I’ve put together a brief suggestion of breathing for a woman’s cycle.
Pretty much all breathing studies are done on men as women’s hormone cycles interfere with the results.
Since training with Oxygen Advantage and Conscious Breathing I’ve been mapping my hormones and CO2 levels.
It’s not a simple process as I’m definitely well into perimenopause so I can’t rely on my 28 day cycle like I used to, but the progesterone spike before my flow definitely reduces my CO2 tolerance, making me more breathless, anxious, irritable, etc.
As I’ve posted before, low CO2 tolerance can show up in a range of symptoms which all look like PMT.
So I’ve been playing around with altitude training all the way through the cycle but intensely before the progesterone rises and I can honesty say my PMT symptoms have massively reduced.
If a CP/BOLT score is low all through the cycle and then drops before flow then the symptoms will be much more dramatic than if CP/BOLT score is high enough to buffer for that every month.
Which is why we feel it worse when we are stressed because we are most likely over breathing so it drops CO2 levels and increases symptoms.
Humming breath 5in,5out to calm the nervous system and improve HRV during PMT is also excellent and studies have shown this also opens and clears nasal cavities.
During the flow to ease the cramps the deep diaphragmatic breath holds make a difference, as is being able to breath deeply into the womb without pushing down. Or gentle breath holds in child’s for the back cramps.
And working up to ovulation, the hormones and energy levels are perfect for some breath of fire or wim hoff.
Knowing your cycle and your breath is empowering. If you practice yoga regularly it’s important to adjust your breathing with your cycle.
