40. The Yoga Practice Your Hormones Have Been Waiting For

This special replay episode features a timeless and transformative conversation between Kate O’Donnell and Emma Balnaves, senior teacher of Shadow Yoga. Originally released a year ago, this episode continues to resonate with women navigating life’s big transitions—from menstruation to menopause and beyond.

Emma shares wisdom from her decades of daily yoga practice, weaving together Ayurveda, subtle body awareness, and feminine life cycles. You’ll hear her speak frankly about perimenopause, aging, blood health, and how women’s bodies require a different approach to movement, intuition, and rest.

This is more than a yoga conversation—it’s an invitation to evolve your practice with compassion, strength, and ritual.

💫 If you’re listening in real time, you’ll also want to know: Kate and Emma are teaching a Yoga for Women workshop in Boston, September 2025. Details and registration info are linked below!

🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• What Shadow Yoga is—and how it differs from mainstream yoga
• Why menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are each unique opportunities for energetic transformation
• The Ayurvedic importance of blood and reproductive energy across the female lifespan
• How prana, agni, and intuitive awareness shift after 35 (and why it matters)
• Emma’s personal insights on menopause, grief, and spiritual practice
• Tools to support your body during hormonal and energetic transitions
• Why ritual, not rigor, is the real key to a sustainable women’s practice
  
  

👤 Guest Bio: Emma Balnaves

Emma Balnaves is a senior teacher and co-founder of the Shadow Yoga school, an approach to yoga rooted in the ancient principles of Hatha Yoga and the energetic body. For over two decades, Emma has worked with students around the globe, especially women seeking a deeper connection to their practice through seasonal, intuitive, and energetic awareness. Her teachings emphasize self-inquiry, strength from within, and honoring the life cycles we move through—especially for women in midlife and beyond.

🌐 Learn more about Emma’s work: https://shadowyoga.com

📖 Read her article Yoga for Women (linked in Kate’s book and the show notes below)

🔗 Resources & Links

• 🔗 Register for the Yoga for Women Workshop with Kate + Emma (Boston, September 2025): https://shadowyogaboston.com/program.html
• 📄 Yoga for Women article by Emma Balnaves
  
  
• 📘 The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care by Kate O’Donnell
  
  
• 🌐 Shadow Yoga Website: https://shadowyoga.com

📣 Call to Action

Loved this conversation? Share it with a friend or tag @kateodonnell.ayurveda on Instagram with your takeaways.

And if you’re ready to evolve your yoga practice to meet your real life—body, hormones, intuition and all—join Kate and Emma in Boston this September for the Yoga for Women workshop.

This episode is a replay, but its wisdom is more relevant than ever.

⚠️ Health Disclaimer

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Summer Self Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/summer-self-care-workshop  

Summer Bundle:  https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/bundles/SummerBundle

Thanks to our Sponsors:

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