Phase 1 · Three Weeks to Build the Routine

Part of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Menopause Sleep and Stress

30 Minute Yoga Sequence for Menopause, Sleep and Stress

Weeks one to three. A standing base, gentle spinal work and the cooling breath, in one session.

The first three weeks build the routine and teach the two things worth having on hand: a way to settle the nervous system, and a cooling breath for the moment a hot flush arrives. Everything here is chosen for what it does to sleep and to how the day feels, which is where the evidence in this area actually is.

30 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For the first three weeks, twice a week, at whatever time of day suits. Thirty minutes. A wall, a bolster and a blanket. For perimenopause and after, alongside whatever else you are doing about it. The sleep and mood effects are the ones with the evidence behind them: the strongest single trial found no difference in hot flushes against ordinary daily activity, and a clear improvement in insomnia. If you have or may have osteoporosis, keep twists gentle and leave out deep backbends, and get bone density checked before starting if you have risk factors. Any bleeding after the menopause needs a doctor regardless of anything on this page.

Sleep

The best supported outcome here. Insomnia scores improved consistently across several independent trials.

Mood and stress

The second best supported, and in one trial yoga did better on this than an exercise comparison group did.

Cooling breath

A tool for the moment rather than a claim about frequency. Learn it now so it is available later.

Standing

Twelve minutes upright. Weight bearing standing work, which is worth having for its own sake.

Tadasana

3 min

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width, weight even. Then the cooling breath: curl the tongue or draw the lips into a narrow shape, breathe in slowly through the mouth, breathe out through the nose. Eight rounds.

The cooling breath was part of the protocol in the largest trial in this area. That trial found no change in how often hot flushes happened. It is worth having anyway, for the moment one arrives.

Learn more about Tadasana

Urdhva Hastasana

2 min

Upward Salute

Both arms overhead, ribs staying down at the front. If your shoulders are tight, take the arms wider rather than forcing them together.

Reaching up, which the day rarely asks for and the upper back misses.

Learn more about Urdhva Hastasana

Parshva Tadasana

1 min each side

Mountain Pose with Side Bend

One arm up and over to the side. Reach out rather than bending down, and keep both feet even.

A side bend from the ribs. It was in the protocol of the largest trial here and it is a straightforward way to find some length.

Learn more about Parshva Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

1 min each side

Warrior II

Wide stance, front knee bent over the ankle, arms out. A hand on a chair if you want it.

Weight bearing through the legs. Not a bone density promise, and worth doing regardless.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Uttanasana

2 min

Standing Forward Bend

Knees soft, folding from the hip crease with the back long. If bone density is a concern, keep the spine long rather than rounding.

Folding from the hip rather than curling the spine is the version that stays available whatever your bone density is doing.

Learn more about Uttanasana

On the floor

Eighteen minutes lower down, ending with the wall and a long rest.

Marjaryasana

2 min

Cat Pose

On hands and knees, rounding the back on the out breath, slowly.

Spinal movement joined to the breath, which is where a session starts to change how the evening goes.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

2 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath. Keep it moderate rather than dropping the lower back deeply.

Extension, in a range that does not load the front of the vertebrae.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Bharadvajasana 1

2 min each side

Bharadvaja's Twist

A gentle seated turn, hands where they help. Go about half as far as you could. Never force a twist, and less again if you have thinning bones.

A twist that stays well short of end range. Forced rotation is one of the two movements documented as risky with reduced bone density.

Learn more about Bharadvajasana 1

Settling

Ten minutes with nothing to do. This is the part that does the work on sleep.

Viparita Karani

5 min

Legs Up the Wall

Legs up the wall, or knees bent with the feet on the floor and a cushion under the hips. Both are the pose.

Five minutes with the legs supported is the most reliable downregulation position there is, and it takes no effort to arrive in.

Learn more about Viparita Karani

Savasana

5 min

Corpse Pose

Lying flat, covered, cushion under the knees. Five minutes of guided rest, longer if you can.

A long ending. The trials that found the clearest insomnia results all had one, and it is the first thing people cut.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 1 · Weeks 1 to 3

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to Three Weeks to Build the Routine, the first phase of the 8 Week Yoga Program for Menopause Sleep and Stress. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

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Integration

Twice a week for the first three weeks, plus the evening sequence once a week. Practise the cooling breath a few times when you are not having a hot flush, because that is how it becomes available when you are.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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Go deeper into the poses

Every asana in this practice has a page of its own. You will find alignment cues, what the shape actually works on, and the energetics behind it.

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