation. Apana is a downward moving energy and performing any Yoga poses that are inverted literally works against this downward energy force. Inversions have endless benefits during the rest of your cycle and should be performed regularly (where appropriate) outside of menstruation.

If you’ve ever noticed your period feel more intense during stressful months, this is why. Imbalances throughout the cycle become more visible when apana is active. This is your body communicating with you and one of the benefits to being in tune with your menstrual cycle.

Yoga for the Menstrual Phase

So, we know what’s going on in our bodies during menstruation and we’re all too familiar with the array of symptoms we experience. But what Yoga can we do during menstruation? Yoga poses during your period support your body physically by providing cramp relief and releasing tension. But, Yoga also supports your mental wellbeing during this time. Yoga for menstruation poses stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and help to calm as well as ease anxiety. This is the moment for soft, spacious, grounding practices that support hormonal balance and ease menstrual cycle pain.

Supportive menstrual-phase yoga includes:

Restorative yoga
Supported Child’s Pose (with bolster)
Gentle hip openers
Soft belly breathing

These practices help calm the nervous system, support the downward flow of apana, and reduce cramping.

Yoga practice to avoid during menstruation:

Inversions
Strong backbends
Core or strong abdominal movements

The best way to support your body during this phase is to think “keep my belly soft”. This isn’t the phase for strong ab workouts. This is the phase for softness and restoration.

Self-Care Aligned with Your Menstrual Phase

Alongside your Yoga practice, ensure that you are taking care of yourself and nourishing yourself during this phase. Your body is doing incredible, powerful work and it is ok to honour that. These are my favourite self-care rituals for my period: