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others it can be extremely debilitating, necessitating medication and bed rest. The fact that some women do not get PMS at all; that some get it rarely or only slightly; that others get it more severely or frequently; and that the intensity of the symptoms can vary greatly from cycle to cycle, indicates that it is not something which necessarily comes with the equipment nor which is a static, unchangeable hormonal force. In other words, the problem is not that – “the hormones made me do it” – but more a case of how each woman is affected by proportional hormonal changes in her body. This astounding piece of commonsense is now backed up by the latest medical findings! Yoga has always maintained that our individual reactions to the body’s hormonal responses can be self moderated through certain techniques, and PMS is a proven case of this(4).
Some mothers report that PMS seems to intensify after each new birth. As a childless young woman, I really believed that PMS was a myth made up by neurotic housewives (so too did many men and even doctors)! However, after the birth of my third child I began to experience PMS for myself, and now, after 3 more births, I have experienced the benefits of adjusting my yoga sadhana accordingly.
The important thing to remember is that all these symptoms are just that – symptoms. They are signs that tell us something in our body and / or our minds is not quite right. To manage these symptoms with the use of drugs that alter the offending hormones is only to mask these symptoms. There is such a wide range of “PMT cures” around these days. Whilst some symptoms of PMS have been linked to vitamin deficiencies, I would advise women to be very careful about self prescribing either vitamin supplements or over-the-counter herbal remedies without a proper professional assessment. I also think it unwise to be simply trying them out based on the advertising or even from a friend’s advice.
Pre-menstrual symptoms, although only noticeable at that particular time, are actually indicative of disorders in the body which are there, albeit just below the surface, the whole of the month, but which only become evident when the body goes into its peculiar state of reproductive cleansing. For example, the ubiquitous abdominal cramps, which feel like a kind of uterine constipation, are, according to Yoga Therapy, closely aligned with bowel constipation. This indicates that such women are in fact partially constipated all of the month. Come pre-menstruation, the increase in abdominal blood causes overload and discomfort in the pelvis. Such cramps
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can easily be relieved by a series of anti-constipation practices,both in prevention as well as during times of discomfort.
The long term solution for these women has been to treat the root causes of chronic constipation and, hey presto, period cramps go away. Another example, is how pre-menstrual skin eruptions indicate a need for better skin functioning during the whole of the month. Through practices like dynamic exercises, dynamic breathing and a lighter diet, such things disappear at the time of menstruation. No amount of topical skin creams for 4 days a month would have achieved that!
Pre-menstrual depression is a state certainly caused by hormonal overload, but after it passes, basal hormonal levels and their remnant depressive tendencies need to be dealt with. And the list goes on and on. In my experience, and those of my Yoga Therapy peers, the pattern is always the same. The conclusion: we must stop looking at only the recurring pre-menstrual symptoms and begin to deal with the inherent causal factors. This needs to occur at both the physical and psychological levels.
From menarche, girls are taught to focus on the signs of impending menstruation, partly as assurance that they are not pregnant and partly so they are not caught off guard by any sudden blood flow. Such training has helped create an automatic mindset of tension. To avoid this kind of self-induced worry, a woman must always carefully examine any subconscious fears regarding her state of fertility. Rather than worrying about if she is or isn’t pregnant, she should know by what her body has been telling her prior to that time. PMS sufferers also need to examine their attitude to their body. If there is a feeling of aversion, of wishing their menses would just go away, then obviously there will be conflicts when the body signals that menstruation is about to begin. Overall, the best solution to all the attitudinal problems leading to pre-menstrual tension is to learn the methods of natural fertility awareness and refocus on the timing of fertility and not the bleeding.
For all the relevant yoga techniques for management of PMS, see Chapter 9, Prescriptive Yoga Program – “Pre- Menstrual Syndrome” on page 2017.
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