What is Hormone Yoga Therapy
1 What is Hormone Yoga Therapy and how was created?
Since 1992 I have been studying menopause in its several aspects - (physiological, psychological, esthetic), and created a technique which I named HORMONE YOGA THERAPY FOR MENOPAUSE.
The physiology of female hormones was the base I used to select asanas and pranayamas. But to reactivate the glands it was necessary to do the asanas dynamically and the pranayamas very strong. But it should be a natural treatment, needing no herbs or medicaments.
Hormone Yoga Therapy consists of a series of exercises specific to reactivate hormone production and consequently eliminate the symptoms of low hormones.
It acts also preventing diseases caused by the low hormone level, such as osteoporosis and increased predisposition to cardiovascular problems.
2 Menopausa
Many women have a wrong idea of what is Menopause.
For most women being in menopause means growing old and losing femininity – this is only the negative side.
But there is a positive side also, when entering in menopause she is in a quieter period of her life, with children already living by themselves.
During this phase she has more time for herself.
Some women go back to their studies or to the university they left when they got pregnant, others decide to study music or painting. It is time to make new plans and enjoy this phase.
If you are interested in spiritual subjects now there will be more time for profound studies and to learn how to meditate – this will help you turn milder the emotional symptoms of menopause, such as insomnia, anguish, depression, etc.
But to take advantage of this positive side you need to feel healthy and good, without symptoms like hot flushes and irritation.
But what is really Menopause?
How it is defined by science?
Let’s start explaining the meaning of several terms related to this phase: menopause is one phase of the reproductive life of the woman. By scientific definition, menopause is the permanent end of the menstruations resulting from the loss of the follicle activity of the ovaries. This cause a reduced hormone production by your glands.
It marks the end of reproductive life, preceded in many cases, by irregularities of the cycles and menstruations failures. It is characterized only after 12 months without menstruations. The low estrogen (which is the main feminine hormone) has usually disagreeable consequences: the known symptoms of menopause.
Low estrogen may also cause sicknesses as osteoporosis and high level of cholesterol.
The word MENARCA is not very used - it is the moment of the first menstruation. In the beginning the cycles may be irregular, but latter they stabilize.
PERI-MENOPAUSE or CLIMACTERIC is the phase including about 3 years before menopause until 8 or more years afterwards. In this phase before menopause, menstrual cycles may become irregular on account of hormone fluctuations, possibly causing increased bleeding or menstruation failures.
But since 35 years the ovaries activity start decreasing and gradually decrease the hormone production of the two main female hormones: estrogen and progesterone. When there is a big decrease of hormone level, the number of ovaries follicles decrease also, the cycles may become anovulatory, bringing infertility.
POST-MENOPAUSE is the phase which begins with the last menstruation.
Another thing that may happen is a PREMATURE MENOPAUSE.
The menstruations cease at 30 or even earlier (some years before normal) causing infertility, hirsuteness, symptoms of menopause and psychological problems. Premature menopause may have different causes as ovary cysts, tumors etc. It is up to the gynecologist to diagnose the cause through exams.
But in many cases it is caused only by excess of exercises, very low weight or an emotional trauma.
To be well informed about what happens in this phase is very important to get rid of beliefs and prejudices and to go through this phase with a minimum of discomfort and even a feeling of renewal
Making it short:
• MENARQUE: 1º menstruation
• MENOPAUSE: 12 months without menstruation
• CLIMATERIC or peri-menopause: duration of about 3 years before menopause until many years later
• POST-MENOPAUSE: begins with the permanent ceasing of the menstruation
• PREMATURE MENOPAUSE: having no menstruations before age 40. In most cases it is reversible with hormone yoga therapy.
Even nowadays in many cultures, talking about menopause is nearly a taboo and some women avoid telling they entered menopause considering it the start of physical and intellectual decline. But truly this is a silly belief. Menopause is not a mark, a point of change, after which decay and old age starts. Our organism is continually being transformed and it is up to us to reactivate the hormone production and avoid the disagreeable symptoms of menopause.
But how can we do that?
How can we reactivate hormone production? Practicing Hormone Yogatherapy for menopause, as it has been proved in my research.
Different lines of treatment
1 Treatment with hormone replacement
TRADITIONAL MEDICINE considers menopause a hormone deficiency disease and therefore prescribes medication – the hormone replacement therapy. Nowadays many women refuse to take hormones mainly after the publication of a scientific research about effects of hormone replacement. The conclusion was that this therapy highly increases the risk of breast and uterus cancer and of thrombosis.
This scientific study is against the use of hormone replacement.
2 YTH a natural treatment
After the publication of a scientific study on the effects of hormone replacement , which found that this therapy increases the risk of cancer breast and uterus , many women refuse to taking hormones . This scientific study advises against hormone replacement.
After that, the interest in natural treatments without hormone replacement increased. Hormone Yoga Therapy offers this kind of treatment using only yoga exercises specific to reactivate the hormone production by our own body. Besides this, our work is holistic, treating the individual as a whole, bringing vitality, good health and a positive attitude to face daily life.
Techniques used in HYT
Hormone Yogatherapy works mainly reactivating the glands and individual energy, activating it and directing to several points of the body. Being a dynamic kind of yoga, using specific pranayamas and a Tibetan energy technique, yoga therapy reactivates directly the glands: hypophysis, thyroid, adrenals and ovaries.
These techniques were selected to bring results in a short time because a woman with low hormone level, feeling the disagreeable symptoms, doesn’t want to wait long to get better.
How it works?
Pranayamas done in certain asanas massage directly the glands reactivating the hormone production.
The Tibetan Energy Technique and the bandhas done in the asanas, reinforce the effect we get massaging the glands.
Yogatherapy and stress
Está cientificamente comprovado que o estresse é muito prejudicial à produção de estrógeno e progesterona, os dois hormônios femininos mais importantes.
Por esta razão, na Yogaterapia hormonal o estresse recebe atenção especial, havendo orientação psicológica para prevenir e combater o estresse, além de exercícios específicos, relaxamentos e Yoga-Nidra (que é uma técnica terapêutica que usa a visualização de efeito psicosomático).
HYT Diet
It has been scientifically proved that stress is very harmful, decreasing the production of estrogen and progesterone, the two most important female hormones.
For that reason, in Hormone Yoga Therapy, stress receives special attention. So I decided to develop and add to my technique
Psychological orientation to prevent and decrease stress, besides specific exercises and Yoga-Nidra (a therapeutic technique adding visualization to relaxation) that has a psychosomatic effect.
3 Menopause Symptoms
The symptoms may appear before menopause when, for some reason the hormone level decreases and they may last years after menopause. Statistically, after age 35, the level of estrogen and progesterone start decreasing and some symptoms may appear: hot flushes, uro-genital dryness, discouragement, anguish, depression, hair loss, dry skin and decreased sexual drive.