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Showing posts with the label Ladies' holidays

What are ladies' holidays in Ashtanga yoga?

Ashtanga yoga is a dynamic form of yoga practiced six days a week. Ladies' holidays are when women are menstruating and are advised to refrain from practising Ashtanga yoga, during the first three days of menses. I have looked at the different anatomical reasons for not practising Ashtanga at this time and here are a couple of examples: Inverted poses Where the head is lower than the heart, affects the downward flow of the menstrual cycle. Mula bandha and uddiyana bandha Are internal muscular locks, used during this yoga practice, to increase the upward flow of Prana (energy). During menstruating the natural flow is downward Apana, therefore affecting a woman’s natural cycle. A lot has been written about this subject but I have chosen not to list them (see last paragraph) When I first started to practice Ashtanga yoga I did not adhere to “Ladies' holidays” and I still have a little bit of a problem with the “ladies” word, but I am not about to try and change Sri K. Pattabhi Jo