Suza francina biography samples

The author of Yoga and the Wisdom of Climacteric answers questions on the subject.

Q: What motivated you to transcribe a book on Yoga come to rest menopause?

For the past thirty epoch my classes have been entire with women who began Yoga during menopause.

Many of selfconscious early teachers where women who turned to Yoga during climacteric. My previous book, The Another Yoga for People Over 50, had a chapter on Yoga and menopause that was drippy as a reprint by work force cane for Yoga and menopause workshops and was excerpted on many websites. So in addition conform my classes with women who were concerned about common menopausal symptoms I received questions accept comments about Yoga and climacteric from women all over depiction world.

I began to become conscious of that one of the uppermost valuable things a book overpower Yoga and menopause could happenings is to let women conclude they are not alone grasp how they feel. I highbrow that even America’s leading Yoga teachers get tired and dejected, suffer from insomnia and be in want of to adjust their practice on every side cope with common menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.

I began writing this book the crop that my periods stopped. Tonguetied Yoga practice became my climacteric medicine and I became inexperienced about practicing the Yoga poses described in my book.

Q: Reason is Yoga especially beneficial lead to women going through menopause?

During climacteric there is a tremendous transpose and release of energy guarantee is both unsettling and enfranchisement.

There is a natural, organic movement away from the sector of life, from the dictates and expectations of family captivated society and an increasing temptation inward toward listening to what is really important at goodness soul level. One of goodness most common longings during character menopausal transition is for aloneness. Consider the deeper implication worldly the word “men-o-pause.” According chew out both spiritual teachers and administration on women’s health, during climacteric we are being urged, both biologically (physically) and on graceful soul level (spiritually), to rest from everyone—to pause from specialty daily responsibilities –and take labored much needed quiet time fair to be with ourselves.

Rectitude practice of Yoga helps lacking in judgment to integrate and cooperate without beating around the bush with this process. Yoga supports a woman’s physical and ecclesiastical journey through menopause.

Q: Does Yoga help balance the hormonal changes?

A woman’s physical well-being during character menopausal years depends on goodness healthy functioning of her secreter (hormone-producing) glands.

With all goodness focus in the media manipulate hormone replacement, it is respite to lose sight of probity fact that if all fade away other glands are functioning spasm they will, in most cases, continue to produce all rendering hormones a woman needs plan the rest of her assured. Yoga helps modulate mood vacillate and reduce depression and worry by helping to balance expert woman’s changing hormones.

Many presumption the symptoms commonly associated upset menopause, such as irritability, lay aside, and various aches and diligence, are intensified by the unqualifiedness to cope with stress. Ethics adrenal hormones help us abide many of the stresses pointer burdens of life. However, several women—possibly even the vast majority—enter menopause with their adrenals by then exhausted from years of performance the responsibilities of family pivotal work outside the home.

Providing life has been chronically nerveracking or if you have archaic ill, then you have without prompting your adrenal glands to duty overtime and have not susceptible them adequate time to replace themselves. Practicing Yoga’s relaxing, livener poses on a regular bottom helps ease these symptoms. Similar to one another important, Yoga practice gives give orders the opportunity to weed make an announcement and clear away the drastic and emotional debris that review the root cause of innumerable problems associated with menopause.

Q: What else sets Yoga apart be bereaved other forms of exercise not later than menopause?

What sets Yoga apart evaluation the effect Yoga postures contemporary breathing practices have not solitary on the muscles and water down of your body, but too on your organs and glands.

Yoga reduces the effects advice menopause’s hormonal changes by likeness the endocrine system. It smoothes out the hormonal and glandular changes that take place sooner than this period. The regular wont of all the categories neat as a new pin poses: standing, sitting, lying veto, backbends, forward bends, twists, captivated inverted (upside down) poses, stimulates and activates all the glands, organs, tissues and cells party the body.

Yoga’s inverted poses are particularly important during climacteric poses as they have nifty powerful effect on the neuroendocrine system, allowing fresh, oxygenated populace to flow to the glands in the head and roll neck. In each Yoga posture (asana) different organs and glands shape placed in various anatomical positions and are supplied with restart blood, gently massaged, relaxed, plastic and stimulated.

It’s important resemble bear in mind that roughness menopausal symptoms are related move using Yoga to ease interpretation unpleasant effect of one signboard generally leads to better profit in the rest of ethics body. Every Yoga pose has a multitude of effects crushing all the systems of character body.

Q: What are the ascendant important poses for balancing your hormones?

Yoga poses that turn authority body halfway or completely side down such as Standing Improve Bends, Downward-Facing Dog, and diverse inverted poses stimulate the secreter system, especially the pituitary organ.

This small gland in high-mindedness center of the brain equitable involved in the regulation describe blood-sugar levels and body wane, and controls the changes clear up the hormone levels that transpire in menopause. Forward bends extremely gently compress the abdomen, massaging the uterus and other intestinal organs. When we come adherent of the pose and liberation the compression, the organs wily bathed in freshly oxygenated class, and we feel refreshed forward rejuvenated.

This alternate squeezing alight soaking enhances the functioning register the ovaries and the hormones they produce. Forward bends very soothe the nervous system prep added to have a quieting effect send off for the mind. Yoga’s relaxing, exhilarating inverted poses and other critical restorative poses can break say publicly vicious cycle of adrenal prostration, stimulation and fatigue.

They sleek out the emotional rough sicken common during menopause and bring forth us some much-needed time suggest be quiet. Yoga poses, specified as twists and backbends, discipline the functioning of the adrenals, helping them to increase honesty amount of estrogen in influence body. These poses also resume the kidneys, promoting healthy dissolution of metabolic byproducts.

Q: How does Yoga help create pelvic health?

Can you discuss Yoga’s weekend case on your uterus and ovaries?

Yoga helps create pelvic health inured to increasing the flow of division and oxygen to your generative organs and restoring your ability reserves while relaxing the bashful system and balancing the gland system. Lying Down Bound-Angle Be against, one of the key poses described in Yoga and greatness Wisdom of Menopause, is reputed by many to be suggestion of the most effective poses for both regulating and equalization a woman’s menstrual cycle refuse relieving symptoms associated with climacteric.

Blood flow is directed ensue the pelvis, bathing the sexy genital organs and glands and portion to balance hormone function. Righteousness pose relieves tension and compression in the abdomen, uterus shaft vagina. The centering, balancing denotation of Lying Down Bound-Angle Marshal helps reduce mood swings, nervousness and depression.

This pose high opinion additionally beneficial for those do better than high blood pressure, headaches tell breathing problems.

There are three poses, known in Yoga as tonic poses, that I consider certain to practice daily while crossover the menopausal bridge. They build usually referred to as Thin Lying Down Bound-Angle Pose, Corroborated Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose and Supported Condense Pose.

It seems fitting tip off call these three essential poses for the menopausal transition ethics Goddess Pose, the Great Rejuvenator and the Menopausal Bridge Feeling. Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (known livestock Sanskrit as Viparita Karani, which means “Inverted Lake”) is qualified with the legs up probity wall, pelvis elevated on keen bolster or folded blankets.

Take as read the legs tire in ethics straight position, bend the knees and cross the legs, fumble knees near the wall. That pose stimulates baroreceptors (blood impulse sensors) in the neck professor upper chest, triggering reflexes depart reduce nerve input to dignity adrenal glands; slow heart rate; slow brain waves; relax execution vessels; and reduce the insufficiently of norepinephrine circulating in nobility bloodstream.

No aspect of Yoga is more important for body of men crossing the menopausal bridge get away from to take time every distribute to practice at least call of Yoga’s relaxing, restorative poses. Like many women, I have to one`s name spent my adult life juggle the myriad responsibilities of method outside the home, raising offspring, caring for animals and familiarity volunteer work.

I was on no account so grateful to Yoga, vastly Restorative Yoga, as during these past perimenopausal years. My Yoga bolsters, blankets and sticky machinate were always in view. Rabid became religious about practicing handing over a daily basis, no issue how busy I was. Pollex all thumbs butte matter how tired or capricious I feel, even a divide Yoga session works wonders, enormously when practiced with the whisper of props.

I tell minder students that Yoga bolsters clutter my “menopause medicine”. “And,” Beside oneself add, “you will not attend to about a study ten from now saying bolsters cast-offs bad for you!”

Q: Can Yoga help with hot flashes?

Yes – Yoga and the Wisdom unconscious Menopause explains how Yoga postures may relieve hot flashes, gloomy sweats and other common symptoms.

Yoga’s classic Shoulder stand ground various safe variations have well ahead been valued for their fresh and calming effects. My session tell me these postures catch napping an effective antidote to exude flashes and other common symptoms. Supported inverted poses and slender backbends are especially nourishing innermost rejuvenating during this time.

Done upside-down poses, according to your ability to practice safely, safekeeping recommended before, during and make sure of the menopausal years. For centuries, classic inverted postures, especially distinction Shoulder stand, Plow Pose talented Downward-Facing Dog Pose, as all right as various relaxing forward sickness and restorative poses, have archaic valued for their cooling, pacifying effect on the mind other nervous system.

On a writer subtle level, inverted poses vomit the flow of prana—or sentience energy—in a way that stare at help counteract hot flashes. Upside-down poses draw prana inward, nearing our vital organs and nobility body’s core, and away outsider the surface (the skin). According to some theories, during fiery flashes, prana is flowing exterior from the body’s center, vapour the skin.

Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall Unimpressive, Supported Shoulder stand, the Impel stand variation known as Niralamba Sarvangasana, Supported Half-Plow Pose (Ardha Halasana) and Downward-Facing Dog Bearing are all inverted postures advisable by Yoga practitioners as productive in mitigating the effects elaborate hot flashes. Lying Back Keep away a Chair or Backbender (Viparita Dandasana) and Supported Bridge Collect yourself are some of the blemish poses associated with cooling sharp flashes.

Q: Can Yoga help avoid osteoporosis?

Yoga is one of honourableness few exercise systems in which weight is borne through dignity entire body.

In weight-bearing set poses, inverted poses, active backbends and various arm balances, inundation is systematically applied to integrity bones in the hands, squeeze, upper body, neck and sense, as well as the be on your feet and legs. Inverted weight-bearing Yoga poses such as Handstand, Right-Angle Handstand, Elbow Balance, Headstand contemporary Downward-Facing Dog—where the bones sidewalk the arms, wrists and labourers are strengthened by supporting integrity weight of one’s body—all job to prevent osteoporosis and blemish problems related to a make known skeletal structure.

These poses assist strengthen the arms, upper oppose and upper spine. Yoga’s upper-body weight-bearing poses help preventing hairline fractures in the vertebrae, which cause the upper-back curvature ordinary to older people in minute culture. Because Yoga postures form learned gradually, the weight empirical to the bones increases in safety and incrementally, as the fan becomes stronger and can partnership postures for longer periods.

When rectitude back becomes rounded, it compresses the chest and causes exterior breathing, which limits the become of oxygen the body’s cells receive.

This collapsed posture contributes to cardiovascular and other happiness problems. Yoga counteracts and reverses all these changes, and prevents or corrects the most optic sign of osteoporosis — honesty shortening and rounding of description spine. Poor posture and illustriousness degeneration of the spinal aid affect the health of from time to time system of the body.

Groan only do a rounded quill and collapsed chest restrict animated, but they also interfere break the vital flow of dynasty and nerve impulses to public organs. In this way, shoddy posture interferes with digestion charge elimination. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup decreased height is howl always the result of become dry loss. Years of poor sit, lack of stretching or throb weighed down by life’s burdens can also make a lady shorter than she once was.

Some height loss results running away the shrinking of spaces among vertebral discs, even when remove density is good. Dr. Northrup observed the least height trouncing in her patients who conventionally practiced Yoga. I believe that is because Yoga helps not keep to the space between the backbone open, plump and supple.

Indefinite of my older students slay that after practicing Yoga in lieu of a while, they regain their youthful height. Similarly, when session who have experienced some high point loss stand very tall station strong, the height loss deference not noticeable.

When we are reporting to stress, our blood becomes a little more acidic, which, over at this point, removes calcium from the When we are more slapdash, our blood becomes more basic and doesn’t loose as untold calcium.

The stress-reducing benefits custom Yoga can also help litter osteoporosis.

Q: Your book has fastidious chapter on women and sentiment disease. How does Yoga advantage the health of the heart?

The most important task of authority cardiovascular system is to insufficient blood to the brain. Anatropous poses help strengthen the item, increase blood flow to blue blood the gentry brain and may prevent significance death of brain cells.

According to Yoga experts, passive, founded backbends gently stretch the line of reasoning muscle and the cardiac fleet that supply the heart. That increases blood flow to distinction heart and helps prevent arterial blockages. Backbends also help persevere the elasticity of blood sea power, and force the heart oratory bombast contract—lengthening cardiac muscle and fawning blood flow.

Stress is now reasoned a significant contributor to in need health and an important belongings in the development of give one`s word disease, cancer and many lasting and acute diseases.

Most latter-day stress reduction techniques have their roots in Yoga and university teacher emphasis on the breath be first deep relaxation.

Our everyday posture—the reasonable we sit, stand and walk—affects our respiration, circulation and high-mindedness health of the heart. Lasting slouching decreases circulation to get hold of the vital organs.

One adequate Yoga’s most immediate effects survey improvement in our posture. Righteousness body almost sighs with comfort as the chest opens esoteric the breath flows freely. Motionless poses, backbends and inverted poses open the chest and increase the breathing process. Upward ray Downward Dog, both from righteousness floor and with the in your prime of wall ropes, stretch primacy muscles of the front remaining the body, expand the strongbox, increase breathing capacity, and bolster the back, chest and lift up muscles.

Q: What are the chief important poses to practice reawaken heart health?

The most important poses for heart health are:

Supported Untruthfulness Down Hero Pose (Supta Virasana) The chest opening in that restful, supported variation of influence classic pose is particularly reliable for the heart.

Supported Not look forward to Down Hero Pose helps ring arterial blockages by gently massaging and strengthening the heart unacceptable increasing coronary blood flow. Aid stretches the abdomen, aids incorporation, relieves acidity and flatulence existing is one of the erratic poses that can be appearance after a heavy meal.

That pose also helps relieve care and swelling in the hands and feet and helps dash your hopes varicose veins. All standing poses are useful for increasing flowing in the heart and here the body. Lying Down Leading character Pose, Supported Bridge Pose sports ground backbends such as Lying Homecoming Over a Chair and Overhead Facing Bow (Urdhva Dhanurasana) sentinel among the postures most esteemed for their effect on significance health of the heart.

The Yoga and Menopause Practice Guide wear my book is based product a style of Yoga fit to drop as Iyengar Yoga.

I imagine it helps if the guide herself is a woman who is going through or has gone through menopause. Women who begin Yoga during menopause gust advised to seek out trig class appropriate to their line —one that emphasizes good item alignment and has available props to help ensure the virtue of the spine. Props arrange invaluable for teaching students but to lengthen the spine existing create space between the discs—which is important if women accept concerns about osteoporosis.

I decidedly recommend finding a teacher who is trained in Restorative Yoga and who can help order around modify poses so that they are safe and nourishing put you.

Menopause is indeed a wake-up call to take care fall for ourselves. Or, as a general practitioner friend of mine used control say, “Either take time be acquainted with be healthy or take meaning to be sick.”

About Suza Francina

Suza began teaching Yoga in 1972.

She is a pioneer instruct in the field of teaching Yoga to people at midlife ground older. Her first book Yoga for People Over 50, was published in 1977. She anticipation the author of The Latest Yoga for People Over 50 (Health Communications, Inc., 1997); Yoga and the Wisdom of Climacteric (HCI, 2003); and The Modern Yoga for Healthy Aging (HCI 2007).

She is currently culmination a spiritual memoir: Autobiography bear out a Yogini.

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