Evidence library · Balance and falls

Does yoga affect balance and falls in menopause? What 7 studies found

Studies of yoga in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured balance and falls. 6 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. 32 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis did 12 weeks of conventional exercise with or without added Tree Pose yoga; both groups improved balance measures, with added gains in single-leg stance.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 32 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed

  2. In sedentary middle-aged women, a 6 month Hatha yoga program three times weekly improved body fat, strength, aerobic fitness and balance compared to no training.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 26 weeks · 2020Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed

  3. Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors with joint pain from aromatase inhibitors did twice-weekly yoga for 8 weeks; balance, flexibility, quality of life improved and pain severity decreased.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 8 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 64 timesPubMed

  4. In 16 postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis, 10 weeks of yoga classes reduced pain and depression scores and improved balance, with no significant change in cortisol patterns.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 16 women · 10 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 38 timesPubMed

  5. This narrative review summarized medical literature finding that regular exercise in midlife and postmenopausal women is linked with reduced obesity, cancer, dementia, mood symptoms, and osteoporosis.

    Reported an improvementOther · 2015Midlife womenCited 56 timesPubMed

  6. Thirty-six postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 did 12 weeks of hatha balance flow yoga and showed improved balance, lower-body strength, and upper-body response time versus a control period.

    Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed

  7. Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 did 12 weeks of twice-weekly hatha Balance Flow Yoga and described perceived physical, emotional and social benefits in focus group discussions.

    Direction not statedBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

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