Woman in Yoga series · Article 2
There are women who describe this phase in a very simple way:
“I knew my body. Now I no longer quite know what to expect from it.”
For years, the menstrual cycle may have been relatively predictable. But there comes a time when it begins to change. One period comes earlier, another is delayed, the flow changes, sleep may worsen, and energy levels no longer seem to be the same.
This is often how, without a clear boundary, perimenopause begins.
But trying to understand this phase is not only about trying to understand what happens to hormones. It is also about learning to live through a phase of our lives in which the body can become much less predictable.
Perimenopause is a transition, not a date
There is no exact age at which perimenopause begins.
During this phase, ovarian function gradually changes and hormonal fluctuations may become more pronounced. For some women, the first obvious change is the menstrual cycle. For others, changes in sleep, hot flushes, mood changes or difficulties with concentration may appear first.
And some go through much of this transition without particularly troublesome symptoms.
That is why two women of the same age may have very different experiences. And this variability is one of the important characteristics of perimenopause.
Not everything that changes means that there is a problem
When the body stops responding as we are used to, it is natural to look for an explanation. And, nowadays, one of the first explanations that comes to mind is almost always: “It’s the hormones.”
It is true that hormonal changes are part of perimenopause. But that does not mean that the body is simply “out of balance” or that it needs to return to its previous state.
Perimenopause is a physiological transition, marked by natural changes in hormonal activity and by different ways in which the body adapts.
And recognising this does not, in any way, mean that we are dismissing the symptoms.
Some women experience significant changes in sleep, hot flushes, mood changes, bleeding or other symptoms that may warrant medical assessment, monitoring and treatment.
What matters is distinguishing between a physiological change and a health problem that requires attention. Not everything that changes during perimenopause is a sign that something is “broken” in us.
Perimenopause is part of the journey of a whole lifetime
There is also a risk in explaining everything through hormones.
Between the ages of 40 and 60, profound changes may be taking place in our lives, beyond these internal physiological changes.
Our children become independent, our parents may begin to need more care, we may question our careers, relationships change and so does sexuality.
We may feel that we have more freedom or, on the contrary, more responsibilities that constrain us.
And it is in this context that a new question may arise:
How do I want to live the next twenty or thirty years?
We are not talking about hormones, but everything happens in this body of ours.
That is why tiredness, irritability, anxiety or lack of concentration should not automatically be attributed to a single cause.
Perimenopause is part of the journey of a whole lifetime, and it is not only hormones that influence us.
What can Ayurveda add?
Ayurveda does not have an ancient version of endocrinology and we should not turn traditional concepts into hormonal equivalents.
One of its most interesting contributions is that Ayurveda views the different stages of life as periods in which the needs of the body change.
If we seek only to eliminate symptoms, without understanding what lies behind them, we probably will not achieve what we want.
Thus, at this stage, it may be more appropriate to try to understand:
“What is changing in me and what do I need now?”
This is where two concepts from Ayurveda come in, helping us to answer this question:
- Laṅghana refers, generally, to reducing or relieving whatever, at a given moment, may be excessive or overloading the body.
- Bṛṃhaṇa is related to nourishing, building and sustaining what needs to be preserved, restored or strengthened.
What matters here is not the Sanskrit words, but understanding that not every stage of life calls for us to care for our body in the same way.
There are times when it may be necessary to reduce demands, excesses or overloads — for example, when we are asking too much of the body and accumulating fatigue. At other times, it becomes more important to preserve resources, recover and support the body, paying greater attention to rest, nutrition, recovery and whatever helps us maintain strength and vitality.
The idea is not that one strategy is better than the other, but to understand that needs can change and that the way we care for our body may also need to change.
Growing older is not about trying to remain young
Another important Ayurvedic concept is rasāyana, often translated today, and in a concise way, as “rejuvenation”.
But perhaps it is more useful to relate it to vitality, adaptation and longevity, since it is not an attempt to prevent ageing.
All beings, over the normal course of life, will age.
Therefore, the question is not: “How can I avoid ageing?”
It is: “How do I want to age?”
And, in principle, we all wish to age with autonomy, with the ability to move, with the energy to do what we value, with meaningful and important relationships for our wellbeing and with a yoga practice that continues to make sense.
This change in perspective is particularly important at a stage when the body no longer responds exactly as it did before.
How Yoga can help
In yoga practice, when a woman begins to feel that her body is different, it is natural for her to start questioning herself and looking for concrete answers:
“What postures should I do?”
“What practice is best at this stage?”
We can, of course, adapt a practice to specific goals and needs.
But perhaps one of the most important contributions of Yoga is:
Learning to observe.
And this factor comes well before any more specific posture or sequence that we might organise for a particular woman.
Observing that:
- breathing is not always the same;
- energy varies from day to day;
- mobility, flexibility, concentration and the ability to recover are also not the same every day.
And so, becoming aware of these differences can be particularly useful at a stage that is less predictable.
But it is important to note that observing does not mean starting to constantly diagnose every sensation, looking for an explanation for everything that happens.
For example, a poor night’s sleep, stress, overwork, an illness or simply a difficult day can also alter the way we feel.
Therefore, the aim at this stage of perimenopause is not to try to explain everything through hormones, through hormonal changes.
It is to try to observe and understand the patterns that emerge.
“Listening to the body” also requires discernment
In Yoga we often say: “Listen to your body.”
But that does not mean always doing what we feel like doing.
Sometimes we are tired and really need to stop and recover. At other times, we simply do not feel like it, and what we need is to move and do a good Yoga practice.
Likewise, if we feel pain in a posture — especially sharp pain, which may be a sign that we are asking too much of the body or that something is not right — perhaps the wisest thing is to stop or modify the posture, rather than forcing it and trying to go further.
In other situations, however, we may simply feel the discomfort that comes with a challenge: the intensity of the effort, the sensation of stretching or the difficulty of remaining in a particular position. Learning to distinguish these sensations takes time and requires attention and willingness, until it becomes a genuine skill for listening to the body.
In Yoga we could relate this, in a broad sense, to viveka: discernment.
Perhaps this discernment is more useful at this stage than any universal sequence “for perimenopause”.
Neither illness nor a compulsory spiritual experience
For a long time, perimenopause and menopause were presented mainly as the beginning of a woman’s decline.
Today, fortunately, there is already a positive attempt to change this narrative. However, we do not need to go to the opposite extreme and turn this phase into an experience that is necessarily liberating or spiritual.
Although some women feel very well, for others the feeling that they are losing something is evident. Some are happy finally to stop menstruating, while others face symptoms that profoundly affect and alter their quality of life.
There is therefore no experience that is the most correct or the same for everyone.
We can, yes, recognise that perimenopause and menopause are natural transitions in a woman’s life, without turning them either into an illness or into a kind of spiritual initiation.
When it is important to seek assessment
It is normal for the menstrual cycle to change during perimenopause, but any bleeding outside the usual pattern should be assessed and not simply attributed to perimenopause.
Bleeding between periods, after sexual intercourse or after twelve months have already passed without menstruation should be assessed by a competent professional.
The same applies to symptoms that are significantly affecting quality of life or causing concern.
Yoga and Ayurveda can contribute positively to the way a woman cares for herself, but they do not replace medical assessment when it is necessary.
Conclusion
Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties of perimenopause is this: for years, we know our body because we have been learning to understand how it reacts, how it behaves and, approximately, what we can expect from it.
Then, in perimenopause, some of these reference points begin to change.
The first reaction may be to try to recover our previous version. But, as we have seen, perhaps there is another possibility: continuing to care for the body without demanding that it remain the same and continuing to practise without turning every change we feel into something that has gone wrong.
Through self-observation, we can learn to understand what we need now — which, probably, will not be what we needed fifteen years ago.
And it is at this point that we can stop worrying about the question: “How can I get back to how I was?”
And move on to asking: “How can I continue to live well while my body is changing?”
It is precisely there that Yoga and Ayurveda may have something important to offer us: not preventing the transition, but helping us move through it with greater attention, discernment and autonomy.
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.
Previous article in the series: After 40, the Body Changes. And the Practice of Yoga?