MANILA, Philippines?A lot of women I know would sooner eat dirt than accept that they?re going through menopause. Why? Because they think it heralds The End: the end of beauty, the end of sex, the end of clothes that fit, the end of one?s relevance as a woman.
Well, of course all this is totally untrue (except, maybe, for the clothes part). Besides, who cares about what it heralds when there are more immediate things to be concerned about, like irritability, wrinkles, forgetfulness, hot flushes, wrinkles, weight gain, palpitations, wrinkles, sleeplessness?
To add insult to injury, if you?re a woman seeking to alleviate your menopausal suffering, you don?t have many options. HRT, with its risks and potentially lethal side effects, is simply not a good enough choice. The only truly viable way to deal with menopause is to make changes in your lifestyle.
First of its kind
In answer to the cri de coeur of so many women (and I choose these words not to be pretentious but because ?crying out? or ?screaming? is a very real urge during this phase, a close cousin of ?climbing walls?), Yoga Manila brings us a three-part workshop that addresses menopausal challenges head-on.
The workshop is the first of its kind not only in the Philippines but in much of the world, and you don?t need to be a yoga practitioner to join this class.
Yoga helps diminish menopausal symptoms and can provide a soothing effect on your nerves. It keeps you fit, too. Even the easiest yoga poses trim the waistline and lend elasticity to the spine while also improving stamina.
Balancing exercises, meanwhile, sharpen focus and improve concentration. Jumping, as practiced in Ashtanga yoga, can stave off bone density loss, and the flowing sequences between poses give your cardiovascular system a serious workout.
Taught by Linda Naulty, who has been practicing Hatha and Ashtanga yoga for over 10 years, the workshop combines yoga poses and breathing techniques to help women cope with the psychological and physical effects of menopause, as well as aid in the prevention of postmenopausal ailments.
Naulty draws upon meditation practices to induce calmness and deep relaxation, and leads discussions about holistic healing methods (e.g., essential oils, supplements, acupuncture) to support menopause.
As a teacher of Prenatal and Gentle Yoga, Naulty has an aptitude for guiding women through the different stages of their lives. She feels that menopause presents an opportunity for growth in much the same way adolescence does. The post-fertility phase in a woman?s life, she explains, is a vital time to begin ?cultivating happiness, to finding happiness inside of you.?
The workshop dates are Fridays, April 11, 18, and 25, 3-4:30 p.m., at Yoga Manila, Century Plaza Penthouse, 120 Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.
The price is P600/class or P1,600 for all three classes. Please bring a yoga mat if you have one, and arrive at least 15 minutes before class to register. Call 0917522 YOGA or e-mail info@yogamanila.com for inquiries.
