Yoga to Soothe PMS!

Feel a little bitchier, a little easier to cry than normal? No, it’s not in your head. It’s those damn hormones. Strange feelings come over us all that week before our period comes. Is my boyfriend cheating on me?, am I fat?, blah, blah, blah. Don’t let these thoughts stay with you and don’t let cramps ruin your day! Yoga can help.

Supta Baddha Konasana, also known as Goddess Pose, is a great pose to soothe PMS, cramping, and detox all that hormonal negativity.

Here’s what you do:

If you have a yoga mat, grab it. If not, this will work all the same.

Grab a blanket and a pillow. Roll the blanket up, then lay on the floor placing the rolled up blanket at the base of your sacrum (near your tail bone).

Lay atop the pillow letting your body sink into the floor or mat. Then, with your head resting off the edge of the pillow, pull your feet together and let your knees fall toward the ground; this will open your hips. (If this stretch becomes too intense, you can place two smaller pillows under each knee.)

Next raise your arms up over your head. Raising the arms overhead with allow the digestive system to release and open. Once you feel comfortable in this pose begin to inhale and exhale (through your nose and out your mouth) and pay attention to your breath. Your body will begin to relax naturally, making you feel better both mentally and physically. Repeat this practice as many times as you need to in order to get rid of all that negative energy.

This pose, Supta Baddha Konasana, is consider a restorative pose.

So go ahead: relax, breathe and restore.