Ask a room of women about period pain and you will hear two kinds of stories. Some describe cramps a hot water bottle and a quiet day can manage. Others describe years of being told their pain was normal, only to discover much later that it was not.
The reporting on this is sobering, and it comes from around the world. In 2024, The Guardian covered a UK study in which women with endometriosis described being told their symptoms were “all in their head”; some gave up seeking care entirely. In Ireland, a 2026 national survey reported by RTE found that diagnosed women had waited an average of 14 and a half years for confirmation of the disease, and nearly one in five had seen more than ten doctors before being diagnosed. More than half of those first misdiagnosed had been told they simply had “normal period pain”.
Before talking about where yoga might fit, we need to be honest about something: “period pain” is not one thing. PCOS, endometriosis and painful periods are different conditions. They can overlap in the same person, and lumping them together is part of how women end up with poor advice.
Three different conditions
Doctors divide painful periods into two kinds. In primary dysmenorrhea, the pain comes from the cramping of the uterus itself, with no underlying disease; it often begins in the teenage years. In secondary dysmenorrhea, the pain is driven by another condition. The UK’s National Health Service lists endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids and pelvic infection among the possible causes, and advises seeing a doctor when periods become more painful, heavier or irregular, or when pain stops you from living your normal life. That distinction matters, because persistent or worsening period pain is worth investigating rather than enduring.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body. Its pain may not follow the rhythm of the period at all, and as the newspaper investigations above show, diagnosis can take years.
PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, is different again. According to the US Office on Women’s Health, it is a hormonal imbalance with metabolic effects that affects roughly 1 in 10 women of childbearing age; irregular or missed periods and higher levels of androgens are among its hallmarks.
What research has found about yoga and PCOS
Because PCOS is hormonal and metabolic, researchers have asked whether a mind-body practice could move those markers, not just ease stress. One randomised controlled trial, published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association in 2020, assigned women with PCOS to a mindful yoga group (one-hour classes, three times a week, for three months) or to no intervention. Among the women who completed the program, pre- and post-intervention comparisons found significantly lower free testosterone levels, along with improved anxiety and depression scores. Notably, the hormonal change appeared without weight loss, which matters because women with PCOS are often told weight loss is the only lever they have.
The limits deserve equal billing. The study was small: 31 women enrolled, 22 completed, and the headline results come from within-group before-and-after comparisons in that group. It is an encouraging signal, not an answer.
What research has found about yoga and endometriosis
The most-cited trial here comes from Brazil. In a randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2017, 40 women with endometriosis were split into a yoga group (28 women, 90-minute sessions twice a week for eight weeks) and a non-yoga group (12 women). Daily pain was significantly lower in the yoga group than in the comparison group by the end of the study, and several quality-of-life measures differed between the groups over time. Quality of life improved within both groups, and menstrual patterns did not differ between them.
Forty women cannot settle a medical question, and larger trials are still needed. But for a condition where women are so often told nothing can be done, even a small trial is worth knowing about.
What research has found about yoga and painful periods
For primary dysmenorrhea, the evidence pool is larger. A 2024 network meta-analysis in the journal Sports Medicine – Open combined 29 randomised controlled trials with 1,808 participants, comparing different forms of exercise for menstrual pain. It found that the exercise types studied, including yoga, reduced pain intensity compared with no exercise after eight weeks. Relaxation exercises came out strongest; yoga was one helpful option among several, not a standout winner.
That framing is honest and useful. Yoga is not magic for period pain. It is one of several movement-based approaches that, in the studies we have so far, many women have found helpful.
What this does and does not mean
Research has not shown that yoga cures any of these conditions, and no responsible teacher should claim otherwise. Yoga is not a substitute for diagnosis, medication or surgery, and the first step for pain that disrupts your life is medical care, from someone who takes you seriously. You are entitled to that.
Where yoga may fit is alongside that care, as an adjunct. Anyone living with pain or a medical condition should approach practice with a qualified teacher, adapted to her own body, and in conversation with her clinician where needed.
If you would like to explore yoga as a supportive practice, the programs at hellomyyoga are one place to begin.
Your pain has a name. It deserves investigation, and it deserves support. Both can be true at once.
Sources and further reading
Research and clinical references
- NHS (UK), “Period pain” (causes of painful periods, including endometriosis and fibroids, and when to see a doctor): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/period-pain/
- Office on Women’s Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, “Polycystic ovary syndrome” (definition, prevalence and features of PCOS): https://womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/polycystic-ovary-syndrome
- Patel V. et al., “Regular Mindful Yoga Practice as a Method to Improve Androgen Levels in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Randomized, Controlled Trial,” Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (2020; 31 women enrolled, 22 completed): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32285088/
- Goncalves A.V., Barros N.F., Bahamondes L., “The Practice of Hatha Yoga for the Treatment of Pain Associated with Endometriosis,” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2017; randomised trial of 40 women): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27869485/
- Tsai I-C. et al., “Comparative Effectiveness of Different Exercises for Reducing Pain Intensity in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials,” Sports Medicine – Open (2024; 29 trials, 1,808 participants): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40798-024-00718-4
News reporting
- The Guardian (UK), “‘Gaslit by doctors’: UK women with endometriosis told it is ‘all in their head'” (2024): https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/21/gaslit-by-doctors-uk-women-with-endometriosis-told-it-is-all-in-their-head
- RTE Investigates (Ireland), “Endometriosis survey finds 14-year average wait for diagnosis” (2026): https://www.rte.ie/news/investigations-unit/2026/1007/1594097-endometriosis-survey-reveals-14-year-average-wait-for-diagnosis/
