Women often come to my hormonal yoga classes with diagnoses such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, cysts and others. Most of the time doctors can offer nothing but hormone replacement therapy and surgery, which does not solve the underlying problem.
At the root of such conditions is an imbalance between the antagonist hormones progesterone and oestrogen. Progesterone is needed to balance oestrogen through the menstrual cycle. As soon as its level falls, oestrogen is left unopposed and begins to dominate the body. This state is marked by the following symptoms:
- irregular and/or heavy periods,
- bloating and fluid retention,
- breast swelling,
- mood swings,
- weight gain,
- foggy thinking,
- anxiety,
- depression,
- acne,
- fatigue,
- reduced sexual desire,
- facial hair,
- headaches.
It is generally held that with age the amount of progesterone produced declines and perimenopause sets in. This can happen at 30, at 40 or at 50. The menstrual cycle becomes unstable, and one or another sign of oestrogen dominance is added to it.
Modern endocrinologists associate this clinical picture with:
- with genetics,
- with poor nutrition — specifically, with high insulin resistance,
- with the body’s natural ageing process,
- with adverse environmental factors, poor ecology and so on.
But there is something else. And most medical professionals overlook it. Namely, the emotions. The ancient sages and philosophers were already saying that our emotions are largely responsible for illness and ailment. When you ignore your irritation or anger, for instance, and do not live it through to the end, stagnation or excess arises in the etheric, energetic body — and that in turn directly affects all physiological processes. The teaching of yoga says the same.
From this standpoint, an absence of positive emotion, aversion to oneself and a lack of self-respect are the principal emotional causes that bring about a shortage of progesterone and, as a consequence, oestrogen dominance.
Women often refuse their natural role. For a woman’s way of living is soft, often not very active. The focus of attention is on the process rather than the result. Instead of that, we resolve to act and start achieving things, or, as people often put it, “taking the wheel” — which is a purely masculine mode of behaviour. In the end the capacity for self-restoration is lost and illness sets in. For the masculine way of being in the world is far harder. And so it is often beyond women’s bodies.
Negatively charged emotions wound the etheric, or energetic, glands first of all. On the physical plane it is the ovaries that suffer first. Their function is suppressed, so less progesterone is produced and oestrogen increases. Often the balance shifts towards an excess of testosterone. Such women are typically firm and unyielding, principled and consistent in everything.
A low progesterone level indicates that you have lost the connection with your own nature. Love for yourself, self-acceptance and self-care will help heal aversion and hatred and low self-esteem, and restore balance naturally. In this way the teaching of yoga agrees with the medical view, but explains the causes more deeply. Ancient wisdom and modern knowledge complement each other beautifully.
As menopause approaches, progesterone levels in a woman’s body continue to fall. But at the same time oestrogen decreases too. This usually leads to an improvement in perimenopausal symptoms, since the imbalance between the two hormones is no longer so great. But the low oestrogen level brings other problems, namely:
- hot flushes,
- night sweats,
- loss of sexual desire,
- foggy thinking,
- infections,
- dry skin.
At the physical level, ovaries with suppressed function and congestion no longer produce enough oestrogen. Its level falls, which modern medicine classifies as the symptoms of menopause.
At the emotional level these symptoms reflect a woman’s resistance to, or refusal of, a new stage of her life. For menopause is the time when the focus of attention should shift from children and other people onto oneself. It is a period in which femininity expresses itself even more vividly and a different aspect of care develops — care for oneself. Start resisting that process and the symptoms of menopause will worsen. Otherwise oestrogen will continue to be produced in sufficient quantity. So the greater the refusal, the harder this transition proves to be.
The ideal treatment for any condition connected with progesterone or oestrogen is therefore to resolve the emotional problems responsible for the hormonal disruption. Only by bringing the emotions in can you expect a full recovery.
Newcomers to YogaHormonal hormonal yoga classes usually need two months of regular practice for the glands to start working as they should. Over that time all the body’s systems come into balance, retune and change. Sometimes women meet strong mental resistance or inner sabotage. They do not want to come to class, and reasons to miss it keep presenting themselves. The very trauma that led to the health problem prevents them from being rid of it. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to help in that situation. Yoga should be practised with pleasure and with awareness — feeling every moment, every movement, keeping your attention on your body. Then even areas of the brain that were previously unused switch on. As a result you perceive the world differently, and yourself within it, and even your own ailment.
Such a practice certainly brings the physical and subtle bodies into harmony, and also gives an additional source of energy for achievement and creativity.
