Painful periods: free yoga sequences for each stage
Last updated: 25 October 2026.
The short answer: this page gives you four free Iyengar yoga sequences, one for each stage of your cycle: the days before your period, the first two or three days, the end of your period, and the days after. They use props to support you, and they leave out upside-down poses while you are bleeding. The sequences come from the teaching of Geeta Iyengar.
In my own case, painful periods settled once I started yoga, and I had few menstrual problems from then on.
Many other women doing yoga have told me the same story.
A healthy menstrual cycle is very important for a woman’s health and general well being.
The female body is much more elastic than a man’s body.
This elasticity can cause a distortion in the skeletal and muscular structure of the female body causing women to experience bouts of pain and tenderness, particularly at the time of menstruation.
Many women also experience premenstrual tension, including pain, stiffness in the limbs and lower back, mood swings, feelings of irritability, anger, aggression and depression.
So I have included poses below to help with each stage of the menstrual cycle.
During menstruation many women experience discomfort, bloating, cramping, overheating, skin rashes, constipation, heaviness and lethargy; plus often feeling disconnected, or not grounded.
It is the time of the month when women should slow down, rest more and take life a little easier.
There are so many demands on women from work and family that many women often ignore the need to rest. Instead, they push through tiredness and pain.
Giving your body the respect it deserves, will help you maximise performance in all aspects of your life. I suggest you look at yoga as a way to build a routine into your life that naturally maximises all aspects of your mental and physical health… forever!
It is important to use your yoga practice to honour this time of the month and do less, especially in the first few days, when the flow is heavy. Not only will you appreciate the benefits that will flow from using your yoga practice to restore balance, but so will your friends and family!
Yoga sequences for painful periods
The following sequences come from Geeta Iyengar. She was a masterful yoga practitioner, and an ayurvedic doctor in India. She also wrote some now classic yoga textbooks. Over the years, she has helped many female yoga practitioners find a way to restore balance to their bodies, mind and emotions. In the process, many of them found their menstrual issues eased.
During menstruation the emphasis is on forward extensions, supine (lying) poses to open the chest and help release pressure in the abdomen), seated poses, and supported setu bandha Sarvangasana. (These poses are explained and illustrated in the drawings below).
Note that inversions (upside down poses) should not be done at this time. If a woman has a “normal” menstruation, and no health problems like cysts, fibroids, or heavy bleeding; she can also do some standing poses with the help of a wall, ledge or balcony rail. There should be no jumping into and out of standing poses.
These are the poses I used for my own painful periods and the other menstrual difficulties I had. Try them whether or not you have painful periods. There is much to be gained from yoga, for all aspects of women’s health.
Click on the pictures to see how to do the poses. You can easily click through them using the arrow at the bottom of each image.
Premenstrual Tension
(Click on the pose sketch, to enlarge it).
- Baddha Konasana
- Upavista Konasana- support
- Supta Buddha Konasana
- Matysasana – or supta swastikasana
- Forward Virasana
- Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Dwi Pada viparita dandasana- 7-10 mins -cross bolsters
- Salamba Sirsasana & Salamba Sirsasana (Upavistha Konasana &Baddha Konasana if able to do)
- Salamba Sarvangasana
- Halasana
- Setu bandha Sarvangasana 7-10 mins
- Cross Legs Forward / head support
- Pranayama- Ujjayi 1 & 2, Viloma 1 & 2
For the first 2/3 days of the period, especially if you have painful periods
- Supta Buddha Konasana
- Supta Matysasana – or supta swastikasana
- Supta Virasana
- Forward Virasana – trunk supported
- Janu Sirsasana- Trunk supported
- Triang mukhaikaipada paschimottanasana-trunk supported
- Ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana-trunk supported
- Baddha Konasana – seated supported
- Upavistha Konasana – seated thenCentre L the R trunk supported
- Dwi Pada viparita dandasana – supported or Cross bolsters
- Setu bandha Sarvangasana – supported
- Savasana
Towards the end of menstruation
- Virasana/ Adho Mukha Virasana-along bolster
- Swastikasana along bolster
- Janu Sirsasana- head support 1min
- Triang mukhaikaipada paschimottanasana- 1min
- Ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana- 1min
- Maricyasana 1 – 1 min
- Bharadvajasana 2- 1 min
- Paschimottanasana -1 min
- Upavistha Konasana 1 min
- Bharadvajasana 1 – 1 min
- Baddha Konasana – back to wall – 5 mins
- Padmasana 1 min ( if you can do)
- Viparita Dandasana ( cross bolster 5 mins)
- Setu Bandha sarvangasana / legs straight then in baddha konasana
- Virasana (forward)
- Savasana
If no fatigue, the following standing poses could be put into a sequence
- Supta Virasana _or Supta swstikasana -5 mins
- Supta Baddha Konasana- 5 mins
- Adho Mukha Svanasana- head support
- Adho Muhka Svanasana – Head support / hands to wall
- Tadasana
- Urdhva Hastasana
- Arm movements -l to open the chest like Urdhva Baddanguliyasana , Namaskarasana, Urdhva Namaskarasana, Gomukasana
- Utthita Trikonasana(foot to wall / top hand to waist , bottom hand supported on a block)
- Utthita Pasvakonasana (foot to wall / top hand to waist , bottom hand supported on a block )
- Ardha Chandrasana – back to wall
- Prasarita Padottanasana / support / concave back if back ache / abdominal pain rest 2 over stools
- Uttanasana /toes turned in / feet wider than hip width apart / arms can be interlocked / head can rest on chair
- Viparita Dandasana(cross bolsters)- 7-10 mins
- Baddha Konasana- back supported – use chair
- Upavistha Konasana – can have back support / chair & then rested Upavistha Konasana
- Parsva Upavistha Konasana
- Janu Sirsasana-head supported
- Triang mukhaikaipada paschimottanasana-head supported
- Maricyasana 1 -head supported
- Paschimottanasana-head supported
- Setu bandha Sarvangasana – supported 7- 10 mins
- Swastikasana -forward head support
- Savasana
Post Menstruation
- Supta Baddha Konasana
- Forward Virasana
- Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Uttanasana
- Prasarita Padottanasana
- Salamba Sirasana (Baddha Konasana in Sirasana, Upavistha Konasana in Sirasana)
- Dwi pada Viparta Dandasana-cross bolsters
- Janu Sirasana
- Baddha Konasana
- Upavistha Konasana
- Salamba Sarvangasana
- Halasana
- Janu Sirasana
- Savasana
- Pranayama- Ujjayi 1, 11, Viloma, 1, 11
Yoga sequences for periods: questions people ask
Where are the free yoga sequences for each stage of a period?
They are on this page, in four lists: the days before your period (premenstrual tension), the first two or three days, towards the end of your period, and after your period. Click a pose sketch to enlarge it. The sequences come from the teaching of Geeta Iyengar.
Which yoga poses suit the first days of a period?
The first two or three days use lying and seated poses with support, such as Supta Baddha Konasana, supported forward bends, supported Setu Bandha Sarvangasana and Savasana. The emphasis is on resting and doing less, especially when the flow is heavy.
Should I avoid upside-down poses during my period?
Yes, the sequences here leave out inversions (upside-down poses) during menstruation. Supported poses, such as Setu Bandha Sarvangasana over a bolster, are used instead. Inversions return in the days before and after your period, as the lists show.
What yoga can I do before my period starts?
The premenstrual list is for the days of tension, tiredness and mood swings before a period. It has opening poses such as Baddha Konasana and Supta Buddha Konasana, forward bends, supported back bends, and breathing practice (Ujjayi and Viloma).
Can I do standing poses during my period?
Sometimes. If your period is normal, you have no health problems such as cysts, fibroids or heavy bleeding, and you are not tired, you can add standing poses with the support of a wall, a ledge or a rail. There is no jumping in or out of poses.
Do I need props for these sequences?
Props make them easier and more restful. You will use bolsters, blocks, a chair and a wall. At home, folded blankets and a kitchen chair can stand in. See how to improvise yoga props. In the Flametree studios, props are supplied.
Where can I learn these poses in Darwin?
Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga at Woolner and Coolalinga in Darwin, and live online. Start with the beginner yoga deal and see the beginner timetable for times. For women’s classes, see Women’s Wellness yoga.
Try yoga for painful periods and more
Yoga helps every stage of a woman’s life, including for menstruation, pre-menopause, menopause, and post-menopause years.
When I started yoga, after many years of difficult menstruations, my menstrual issues eased a great deal. I also had very few menopause issues.
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