7 Essential Pilates Moves for Menopause - By Experts

Menopause can be an exciting and challenging time in our lives. Our hormones fluctuate and decline, bringing on symptoms such as hot flashes, and sleep disruption, while our bone density declines.

Meanwhile, we also embrace the positive elements, such as no more periods, and relief of menstrual symptoms, which, let’s face it, are well overdue.

Menopause is dreaded by many, however, it is a time for growth, discovery, and stepping out of your comfort zone. Our symptoms and physiological changes push. The change appetite and rising inflammation lead to the exploration of nutrition. While the threat of decreased muscle mass and bone density leads us to become more active.

One thing in particular that has helped many women during menopause is Pilates. A gentle, methodical, and energizing form of exercise that not only aids in muscle and bone but revitalizes our body and mind so we can launch into the next chapter of our lives.

In this article, we discuss the benefits of Pilates for menopause. We cover the seven best Pilates moves to ease menopause symptoms, including how to perform them, the benefits, and more.

Why Pilates is Beneficial for Women Going Through Menopause

Menopause alters our physiology in ways we never thought possible. From the outside many of us understand the cessation of menstrual cycling, but few of us understand its impacts on the body’s systems, tissue, and mental health.

To help you understand the impact of menopause, here is a list of common symptoms:

• Hot Flashes
• Night Sweats
• Mood Swings
• Anxiety and Depression
• Wrinkling Skin
• Sleep Issues and Insomnia
• Increased Inflammation
• Joint Aches
• Increase Appetite
• Weight Gain
• Impaired Cognitive Function
• Increased Risk of Chronic Illness
• Vaginal Dryness
• Bloating

The lack of exercise has always been linked to declines in health, including the loss of muscle and bone mass while increasing the risk of obesity and chronic illness. All very real negative outcomes that can come with menopause.

Then it is only logical that exercise and physical activity can enhance our health, or better yet treat the symptoms of menopause.

Moreover, menopause is a time when we feel like we have little control over our bodies. Pilates can help us regain a sense of control and empowerment as we strengthen our bones, muscles, and joints.

Below we detail why Pilates is beneficial for women going through menopause.

Decreases Inflammation & Menopause Symptoms

Pilates can be a powerful tool for decreasing inflammation during menopause. Reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone have anti-inflammatory properties. However, when we enter menopause, they decline, leading to inflammation in the body, which brings on symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, joint pain, digestive issues, and skin changes.

Pilates and physical activity can reduce inflammation within the body, helping to alleviate joint pain, night sweats, and hot flashes. Furthermore, exercise is strongly associated with a decrease in obesity, metabolic disorders, and chronic disease, all of which become a risk when entering menopause.

Benefits for Bone Health

Pilates can be used to increase bone density, joint mobility, and flexibility. During menopause, the decline of reproductive hormones can impact bone mineral density. This can be a major negative outcome, leading to osteoporosis (age-related bone loss), frailty, falls, and fractures. Having a global impact, it results in approximately 8.9 million fractures annually, leading to loss of function, and independence.

A major determinant of bone health is mechanical stimulus, which comes in the form of gravity and resistance. This can be applied through resistance training and daily activities.

Pilates is a gentle form of exercise that uses both gravity and resistance which can increase bone mineral density. This enables us to preserve bone health, function, and independence.

Builds and Preserves Muscle Mass

Pilates utilizes full-body movements which can build and preserve lean muscle mass. Postmenopausal women can experience decreased lean muscle mass, this is potentially due to a decrease in estrogen, muscle protein turnover, and the degeneration of cells.

Building lean muscle occurs when muscle protein synthesis is greater than muscle protein breakdown. This can be achieved through resistance training and the consumption of dietary protein.

Pilates can apply resistance to our muscles, helping preserve and build lean muscle. Its gentle full-body movements can help improve functional movement. This improves movement efficiency which can preserve bone mineral density, longevity, and independence.

Enhances Joint Mobility, and Flexibility

Pilates can be used to preserve and improve joint health. During menopause, our rising inflammation levels not only affect our bodily systems, it can also impact our joint health.

Sadly, the years we begin to experience the symptoms of menopause coincide with the onset of osteoarthritis, a condition that alters the joint capsule, cartilage, and bone within a joint, resulting in bone and cartilage overgrowth. This leads to joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and reduced range of motion and mobility, which can lead to a greater injury risk.

Optimal joint function requires a combination of joint mobility, strong connective tissue, and functional and flexible muscle mass. This enables our body to move efficiently.

Pilates consists of holds, stretches, and controlled movements to end ranges of motion, which results in strengthening muscles, improved flexibility, and joint mobility. This allows stronger and more efficient movement patterns.

Stress Relief, Improve Mood, and Brain Function

Pilates’ slow and methodical exercises are excellent for decreasing stress. Many people in menopause can experience stress, anxiety, depression, and poor cognitive function. Fortunately, Pilates has a profound effect on mood and cognitive function.

Pilates exercise requires concentration to perform movements and engage target muscles, requiring us to be present. This helps to reduce stress, fatigue, and mood while eliciting motivation and a sense of achievement.

Furthermore, exercise in general has been linked to improvements in cognitive function. By adding Pilate to your routine, we can improve mental well-being and Brain function.

Improve Sleep

Pilates can be used to alleviate menopause-related sleep issues. Sleep problems are a major issue during menopause as the decline in estrogen impacts melatonin levels. During this time, symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and anxiety may also contribute to irritability and restlessness, making it difficult to relax and fall asleep.

Pilates has been shown to improve sleep quality and quality of life. This is potentially due to its ability to promote relaxation and reduce stress, and cortisol levels. Furthermore, its positive impact on inflammation can reduce symptoms such as joint aches, hot flashes, and night sweats.

7 Pilates Moves to Help with Menopause Symptoms

From the list of benefits, Pilates profoundly affects physical and mental health. Below are seven Pilates moves to help with menopause.

The Hundred

A classic Pilates exercise, the hundred is a breathing-focused exercise that strengthens the core. Named for its breath count, it requires us to perform 10 sets of 10 repetitions, inhaling for 5 counts, then exhaling for five counts, equaling one set. This is completed 10 times, totaling the hundred.

The hundred serves as a great warm-up exercise, engaging the core, increasing blood flow to working muscles, and connecting with your breath. This helps us become present, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety, while the core contraction increases strength and improves bone density.

How To Perform the Hundred

• Lie on your back on the mat.
• Bring your knees to your chest and your head, neck, and shoulders off the mat.
• Allow your arms to rest at your sides, and lift them off the floor to abdominal height.
• Brace your core muscles
• With your legs together, straighten them, and set them at a 45-degree angle.
• Position your heels together and turn your toes outward.
• Begin pumping your arms up and down.
• Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts. This equals one set.
• Complete for 10 sets

Benefits

• Warms up muscles, and increases blood flow to working muscles.
• Activates core muscles
• Breathing helps you become present

Single Leg Stretch

The single-leg is a full-body exercise that targets the core, quadriceps, and hip flexors while lengthening the hamstrings and glutes.

Every time we bring the knee to the chest, we stretch the glute. Meanwhile, the crunch position and straightened leg undergo an isometric contraction (muscle contracts, but does not lengthen), which can improve muscle growth and tendon health.

This is particularly useful during menopause, enabling us to improve flexibility and mobility while strengthening muscles and joints.

How To Perform The Single Leg Stretch

• Lie on your back on the mat, and curl your head, neck, and shoulder off the mat.
• With your legs straight, lift them off the mat to a 30-degree angle.
• Tense your core muscles, and bring one knee to your chest while keeping the other leg straight.
• Place the same side hand on the ankle and the opposite side hand on the knee.
• Aim to keep your knee in line with your cheekbone.
• Release and lengthen the leg with your toes pointed.
• Once your legs meet in the lengthened position, switch legs.
• Alternate for the designated number of repetitions.

Benefits

• Strengthens core and legs.
• Improve flexibility, mobility, and joint health.

Leg Circles

The leg circle is a simple and effective movement that engages the core, hip flexors, and quadriceps. The use of gravity as resistance combined with the circular motion stabilizes the hips while building strength, and increasing flexibility and mobility.

These enhancements are fantastic during menopause, allowing us to improve muscle strength, joint mobility, and improving function.

How To Perform Leg Circles

• Lie on your back on your mat and position your hands by your side, palms face down.
• Tense your core muscles and lift one leg so it is vertical.
• Point your toes toward the sky and rotate your legs outward so your heels point toward the midline of your body.
• Begin by crossing the leg across the body, circling down toward the toes, out toward the same, and returning it to the vertical position.
• Keep your pelvis on the mat at all times.
• Complete all repetitions, then switch sides.

Benefits

• Improves hip stability
• Increase strength, flexibility, and mobility

Roll Up

The roll-up is an abdominal exercise that aims to increase core strength while segmentally mobilizing the spine. Using nothing but a mat and our body weight for resistance, this exercise is great for actively mobilizing the spinal and improving strength, and function.

While it may appear simple at first glance, it can increase core stability while mobilizing to strengthen our backs and reduce joint restriction. This is great for individuals suffering form menopause-related joint pain and muscle aches.

How To Perform The Roll Up

• Lie on your mat with your legs straight.
• Lift your arms so they are vertically pointed toward the ceiling over your shoulders.
• Take a deep breath, breathe out, and simultaneously tense your core muscles.
• As you breathe out, curl your chin to your chest, and roll your back up off the floor.
• Once you have curled to the upright position, continue curling and reach your arms forward.
• Pause for a moment, inhale, then exhale, and roll back down to the mat.

Benefits

• Improve core strength
• Enhances spinal mobility

Bridge

A staple for many Pilates routines, the bridge engages the glute, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core. Like other exercises on this list, it contains isometric holds, which increase muscle mass, and improve tendon health, while being an excellent glute activator.

This can be incredible during menopause. As mentioned, menopause can come with joint aches and pain, and for many this manifests around the back, hips, and knees. Adding the glute bridge to your routine can strengthen your glutes, leading to reduced pain, and improved quality of life.

How To Perform The Bridge

• Lie on your back, bend your knees, and firmly plant your feet on the floor.
• Tense your core muscles, lift your hips until your torso and thigh are in line.
• Hold for your desired duration and then lower back to the floor.

Benefits

• Strengthen glutes, hamstrings, glutes
• Strengthens tendons and joints
• Can reduce joint pain, and improve function, and quality of life.

Prone Press

Strong glutes, back, and core are essential during menopause, helping us maintain posture, improve function, and potentially reduce lower back pain. Pilates exercises that engage the core, align posture, and improve body awareness can reduce lower back pain.

This is welcome news to anyone who suffers from back pain, which is commonly found in women with significant menopause symptoms and an increase in inflammation.

Performed on the floor, the prone press uses an isometric hold to engage the glute and lower back. This is an incredibly safe movement, that allows us to simply stop and lie flat on the floor if we experience pain.

How To Perform The Prone Press

• Lie face down on your mat, with your chin off the floor, and your palms by your sides at chest height.
• Breathe out and gently press your palms into the floor, so your elbows are pushing back as you lift your chest off the floor.
• Keeping your lower ribs on the floor, lift until your gaze meets the top the mat.
• Once you reach the top, lower your chest back to the floor.

Benefits

• Activates and engages the back and glutes
• Strength posture and reduces lower back pain

Pilates Saw

The Pilates saw is incredible for developing core strength and function. Stacking movements such as extension, rotation, and flexions, it strengthens, the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, obliques, and back extensions. This combined with breathing work improves trunk and spinal stability while improving abdominal fitness.

During menopause, the Pilates saw can be used to maintain spinal mobility, while forging a strong core. This enhances our body awareness and movement efficiency, which can be carried over into daily living activities including posture, lifting objects, bending forward, and rotating our torso.

How To Perform The Pilates Saw

• Sit upright on your mat with your legs straight.
• Position your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed toward the ceiling.
• Lift your arms out to the side so they are parallel to the floor.
• Breathe in and rotate your left side forward while maintaining an upright position while keeping your pelvis in place.
• Continue to rotate, crossing your left hand across your right leg, and lean forward with your right hand reaching behind you.
• Breathe in, return to the upright position, and rotate back to the beginning position.
• Alternate sides for the duration of the set.

Benefits

• Strengthens core muscles.
• Improve core function and stability.

How to Incorporate Pilates Into Your Menopause Routine

Navigating menopause can be difficult. The push to navigate through poor sleep, fatigue, and brain fog can make it challenging to even think about picking up an exercise routine. However, we assure you that it is not only possible, but it can help boost your energy, and mental clarity, and lead to a night of better sleep.

Below we discuss how to incorporate Pilates into your menopause routine.

Frequency and Duration of Pilates Workouts

Amid fatigue and brain fog, it can be difficult to find the time and energy to start an exercise routine. To make this achievable, we recommend starting with two 20 to 30-minute Pilates sessions weekly.

Starting with two, shorter sessions will help get the ball rolling, enabling you to get into routine. As you log your sessions, you will start to feel improvements in strength, energy levels, and mental clarity, giving you that boost to extend your sessions or add additional sessions.

If performing Pilates sessions at home is difficult and you believe you require the accountability of a trained professional we suggest one-on-one sessions or a group class. These will help you form a good routine. Furthermore, they can be great for meeting new people and providing us with social interaction.

Modifications for Different Fitness Levels

Like any form of exercise, routines should be altered to suit your fitness level by changing duration, repetitions, sets, and exercise difficulty.

The exercises above largely consist of beginner-level exercises. To increase their difficulty we can simply increase duration, sets, and repetitions, or progress movements to more advanced versions. For example, the single-leg stretch can become the double-leg stretch, requiring great core strength. The bridge can be made more difficult by using single legs and adding a marching movement.

Each exercise can be modified to suit any fitness level, ensuring that you are always overloading muscle tissue, and challenging yourself for continued growth.

Combining Pilates with Other Low-Impact Activities

Low-impact exercises such as walking, cycling, and rowing are excellent ways to supplement your Pilates training. While Pilates is sufficient for improving our fitness and alleviating the symptoms of menopause, there is always room to continue challenging ourselves.

We recommend adding two to three, 20 to 30-minute sessions each week to your training schedule. Whether this is a gentle walk or an intense spin bike session, it will help you de-stress, and improve your fitness.

Safety Tips for Doing Pilates During Menopause

Pilates is an incredibly safe and gentle form of exercise, however, during menopause, we should still take precautions to reduce the risk of injury.

Below is a list of safety tips for doing Pilates during menopause.

Listening to Your Body

When you are performing your Pilates routine, always listen to your body. While the movement is safe, menopause symptoms and pre-existing health conditions such as muscle aches and pains can make some movements challenging.

For example, while leg circles are simple to perform, if you struggle with lower back pain you may find it difficult to lift and lower the leg without aggravating your spine and surrounding muscles.

If you are experiencing abdominal pain, you may want to avoid the prone press as it can place pressure on the abdomen.

Listening to your body will not only help you avoid injury, but it can also improve self-awareness and mind body connection.

Avoiding Strain on Joints

Pilates gentle flow is excellent for improving joint mobility and muscle flexibility. However, like all forms of exercise it can lead to injury.

During each movement, careful balance is required to challenge flexibility and joint range of motion without causing damage.

The key is ease into each movement, with the expectation of felling tension within the muscle, and joints. If your begin to feel pain, pull back.

Furthermore, if you are in a class, go at your own pace and avoid try to ‘keep up’. This will help reduce risk of injury.

Recapitulaion: How Pilates Can Support Your Menopause Journey

Our transition and journey through menopause can be an challenging and exciting time. Fluctuating hormones lead to symptoms such night sweats, hot flashes, impaired sleep, anxiety, stress, joint paid, and decline in bone mineral density can negatively impact our life.

This calls us to search for answer. Answer that will not only educate us on your health, but reveal a new version of ourselves.

Pilates can be a part of this discovery. This gentle, methodical form of exercise that strengths the core, and joints can remedy the physical and mental impact of menopause, improving our quality of life.

The benefits of Pilates during menopause include:

• Decrease Inflammation and Menopause Symptoms
• Maintains Bone Mineral Density
• Builds and Preserves Muscle Mass
• Enhances Joint Mobility and Flexibility
• Decrease Stress and Anxiety
• Boost Brain Function
• Improves Sleep

If you are considering trying our seven Pilate exercise for menopause, we recommend following our instructions closely, focusing on technique. Start by performing two session per week, alongside two low-impact cardio sessions.

By following these guidelines will help you strengthen you muscle, bones, and joints, while reducing menopause symptoms, and boosting mental clarity.

Take on these small steps and your will be well on your way to enhancing your overall health and wellbeing.

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