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Aunt Flo
Gents, this topic might make you squirm. I suggest you avert your eyes.
Hokay, ladies. I did a search for this topic, and didn't find an answer. So here we go.
Aunt Flo is here for her monthly visit, which is mighty inconvenient. You see I have a pole fitness photo shoot tomorrow, and the word on the street is you're not supposed to do inverts when it's that time of month.
Any particular reason why? Does anyone know? Will my uterus fall out through my nose or something similarly awful? Are there any medical reasons I should not invert tomorrow (day 3 of my cycle, if that's relevant at all).
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15 Replies
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It's common in yoga for instructors to suggest students avoid inverted poses during menstruation. But I don't believe there has been any medical evidence supporting the "no upside down while flo is around," theory. Most importantly, listen to your body, if you have very heavy periods you may feel too uncomfortable to invert anyway. I invert all the time when flo is here and I'm still alive. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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Well if Veena says it's ok, then it's ok.The show must go on! Thanks so much!
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Katastrophe, you are funny!! Good luck at your shoot!!! I hope it doesn’t all rush to you head at once!!!!
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So glad you wrote this, my Pantone 187 shuts everything down!
Life as I know it stops, and I am new to pole, so I was wondering, when I get into inverting, and advanced tricks how will Pantone 187 and Pole go together. I am not looking forward to this, but I am glad you started this post.
I hope the shoots goes ah-may-zing!
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Mine doesn't stop me from doing anything…. though I do feel as though I'm hauling 10 extra pounds upside down, etc. lol
One interesting (maybe) note: I seem to be grippier/stickier when I'm on my period. Maybe that's a consolation prize for feeling all bloaty and bleah. 😉
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Yoga instructors sometimes advise against women inverting on their periods because it can, for some women, mess with flow a bit. I've found this to be the case with me–if it's a heavy day and I'm inverting on the pole a lot, or doing handstand push-ups, my period will actually lighten up quite a bit, and then return even heavier for a little while. It doesn't last long, but it is a little annoying, so sometimes on really heavy days I will avoid upside down workouts. This is not the case for every women though, obviously, and it's nothing to get too concerned about, just a little irritating.
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I think one of my doctors (if not a doc, I did hear SOMEONE ) said it's no big deal to invert. It's not going to flow up and into your body or anything It'll come out eventually. I just get significantly weaker around that time. It's like my body goes into overload and can't do half the stuff I usually bust out.
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I actually heard something regarding this on a medical talk show a few days ago. They were talking about how to reduce cramping pain and said that you shouldn't invert if you have bad cramps – that it would make them worse.
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I think the yoga advice is because of the flow of Chi or some other such nonsense new age woo BS. If I have terrible cramps, I just don't feel like poling, but you can take an Advil and then just go for it. Do you think gymnasts don't compete when they have periods? No, they plug it up and get to work like anyone else.
I'm sure your Chi will be fine.
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I don't recall what the exact yoga explanation was, but for me at least, I find that it's true, and my flow does get messed with somewhat on heavy days if I'm inverting. The same thing happens if I take a really hot bath on a heavy day–my period will actually stop for about half an hour, then come back heavier. It's not a big deal and I don't let it take over my life, but sometimes on really heavy days I will stick to upright workouts and a little bit more tepid bathwater.
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Haha, not everything we don't understand is BS. I just cannot stand the lack of scientific research/terminology some people put into things. Anyway, as I've mentioned before on the site, my younger sister competed gymnastics competitively her entire young life, so from that experience I do know that their constant training (and possibly inverting) DOES mess with their flow. Sometimes quite badly (delayed puberty, cysts, etc.). I know that the rigorous physical work creates extra testosterone in their systems but chi and all of that nonsense translates to endocrine system and hormones. Anyway, I personally don't invert when I'm on my flow because I can literally feel stuff moving around and it is uncomfortable but every lady is different! Do what works for you.
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@ Marle777: My understanding is that we need body fat to produce enough estrogen to make our bodies build up uterine lining. Therefore, gymnasts, marathon runners, and other athletes who have next to zero body fat do not produce sufficient estrogen; therefore, dysmennorea occurs (your periods stop).
All males and all females both have three sex hormones: testosterone (relates to libido), estrogen (relates to menstruation), and androgen (don't know what that does). As we reduce body fat, we don't actually produce more testosterone, but the estrogen levels are so low the proportion of testosterone is higher than it would be if we were carrying around what would be normal body fat for females (I think around 20%). I believe you have to get down to something like less than 7% body fat to stop periods. And yes, anorexics/bulimics often suffer from this problem for the same reasons.
All that said, my advice is: listen to your body. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.
When I broke my foot, I only stopped poling for about a week and then I did only inverted work where I didn't need my feet. (Side climbs, not straight up fireman climbs.) I got back to the floor work and spins after my foot healed. We can do the same thing with Aunt Flo: just do what feels okay during that time. But gymnasts and other athletes compete regardless of what time of the month it is, so it probably won't cause any sort of permanent damage, just might be a bit more uncomfortable… than usual. I mean, who are we kidding? Pole hurts under the best of circumstances. LOL
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@ DedeJoy: Yep. That all sounds like what I remember reading in health class, lol. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_geek.gif
I think it's fine if you're not being excessive, like most things in life.
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I was suprised when I heard about not inverting during menstruation during a class. I did a quick literature of pubmed and cochrane library (medical research databases). I couldn't find a single study of physical activity with inverstions during menstruation. I did find an article that explained the yoga ideas behind not inverting during menstruation using google.
http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/831
Overall research has shown exercise during menstruation improves menstrual symptoms including PMS and PMDD.
I liked the yoga authors idea of listening to your body. Even though it may look like alot, a 10-80mL loss is considered normal. It can also pool in the vagina and then come out quickly when you stand up. Lots of people think they are suddenly bleeding profusely when they just happened to be in a position that allowed for pooling and then they got up.
Below is a really good article about female athlete triad, which is more commonly seen in sports that require individuals to be low end or below healthy weight.
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Yes, I think listening to your body is always best. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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