Yoga for Menopause

© Susan M. Lark M.D.
(Excerpted from The Estrogen Decision Self Help Book
Published by Celestial Arts)

Yoga stretches can benefit both the body and the mind, bringing energy and balance. This is particularly helpful to women who are currently in menopause or in menopause transition because their hormonal levels and body chemistry may be fluctuating rapidly. This can leave women feeling out of balance and truly victims of their changing bodies. Yoga exercises level out this physiological instability by relaxing and gently stretching every muscle in the body, promoting better blood circulation and oxygenation to all cells and tissues. This helps optimize the function of the endocrine glands and the organs of the female reproductive tract. Yoga exercises also improve the health and well-being of the digestive tract, nervous system, and all other organ systems. The yoga exercises included in this chapter address many specific menopause related symptoms and issues, such as bone strength, cardiovascular and breast health, of concern to all women past midlife. You may want to begin by trying all the stretches, then practicing on a regular basis those exercises that bring you the most symptom relief and general health benefits. If you prefer, begin with the exercises that offer relief for the specific symptoms of greatest concern. General Techniques for Yoga When doing yoga exercises, it is important that you focus and concentrate on the positions. First, let your mind visualize how the exercise is to look, and then follow with the correct body placement in the pose. The exercises are done through slow, controlled stretching movements. This slowness allows you to have greater control over your body movements. You minimize the possibility of injury and maximize the benefit to the particular area of the body where your attention is being focused. Pay close attention to the initial instructions. Look at the placement of the body in the photographs. This is very important, for if the pose is practiced properly, you are much more likely to have relief from your symptoms. In summary, as you begin these exercises: Visualize the pose in your mind, then follow with proper placement of the body. Move slowly through the pose. This will help promote flexibility of the muscles and prevent injury. Follow the breathing instructions provided in the exercise. Most important, do not hold your breath. Allow your breath to flow in and out easily and effortlessly. Practicing yoga stretches regularly in a slow, unhurried fashion will gradually loosen your muscles, ligaments and joints. You may be surprised at how supple you can become over time. If you experience any pain or discomfort, you have probably overreached your current ability and should immediately reduce the amount of the stretching until you can proceed without discomfort. Be careful, as muscular injuries take time to heal. If you do strain a muscle, immediately apply ice to the injured area for ten minutes. Use the ice pack two to three times a day for several days. If the pain persists, see your doctor. If you wish more background and information on yoga, refer to the books listed in the bibliography at the end of this book. Stretch 1: The Locust This exercise energizes the entire female reproductive tract, thyroid, liver, intestines and kidneys. It is helpful for premenopausal women with dysfunctional bleeding, as well as women with menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, because it improves circulation and oxygenation to the pelvic region, thereby promoting healthier ovarian function. This exercise also strengthens the lower back, abdomen, buttocks, and legs, and prevents lower back pain and cramps. Lie face down on the floor. Make fists with both your hands and place them under your hips. This prevents compression of the lumbar spine while doing the exercise. Straighten your body and raise your right leg with an upward thrust as high as you can, keeping your hips on your fists. Hold for 5 to 20 seconds if possible. Lower the leg and slowly return to your original position. Repeat on the left side. Remember to keep your hips resting on your fists. Repeat 10 times. Repeat 10 times with both legs together. Stretch 2: The Pump This exercise improves blood circulation through the pelvis, thereby promoting healthier ovarian function. It helps relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and controls excessive bleeding in premenopausal women. The exercise helps calm anxiety and also strengthens the back and abdominal muscles. Lie down and press the small of your back into the floor. This permits you to use your abdominal muscles without straining your lower back. Raise your right leg slowly while breathing in. Keep your back flat on the floor and let the rest of your body remain relaxed. Move your leg very slowly; imagine your leg being pulled up smoothly by a spring. Do not move your leg in a jerky manner. Hold for a few breaths. Lower your leg and breathe out. Repeat the same exercise on your left side. Then alternate legs, repeating the exercise 5 to 10 times. Stretch 3: Wide Angle Pose This exercise opens the entire pelvic region and energizes the female reproductive tract, improving ovarian function as well as normalizing excessive or irregular menstrual flow; diminution of menopausal symptoms may also occur. It is helpful for varicose veins and improves circulation in the legs. Lie on your back with your legs against the wall and extended out in a V or an arc, and your arms extended to the side. Hips should be as close to the wall as possible, buttocks on the floor. Legs should be spread apart as far as they can and still remain comfortable. Breathing easily, hold for 1 minute, allowing the inner thighs to relax. Bring legs together and hold for 1 minute. Stretch 4: Spinal Flex This exercise energizes and rejuvenates the female reproductive tract and tones the abdominal organs (pancreas, liver and adrenals). It emphasizes freer pelvic movement with controlled breathing. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor close to your buttocks. Exhale and press the lower back into the floor, raising the buttocks slightly. Arch your back slightly. Inhale and lift your lower back off the floor. This stretches the region from the sternum to the pelvis. Repeat this exercise 10 times. Always lift your navel up on the in breath. Always elongate your spine and press the lower back down on the outbreath. Stretch 5: Pelvic Arch This is an excellent exercise for stretching the abdominal and pelvic muscles. Menopause related vaginal and bladder symptoms are reduced by promoting better circulation and relaxation in the pelvic region. It is also helpful in reducing pelvic congestion. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Spread your feet apart, flat on the floor. Place your hands around your ankles, holding them firmly. As you inhale, arch your pelvis up and hold for a few seconds. As you exhale, relax and lower your pelvis several times. Repeat this exercise several times. Stretch 6: The Bow This exercise helps relieve menopause-related fatigue and lack of vitality, elevating your mood and improving stamina. The exercise also stretches the entire spine and helps relieve lower back pain and cramps. It stretches the abdominal muscles and strengthens the back, hips and thighs. It also stimulates the digestive organs and endocrine glands. Lie face down on the floor, arms at your sides. Slowly bend your legs at the knees and bring your feet up toward your buttocks. Reach back with your arms and carefully take hold of first one foot and then the other. Flex your feet to make grasping them easier. Inhale and raise your trunk from the floor as far as possible and lift your head. Bring your knees as close together as possible. Squeeze the buttocks while raising them off the floor. Imagine your body looking like a gently curved bow. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Slowly release the posture. Allow your chin to touch the floor and finally release your feet and return them slowly to the floor. Return to your original position. Repeat 5 times. Stretch 7: Child's Pose Excellent for calming anxiety and stress due to emotional causes, this exercise will also relieve menopause related anxiety and irritability. The exercise gently stretches the lower back and is one of the most effective exercises for relieving menstrual cramps and low back pain. Sit on your heels. Bring your forehead to the floor, stretching the spine as far over your head as possible. Close your eyes. Hold for as long as comfortable. Stretch 8: The Sponge This exercise relieves anxiety and stress due to emotional causes or menopause related anxiety and tension. It relieves menstrual cramps and low back pain as well as reducing eye tension and swelling in the face. Lie on your back with a rolled towel placed under your knees. Your arms should be at your sides, palms up. Close your eyes and relax your whole body. Inhale slowly, breathing from the diaphragm. As you inhale, visualize the energy in the air around you being dawn in through your entire body. Imagine your body is porous and open like a sponge, drawing in this energy and revitalizing every cell of your body. Exhale slowly and deeply, allowing all tension to drain from your body. Stretch 9: Dollar Pose This pose reduces anxiety and nervous tension and will help eliminate tension headaches and insomnia. It improves flexibility of the spine, reducing stiffness and back pain. Lie on your back with your legs bent and your feet together. Place your hands on the sides of both ankles to keep your legs together. As you inhale, raise your legs up over your head. Make sure that the posture is comfortable by adjusting the angle of your legs. To do this, bend your knees to apply pressure between the shoulder blades. Hold this posture for one minute, breathing slowly and deeply. Return to the original position, lying flat on your back with your eyes closed. Relax in this position for several minutes. Stretch 10: Tree If your goal is to strengthen bone mass by increasing weight bearing on the legs, hips and spine, this exercise will help you accomplish increasing bone mass. It also improves balance and posture. Standing erect, focus your eyes on a stationary point. Place one foot against the opposite thigh, so that one leg is bearing your weight. Slowly raise your arms over your head. Hold for a count of 5. Reverse sides. Repeat 3 times. Note: You may place one hand on the wall for support if needed. Stretch 11: Chest Expander This exercise increases circulation to the upper half of the body, energizing and stimulating the body. It also loosens and stretches tense muscles in the upper body, especially the shoulder and back, and expands the lungs. Stand easily. Arms should be at your sides; feet are hip distance apart. Extend your arms forward until your palms touch. Bring your arms slowly and gracefully back until you can clasp them behind your back. Exhale, then straighten your clasped hands and arms as far as you can without discomfort. Remember to stand upright; body should not bend forward. Breathe deeply into chest. Inhale deeply and bend backward from the waist. Keep your hands clasped and your arms held high. Drop your head backward a few inches and look upward as you relax your shoulders and the back of your neck. Hold this position for a few seconds. As you hold your breath, bend forward at the waist, bringing your clasped hands and arms up over your back. Relax your neck muscles and keep your knees straight. Hold for a few seconds. Exhale as you return to the upright position. Unclasp your hands and allow your arms to rest easily at your sides. Repeat entire sequence 3 times. Choosing the Right Yoga Technique From among the many specific yoga poses in this chapter, you can choose the best exercises to provide relief for your personal menopausal symptoms by using the accompanying chart. Try all the poses that pertain to your specific symptoms to see which ones bring you the most relief and practice those poses on a regular basis along with your exercise program. The combination of yoga stretches plus a good aerobic and strength-building program should help relieve and delay menopause-related symptoms and improve your general state of health. Symptoms Exercise Entire female reproductive tract Locust, Pump, Wide Angle Pose Spinal Flex, Pelvic Arcg, Bow Excessive or irregular menstrual bleeding Locust, Pump, Wide Angle Pose Hot flashes Locust, Pump, Wide Angle Pose Spinal Flex, Pelvic Arcg, Bow Insomnia Child's Pose, Sponge, Dollar Pose Psychological symptoms- anxiety, depression, fatigue Bow, Child's Pose, Sponge, Dollar Pose Vaginal atrophy and bladder symptoms Locust, Pump, Wide Angle Pose Spinal Flex, Pelvic Arcg, Bow Osteoporosis Tree Cardiovascular health Chest Expander Breast health Chest Expander

Let's Talk about Vaginal Discharge

By Tracee Cornforth, About.com

Do you know the difference between normal vaginal discharge and abnormal vaginal discharge? Did you know that having a vaginal discharge is normal? Let’s take a look at various types of vaginal discharges so that you’ll know when you have an abnormal vaginal discharge.

The Natural Vagina

The basic function of you vagina is to provide a route from the outside of your vagina to your uterus and the rest of your internal reproductive system. The natural, acidic, pH of your vagina acts to prevent infections. The acidic nature of your vagina is caused by natural, good, bacteria produced by your body. When your vagina is healthy, the vagina keeps itself clean and in a healthy state by producing secretions of normal vaginal discharge. The natural balance of the vagina can be disrupted by anything that interferes with its’ normal environment.

What is Normal Vaginal Discharge?

First it’s important to understand that all women experience some amount of vaginal discharge. Glands in your vaginal and cervix produce small amounts of fluid that flows out of your vagina everyday taking with it old cells that line the vagina. Your normal vaginal discharge helps to clean the vagina, as well as keep it lubricated and free from infection and other germs. A normal vaginal discharge does not have a foul odor and usually has no odor at all. Normal vaginal discharge often appears clear or milky when it dries on your clothing; occasionally you may notice white spots or a normal vaginal discharge that is thin and stringy looking.

Other things that may cause changes in the appearance or consistency of your vaginal discharge include:

• Your menstrual cycle

• Emotional stress

• Pregnancy

• Any prescribed or OTC medications you take including hormones such as in the Pill

• Sexual excitement

• Breastfeeding

• Ovulation

• Your diet

Other things that can upset the natural pH balance of your vagina and lead to vaginal infections include vaginal douches, feminine hygiene products, perfumed or deodorant soaps, antibiotics, pregnancy, diabetes, or the presence of another infection.

What is Menstruation?

Normal Menstruation and Menstrual Disorders

Menstrual Girls to Women Monthly Bleeding Menses PMS Premenstrual Syndrome

Menstruation is the cyclic occurrence of uterine bleeding that occurs near the end of puberty in girls. Typically, first periods occur around age 12 or 13. However, some girls begin having periods as young as 8 or 9 years old, while others may be as old as 15 or 16. If menarche does not occur by the time a girl reaches the age of 16, she should see her doctor for evaluation. Menstruation usually begins about 2 1/2 years after girls begin developing breasts, and growing pubic and underarm hair.

Once menstruation begins, it continues until menopause occurs around the age of 50 when monthly menstrual cycles end. Surgical menopause occurs following removal of the ovaries during hysterectomy. Menstruation also temporarily stops during pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives also stop normal menstruation and can safely be used to stop periods indefinitely or until pregnancy is desired. If menstruation fails to occur for any other reason, amenorrhea occurs. Amenorrhea is a menstrual cycle disorder.

For the most part, the menstrual cycle occurs predictably and without problems. However, when things don’t go right -– when you experience heavy or excessive bleeding, when your period doesn’t occur when expected, when you have physical or emotional symptoms during the weeks before you menstruation, or when you experience painful periods or other symptoms –- you may have a menstrual cycle disorder.

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a common menstrual cycle disorder that includes several types of abnormal bleeding patterns, including amenorrhea. Other menstrual cycle disorders include dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome or PMS, premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD, and uterine fibroid tumors. Other factors that may affect normal menstruation include stress, illness, exercise, diet and nutrition, and work, family, and relationship issues.

Dieters’ best intentions hijacked by their brains

Yummy snacks trigger vicious cycle of cravings, former FDA chief warns

	Chocolate cookies have something in common with crack. Neuroscientists increasingly report that fat-and-sugar combinations light up the brain's dopamine pathway — its pleasure-sensing spot — the same pathway that conditions people to alcohol or drugs.
Stephen Bonk / featurepics.com stock

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updated 4:06 p.m. ET April 20, 2009

WASHINGTON - Food hijacked Dr. David Kessler's brain.

Not apples or carrots. The scientist who once led the government's attack on addictive cigarettes can't wander through part of San Francisco without craving a local shop's chocolate-covered pretzels. Stop at one cookie? Rarely.

It's not an addiction but it's similar, and he's far from alone. Kessler's research suggests millions share what he calls "conditioned hypereating" — a willpower-sapping drive to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods even when they're not hungry.

In a book being published next week, the former Food and Drug Administration chief brings to consumers the disturbing conclusion of numerous brain studies: Some people really do have a harder time resisting bad foods. It's a new way of looking at the obesity epidemic that could help spur fledgling movements to reveal calories on restaurant menus or rein in portion sizes.

"The food industry has figured out what works. They know what drives people to keep on eating," Kessler tells The Associated Press. "It's the next great public health campaign, of changing how we view food, and the food industry has to be part of it."

He calls the culprits foods "layered and loaded" with combinations of fat, sugar and salt — and often so processed that you don't even have to chew much.

Overeaters must take responsibility, too, and basically retrain their brains to resist the lure, he cautions.

"I have suits in every size," Kessler writes in "The End of Overeating." But, "once you know what's driving your behavior, you can put steps into place" to change it.

Jonesing for junk food

At issue is how the brain becomes primed by different stimuli. Neuroscientists increasingly report that fat-and-sugar combinations in particular light up the brain's dopamine pathway — its pleasure-sensing spot — the same pathway that conditions people to alcohol or drugs.

Where did you experience the yum factor? That's the cue, sparking the brain to say, "I want that again!" as you drive by a restaurant or plop before the TV.

"You're not even aware you've learned this," says Dr. Nora Volkow, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a dopamine authority who has long studied similarities between drug addiction and obesity.

Volkow is a confessed chocoholic who salivates just walking past her laboratory's vending machine. "You have to fight it and fight it," she said.

Conditioning isn't always to blame. Numerous factors, including physical activity, metabolism and hormones, play a role in obesity.

And the food industry points out that increasingly stores and restaurants are giving consumers healthier choices, from allowing substitutions of fruit for french fries to selling packaged foods with less fat and salt.

Why is it so hard to say no?

But Kessler, now at the University of California, San Francisco, gathered colleagues to help build on that science and learn why some people have such a hard time choosing healthier:

• First, the team found that even well-fed rats will work increasingly hard for sips of a vanilla milkshake with the right fat-sugar combo but that adding sugar steadily increases consumption. Many low-fat foods substitute sugar for the removed fat, doing nothing to help dieters eat less, Kessler and University of Washington researchers concluded.
• Then Kessler culled data from a major study on food habits and health. Conditioned hypereaters reported feeling loss of control over food, a lack of satiety, and were preoccupied by food. Some 42 percent of them were obese compared to 18 percent without those behaviors, says Kessler, who estimates that up to 70 million people have some degree of conditioned hypereating.
• Finally, Yale University neuroscientist Dana Small had hypereaters smell chocolate and taste a chocolate milkshake inside a brain-scanning MRI machine. Rather than getting used to the aroma, as is normal, hypereaters found the smell more tantalizing with time. And drinking the milkshake didn't satisfy. The reward-anticipating region of their brains stayed switched on, so that another brain area couldn't say, "Enough!"

People who aren't overweight can be conditioned hypereaters, too, Kessler found — so it's possible to control.

Take Volkow, the chocolate-loving neuroscientist. She's lean, and a self-described compulsive exerciser. Physical activity targets the dopamine pathway, too, a healthy distraction.

Smoking didn't start to drop until society's view of it as glamorous and sexy started changing, to view the habit as deadly, Kessler notes.

Unhealthy food has changed in the other direction. Foods high in fat, sugar and salt tend to be cheap; they're widely sold; and advertising links them to good friends and good times, even as social norms changed to make snacking anytime, anywhere acceptable.

Train your brain — and your body

Retrain the brain to think, "I'll hate myself if I eat that," Kessler advises. Lay down new neural reward circuits by substituting something else you enjoy, like a bike ride or a healthier food.

Make rules to resist temptation: "I'm going to the mall but bypassing the food court."

And avoid cues for bad eating whenever possible. Always go for the nachos at your friends' weekend gathering spot? Start fresh at another restaurant.

"I've learned to eat things I like but things I can control," Kessler says. But he knows the old circuitry dies hard: "You stress me enough and I'll go pick up that bagel."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Want to get buff, ladies? Switch contraceptives

updated 1:15 p.m. ET April 17, 2009

CHICAGO - Young women seeking a sculpted, muscular silhouette may want to avoid taking oral contraceptives, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

They found women who were not taking birth control pills gained 60 percent more muscle mass after a 10-week weight training program than those who were.

The study, led by Chang-Woock Lee and Steven Riechman of Texas A&M University in College Station and Mark Newman of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, will be presented at the American Physiological Society meeting in New Orleans this weekend।

The researchers studied 73 generally healthy women between 18 and 31 who completed a whole-body resistance exercise training program. About half took the pill and half did not.

The women were encouraged to eat at least half a gram of protein per pound of body weight each day — about a third more than recommended by U.S. nutritional guidelines — to ensure they got enough protein and calories to build muscle.

Both groups exercised three times a week under the supervision of exercise physiologists, performing the same number and intensity of exercises.

At the end of the 10 weeks, the women who were not taking oral contraceptives had built significantly more lean muscle.

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And blood samples before and after the training period showed the women on the pill had lower levels of muscle-building hormones such as testosterone and far higher levels of muscle-breaking hormones such as cortisol.

In a statement the team said that oral contraceptives appear to have a negative effect on women's ability to build lean muscle, but they added that future studies were needed to explain why.