For healthy exercise, de-stressing, or to ease an aching back these are just a few of the reasons we practice yoga. A recent SheSpeaks poll reveals that 32% of our members do yoga and another 43% would like to give it a try.

A new study reported about in the journal of Menopause reveals why many of us could really benefit from more yoga in our lives.

The women involved in the study were all postmenopausal and suffering from insomnia, a common symptom for those going through menopause. Researchers split the women up into 3 groups. One group received no treatment, one group did stretches, and the other practiced yoga twice a week.

After 4 months, the women involved in the yoga group reported the fewest menopausal symptoms and problems like hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, anxiety, and irritability. The women who had no treatment rated their symptoms 13.7 on a scale from 0 to 28 (with 28 being the most severe), whereas the yoga group felt their symptoms were much less severe with an average rating of 9.7.

One of the study’s authors, Dr. Helena Hachul, told Reuters Health, “We are not saying that yoga can cure postmenopausal symptoms. But it can improve and relieve them.”

A nursing school student studying alternative therapies, Catherine Booth-LaForce, told Reuters she recommends women take a yoga class once a week and do it in their homes for 15 minutes each day.

Do you do yoga? What sorts of benefits do you get from practicing yoga?

If you’ve never tried yoga before, would you consider trying it to relieve symptoms from menopause?