7 mistakes to avoid when practicing menopause yoga at home

Practicing yoga at home can be challenging at any stage of life since it requires discipline and effort. However, it becomes even more challenging in menopause when your energy levels are running low, and your flexibility is waning as is often the case in menopause. Although menopause now has its very own genre of yoga - Menopause Yoga – it requires more than just rolling out a mat, striking a pose, and hoping a magic wand will banish all your menopause symptoms. To ensure your practice will be as effortless as possible, will fit into your busy life, and reduce your symptoms fast, let’s navigate the 7 biggest mistakes to avoid when practicing yoga at home.

1. Not Knowing What to Practice:

Too often, women end up choosing to practice yoga at home that just isn’t suitable for their level of experience or their needs. Menopause brings unique physical and emotional challenges, so it’s important that the yoga videos they choose will address these changes and will properly support them physically, mentally, and emotionally.

To achieve this delicate balance, menopause yoga specifically incorporates a variety of yoga styles to promote hormonal balance, alleviate symptoms, and enhance relaxation. These include Yin Yoga for joint paint and aches and pains, Restorative Yoga for anxiety and overwhelm, Yoga Nidra for poor sleep, and gentle Vinyasa Flow Yoga that will ease many more symptoms such as hot flashes and low mood. Choosing yoga videos that resonate with you and your body at this stage of life is key to a successful home practice.

2. Not Having a Plan for yoga at home:

Left to our own devices, we will always choose the yoga classes that we prefer and the ones that we find easiest. However, they’re not necessarily the ones that are right for what we need in menopause. Of course, a yoga calendar provides direction and motivation, but having a professionally-guided plan for a menopause home yoga practice from a qualified Menopause Expert means you have all the content you need to ease your symptoms and you never having to wonder what to practice again – it’s all laid out for you.

A well-designed Menopause Yoga plan will include practice calendars that feature a mix of yoga styles to help your symptoms, as well as trackers to monitor progress of symptoms. All you have to do is simply roll out your mat, press play, and away you go. But an even better plan is one that features learning tutorials too, to guide you in the fundamentals of yoga such as the breath and the alignment of key poses. They are invaluable for yoga beginners and those who wish to up level their practice.  

3. Not Being Prepared for home yoga:

Life has a habit of derailing the best laid plans which is why it always pays to be prepared for practicing home yoga, for as the saying goes; if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

If you’re practicing in the morning, set your alarm a little earlier (ouch) to give you enough time to squeeze in your routine. Make sure your yoga clothes are all laid out the night before, and that your yoga space is all set up with your mat and any props you might need. Most importantly, know in advance which sequence you will be practicing.

Whatever time of day that you choose to practice, try to make sure that it’s always around the same time – it’s simply the best way to create a yoga regimen and a long-lasting habit and a daily yoga routine at home. The more ‘normal’ it becomes, the less resistance you will feel.

4. Not Being Realistic:

Menopausal changes vary among individuals, so it's crucial to set realistic expectations at the start. There will be days when you can’t and you won’t roll out your mat, so don’t set the bar too high.

Let go of what you used to be able to do. Simply be accepting of what you can and can’t do now. Your body is changing and it’s important to be guided by it.

The beauty of practicing yoga at home is that you don’t have to worry about the fixed timetables of a public yoga class and you won’t be intimidated by what others are able to do that you can't (yet) – it’s just you and your video. Plus, yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about the journey to get there, so let go of your ego and just enjoy the ride.

5. Not being part of a menopause community:

There’s nothing more powerful and uplifting than a group of menopausal ladies all coming together to help and support each other. Trust me, I know from the experience of running my own menopause support group, these communities offer a safe haven for like-minded ladies who are all practicing menopause yoga at home to come together and offer true friendships to help themselves and others blossom.

Practicing yoga at home can sometimes feel a little isolating so having a menopause community for yoga means you can swap notes on your practice, ask questions, congratulate, encourage, support and even commiserate with each other from time to time. Ladies who have joined my yoga memberships tell me how much they love my yoga, but they love our amazing community just as much! I think that says it all.

6. Not Being Consistent with yoga at home:

Consistency is the cornerstone of practicing yoga at home, but if you're already thinking that you don’t have time, allow me to free up some time for you. If most public yoga classes last around 60 minutes (to say nothing of traveling there and back), then it pays to divide your 60 minutes by 4 and practice 15 minutes four times each week.* Why? Because declining estrogen levels mean that, no matter how good you feel immediately after a yoga session, the following morning you have already begun to seize up again.

By adopting the ‘little but often’ approach and following basic yoga routines such as 10 minute morning yoga sequences, your joints will be more supple, your energy levels will be higher, and you will enjoy less stress, better sleep, more flexibility, and will see other tremendous improvements in your menopause symptoms too.

Some yoga sceptics believe short sequences don’t benefit our body in the same way as a traditional ‘full-on’ longer class …but menopause struggles can be tough, so isn’t it better to find a solution that takes less time, one that you can fit into your life, and one that will actually help your symptoms? Of course.

7. Not listening to Your Body:

Listening to your body is key to practicing yoga at home and you should never try to forcibly shoe-horn yourself into a yoga pose. The Instagram photos may look good, but you run the risk of an injury by trying to push your body when it’s not ready. It’s also likely that you will abandon your home practice as the disappointment inevitably sets in.

Whilst progress on the mat may be more gradual at this stage of life, you will learn to understand your body and its changing needs by tuning in and being respectful of its limitations. Menopause yoga is encouraging and gentle and no matter what your restrictions are, all the poses can be adapted based on comfort and energy levels. Most importantly, yoga teaches us the importance of compassion and patience to ourself as well as others: so always be gentle on yourself and listen to your body.

Conclusion:

Adopting a mindful and purposeful approach to practicing menopause yoga at home can significantly enhance your menopause journey and overall wellbeing. By avoiding common pitfalls such as not knowing what to practice, lacking a plan, and neglecting to listen to your body, you can establish a successful, safe, and sustainable yoga practice tailored to your unique needs. Remember, menopause yoga is not just about physical poses but also about nurturing your emotional and mental health. So, roll out your mat, choose your yoga plan wisely, listen to your body, and embark on this transformative journey with compassion and patience. As you reap the benefits of yoga, your body (and everybody around you) will thank you for it.

* In my guided membership plan, My Yoga Journey, members report how much better they feel practicing a short sequence 3 or 4 times per week compared to one weekly class of 60 minutes.

Are you a beginner and want to start a home yoga practice? If so, download our FREE guide to yoga for beginners.

Want to try 7-days of FREE online yoga for menopause and see what all the fuss is about?  

Join our menopause support community for yoga and enjoy free tips and advice, and meet other like-minded women who are undergoing the same challenges. 

About Julie Ann Garrido:

For over 30 years, Julie successfully ran her own PR company until her menopause symptoms took hold and turned her world upside down. Not only was she physically exhausted, she suffered with low moods, negative thinking, loss of confidence, self-limiting beliefs, and crippling anxiety. She became a person she no longer recognised and simply wanted to hide away.

Unhappy with a medical approach to menopause, she turned to yoga to alleviate her struggles, and at the age of 53, she found the natural solution she’s had been searching for.

After regularly practicing short bursts of yoga at home, she noticed that many of her symptoms were vanishing. She had more energy, she slept better, her confidence retuned, she felt more in control, and no longer hobbled around with joint pain.

Realising that menopausal women felt uncomfortable with their size and shape, and didn’t have the confidence to attend a yoga studio, she was determined to bring menopause yoga to their homes - yoga that would easily fit into busy schedules, and that would take women on a journey to wellbeing and transformation in menopause. Moreover, she wanted women to enjoy a natural menopause like she did.

Julie developed My Yoga Journey, an online platform for women to access affordable, beginner-friendly menopause yoga from the sanctuary of their own homes. The success of My Yoga Journey is nothing short of astonishing. As well as introducing yoga to countless women who have significantly improved their symptoms, it has helped transform their lives as a result of their new-found confidence and energy, with many going on to join her menopause wellness retreats. 

“My mission is simple: I want every woman to know that there’s an effective natural solution for menopause. It doesn’t have to be HRT.

~ Julie Ann Garrido