Hormone Balance Through Yoga

Book excerpt: Hormone Balance Through Yoga: A Pocket Guide for Women over 40 by Claudia Turske is a 72-page, 4-color pocketbook illustrating and explaining yoga exercises that will help women with hormone balance and production for energy and stress reduction during perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. Hormone Balance Through Yoga is organized in a clear format with instructional pictures and illustrations and also includes breathing exercises; mudras, or hand positioning for relaxation; techniques for energy retention; and a hormone calendar at the back for charting progress. Menopause is a controversial time for many women. The transition to menopause affects women in many ways. Some women will experience great loss as they prepare for menopause, and others will feel liberated. But most women will experience physical and hormonal change that may dictate one's difficulty or ease at moving through the process. Hormone Balance Through Yoga: A Pocket Guide for Women over 40 is a tool for women to redress these hormonal fluctuations in a holistic and natural way, aimed at preventing or eliminating the symptoms of menopause by reactivating hormone production. Trained by Dinah Rodrigues in Hormone Yoga Therapy, Claudia Turske improves on the therapy by adding principles of biomechanical alignment. She outlines Hormone Yoga Therapy's most effective exercises in an easy to understand and clear format. The yoga positions, breathing exercises and energy-retention techniques act directly on the pituitary gland, thyroid, ovaries and adrenal glands, increasing estradiol levels, which help in the prevention of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and eliminate the many symptoms of menopause. Common symptoms of menopause include: anxiety, depression, mood swings, hair loss, libido loss, vaginal dryness and itching, among others. Research done on the effectiveness of Hormone Yoga Therapy showed 100% of subjects had no symptoms after practicing 3 to 4 months. In addition, there was a 254% average increase in hormone level in 4 months for those doing 30 minutes of exercise every other day. Although Hormone Balance Through Yoga: A Pocket Guide for Women over 40 focuses on women over 40, it is also of benefit to the increasing number of women entering premature menopause, in some cases reestablishing fertility. It can also help women under 40 with strong symptoms of PMT and polycystic ovary syndrome. Hormone Balance Through Yoga: A Pocket Guide for Women over 40 is a doable yoga ritual and easy commitment with clear benefits. Small enough to fit in a woman's purse, it should be every woman's guide for navigating change of life with ease, comfort and balance.