I teach yoga at Duke University. Any group on campus can request a yoga class for their group through Duke University's Group Fitness program. I had the opportunity to step out of my usual power yoga box to teach a yoga class for the "Progress. Period." group, which works to destigmatize menstruation and raise funds to purchase menstrual hygiene products for those in need.
I've outlined the class plan below, offering gentle movements and restorative poses to help ease menstrual pain. Hope you find some poses in here that provide some ease in your body! Feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments. Warm-up - Lie on your back with your knees bent. Place your feet hip width apart and your knees together. Place your left hand on your chest and your right hand on your belly. Close your eyes. Allow your mind to follow your breath in and out for a few minutes. - Draw your knees to your chest. - With your hands on your knees, make a few knee circles in each direction, moving your knees together (circling in the same direction), or apart then back together. - Take a twist, letting your knees fall to one side, arms out to a T. Switch slides. - Roll onto your side. - Press up to seated. - Cat-cows on your own time, pausing/shifting as needed. - Thread the needle each side. - Puppy dog. - Down dog. Keep your knees soft. Pedal your feet. - Take small steps to a forward fold at the top of your mat. Grab opposite elbows into ragdoll. Sway side to side. - Twists in your forward fold: Bend your left knee, place your left hand on a block, right arm up to the ceiling. Stay a few breaths and take the other side. - Bend your knees, slowly roll up. - Shoulder rolls back. Gentle flow Half Surya with Side Bends - Inhale your arms out and up. - Interlace your fingers, releasing your index fingers. - Exhale to side bend right. Inhale up. Exhale side bend left. Inhale up. - Exhale forward fold. - Inhale flat back. - Exhale fold. - Inhale arms out and up. - Exhale tadasana. Repeat, taking the side bend to the left first. Step Backs with Anjanayasana - Inhale arms out and up. - Exhale fold. - Inhale flat back. - Exhale step your right foot back. - Anjanayasana: Lower your right knee (perhaps on a blanket). Stay with your hands down, or hands to your front thigh, or arms up. - Stay a few breaths. - Frame your front foot. Tuck your back toes and straighten your back leg. - Down dog. Stay a few breaths. - Inhale right leg up to an easy 3-legged dog. Take any variation of 3-legged dog for a few breaths, maybe bending your knee, opening your hips, circling your ankle. - Step your right foot between your hands. - Inhale flat back. - Exhale left foot forward. - Inhale arms out and up. - Exhale tadasana. Repeat other side. Step Backs with Anjanayasana & Twist Same sequence as above, but after anjanayasana, frame your front foot, maybe straighten your back leg, inhale right arm up for a twist. Seated poses - Child's pose for a few breaths (knees together or apart; arms forward or back by your sides). Reach your arms forward; walk them over to the right for a few breaths, then the left. - Camel pose/one-armed camel. Moving on breath side-to-side with one-armed camels. - Malasana (squat). - Half-bound malasana. - Janu sirsasana. - Ardha matsyendrasana (which I call pretzel twist). - Half pigeon. Closing - Supported bridge for a couple of minutes, with a block or two under your sacrum/pelvis. - Supine twist (as in the warm up). - Happy baby. - Reclined bound angle pose. - Savasana.
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