A study published in Menopause International found:
"Yoga is effective in reducing menopausal symptoms, and should be considered as alternative therapy for the management of menopausal symptoms."
A prospective, controlled, randomized and interventional study, published in Menopause International, found yoga can effectively relieve menopausal symptoms. All the participants were not on hormone therapy.
Researchers at NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences and Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, in India, assigned 180 menopausal women to a yoga group or no treatment (control) group for three months. Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaires evaluating menopause symptoms and health-related quality of life were obtained from the participants on the first and last days of the study.
The yoga group participated in daily one-hour yoga practice for three months. The yoga program included yoga poses, yoga breathing and meditation.
The researchers found that MRS scores were similar in both groups on day 1. By day 90 MRS scores showed the yoga group had significant improvement in menopausal symptoms, and no changes in the control group.
"Yoga is effective in reducing menopausal symptoms," the study authors conclude. It "should be considered as alternative therapy for the management of menopausal symptoms."