# Yoga for cramps

> Gentle stretches for painful days

Category: Movement & sleep · 2 min read · Written by the Splash team · Sources checked October 2026
URL: https://splash.care/learn/movement-sleep/yoga-for-cramps

## Quick answer

- Gentle exercise, including yoga, is an NHS-suggested step for period pain.
- Early research on yoga for cramps is promising but preliminary.
- Severe or worsening pain needs a GP check.

Rolling around on a mat might be the last thing you feel like doing with [cramps](https://splash.care/learn/period-care/cramp-relief). But gentle movement is one of the NHS's suggested self-help steps for period pain, and yoga is a lovely low-key way to do it.

A 2018 review of 14 studies (8 trials and 6 other studies) found yoga was linked to less pain and a better quality of life for people with [Dysmenorrhoea](https://splash.care/learn/glossary#dysmenorrhoea). The studies were mostly small and of moderate quality, so the authors called the results preliminary. The Cochrane review of [exercise](https://splash.care/learn/period-care/exercise-on-period) for period pain also counted low-intensity exercise such as yoga. Promising, not magic.

## Poses to try

- **Child's pose:** knees wide, forehead down, arms forward or by your sides. Breathe into your back.
- **Cat-cow:** on all fours, slowly arch and round your back.
- **Supine twist:** lie on your back, drop both knees to one side, then the other.
- **Reclined butterfly:** lie back, soles of feet together, knees falling open. Pop cushions under your knees.
- **Legs up the wall:** rest your legs up a wall and just breathe.

Not on the floor? The NHS has free pilates and yoga videos, including beginner and chair-based sessions. Seated or lying-down versions count just as much.

> **Splash says:** combine poses with a hot water bottle on your tummy and slow belly breathing. Ten minutes of cosy calm.

**Myth:** You should not do inversions on your period.

**Fact:** We found no good evidence that gentle inversions are harmful during your period. If something feels uncomfortable, skip it. You are the expert on your body.

### When to see a doctor

See a GP if period pain stops you doing everyday things, painkillers do not help, pain is getting worse, or you have pain during sex or between periods. This could be a sign of a condition like endometriosis.

## Sources

1. [NHS: Period pain](https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/period-pain/)
2. [McGovern & Cheung (2018) Yoga and quality of life in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29902363/)
3. [Armour et al. (2019) Exercise for dysmenorrhoea, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews](https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD004142_exercise-dysmenorrhoea)
4. [NHS: Pilates and yoga exercise videos](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/pilates-and-yoga/)

This is general information, not medical advice. Splash can’t diagnose. If you’re worried, talk to a GP, pharmacist or sexual health clinic. In an emergency call 999 (UK) or 911 (US).