PMS is more than a bad mood.
The condition, which is linked to your menstrual cycle, is a group of symptoms some women experience in the days or weeks leading up to their periods.
Food cravings are a start, but more serious conditions include mood swings, tender breasts, fatigue, irritability and depression. Women may also notice gastrointestinal discomfort by way of constipation, diarrhea, nausea, water retention and gas.
Period pain can be so severe, one expert even likened it to having a heart attack!
In this week's episode of Fit Bites, yoga instructor Rachelle Wintzen shares three easy yoga poses to relieve PMS pain.
Starting with a camel pose, Wintzen leans her head and chest back while kneeling and reaching for her heels. This stretch opens up the chest, relieving anxiety, stress and fatigue. It also helps stretch the groin and abdomen, which can tense up when you experience cramping.
Locust pose is another stretch that massages the abdomen and reproductive organs, eliminating cramps caused by muscle contractions that help the body push out menstrual blood.
Mild cramps are a completely normal part of menstruation, but more severe pain could be a sign of another condition like primary dysmenorrhea or endometriosis, both of which aren't easily treated by over-the-counter pain medications.
To learn more about your period and PMS, check out the slideshow below.
In our series Fit Bites, we look to fitness and well-being experts for three exercises to relieve common pains and ailments. What condition would you like to see us tackle next? Shoot us an email at CanadaLiving@huffingtonpost.com or let us know in the comments below.
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