Can Yoga Support You Through Menopause? What the Research Says...

Menopause can bring a whole host of changes.

For some women it’s disrupted sleep. For others it’s anxiety, low mood, fluctuating energy levels, aches and pains, or simply feeling less like themselves than they used to.

As both a yoga teacher and someone training in nutrition, I’m always interested in approaches that support the whole person rather than focusing on just one symptom. So I was pleased to come across a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that looked at whether yoga can help women during menopause.

The review analysed 24 randomised controlled trials involving more than 2,000 women and found that yoga was associated with improvements across several areas of health and wellbeing.

What Improvements Did The Researchers Find?

Women who practised yoga experienced improvements in:

• Overall menopausal symptoms

• Sleep quality

• Anxiety and depressive symptoms

• Physical and psychological symptoms

• Urogenital symptoms

• Blood pressure

• Body mass index (BMI)

That’s a fairly broad range of benefits, which isn’t surprising when we consider that yoga isn’t just exercise.

A regular yoga practice can combine movement, breathwork, relaxation and mindfulness. Each of these can support wellbeing in different ways, and together they may help women navigate some of the physical and emotional challenges that can accompany menopause.

Yoga Isn’t A Magic Fix

One of the things I appreciated about this review is that it didn’t overstate the benefits.

The researchers found that yoga did not significantly improve hot flushes or overall quality of life scores when compared with usual care.

That’s important to acknowledge.

We live in a world where wellness is often marketed as a cure for everything. The reality is usually more nuanced.

Yoga is not a replacement for medical care, hormone therapy, strength training, good nutrition or other forms of support. But it may be a valuable addition to them.

Why I Think Yoga Can Be So Helpful

What stands out to me is that menopause rarely affects just one area of life.

Poor sleep can impact mood. Increased stress can affect energy levels. Anxiety can influence motivation, confidence and relationships. Physical symptoms can make it harder to move regularly or feel comfortable in your own body.

Everything is connected.

This is one reason why practices like yoga can be so supportive. Rather than targeting a single symptom, yoga offers an opportunity to slow down, reconnect with your body, move in a way that feels good, and create moments of calm in what can sometimes feel like a challenging transition.

For many women, that alone can be incredibly valuable.

A Wellbeing-First Approach To Menopause

The message I take from this research isn’t that every woman should start doing yoga to “fix” menopause.

It’s that consistent, supportive movement appears to be one of the tools that can help women feel better during this phase of life.

Menopause is a significant transition, and there is rarely one solution that addresses everything. The most helpful approach is often one that looks at the bigger picture: movement, nutrition, sleep, stress management, recovery, social connection and appropriate medical support when needed.

Yoga can be a meaningful part of that picture.

Not because it makes menopause disappear, but because it supports the body and mind through change.

And sometimes that’s exactly what we need.

Reference

Wang H, Liu Y, Kwok JYY, Xu F, Li R, Tang J, Tang S, Sun M. The effectiveness of yoga on menopausal symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2025;161:104928.