10 Yoga for PCOS: Steps to follow and Yoga Tips for PCOD

These days, the number of women affected by PCOS is increasing rapidly. Women with PCOS (or PCOD) are more likely to develop other health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. But fret not weight control is the key and it is also universally acknowledged that Yoga for PCOS is a natural and healthier way of shedding that extra fat.

So Can PCOD be cured by yoga? You need to familiarise yourself with the concept of yoga to ensure that it works positively. Here are ten yoga to cure PCOS problems that you may perform to lose weight.

Most Effective Yoga Poses for PCOS

Did you know that prescribed contraceptives for PCOD can cause severe side effects such as nausea, stomach pain, and abdomen pains? On the other hand, yoga has zero side effects.

Yoga/Asanas For PCOS	Yoga Tips For PCOS
1. Bridge Pose or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana	For optimal results, do this on an empty stomach. This can be done during pregnancy.
2. Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana	Do not rush the process. Take your time and take multiple 2-second breaks, if needed.
3. Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana	Start with half and work your way up because you might not be able to execute the entire cobra stance at once.
4. Boat Pose or Naukasana	Start with half and work your way up because you might not be able to execute the entire boat pose at once.
5. Breathing Exercise or Kapalbhati Pranayam	For an optimal impact, do this on an empty stomach. This should not be done during pregnancy.
6. Corpse Pose or Savasana	Perform this yoga asana for PCOS every day for at least 15 minutes.
7. Reclining Butterfly Pose or Supta Baddha Konasana	To assist in maintaining your posture during the asana, place a pillow beneath your hip.
8. Child Pose or Balasana	Try this on an empty stomach.
9. Lotus Meditation or Padma Sadhna	Following these asanas, there will be 5 minutes of anulom vilom and 10 minutes of meditation.
10. Locust Pose or Shalabhasana	Try this yoga pose on an empty stomach

1. Bridge Pose or Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

These yoga asanas for PCOS help regulate thyroid function, which is crucially linked to PCOS. It relaxes and activates the organs in the abdominal region, thus relieving the symptoms of menopause.

Steps to Perform the Bridge Pose

1. Lay down on your back and fold your knees, making a right angle between your feet and hips
2. Keep your palms facing downwards and place your hands beside your body
3. Lift your lower back, mid-back, and upper back off the floor one at a time
4. Roll your shoulders back and pull your chest up to the chin
5. Keep breathing and hold the pose for 1-2 minutes

Quick Tips: For optimal results, do this on an empty stomach. This can be done during pregnancy.

2. Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar is listed as the best yoga poses for PCOS. Weight loss, waist, and hip fat shedding, and menstrual cycle regulation can be facilitated by performing the sun salutation yoga pose every day.

Steps to Perform Surya Namaskar Yoga Pose:

1. Stand straight, keeping your feet together and distributing your weight evenly between both feet
2. Relax your shoulders and expand your chest
3. Lift both arms from the sides as you inhale, then bring your hands together in front of your chest in a prayer position as you exhale
4. Breathe in and stretch your entire body, from your heels to the tips of your fingers
5. Breathe out and bend forwards to touch your toes, keeping the spine straight
6. Push your right leg backwards and keep it straight. Look straight
7. Get in the push-up position and hold for 1-2 seconds
8. Get in the bhujangasana (cobra pose) position
9. Continue breathing in and out as you perform this yoga 
10. Now get back to standing straight and touch your feet

Quick Tips: Do not rush the process. Take your time and take multiple 2-second breaks, if needed.

3. Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana

Bhujangasan, or cobra pose, helps in making the body flexible and relieves stress. This pose is widely included in the list of yoga for PCOD problems. This pose is known to encourage healthy ovaries by the soothing stomach and allowing it to function properly.

Steps to Perform Cobra Pose:

1. Lay straight on the floor. Keep your elbows close to your body with your palms facing down. 
2. As you inhale, start straightening your arms to elevate your chest off the floor and try to recline backwards as much as you can
3. Your navel should be in contact with the ground.
4. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds before exhaling slowly and descending

Quick Tips: Start with half and work your way up because you might not be able to execute the entire cobra stance at once.

4. Boat Pose or Naukasana

Naukasana is a yoga practice that focuses on the abdominal muscles and organs. It is also known to control thyroid function. It is known to strengthen abdominal muscles and organs. It also relieves stress and improves ovulatory functioning.

Steps to Perform Boat Pose:

1. Lay straight on the floor. Keep your arms straight alongside your body with palms facing down 
2. As you inhale, start elevating your arms and legs to make a boat-like shape 
3. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds before exhaling slowly and descending

Quick Tips: Start with half and work your way up because you might not be able to execute the entire boat pose at once.

5. Breathing Exercise or Kapalbhati Pranayam

This one is primarily a breathing technique that focuses on reducing oxidative stress, improving blood circulation in the body, and balancing glandular output. It aids weight reduction by influencing the pancreas in a good way. This is why it is one of the most effective PCOD exercises. 

Steps to Perform Breathing Yoga Exercise:

1. Close your eyes and sit in padmasana with your hands resting on your knees.
2. Slowly inhale through the left nostril after blocking your right nostril with your right thumb.
3. Exhale after gradually removing your thumb from your right nostril. Block your left nostril with your middle finger while exhaling, then inhale through your right nose.
4. Repeat this practice for 15 minutes. Maintain your attention on your breathing.

Quick Tips: For an optimal impact, do this on an empty stomach. This should not be done during pregnancy.

6. Corpse Pose or Savasana

This particular yoga for PCOS might help you de-stress, stress being one of the primary causes of PCOS. Shavasana, or corpse posture, can help you calm your mind and keep your cortisol levels in balance. 

Steps to Perform Corpse Pose:

1. Lie down on your back, flat. Place both hands, palms facing up, on either side of your body.
2. Close your eyes and remain completely motionless. Breathe gently and deeply through your nose as much as possible.
3. Concentrate on your breathing and clear your mind. For at least 15 minutes, try to stay in that posture.

Quick Tips: Perform this yoga asana for PCOS every day for at least 15 minutes.

7. Reclining Butterfly Pose or Supta Baddha Konasana

The reclining Butterfly Pose is a modification of the basic butterfly pose. It is one of the best yoga asanas that emphasize calming the mind, body, and spirit while opening up the pelvic region.

Steps to Perform Reclining Butterfly Pose:

1. Try to relax by lying down on your back.
2. In a butterfly posture, pull your legs close together.
3. Hold your feet together with your hands and draw them as close to your torso as possible.
4. Hold this posture for 5 minutes and then take a break for 5 minutes. Repeat and relax.

Quick Tips: To assist in maintaining your posture during the asana, place a pillow beneath your hip. 

8. Child Pose or Balasana

Balasana is an excellent asana for strengthening the hips. This asana joins our list of yoga asanas for PCOD because it helps the body return to its natural position after being stretched and lengthened in the other asanas.

Steps to Perform Child Pose Yoga Pose:

1. Sit down on your knees and keep them together. Your hips should be touching your heels
2. Inhale and then start bending forward and leaning your forehead. Try to touch the floor with your forehead
3. Exhale and get back to the starting position. Repeat this at least five times.

Quick tip for you: Try this on an empty stomach.

9. Lotus Meditation or Padma Sadhna

This asana provides profound relaxation, making it ideal for PCOS yoga. It is good for both women and men since it works on both sexes’ reproductive organs. Sitting in a padmasana throughout the menstrual cycle can significantly reduce cramps in women.

Steps to Perform Lotus Meditation Yoga for PCOS:

1. Sit in a half-lotus position and spin your body four times in each direction, clockwise and anticlockwise.
2. Transition to Makarasana, also known as the crocodile position, by lying on your stomach on the floor with your head lifted and your feet perpendicular to the ground. 
3. Lift your feet off the floor one at a time, gradually transitioning to Ardha salabhasana.
4. Place your palms beneath your pelvis and elevate both limbs off the floor to progress to Poorna salabhasana.
5. Now it’s time for Bhujangasana, which involves progressively bending backwards while keeping both hands near the shoulders. Your head should gaze up, and your navel should remain on the floor.
6. Move into Viprit Salabhasana, maintaining your stomach on the mat and raising your hands and legs off the floor.
7. To execute Dhanurasana, grasp your feet with your hands in a bow shape with your torso.

Quick tips: Following these asanas, there will be 5 minutes of anulom vilom and 10 minutes of meditation.

10. Locust Pose or Shalabhasana

Because PCOS affects the ovaries, this can be the best exercise for PCOD problems. Diabetes is a consequence of PCOS, and the locust position is also known to aid diabetes management.

Steps to Perform Locust Pose Yoga:

1. Lay down straight on your stomach
2. Keep your hands straight alongside your body. They should be facing your thighs
3. Try to elevate your body backwards (making a superman pose)
4. Hold this position for 15 seconds, and then relax. Repeat this at least five times

Quick Tips: Try this yoga pose on an empty stomach

Can Yoga cure PCOS?

This is one of the most common questions asked by women suffering from PCOD. Several studies and research have proven that yoga cannot cure PCOS may not be an absolute cure, but it is a great way of managing PCOS symptoms. Performing Yoga asanas for PCOD every day may:

1. Lower testosterone levels in the female body
2. Activate de-stressing hormones and relax your body
3. Be a useful method for reducing anxiety
4. Aid with the overall management of chronic health concerns by reducing chronic pain
5. Help in improving blood circulation and balancing blood sugar levels (which are otherwise found to be on the higher side among PCOD patients)

Conclusion

We hope that by now you have got the answer to the most common question, “Can yoga treat PCOS”? It can help you manage it and considerably lessen the symptoms of PCOS, particularly those that influence fertility. It can also minimise your need for tablets or medicine to regulate your hormones. Follow the above-mentioned yoga poses for PCOD to head towards a healthy lifestyle.