Women’s Health & Yoga Therapy
"Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women." Michelle Obama
It includes a broad range of pathologies, so women's health deserves more than a month dedicated to it but May is Women’s Health Care Month. Women are often caught in the difficulty of juggling work and family needs, leaving their physical, mental, and emotional well-being as a last priority to keep up with these demands (I almost forgot to finish writing this blog and it’s basically June!) . By doing this, we risk the consequences of being stressed, overworked, and burnt out. Many illnesses are often triggered due to the burden of prolonged stress (seriously, look up any pathology, stress is almost always a root cause or like gas to fire). We could prevent diseases by managing stress and by prioritizing our health first.
Women's health pathologies include pelvic floor disorders, maternal health (pre and postnatal), fertility, pre, peri, and post-menopause, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and mental health, to name a few. Here are some eye-opening facts about health and women:
A study of data from 25,000 women found that at least 32% of them have a pelvic floor disorder
Two out of three Alzheimer's patients in the US are women
One out of eight women is likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer in America
Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in their lifetime (ADAA, 2023)
One woman dies every 83 seconds from cardiovascular disease
Women have a higher prevalence of autoimmune disease compared to men (Gottfried, 2023)
When you search for ways to reduce or manage symptoms of these chronic conditions, a common suggestion is to practice yoga. A yoga therapist has extensive training and experience with these conditions to provide individualized practices to their clients. Most importantly, a yoga therapist knows the contraindicated techniques that may exacerbate symptoms or feelings. A client and yoga therapist co-decide the frequency of sessions, and through these sessions, a client learns techniques and fine-tunes others to improve effectiveness for the client's home practice. During group classes, yoga instructors lack time to focus on each student's needs, and I remember being told to "teach to the average." Yoga classes can be great, and I still love attending them myself, but working with a yoga therapist who viewed me as a whole person - mind, body, and spirit with unique needs - gifted me with tools to live a daily life of centered womanhood and I aim to pass on these gifts to others.
Resources:
Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (2023). Women and Anxiety. https://adaa.org/find-help-for/women/anxiety#:~:text=An%20estimated%20264%20million%20people,anxiety%20disorder%20in%20their%20lifetime.
Gottfried, S. (2023). Navigating Perimenopause and Menopause. Commune. [Webinar]. Commune App.
National Today. (2023). Women's Health Care Month - May 2023. https://nationaltoday.com/womens-health-care-month/#:~:text=Women's%20Health%20Care%20Month%20is,May%20as%20Women's%20Health%20Month.