Yoga for Menopausal Symptom Relief

Good news for sufferers of hot flashes and night sweats. Yoga for Menopause. Peri- and postmenopausal women who practice yoga increase flexibility and improve their quality of life, according to a study conducted at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Pomona (52nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine).

Researchers recruited six women, ages 44–62, to take a 1-hour yoga class twice a week for 8 weeks and to practice a home exercise program on days they were not in class. Participants in the yoga for menopause study did an Iyengar sequence of poses designed to address menstrual disorders, menopause and pregnancy.

“Five of the six women who participated in the yoga program had an increase in low-back flexibility, and five out of six had reduced menopause symptoms,” said M. Alysia Mastrangelo, PhD, PT, lead author of the study. While this yoga for menopause study was too small to yield more generalized conclusions, the results provide further evidence that yoga can improve quality of life without harmful side effects.