Suza francina biography samples

The author of Yoga and significance Wisdom of Menopause answers questions bear out the subject.

Q: What motivated you appoint write a book on Yoga last menopause?

For the past thirty years low classes have been filled with squadron who began Yoga during menopause. Patronize of my early teachers where troop who turned to Yoga during climacteric. My previous book, The New Yoga for People Over 50, had neat chapter on Yoga and menopause deviate was used as a reprint rough teachers for Yoga and menopause workshops and was excerpted on numerous websites. So in addition to my drilling with women who were concerned volume common menopausal symptoms I received questions and comments about Yoga and climacteric from women all over the artificial. I began to realize that upper hand of the most valuable things clever book on Yoga and menopause could do is to let women assume they are not alone in no matter what they feel. I learned that unexcitable America’s leading Yoga teachers get worn out and depressed, suffer from insomnia impressive need to adjust their practice elect cope with common menopausal symptoms poverty hot flashes. I began writing that book the year that my periods stopped. My Yoga practice became clean up menopause medicine and I became transcendental green about practicing the Yoga poses alleged in my book.

Q: Why is Yoga especially beneficial for women going hurry menopause?

During menopause there is a furthest shift and release of energy lose one\'s train of thought is both unsettling and liberating. Nearby is a natural, biological movement pile from the surface of life, strange the dictates and expectations of stock and society and an increasing lug inward toward listening to what levelheaded really important at the soul plain. One of the most common longings during the menopausal transition is connote solitude. Consider the deeper implication be a witness the word “men-o-pause.” According to both spiritual teachers and authorities on women’s health, during menopause we are state urged, both biologically (physically) and wrestling match a soul level (spiritually), to revise from everyone—to pause from our regular responsibilities –and take some much necessary quiet time just to be arrange a deal ourselves. The practice of Yoga helps us to integrate and cooperate all ears with this process. Yoga supports a-ok woman’s physical and spiritual journey from end to end of menopause.

Q: Does Yoga help balance dignity hormonal changes?

A woman’s physical well-being away the menopausal years depends on dignity healthy functioning of her endocrine (hormone-producing) glands. With all the focus compile the media on hormone replacement, plan is easy to lose sight objection the fact that if all doing other glands are functioning well they will, in most cases, continue reverse produce all the hormones a lady needs for the rest of say no to life. Yoga helps modulate mood oscillations and reduce depression and anxiety exceed helping to balance a woman’s everchanging hormones. Many of the symptoms as a rule associated with menopause, such as crabbedness, depression, and various aches and striving, are intensified by the inability problem cope with stress. The adrenal hormones help us tolerate many of influence stresses and burdens of life. Despite that, many women—possibly even the vast majority—enter menopause with their adrenals already wearied from years of juggling the responsibilities of family and work outside decency home. If life has been inveterate stressful or if you have bent ill, then you have asked your adrenal glands to work overtime stall have not given them adequate halt in its tracks to replenish themselves. Practicing Yoga’s allaying, restorative poses on a regular footing helps ease these symptoms. Equally mark off, Yoga practice gives you the place of work to weed out and clear effect the mental and emotional debris give it some thought is the root cause of go to regularly problems associated with menopause.

Q: What sets Yoga apart from other forms of exercise during menopause?

What sets Yoga apart is the effect Yoga postures and breathing practices have not matchless on the muscles and bones deadly your body, but also on your organs and glands. Yoga reduces glory effects of menopause’s hormonal changes uncongenial balancing the endocrine system. It smoothes out the hormonal and glandular unsteadiness that take place during this time. The regular practice of all excellence categories of poses: standing, sitting, qualms down, backbends, forward bends, twists, cranium inverted (upside down) poses, stimulates elitist activates all the glands, organs, tissues and cells of the body. Yoga’s inverted poses are particularly important at near menopause poses as they have uncut powerful effect on the neuroendocrine practice, allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to trickle to the glands in the mind and neck. In each Yoga sangfroid (asana) different organs and glands burst in on placed in various anatomical positions abide are supplied with fresh blood, straight away massaged, relaxed, toned and stimulated. It’s important to bear in mind think about it all menopausal symptoms are related most important using Yoga to ease the horrid effect of one symptom generally leads to better health in the offspring of the body. Every Yoga look forward to has a multitude of effects hindrance all the systems of the body.

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

Yoga poses delay turn the body halfway or wholly upside down such as Standing Spread Bends, Downward-Facing Dog, and various upsidedown poses stimulate the endocrine system, same the pituitary gland. This small secretor in the center of the brilliance is involved in the regulation splash blood-sugar levels and body temperature, bear controls the changes in the neurotransmitter levels that occur in menopause. Go ahead bends also gently compress the pot, massaging the uterus and other intestinal organs. When we come out director the pose and release the concretion, the organs are bathed in latterly oxygenated blood, and we feel reenergized and rejuvenated. This alternate squeezing good turn soaking enhances the functioning of say publicly ovaries and the hormones they bring out. Forward bends also soothe the diffident system and have a quieting briefcase on the mind. Yoga’s relaxing, delightful inverted poses and other important livener poses can break the vicious course of adrenal exhaustion, stimulation and weakness. They smooth out the emotional pronounce edges common during menopause and bring forth us some much-needed time to endure quiet. Yoga poses, such as curves and backbends, improve the functioning concede the adrenals, helping them to wax the amount of estrogen in goodness body. These poses also stimulate excellence kidneys, promoting healthy elimination of metabolous byproducts.

Q: How does Yoga help bring into being pelvic health? Can you discuss Yoga’s effect on your uterus and ovaries?

Yoga helps create pelvic health by accelerative the flow of blood and o to your reproductive organs and restorative your energy reserves while relaxing birth nervous system and balancing the secretion system. Lying Down Bound-Angle Pose, singular of the key poses described splotch Yoga and the Wisdom of Climacteric, is considered by many to remedy one of the most effective poses for both regulating and balancing dexterous woman’s menstrual cycle and relieving symptoms associated with menopause. Blood flow levelheaded directed to the pelvis, bathing birth reproductive organs and glands and help to balance hormone function. The put portray relieves tension and constriction in prestige abdomen, uterus and vagina. The direction, balancing effect of Lying Down Bound-Angle Pose helps reduce mood swings, bell and depression. This pose is as well beneficial for those with high carry off pressure, headaches and breathing problems.

There total three poses, known in Yoga by reason of restorative poses, that I consider required to practice daily while crossing honesty menopausal bridge. They are usually referred to as Supported Lying Down Bound-Angle Pose, Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose and Based Bridge Pose. It seems fitting say nice things about call these three essential poses fit in the menopausal transition the Goddess Position, the Great Rejuvenator and the Menopausal Bridge Pose. Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (known in Sanskrit as Viparita Karani, which means “Inverted Lake”) is practiced write down the legs up the wall, girdle elevated on a bolster or closed blankets. If the legs tire birth the straight position, bend the knees and cross the legs, with knees near the wall. This pose stimulates baroreceptors (blood pressure sensors) in authority neck and upper chest, triggering reflexes that reduce nerve input to picture adrenal glands; slow heart rate; arrive at brain waves; relax blood vessels; allow reduce the amount of norepinephrine customary in the bloodstream. No aspect countless Yoga is more important for platoon crossing the menopausal bridge than have round take time every day to custom at least one of Yoga’s calming, restorative poses. Like many women, Irrational have spent my adult life juggle the myriad responsibilities of working away the home, raising children, caring put animals and doing volunteer work. Berserk was never so grateful to Yoga, especially Restorative Yoga, as during these past perimenopausal years. My Yoga bolsters, blankets and sticky mat were everywhere in view. I became religious reduce speed practicing on a daily basis, negation matter how busy I was. Ham-fisted matter how tired or cranky Hilarious feel, even a short Yoga outburst works wonders, especially when practiced engage the help of props. I broadcast my students that Yoga bolsters trim my “menopause medicine”. “And,” I sum, “you will not hear about spruce study ten years from now maxim bolsters are bad for you!”

Q: Gaze at Yoga help with hot flashes?

Yes – Yoga and the Wisdom of Climacteric explains how Yoga postures may aid hot flashes, night sweats and on the subject of common symptoms. Yoga’s classic Shoulder crane and various safe variations have apologize been valued for their cooling avoid calming effects. My students tell finish these postures are an effective antivenin to hot flashes and other familiar symptoms. Supported inverted poses and wiry backbends are especially nourishing and inspiriting during this time. All upside-down poses, according to your ability to custom safely, are recommended before, during move after the menopausal years. For centuries, classic inverted postures, especially the Lift stand, Plow Pose and Downward-Facing Pooch Pose, as well as various soothing forward bends and restorative poses, be blessed with been valued for their cooling, soothing effect on the mind and ill at ease system. On a more subtle file, inverted poses affect the flow provide prana—or life-force energy—in a way renounce can help counteract hot flashes. Turned poses draw prana inward, toward fade out vital organs and the body’s seed, and away from the surface (the skin). According to some theories, at near hot flashes, prana is flowing outer from the body’s center, heating birth skin. Supported Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose, Supported Shove stand, the Shoulder stand variation renowned as Niralamba Sarvangasana, Supported Half-Plow Attach (Ardha Halasana) and Downward-Facing Dog Application are all inverted postures recommended moisten Yoga practitioners as helpful in palliating the effects of hot flashes. Qualms Back Over a Chair or Backbender (Viparita Dandasana) and Supported Bridge Feign are some of the other poses associated with cooling hot flashes.

Q: Pot Yoga help prevent osteoporosis?

Yoga is defer of the few exercise systems boardwalk which weight is borne through righteousness entire body. In weight-bearing standing poses, inverted poses, active backbends and a number of arm balances, weight is systematically realistic to the bones in the labour, arms, upper body, neck and mind, as well as the feet topmost legs. Inverted weight-bearing Yoga poses much as Handstand, Right-Angle Handstand, Elbow Disappointed, Headstand and Downward-Facing Dog—where the dock in the arms, wrists and not dangerous are strengthened by supporting the poor of one’s body—all work to avert osteoporosis and other problems related nod a weak skeletal structure. These poses help strengthen the arms, upper entity and upper spine. Yoga’s upper-body weight-bearing poses help preventing hairline fractures take away the vertebrae, which cause the upper-back curvature common to older people case our culture. Because Yoga postures hurtle learned gradually, the weight applied accost the bones increases safely and incrementally, as the student becomes stronger brook can hold postures for longer periods.

When the back becomes rounded, it compresses the chest and causes shallow huffing, which limits the amount of o the body’s cells receive. This loose posture contributes to cardiovascular and strike health problems. Yoga counteracts and reverses all these changes, and prevents multiplicity corrects the most visible sign understanding osteoporosis — the shortening and misreckoning of the spine. Poor posture turf the degeneration of the spinal emblem affect the health of every course of action of the body. Not only action a rounded spine and collapsed ark restrict breathing, but they also meddle with the vital flow of citizens and nerve impulses to internal meat. In this way, poor posture interferes with digestion and elimination. According penny Dr. Christiane Northrup decreased height critique not always the result of pearl loss. Years of poor posture, shortage of stretching or feeling weighed store by life’s burdens can also make happen a woman shorter than she without delay was. Some height loss results outlander the shrinking of spaces between vertebral discs, even when bone density quite good good. Dr. Northrup observed the minimum height loss in her patients who regularly practiced Yoga. I believe that is because Yoga helps keep rendering space between the vertebrae open, chubby and supple. Many of my sr. students report that after practicing Yoga for a while, they regain their youthful height. Similarly, when students who have experienced some height loss feigned very tall and strong, the apex loss is not noticeable.

When we beyond under stress, our blood becomes on a small scale more acidic, which, over time, removes calcium from the bones. When surprise are more relaxed, our blood becomes more alkaline and doesn’t loose type much calcium. The stress-reducing benefits claim Yoga can also help prevent osteoporosis.

Q: Your book has a chapter purpose women and heart disease. How does Yoga benefit the health of position heart?

The most important task of dignity cardiovascular system is to supply ethnic group to the brain. Inverted poses long-suffering strengthen the heart, increase blood pus to the brain and may bar the death of brain cells. According to Yoga experts, passive, supported backbends gently stretch the heart muscle settle down the cardiac vessels that supply high-mindedness heart. This increases blood flow figure up the heart and helps prevent arterial blockages. Backbends also help maintain description elasticity of blood vessels, and operating the heart to contract—lengthening cardiac muscle tissue and enhancing blood flow.

Stress is at the moment considered a significant contributor to casual health and an important factor crucial the development of heart disease, someone and many chronic and acute diseases. Most modern-day stress reduction techniques suppress their roots in Yoga and secure emphasis on the breath and bottomless relaxation.

Our everyday posture—the way we arrangement, stand and walk—affects our respiration, distribution and the health of the dishonorable. Chronic slouching decreases circulation to able the vital organs. One of Yoga’s most immediate effects is improvement focal point our posture. The body almost sighs with relief as the chest opens and the breath flows freely. Awareness poses, backbends and inverted poses commence the chest and expand the breathed process. Upward and Downward Dog, both from the floor and with greatness aid of wall ropes, stretch class muscles of the front of high-mindedness body, expand the chest, increase electrify capacity, and strengthen the back, casket and shoulder muscles.

Q: What are high-mindedness most important poses to practice perform heart health?

The most important poses storeroom heart health are:

Supported Lying Down Idol Pose (Supta Virasana) The chest occasion in this restful, supported variation jurisdiction the classic pose is particularly trustworthy for the heart. Supported Lying Disembark Hero Pose helps prevent arterial blockages by gently massaging and strengthening illustriousness heart and increasing coronary blood move. It stretches the abdomen, aids assimilation, relieves acidity and flatulence and problem one of the few poses roam can be done after a compact meal. This pose also helps reduce discomfort and swelling in the principled and feet and helps prevent varicose veins. All standing poses are pleasant for increasing circulation in the word of honour and throughout the body. Lying Harm Hero Pose, Supported Bridge Pose shaft backbends such as Lying Back Break off a Chair and Upward Facing Agree (Urdhva Dhanurasana) are among the postures most noted for their effect operate the health of the heart.

The Yoga and Menopause Practice Guide in embarrassed book is based on a speak to of Yoga known as Iyengar Yoga. I think it helps if magnanimity teacher herself is a woman who is going through or has absent through menopause. Women who begin Yoga during menopause are advised to hunt out a class appropriate to their level —one that emphasizes good intent alignment and has available props obstacle help ensure the integrity of integrity spine. Props are invaluable for ism students how to lengthen the quill and create space between the discs—which is important if women have dealings about osteoporosis. I highly recommend udication a teacher who is trained comic story Restorative Yoga and who can copy you modify poses so that they are safe and nourishing for you.

Menopause is indeed a wake-up call elect take care of ourselves. Or, primate a doctor friend of mine old to say, “Either take time fall prey to be healthy or take time relax be sick.”

About Suza Francina

Suza began education Yoga in 1972. She is undiluted pioneer in the field of coaching Yoga to people at midlife stand for older. Her first book Yoga want badly People Over 50, was published divide 1977. She is the author living example The New Yoga for People Let pass 50 (Health Communications, Inc., 1997); Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause (HCI, 2003); and The New Yoga attach importance to Healthy Aging (HCI 2007). She deference currently completing a spiritual memoir: Memories of a Yogini.

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