Bad Yogi Blog

These are the best poses for when you have cramps on your period or during the days leading up to that time. I know it feels counter-intuitive to move when you’d rather stay curled in bed, but trust me, these will help!

Gentle movement and yoga is actually really good for that discomfort and these are poses you can do anywhere. You can even do them right in bed if you really wanted 🙂

1. Modified Kneeling Lunge
There’s something about the wide stance and letting the hands come down that really releases some of the pressure in the back. Step your front foot wider than you normally would for a low lunge and turn the toes out to the diagonal just slightly. Let the hands come down to the floor or onto blocks for extra support. Let the pelvis drop nice and low and try to relax.

2. Yoga Squat
Come to a nice low yoga squat or “hindi” squat. Keep the feet wide, hips low, and turn the toes out slightly so you don’t feel any strain in the knees. I like to hold this for 1-minute at a time where I alternate between the next pose…

3. Child’s pose
I LOVE child’s pose. Again, keep the knees nice and wide so you have lots of space to let the chest walk forward. You should feel comfortable, so really allow the hips to sit back towards the heels. Let gooooo of all that muscular tension you’d use to “grip” in the hips or back when you’re in pain and relax instead.

4. Supine Twists.
Keep these nice and easy. For this, it’s less about doing the deepest twist you know how, and more about treating it as a gentle massage for the insides. Try to keep your hips in line with your shoulders and the chest facing up. Let the neck stay neutral, so look in whichever direction that feels best.

5. Happy baby
And last but not least, Happy Baby 🙂 Feel free to grab your ankles and let the knees bent and fall open to the sides for a less intense variation. Really focus on lengthening the lower back and softening the belly.

Of course there’s plenty more, but these require minimal to zero warm-up and can be done by any level because they’re easily modified.

Over to you! What are your go-to poses? Do you always fall back on yoga, or do you do something else to ease discomfort? I always feel better when I make myself do a little something rather than staying still. How about you?

Download our free yoga form guide — over 50 yoga poses broken down with pictures.