Bengaluru: Nowadays, there has been a rise in cases of women of reproductive age who are falling prey to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and health experts claim it is due to stress and unhealthy lifestyles that they lead. Doctors claim that it is now one of the common ailments they come across among women in the out patients department.
Many women are now avoiding allopathy and taking up alternate therapies such as yoga, zumba, aerobics, and other physical activists to combat PCOS.
“Many women, including teenagers, these days are facing this problem. We see a lot of people practising yoga these days to fight PCOS,” said Dr Deepak B. Hadagali, Consultant Ayurvedic and Yoga physician at Alloveda, BRAINS Neuro Spine centre.
PCOS is a hormonal disorder caused due to unhealthy food habits, low physical activity and high-stress levels, say experts.
Dr Deepak said Surya Namaskar, Kapalbhati, and many other asanas impact internal glands where the cyst is formed.
“Yoga is a much better option because it connects mind and body. In a significant amount of cases now, women are avoiding allopathy due to side effects and also because sometimes they don’t get proper treatment as well,” he added.
Eighteen-year-old Keerthi (name changed) was put on lifestyle modification by doctors after she was presented with Bilateral PCOS associated with the metabolic disorders - altered blood sugars, elevated lipid profile and disturbed menstrual cycle. She has adopted yoga from the past couple of months and is slowly recovering.
Delayed or temporary discontinuation in periods, excess weight, facial hair growth, acne and reduced fertility are some of the symptoms of PCOS.
Doctors also pointed out that the instances of hormonal disorders among teenagers are on the rise. Dr Lavanya Kiran, Consultant-OBG, Reproductive Medicine, Robotic Surgeon at Narayana Health City said that she gets to see at least 20-30 women with PCOS aged between 18-40 years, in a month, out of which 20% are teenagers.
To battle PCOS, yoga regulates the mind and body thus promoting balance in hormones, said Grand Master Akshar, founder Akshar Yoga. He also added, “The root cause of PCOS is stress. Everywhere we are witnessing people under stress. Not only among the elder generation but mostly among the millennials, thus causing problems like depression and PCOS. The fact can't be denied, that more and more people are getting affected because of stress.”
He also said through Pranayama (breathing exercise) and the meditation techniques of yoga, a calm mind can help achieve a state of deep relaxation. “This decreases stress hormones like cortisol to keep weight gain in check. Yoga balances out glucose metabolism and blood lipid levels as well,” he added.
