Everyone knows that movement, exercise, and yoga are recommended to maintain strength and flexibility, and also reduce joint and muscular pain which are common as we approach menopause. But here’s a fact that might surprise you: even light movement, like just stretching for 10 minutes, have been shown to reduce other menopausal symptoms.
In a 2016 study, researchers assigned a group of women between ages of 40-61 into two groups: a stretching group and a control group. The stretching group participated in a 3-week intervention program that involved 10 minutes of daily stretching, just before bedtime. The control group was assigned to a waiting list. The stretching program was designed to be performed just before bedtime to relax and to induce sleep, and to also allow participants to take part in the program if they lacked time to exercise during the day. After 3 weeks, menopausal symptoms were evaluated for both groups. Researchers found that menopausal symptom scores significantly decreased in the stretching group compared to the control group.
To help bring the benefits of stretching to the Caria community, we’ve launching a new feature now available on the homepage! Follow instructors Cheryl and Libby on guided sessions for total-body stretches that you can perform easily without any equipment. To get started, choose any video from the new homepage section called ‘Nightly Stretch Routine’. Although recommended to do at night, feel free to adapt to your own schedule – the important thing is to be consistent on a daily basis in order to feel the benefits.
Comment below to share how it goes!
Originally published on hellocaria.com.