Yoga for PCOS: How a regular yoga practice can help you relieve PCOS

PCOS affects 12% of women during their childbearing years. This incurable syndrome can affect many aspects of a womens day to day life as well as their mental health. Yoga can help to take some of the pressure away mentally and physically. While there is no cure, the symptoms can be mangable with lifestyle changes such as effective diet and exercise routines. 

What is PCOS?

PCOS is a hormonal disorder which causes the ovaries to be enlarged & small cyst to appear on the outer parts of the ovaries. This syndrome can cause issues with menstruation and fertility. 

What are the PCOS Symptoms?

 According to John Hopkins University, the most common symptoms are: 

• Missed periods, irregular periods, or very light periods.

• Ovaries that are large or have many cysts.

• Excess body hair, including the chest, stomach, and back (hirsutism)

• Weight gain, especially around the belly (abdomen)

• Acne or oily skin.

• Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair.

• Infertility symptoms

Benefits of Yoga for Women with PCOS

For women who suffer from weight gain with PCOS, mind-body exercises can help burn calories & reduce stress. Exercise like pilates and yoga are a great choice for the following reasons! 

1. Reduce Anxiety 

Mood swings, cravings and unbalanced emotions are very common with PCOS. Yoga can help to manage these symptoms by reducing stress and anxiety by reducing testosterone levels and balancing your blood sugar. 

2. Balance Hormones

Yoga is known to balance your endocrine system which will help to regulate your hormones internally. A regular yoga practice can help improve your period cycle and symptoms as well as stimulate your metabolism. Have you ever tried a hormone balancing yoga class? Try our class with Gomati for free with our two week trial!

3. Reduce Pain

Yoga is known to reduce chronic pain in those with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.When you’re experiencing pain from your symptoms, try these asanas to ease the pain.

Yoga Asanas to Perform for PCOS Relief

• Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) - Bridge pose reduces stress and anxiety while also stretching the lower back. 
  

• Reclined Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasan) - Helps reduce cramping.
  

• Child's Pose (Balasana) - Child's pose will help to open the hips and bring the body back to a natural state. 
  

• Boat Pose (Naukasana) - Boat pose reduces body fat and improves blood flow. 
  

• Lotus Pose (Padmasana) - Resets hormones and reduces period discomfort. 
  

 Other ways to improve PCOS symptoms

• Lifestyle and diet changes can help decrease symptoms and help you to maintain a more normal lifestyle. Try these tips to reduce your day to day symptoms. 

• Eat whole foods! For women suffering with PCOS, the best diet is to eat foods in their most natural unprocessed form. When filling your plate, try to introduce lots of color into your meals. Stick to mostly plant based foods when possible but when eating meat, choose chicken or fish. Also make sure to regularly detox your body, Read the article to know more on How to Rejuvenate with a Body Detox at Home

• Create a routine for balance. Our bodies are most at peace when they're on a schedule. Try to create a routine that works within your lifestyle and stick to it as often as possible. Try your best to keep your workouts and meals around the same time each day! If you need to be more flexible, you can choose time frames instead of an exact time. 

Here’s an example schedule:

• 6:00 am morning workout.

• 9:00 am breakfast.

• 12:00 pm lunch. 

• 3:00 pm  snack.

• 6:00 pm dinner

• 9:00 pm night time meditation before bed. 

• Go for a walk! This is something so simple that we sometimes take for granted. Going for a walk is great to get moving & help balance our hormone levels! It’s also a great way to reset during your lunch break or at the end of the day. 
• Create a mindfulness routine to reduce stress. In a 2015 clinical study, 69% of women with PCOS found meditation helps with PCOS by reducing psychological stress and improving participants overall quality of life. Think about adding a meditation practice to the end of your day or journaling over coffee before work. 
• Even on day’s that feel tough with your symptoms, there are so many benefits to taking time to do yoga or meditate. You don’t have to let PCOS define you, you can be in control when your mind is clear and your body is grounded into its routine. Ready to build a regular yoga routine? Get started with us at

Try our hormone balancing yoga class to rev up your system or a gentle yoga class to wind down! MyYogaTeacher!