A four-week yoga course to help you feel calmer, stronger and more comfortable through perimenopause and menopause.

Each week combines yoga movement with breathing, relaxation and simple, evidence-informed education, helping you better understand what's happening in your body, including understanding changes in your sleep patterns, mood and energy plus hot flushes, anxiety, brain fog, aches and pains and - importantly - give you practical ways to support yourself.

You can expect to learn practices to help:

• manage stress, anxiety and overwhelm

• improve sleep duration and quality

• release physical tension and stiffness

• find ways to respond to heat and restlessness

• feel more connected to, and accepting of, your changing body

• build a simple toolbox of practices you can use at home

The yoga itself will vary from week to week. Some sessions will include flowing movement and strengthening poses, while others will focus more on gentle movement, breathing, restorative yoga and deep relaxation.

You do not need to be flexible, fit or experienced in yoga to join us. This course is suitable for women experiencing perimenopause, menopause or postmenopause who would like a practical and supportive way to look after their body and mind during this stage of life.

- The details -

Tuesdays 08.09 - 29.09

18:30 - 19:30

The Wellness Room, Harrogate Ladies College

- About Holly -

Hi! I’m Holly, and I will be your teacher for our Yoga for Stress Relief course. I’ve been practicing yoga for nearly 20 years now (I can’t quite believe I’m saying that!), and don’t know what I’d do without it.

For the past couple of years I've been using yoga to manage menopause symptoms, plus the acceptance of entering this particularly challenging time in a woman's life (well at least for me) at 39. I've also buried my head in research and now, I can't wait to share the findings, information and practices with you.

I love to teach anyone that needs yoga at that point in their life, and by that I mean (I really mean) you do not need any previous yoga experience, any certain level of flexibility, posh leggings etc. Come as you are. I can't wait to work with you!

- What you get -

All equipment is provided for free, but you're welcome to bring your own if you'd like. Plus, following each week, you'll receive a recap of that week's education, along with a free practice that you can follow as much as you'd like to. All this is yours to keep forever!

Over four weeks we'll explore:

- Week 1: Stress & the nervous system -

Why can stress suddenly feel harder to cope with during menopause?

We'll explore what's changing in the brain and nervous system, alongside movement and breathing practices to help reduce tension, regulate stress and create a greater sense of calm.

- Week 2: Sleep, heat & rest -

We'll look at why sleep duration and quality can change during menopause and explore practical ways to support rest and recovery.

The practice will include gentle movement, breathing and restorative yoga, with tools you can return to when you're tired, restless or struggling to wind down.

- Week 3: Strength & your changing body -

A more active week exploring why maintaining strength, balance and mobility becomes increasingly important during and after menopause.

We'll use accessible strengthening and weight-bearing yoga poses to help you feel capable and confident in your body, with plenty of options to make the practice work for you.

- Week 4: Mood & your menopause toolbox -

Our final week brings everything together. We'll explore how movement, breathing, mindfulness and relaxation can support mood and emotional regulation, before creating your own menopause toolbox: a collection of simple practices you can choose from depending on what you need that day.

You'll leave with a better understanding of your changing body and, most importantly, practical things you can actually do to support yourself.