Menopause and depletion: an unhealthy combination
When I was 42-years-old I was tired. So tired that I became sick.
I had been running on adrenaline for too many years—single-parenting while juggling a demanding work schedule that involved long working hours, a lot of travel, and the mental stress and responsibility that accompanies being the owner of a small, rapidly expanding business. Oh, and then there was the crumbling defacto relationship.
Overall, I had been pushing myself too hard. Life was pushing me too hard and my body was in crisis.
It was the perfect storm that collided with perimenopause.
I was struck down by a litany of stress-related symptoms that also blurred into hormonal-related symptoms—chronic fatigue, exacerbated PMS symptoms, constant heart arrhythmia, debilitating insomnia and night sweats, and digestive issues. I had no choice but to finally listen to my body and to pull back on my work and reassess my priorities.
That’s what the journey into menopause will do to you if you’re not prepared for it!
I call perimenopause—the lead up to menopause when a woman’s body stops menstruation—’the cosmic washing machine’! It’s a time of great upheaval as your ovaries start to recalibrate. Initially, this can result in plummeting and/or surging hormones: an excess of oestrogen or a depletion in progesterone that can cause all manner of symptoms.
I learnt the hard way that if you embark on the menopause journey in a depleted state the whole experience is ten times more challenging!
Once I started listening to my body, I was able to ramp up the feminine yoga and self-care in addition to making some significant changes in my life, including shifting expectations of what my body and energy were capable of during the perimenopause.
I only wish I’d responded earlier so that I didn’t have such a big hole to dig myself out of!
Healthy adrenals: the key to a healthy menopause
Nourishing your adrenal glands during the perimenopause and beyond can play a vital role in supporting your hormonal balance and therefore easing or minimising menopausal symptoms.
Why are the adrenal glands so important?
The adrenals, which sit on top of the kidneys, can over-produce the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, when you are chronically stressed. Over time, if the stress persists and you do not adequately find ways to manage your response to it, your adrenals can become depleted. This ultimately affects the healthy balance of your whole hormonal system.
Ayurvedic women’s health expert Maya Tiwari says that stress can be one of the major suppressors of healthy adrenal function. ‘Anger, anxiety, worry, nervousness, fear, depression, insomnia, exhaustion, chronic pain, long-term illness, and malnutrition are the dominant factors that may contribute to adrenal dysfunction,’ explains Tiwari.
Since the adrenals also produce a hormone called DHEA, an androgenic hormone that can help increase the serum levels of oestrogen, it’s necessary to encourage sufficient production of DHEA for optimal hormonal balance. Dr Christiane Northrup, a well-known gynacologist and author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom explains that along with the decline of oestrogen the production of DHEA naturally declines in many women as they age, and if there’s an imbalance in DHEA and an over-production of the stress hormone cortisol—caused by chronic stress—women become ‘susceptible to fatigue and all manner of illnesses, as well as menopausal symptoms.’
Once a woman reaches menopause, her adrenals take on a starring role instead of the ovaries, becoming responsible for the production of not only DHEA but also progesterone. The androgens (DHEA and testosterone) act as weak oestrogens, and they are also associated with sexual response and libido, as well as general wellbeing.
This all means that if you look after your adrenals you may have a better chance of moving more easefully and comfortably through menopause.
If you’re tired all the time, or if you’re not waking up refreshed and you need caffeine to get you through your day, you may be suffering from adrenal depletion. If left untreated, this is known as ‘adrenal fatigue’. Complementary therapies such as acupuncture and herbs (specifically adaptogenic herbs that nourish the adrenals) can help in the recovery from adrenal fatigue. It’s also a good idea to give up coffee, alcohol and sugar as these all sap the adrenals. At the same time, take an honest look at your lifestyle as to how you might find better ways to manage your stress and to rest more.
Adrenal Nourishing Yoga for Perimenopause
Cultivate self-compassion
The number one way to nourish your adrenals is to manage your stress levels by taking regular, mindful rest, and yoga can be one of your biggest allies in helping you do this.
That’s why it’s so important, just as in any of the other key feminine life events and transitions—throughout the menstrual cycle, pre-conception, pregnancy and early motherhood—to use the tools of yoga to go gently on yourself.
If your adrenal function is compromised, it is not helpful to undertake an overly challenging yoga practice. In fact, if you overdo it with exercise or in your yoga practice, you may bring on an ‘adrenal crash’ in which you ultimately deplete your adrenals further and you end up feeling much worse!
Feminine yoga tools for a self-compassionate, menopause-friendly practice might include Restorative Yoga, gentle sequences like my Feminine Pawanmuktasana (joint-freeing sequence), the Adrenal Turtle Breath and Yoga Nidra practices.
The Adrenal Turtle Breath is an energetic breathing practice to support adrenal health
2. Promote blood flow and energy to the adrenals
Yoga can balance and nourish your adrenals is by promoting healthy blood flow and circulation of energy (prana or chi) to the adrenal glands. Tools to do this are movement, breath and visualisation (as in the Apana Breath).
Adrenal nourishing yoga poses include:
all of the Restorative Yoga postures. They support the adrenals because they work to bring about parasympathetic nervous system dominance—the ‘rest, repair and digest’ or ‘relaxation response’—giving the adrenals a break from pumping out the stress hormones.
twisting poses. They work to activate then pacify the adrenal glands. The gentle, heart-opening nature of Bharadvajasana (Seated Sage Pose) is a good choice.
supported Backbending postures like Supta Baddha Konasana (Supine Supported Groin Stretch) or the Supported Bridge Pose. These poses nourish the nervous system and have the effect of gently activating the adrenal glands.
forward bends like Pascimottasana (Seated Forward Bend) can also be beneficial.
inversions. They are tonic for the adrenals, particularly Supported Inversions like Viparita Karani (Legs up the Wall Pose). According to Iyengar Yoga teacher and research scientist Roger Cole, Viparita Karani, with the pelvis raised up on bolster or folded blankets, stimulates the blood pressure sensors (baroreceptors) in the neck and upper chest. This, in turn, triggers reflexes that reduce the nerve input into the adrenal glands and slows down the heart rate and the brain waves, and relaxes the blood vessels, all serving to reduce the adrenal stress hormone, norepinephrine, in the blood.
Viparita Karani, Legs up the Wall Pose, is so nourishing for the adrenals. It’s a great pose for perimenopause as well as the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle.
My book Moving with the Moon: Yoga, Movement & Meditation for Every Phase of your Menstrual Cycle & Beyond features a comprehensive chapter on yoga for menopause. This blog is an extract.
If you’d like a personalised yoga sequence to support you during your menopause journey consider 1:1 yoga sessions via Zoom with Ana Davis.
Ana’s menopause ‘Second Spring’ classes are also included in her package of recorded Zoom classes. More info here.
