Yoga During Your Period: Inversions, PMS and What the Research Says

Yes, for most people yoga during your period is safe, as long as you listen to your body. Gentle, restorative practice suits heavy or low-energy days, and there is no good evidence that inversions cause harm. Research also suggests that regular yoga may ease premenstrual symptoms and period pain, although the studies are small and vary in quality.

This article looks at what yoga traditions say about menstruation, whether inversions are a problem, what the research shows and which poses to try. Looking for a phase-by-phase guide? Read how to adapt your yoga practice during your cycle.

What Do Yoga Traditions Say About Menstruation?

Yoga was traditionally taught and practised mostly by men, so the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita do not address the menstrual cycle. Later teachers developed their own guidelines. In the Ashtanga tradition of Pattabhi Jois, women are asked to rest from asana practice for the first three days of their period, a pause called the “ladies’ holiday”, and to avoid inversions until bleeding ends (Jois Yoga). The reasons given are that energy is lower, that inversions work against the natural downward flow of energy, and that too much activity may disturb the cycle.

That is one view. Many women find they feel more energised during their period and enjoy practising, while others need rest. Neither is wrong.

Are Inversions Safe During Your Period?

Whether to avoid inversions is a long-running debate. Some teachers skip them because of apana, the downward-moving energy in yoga philosophy that is responsible for elimination. They believe inversions interfere with it.

An old physical worry was that inversions push menstrual blood backwards and cause endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the womb lining grows outside the womb. This has not been shown. A small backward flow of menstrual blood is thought to be common, while endometriosis affects far fewer women (Yoga International), and I am not aware of clinical studies linking inversions to it. Another concern, vascular congestion on heavy days if an inversion is held for more than a minute, also has no clinical studies behind it.

In practice, teachers often accept milder inversions such as downward facing dog and standing forward fold (Uttanasana) and treat shoulderstand and headstand as more intense. If you want to be on the safe side, skip them on heavy days and try the gentler legs up the wall (Viparita Karani) instead. Most importantly, listen to your body. If a pose feels uncomfortable, rest in child’s pose until you are ready to continue.

How Common Is PMS and What Are the Symptoms?

Most women notice at least one premenstrual symptom, and about 3 to 8 per cent have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a more severe form (US Office on Women’s Health). Common symptoms include irritability, bloating, headaches, breast tenderness, tiredness and a heavy feeling in the pelvis. Some women also feel low or emotional in the days before their period.

Can Yoga Help With PMS and Period Pain?

It may. A 2026 systematic review in BMC Women’s Health (read the review) pooled 20 randomised trials with 1,230 women with premenstrual syndrome. Eleven of the trials tested yoga, the others running or Pilates. Overall, exercise was linked to less negative mood, less pain and less fatigue. The authors rated the certainty of the evidence as moderate for fatigue and low for mood and pain, because many trials were small and not well blinded, and results varied a lot between studies.

For period pain, a 2019 meta-analysis (read the study) of four randomised trials with 230 women with primary dysmenorrhoea (period pain without an underlying condition) found less menstrual pain with yoga than without. The authors called for larger, higher quality trials.

A 2016 study (read the study) followed 64 women in Taiwan who completed a 12-week programme of two 50-minute yoga sessions a week. They reported fewer premenstrual symptoms such as abdominal swelling and cramps, and used fewer painkillers. The study had no control group, so it cannot show that yoga caused the change.

So the research is encouraging but not conclusive. Most studies tested a regular practice, not yoga only on the worst days.

Yoga Poses to Try Before and During Your Period

These gentle poses are a good place to start. Hold each for several slow breaths, use props such as a bolster or blocks, and skip anything that does not feel right.

• Supta Padangusthasana: reclined hamstring stretch
• Supta Baddha Konasana: reclined bound angle pose
• Jathara Parivartanasana: reclined spinal twist
• Baddha Konasana: bound angle pose
• Upavistha Konasana: wide-legged seated forward fold
• Viparita Karani: legs up the wall
• Prasarita Padottanasana: standing wide-legged forward fold
• Adho Mukha Svanasana: downward facing dog
• Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: bridge pose, or supported with a block under the sacrum
• Savasana: final relaxation

How to Practise Yoga During Your Period

• Let your energy decide. Rest on low-energy days and practise on days you feel up to it.
• Choose calm. Restorative or yin yoga, slow breathing and Yoga Nidra suit tired or crampy days.
• Be gentle with inversions on heavy days. Swap shoulderstand and headstand for legs up the wall.
• Do not compare. Treat each practice as its own, and do not measure it against days without PMS.

Please note

This article is general information, not medical advice. See your doctor if you have severe or unusual pain, very heavy bleeding, or symptoms that disrupt your daily life, or if you think you may have PMDD or endometriosis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• A systematic review of exercise interventions on negative affect, pain, and fatigue in women with premenstrual syndrome. BMC Women’s Health, 2026
• Yoga for menstrual pain in primary dysmenorrhea: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2019
• Effect of yoga exercise on premenstrual symptoms among female employees in Taiwan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016
• Lady’s holiday. Jois Yoga
• Is it safe to practice inversions during menstruation? Yoga International
• Premenstrual syndrome fact sheet. US Office on Women’s Health (archived)

Written by Julia Grässer, E-RYT 500 yoga teacher and yoga therapist in Copenhagen. Last updated November 2026.