For most of my twenties I treated my body like a machine that occasionally inconvenienced me with a period. I went to the same hot class on the same day every week, and one week in four I'd wonder why my body felt like it was made of wet sand. It turns out it was made of wet sand, on purpose, and I just hadn't been told.
There's now a respectable body of research on how the menstrual cycle changes resting metabolic rate, body temperature, insulin sensitivity, joint laxity and recovery capacity, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published an excellent 2020 consensus piece on training around the cycle which is worth a read if you want the science (Elliott-Sale et al., BJSM, 2020). The short version: the body is not the same body all month, and pretending otherwise costs you energy.
Here's how I think about the four phases on the mat. None of this is prescriptive, your cycle is yours and the only person who knows what it wants is you.
Menstruation (days 1-5, roughly). Energy is lowest. Body temperature drops. Iron stores are depleting. This is not the week for a 90-minute hot class, in my experience, although some women feel marvellous on day three and that's fine. I'd lean into Yin, Restore, and slow Hatha. Avoid strong inversions (shoulder stand, headstand), this is more tradition than science but a lot of teachers, including me, find it intuitively right.
Follicular (days 6-14, roughly). Oestrogen is rising. Energy comes back. This is your strong week. Hot Flow, Vinyasa, longer holds, learning new postures, attempting things you've been working towards. Your nervous system is more resilient to stress, your recovery is faster.
Ovulation (day 14, roughly). Peak energy for many women. Also the window where joint laxity is highest, because of an oestrogen-driven shift in collagen (Wojtys et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2002). So, strong yes. Hypermobile-into-the-splits, no. This is the week to feel powerful without chasing range.
Luteal (days 15-28, roughly). Progesterone rises, body temperature is up by about 0.3°C, sleep is often poorer, premenstrual symptoms build. Hot rooms can feel harder this week, that's not in your head, your baseline is already elevated. Shorten the hot classes, lean more into strength-based Vinyasa and Yin. Hydrate more than usual.
A few practical notes from the studio:
- If you're tracking your cycle and want to plan classes around it, the Mindbody app lets you book and cancel up to two hours before, so you can move things around without losing credits. - Tampons and cups are absolutely fine in a hot room. There is no medical reason to skip class on the basis of menstruation alone. - If your periods are unusually heavy, painful, irregular or absent, that's worth a GP conversation, not a self-managed yoga programme. Endometriosis, PCOS and iron deficiency are common and very treatable.
The mat is a beautiful place to learn this kind of attention. After a few months of practising with the cycle instead of against it, most women I know say the same thing: the bad weeks got less bad, and the good weeks got noticeably better.
, Linzy
Linzy has been teaching yoga in Manchester for over twenty years. She founded Deansgate Haus in 2024. Drop in to one of her Wednesday Hot Flow classes if you'd like to ask anything from this post in person.
