A fine balance: Making each day a soothing salve!

I have a confession to make. A hard pill to swallow.

I have been battling pain for sometime now. Lately it feels like almost every single day.

Its been hard for me to accept and come to terms with this because of being a yoga teacher.

I am always extremely grateful of my yoga practice and for bringing me on this yogic path of being more self aware and self accepting so that I can be kind and honest with myself. Recognising that it seems to be far worse recently.

So, I have had to take a step back and take stock of what is going on with me. Being vulnerable with myself and accepting that it has been mentally debilitating almost border lining into depression.

I feel so much more connected to my mother in this time because I can now truly empathise and almost feel the pain she would have gone through. She suffered through an autoimmune condition that was diagnosed by chance much later in her life. She was herself very stoic for a long time but I could see her body giving away slowly. That always taught me to be stoic about challenges in life, sometimes to the extent of brushing it aside and just embracing it as part of living. While that approach can work sometimes, we have to also consider the quality of life we lead and how much it can affect other aspects of life and relationships. We have the voice, the power within and the ability to choose without having to suffer in silence. Please do remember you do to.

Its not all bad though, I am trying to get to the bottom of it and I am taking action. And that is what is important. Sometimes it is a matter of trying out a few different avenues to get to your destination. I have been seeing a physio for some additional strength work targeting certain areas. As I write this I have been to the GP and have been given some bloods to identify deeper underlying issues if any (fingers crossed).

I also continue to look at my lifestyle, eating habits and sleep patterns with a FINE TOOTHCOMB! Most importantly, I am taking additional care and giving more time, to my nurturing practices to calm the nervous system down.

I have to make each day a soothing salve.

WHY am I telling you this?

Perhaps you relate to this feeling of constant pain.

Chances are most of you reading this blog will be in Peri/menopause and will be experiencing heightened sensitivity with regards to pain.

"Changing levels of hormones around menopause have complex interactions with pain modulation and pain sensitivity, which may be associated with vulnerability to either the development or exacerbation of pain conditions," says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, NAMS executive director. (The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) )

The female hormone estrogen has an impact on our central nervous system and the nerves and when these levels start to drop, we can become more sensitive to pain. Estrogen also manages the level of inflammation in the body. To some extent your experience will depend on whether you are taking Hormone Replacement but even so, the lifestyle we lead in the modern world causes some level of inflammation. So, this blog is about Inflammation because if you leave inflammation unmanaged, it will go on to become chronic inflammation which has higher repercussions.

It is best to be informed and proactive about our health, right?

First understand the why?

In Perimenopause the drop in estrogen and progesterone can cause for inflammation to flare up. Progesterone is a natural protection and anti-inflammatory hormone.

If you are starting to feel more pain in the body, more joint ache and stiffness, even when you are moving and exercising, then this is the reason.

It becomes very important to pay extra attention to finding a balance and make each day into a soothing salve.

What you eat and drink?

How and how much you move?

How you sleep and rest in the day?

All of these factors impact the level of aches and pains in the body.

Then What?

Inflammation is part of the body's defense mechanism. It is the process by which the immune system recognizes and removes harmful and foreign stimuli and begins the healing process. So if inflammation is starting to increase there is a sign to say something is not in harmony.

Now to the how!

To bring HARMONY into the body we need to pause and take stock. Inflammation and pain is complex and with many factors affecting it. It is an output from the brain so when you take a moment to pause, stop and listen. When you give yourself the chance to drop the ego and feel the signals the body is giving you, when you take stock of all that is happening in your body, mind and breath, then you tap into that internal wisdom.

When you listen to your internal wisdom, then you will learn what your body needs.

With the absence of crucial female hormones, it's essential to explore alternative methods of reducing inflammation. Consider the following

• Lifestyle factors

• Sufficient sleep,

• Lowering stress levels,

• Eating a nutritious and anti-inflammatory diet

• Controlling toxin exposure

• Supplements to help keep inflammation down.

YOGA is of course that soothing salve. While I say this from personal experience, here is what research says: "The current literature bears strong evidence for the benefits of yoga on the levels of circulating cortisol and classical inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines such as interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (INF-γ) - PMC8842003 - National Library of Medicine.

This is what I have been doing lately. Taking stock, I practice everyday but I am starting to change the nature of my practice. I practice strength based asana, I focus more on pranayam and sit for longer meditation.

While, your yoga practice has to be well rounded covering the myriad of benefits that it can provide, here are some specific asanas that can help with inflammation:

SHARNAGAT MUDRA - Also known as Balasana or Childs pose. I remember sleeping like this as a child. I do so even now especially as I wake up in the morning. It stretches my back and I just feel like I am in my own little cocoon. It helps with relaxing the spine and in turn the tension that you might be holding on in the back.

Ardha Matsyendrāsana OR supine twist.

This is a beautiful asana named after an ancient yogi Matsyendrānath who would sit in the full version of this posture for meditation for long periods of time. This is the half variation. Taking this practice slowly is important. Body needs to be warmed up and care to be taken not to force yourself making this shape. Benefits are that the nerves and muscles in the spine are stretched and sluggish stagnant blood is squeezed out of the spinal areas. Compression of stomach and and intestines also acts as a detox which is why this pose is excellent for inflammation.

If Ardha Matsyendrāsana is tough for you to practice, you can lie on your back and do a supine twist, placing the right foot on the left knee and twisting to the left and then repeating on the other side.

Parivrtta parsvakonasana, a revolved side angle.

Another spinal twist with the same benefits in the spine but this one also helps with shoulders and shoulder blades. If your neck feels ok, shifting your gaze towards the top elbow can help with neck strengthening. In inflammation, the bones in all the areas, also the neck can star to feel stiffness, so this asana can twist the spine beautifully.

Setubandhasana or glute bridge.

Helps strengthen muscles and relieve pain from the hips and back. It also works on the gluteal muscles and believed to be good for strengthening weak and tired legs. If you have sore/weak hips use a block like in this image but you can choose to leave your feet on the ground.

Viprit Karni or inversion of legs against the wall.

If you have high inflammation, sometimes it is more relaxing and rewarding to do this legs against the wall pose rather than the full inversion of Sarvangasana or shoulder stand. This VK is totally and utterly relaxing. It also relieves stress from the legs and brings you a sense of calm which in turn helps with removing stress and toxins from the body. As an inversion it moves the blood back towards the heart and promotes good circulation. Like the image, you can do it before you go to bed, in bed! Make sure you dont have a full stomach infact food should have been digested before doing this. Take care if you have very high blood pressure.

Other simple things you can practice to reduce stress and inflammation in the body is to practice Shavasana, dead man's pose to give the nervous system complete rest.

Sama Vritti or box breathing is about breathing in the same steady length for the entire breath pattern. The pattern you follow is

inhale - internal hold - exhale - external hold

3 counts - 3 counts - 3 counts - 3 counts

And of course practicing Yoga Nidra, which is a guided practice that takes you into a completely relaxed and calm state. You are welcome to download a free copy of a Nidra practice I did recently. It includes a beautiful progressive relaxation technique that will get you into a peaceful state and also give you some insights into your body.

Download Free Nidra here

I am also super excited about my Tea, Tales and Transformations chat with Dr Nikki Tugnet that is happening on Tuesday 17th October at 9:30am New Zealand. You can listen to this live or check out the recording. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, click button below.

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