Summary: Our hormones reflect the subtle balance between Yin and Yang.
Sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone) belong to Yin: they nourish, restore, and stabilize.
Stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol) are Yang: they activate, protect, and mobilize.
When stress becomes chronic, the fire of Yang consumes Yin, creating fatigue, insomnia, and hormonal imbalance.
Restoring Yin is essential at every stage of a woman’s life.
Restorative Yoga, by activating the parasympathetic system, offers a simple and powerful way to regain this harmony and support hormonal health.


Yin and Yang are not abstract concepts: they are embodied in every cell, every hormone, every breath.
When these two forces complement each other, energy flows freely, the body is nourished, and the mind is at peace.
But when stress takes over, Yin is depleted and hormonal balance falters.
At that point, reconnecting with deep rest is no longer a luxury, but an intimate medicine that restores life’s natural flow within us.

Two fundamental forces that animate life

  • Yang: the principle of energy, action, transformation.

  • Yin: the principle of nourishment, construction, stability.

Yang drives us to act, create, and transform.
Yin grounds us, sustains us, and regenerates us.

In the body, every tissue carries both polarities:

  • Yin is the substance — blood, fluids, tissue density.

  • Yang is the movement — heat, energy, metabolism.

Qi and Prana: the energy that flows

Ancient wisdom gave different names to this vital force:

  • In Chinese Medicine it is called Qi.

  • In Ayurveda it is called Prana.

Qi/Prana flows freely when Yin and Yang are in balance ➝ tissues are nourished, the mind is calm, the body is healthy.
But if one force dominates — too much Yang, too little Yin (or the reverse) — energy stagnates. Fatigue, anxiety, and even illness may appear.

Yin & Yang in our hormones

This dialogue is also inscribed in our hormones:

  • Sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone) belong to Yin: they nourish, regenerate, support fertility, the skin, the brain, the bones.

  • Stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol) belong to Yang: they activate, mobilize, protect in times of danger.

These forces accompany us through every stage of life:

  • Adolescence, when sex hormones awaken.

  • Motherhood, when the body devotes itself to nourishing and protecting.

  • Active life, when stress can dominate and drain our resources.

  • Menopause, when the Yin/Yang balance reshapes itself in a new way.

The importance of Yin

Estrogen and progesterone are not only reproductive hormones.
They are true Yin nurturers: they lubricate, soften, and soothe in depth.
They are found everywhere in the body: bones, skin, mucous membranes, brain, heart.

When Yin is depleted — especially under the effect of stress — the signs appear: persistent fatigue, dryness, irritability, sleep disturbances, low desire.
Nourishing Yin — with rest, restorative sleep, a vibrant diet, and calming relationships — then becomes essential, at every stage of a woman’s life.

Stress plays a decisive role in this imbalance.
In acute situations, it is vital: adrenaline and cortisol protect us, give us the impulse to react.
But when it becomes chronic, the fire of Yang gradually consumes our Yin reserves.
The body may even divert progesterone to produce more cortisol, creating a vicious cycle that destabilizes the entire hormonal balance.

How to restore balance

The key is not to eliminate Yang, but to replenish Yin.
And this requires a simple, often forgotten medicine: deep rest.

Restorative Yoga then becomes a precious ally.
With its gentleness, it invites the body to activate the parasympathetic system — the natural brake on stress that allows us to release tension and find calm.
In this space of stillness, stress hormones rebalance, Yin tissues are nourished, and the whole organism can return to harmony.

In the end, Yin and Yang are nothing more than the two polarities that run through all life.
Our hormones embody this constant dialogue.
But when chronic stress dominates, Yang flares up and consumes Yin, leaving us tired, irritable, depleted.

That is why nourishing Yin is essential at every age: with quality sleep, vital nourishment, supportive relationships… and above all, the gift of deep rest.

Want to Take Your Practice or Teaching Further?

Join my online Restorative yoga training to learn the Foundations of Restorative Yoga (10 hours).