Woman in Yoga series · Article 1
There is a phrase I often hear among women who have been practising Yoga for several years:
“I used to do this before and my body responded differently.”
Sometimes they are talking about a posture. At other times it is not really related to Yoga. They have started sleeping worse, they wake up tired, they recover more slowly after exertion, their menstrual cycle has become different or they simply feel that their energy levels are no longer the same.
And many ask: “Is it age?”
The most accurate answer may be: it could be a combination of several things.
There is no switch that turns on the day we turn 40. Not all women start to feel changes at that age. Some reach 50 without major symptoms. Others start noticing differences much earlier.
But there is a question that, as a Yoga teacher, I consider increasingly important:
if a woman’s body is continually changing throughout life, does it make sense to expect her practice to remain exactly the same?
Before menopause there is a transition
One of the first things worth understanding is that menopause and perimenopause are not the same thing.
Menopause corresponds to the point at which twelve months without menstruation have been completed. But before that, there can be a transitional phase lasting several years: perimenopause.
During this period, ovarian activity changes and sex hormones can fluctuate considerably. That is why the popular idea that “oestrogen simply starts to decline” is too simplistic.
For some women, the first obvious change is the menstrual cycle.
For others, it is sleep.
For others still, changes in mood, hot flushes, increased anxiety, changes in energy or physical recovery appear.
And many women continue to menstruate while all of this starts happening.
Perhaps this is why this phase can be somewhat perplexing. The body starts sending new signals, but the woman does not yet have the feeling that she has reached menopause.
Sleep starts to matter more than we think
A woman may arrive at class and say:
“I have no energy today.”
The most immediate response might be: then let’s do a more energising practice.
But I have learnt to ask another question:
“How have you been sleeping?”
Because we may be looking at a woman who has already been waking three or four times during the night for several months.
Sleep disturbances become more frequent during the menopausal transition. Some women have difficulty falling asleep; others wake several times during the night; others wake too early and can no longer get back to sleep.
And not everything can be explained by hormones. Hot flushes, stress, anxiety, emotional state, pace of life, ageing and other sleep problems may also be having an influence.
For someone who practises Yoga, this is important.
The body of a woman who has slept for eight hours is not exactly the same body that arrives on the mat after five hours of interrupted sleep.
Therefore, adapting a practice is not about following a table that says “at 45 we do this”. It is about starting to understand who is actually practising on that particular day.
Perhaps we have placed too much importance on flexibility
There is another point that seems fundamental to me for anyone who teaches and practises Yoga.
For many years, development and progress in yoga practice have almost always been associated with a practitioner’s greater ability to perform postures with the greatest possible range of movement.
Having a great deal of flexibility and being able to put the leg behind the head; performing a forward bend reaching the fingers of the hands to the toes; executing the posture with “perfect” alignment.
But having a great deal of flexibility without the strength to support your own body normally leads to injuries to the muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Therefore, as we get older, we have to start asking more insistently:
So, what about strength?
Research on women in their 40s, 50s, and post-menopausal women shows quite consistently the importance of exercise in preserving muscle mass and strength.
And this leads us to an interesting question within Yoga:
are we really developing strength, or are we simply maintaining mobility?
Naturally, many āsanas require strength. It is enough to remain for some time in Chatuspadásana (plank), in a well-executed Vīrabhadrāsana or to slowly control a transition to realise this.
But not all Yoga practices provide the same stimulus.
A class based mainly on comfortable and stretching postures does not become strength training simply because we feel that we have made an effort.
But neither do we need to turn Yoga into a weight-training class.
What we may need to do is abandon the idea that a woman who is ageing should always exert less effort.
Adapting does not mean making everything gentler
This is a distinction that I consider particularly important.
When we talk about Yoga for women after 40 or 50, an image of increasingly gentle, restorative practices, with greater use of props, easily appears.
There are times when that is exactly what we need.
A poor night’s sleep. A period of enormous stress. A difficult recovery. A day of fatigue.
At those times, knowing how to reduce the intensity of the yoga practice or make it gentler is intelligence.
But adapting the practice can also mean:
- more strength;
- more stability;
- more balance;
- greater control of movement;
- greater ability to support the weight of your own body.
In other words:
adapting does not necessarily mean doing less. It means adjusting. Doing what makes the most sense.
And this principle considerably changes the way we can think about the practice of Yoga throughout life.
The bones do not warn us
There are changes in our bodies that we feel immediately.
We feel a hot flush, a poor night’s sleep, anxiety or tiredness.
But we do not feel the density of our bones.
Bone health becomes particularly important after menopause, and we know that certain forms of exercise, especially those that provide mechanical loading and appropriate resistance, are important for preserving bone.
This does not mean that Yoga does not also contribute to maintaining bone health.
Many āsanas place weight on the arms and legs, challenge balance and require muscular stability.
But neither should we assume that any Yoga practice automatically provides all the stimuli necessary to protect muscles and bones and develop cardiovascular capacity.
A good Yoga practice can be part of a life that also includes walking, strength training, cycling, swimming, running or other forms of movement.
We do not need to choose between Yoga or exercise.
What we can do is consider how Yoga can be part of a truly active life.
Everything that happens off the mat
Outside yoga classes, throughout our everyday lives, life continues.
And this is where I find it interesting to introduce a concept from Ayurveda.
Not because Ayurveda has a biomedical explanation for menopause — it does not, and we should not pretend that its traditional concepts are equivalent to modern endocrinology.
But because it places a great deal of attention on the way we organise everyday life.
Sleep.
Schedules.
Food.
Rest.
Movement.
Rhythms.
In the Ayurvedic tradition there is the concept of dinacharya, the daily routine.
We do not need to turn this into a rigid list of rules.
The idea that interests me is much simpler, and it has to do with our daily rhythms:
at a stage when the body may become more variable, perhaps some external rhythm can help us create stability.
Going to bed at approximately the same time.
Not spending the whole day sitting and then expecting one hour of Yoga to solve everything.
Finding moments of silence.
Breathing consciously.
Eating at regular times.
Making space for recovery.
These are simple things. And precisely because they are simple, we easily forget them.
A woman is not a collection of hormones
I also consider it important that we resist another contemporary tendency: explaining everything through perimenopause.
After 40, it is not all about hormones.
A woman may be going through a demanding professional phase. She may have teenage children. She may start caring for her parents or other people. She may be sleeping too little. She may be moving less. She may be questioning a relationship, a profession or the way she wants to live the next twenty years.
And all of that arrives with her on the mat; everything will influence how she feels.
This is precisely where, for me, Yoga has a very important role.
Through the techniques of āsana (postures); prāṇāyāma (breathing); Samyama (meditation) and Yoganidra (relaxation), and others, we develop a greater awareness of our body, our conditioning and our mental state.
And this ability to direct our attention inwards, and observe, allows us to understand what is happening without immediately concluding that there is something wrong with us.
We can recognise that the body has changed without turning that change into a monster with seven heads.
And we can begin to let go of an idea that accompanies many practitioners for years:
“I should still be able to do what I used to do.”
Perhaps not.
Perhaps some things will remain.
Perhaps others will cease to interest us.
And perhaps other abilities — strength, stability, balance, awareness — will become much more important.
So, should we change our practice after 40?
There is no answer that is the same for everyone.
A 45-year-old woman may need more intensity.
Another may need to recover better.
Another may benefit from additional strength training.
Another first needs to resolve a significant sleep disturbance.
Another is doing very well and has no reason to change her practice simply because she has turned 40.
That is why I do not believe in a predefined formula of “Yoga for women after 40” consisting of a fixed sequence of postures.
I prefer another idea:
a practice intelligent enough to accompany a woman throughout life.
Perhaps the first step is to start asking ourselves some questions:
How am I sleeping?
Do I feel as strong as I did a few years ago?
How do I recover after exertion?
Has my cycle changed?
Does my practice continue to challenge what needs to be challenged?
And also:
am I resting when I really need to rest?
Conclusion
After 40, the female body does not suddenly enter a phase of decline.
It often enters a period in which some priorities begin to change.
Strength becomes more important.
Sleep may require more attention.
Recovery may become different.
Checking bone density is important, even when we do not feel that there is any problem.
And the practice of Yoga may need to evolve.
Not because the woman has become more fragile, but because the practice should adapt and accompany the person who practises.
Perhaps, then, the question is not:
“Why am I no longer the way I was at 30?”
Perhaps it is:
“What does the body I have today need?”
And for that, we need to pay attention and adapt our yoga practice to the body we have today.
Because practising is not about forcing the body to remain the same.
It is about learning to know it as it changes.
Frequently asked questions
After 40, should I automatically change my Yoga practice?
No. Age, in itself, does not determine a change in practice. What can change is the way the body responds to effort, recovery, sleep or certain postures. Therefore, more important than following an age-related rule is observing what is actually happening. An appropriate practice is not necessarily gentler: it is one that responds to the needs and capabilities of the body at that particular time.
How do I know if I am doing too much or too little?
A good reference point is to observe the body’s response, not just what we manage to do during the class. If there is persistent fatigue, difficulty recovering or significant changes in sleep, it may be necessary to reduce the intensity or review the practice. But if the practice is no longer challenging strength, balance or stability, it may be necessary to increase the stimulus. Adapting means finding the appropriate level, rather than assuming that more effort is always better or that less effort is always safer.
Why is there so much talk about strength after 40?
Because strength tends to become more important as we age, particularly for preserving muscle mass and the ability to move safely and with control. In Yoga, this means looking beyond flexibility. Supporting your own weight, controlling a transition or maintaining a posture requires strength. So, a practice can continue to work on mobility, but it should also ask: is there enough strength to support what the body is capable of reaching?
Can I be very flexible and still not be physically fit?
Yes. Flexibility and strength are different capacities. A large range of movement does not necessarily mean that there is enough strength to control that range or stabilise a joint. When flexibility is far greater than the body’s ability to support itself, problems can arise in the muscles, tendons and ligaments. Therefore, the aim should not be to achieve the greatest possible range, but to develop a balanced relationship between mobility, strength, stability and control.
If I am tired, should I do a more energising practice to regain my energy?
Not always. Before increasing the intensity, it is worth understanding where the tiredness is coming from. A poor night’s sleep, for example, changes the conditions in which the body arrives at the practice. In those cases, demanding more may not be the appropriate response. In other situations, a more active practice may make sense. The point is not to automatically confuse a lack of energy with a need for more stimulus. First we observe; then we decide how to practise.
Does perimenopause mean that I should practise Yoga differently?
There is no specific practice that all women should adopt during perimenopause. This phase can be very different from one woman to another: some experience changes in sleep, others in their cycle, energy, mood or recovery. The practice may therefore need adjustment, but not because there is a rule for perimenopause. The most important thing is to recognise the changes that are actually happening and understand how they should influence the practice.
Can Yoga replace strength training or other forms of exercise?
Not necessarily. Yoga can develop strength, balance, mobility and control, but different forms of exercise provide different stimuli. A Yoga practice may not, by itself, provide everything the body needs to preserve muscle strength, bone health and cardiovascular capacity. Therefore, walking, strength training, swimming, cycling or running can complement the practice. The question is not whether to choose between Yoga and exercise, but to understand how they can coexist.
Why should bone health be part of the conversation about Yoga after menopause?
Because loss of bone density can occur without noticeable symptoms. We do not directly feel when our bone density decreases. Exercise involving mechanical loading and appropriate resistance is important for preserving bone, and some āsanas provide load through the arms and legs. However, we should not assume that any Yoga practice provides all the necessary stimuli. Bone health should be considered as part of a broader approach to physical activity.
What does sleep have to do with the way I practise Yoga?
A great deal. Sleep affects the condition in which the body arrives at the practice and how it recovers afterwards. During the menopausal transition, some women start sleeping worse, waking several times or waking too early. If this happens regularly, the same practice that was previously appropriate may temporarily no longer be so. Therefore, asking “How have you been sleeping?” may be more useful than assuming that a tired woman simply needs a more intense practice.
So, what is the best way to adapt the practice throughout life?
Start by abandoning the idea that adapting always means doing less. At different times we may need more strength, more stability, more recovery or simply to maintain what we are already doing. It is also important to consider what happens away from the mat: sleep, food, rest, movement and pace of life. An intelligent practice accompanies these changes without turning age into a limitation. The aim is to continue practising according to the body we have, rather than the body we had.
Glossary
- Ageing
- A natural process involving progressive changes in the body, particularly in strength, muscle mass, recovery and sleep. These changes vary from person to person.
- Oestrogen
- A sex hormone produced mainly by the ovaries before menopause. Its levels can fluctuate significantly during perimenopause.
- Muscular strength
- The ability of muscles to produce force and support or move the body. It is different from flexibility and mobility.
- Muscle mass
- The amount of muscle tissue in the body. Preserving it becomes particularly important with ageing.
- Menopause
- The point defined after 12 consecutive months without menstruation, when there is no other cause for the absence of menstruation.
- Perimenopause
- The transitional period preceding menopause, during which hormonal and menstrual changes, as well as changes in sleep, energy, mood and recovery, may occur.
- Recovery
- The process through which the body recovers from physical demands. Sleep, age, exertion and physical condition can all influence it.
- Bone health
- The health and strength of the bones. Physical activity involving appropriate loading and resistance contributes to its preservation.
- Sleep
- A physiological process essential for recovery and the functioning of the body. Sleep disturbances are common during the menopausal transition.
- Āsana
- A posture practised in Yoga. It can require different levels of strength, mobility, balance, stability and control.
- Prāṇāyāma
- Yoga practices concerned with regulating the breath through specific procedures.
- Saṃyama
- In Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, the combined application of dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi upon the same object. It is a technical term in Yoga.
- Yoga-nidrā
- A Yoga practice associated with rest and conscious withdrawal. It does not simply mean the act of sleeping.
Try a Yoga class
If you would like to start or return to your practice with guidance, you can book a Hatha Yoga trial class at the CPYOGA centres in Lisbon and Valencia.
Next article in the series: Perimenopause: when the body becomes less predictable
Bibliographical references
Troìa L. et al. Sleep Disturbance and Perimenopause: A Narrative Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2025.
Tan T-W. et al. Effect of non-pharmacological interventions on the prevention of sarcopenia in menopausal women. BMC Women’s Health, 2023.
Khalafi M. et al. The effects of exercise training on body composition in postmenopausal women. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2023.
Cramer H. et al. Effectiveness of Yoga for Menopausal Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. 2012.