Improved Sexual Function through Yoga Practice: Explore the Advantages and Techniques
The interweb is flooded with wellness blogs advocating yoga for a better bedraggled life, and personal tales of its practice boosting the bedroom experience - quite impressively, might I add. But does science back up these claims? Let's dive in and find out.
Nowadays, scientists are finally peeling back the layers of the ancient practice of yoga to reveal its numerous health perks. These include combating depression, stress, and anxiety, among others, and even tackling more complex issues like metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems.
Research shows that yoga works Somehow, yoga lowers the body's inflammatory response, challenges the genetic expression that leads folks to stress, reduces cortisol, and boosts a protein that keeps the brain young and healthy. On top of all that, it just feels blooming fantastic. And, let's not forget about the infamous coregasm during yoga - if the grapevine is to be believed.
Getting in tune with our bods can be rejuvenating, restorative, and downright pleasurable. But can yoga's sexy postures really improve our love lives? Let's explore the research.
Yoga lifts the libido in ladies
There's a famous study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine that suggests yoga can indeed uplift sexual function – particularly in ladies aged 45 and up.
The research looked at the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on 40 women who reported on their sexual function before and after the yoga sessions. Following 12 weeks, the ladies' sexual function had significantly improved across all sections of the Female Sexual Function Index: "desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain."
A whopping 75 percent of the ladies reported an improvement in their sex lives post-yoga training. The entire exercise regimen included 22 poses, or yogasanas, meant to strengthen the core, improve digestion, fortify the pelvic floor, and enhance mood. Some moves included trikonasana (the triangle pose), bhujangasana (the snake), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist). You can access the full list here.
Yoga turbocharges the tango for men
Yoga doesn't cater solely to the fairer sex. A similar study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav – a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India – examined the effects of a 12-week yoga program on the sexual satisfaction of men.
At the study’s end, the participants reported a notable enhancement in their sexual function, as gauged by the standard Male Sexual Quotient. The scientists discovered improvements across all aspects of male sexual satisfaction: "desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, [and] orgasm."
In addition, a comparative trial carried out by the same team of researchers found that yoga is a practical and nonpharmacological alternative to fluoxetine (Prozac) for treating premature ejaculation. The trial included 15 yoga poses, ranging from the easy Kapalbhati (which involves sitting with your back straight, chest open, eyes closed, hands on knees, and contracted abdominal muscles) to the more complex dhanurasana (the "bow pose").
Yogic tricks for a better roll in the hay
So, how does yoga enhance one's carnal capers, exactly? A review of existing literature led by researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, helps us uncover some of its seductive secrets.
Dr. Lori Brotto – a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC – is the first author of the review.
Dr. Brotto and colleagues explain that yoga regulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and tinkers with the nervous system to induce relaxation.
"All of these effects are tied to improvements in sexual response," write the researchers, implying that - you guessed it – yoga might also be associated with sexual health improvements.
The reviewers also point out that psychological mechanisms are at play. "Female yoga practitioners are less likely to objectify their bodies," claim Dr. Brotto and her colleagues, "and more aware of their physical selves."
"This awareness, in turn, might be linked to increased sexual responsibility and assertiveness, and presumably sexual longing."
The charm of the moola bandha
While stories about unleashing blocked energy in root chakras and moving "kundalini energy" up and down the spine to reach orgasm-inducing states lack scientific heft, other yogic concepts might nudge the skeptics to reconsider yoga's sexy side. Moola bandha is one such concept.
"Moola bandha is a perineal contraction that sets off the sensory-motor and the autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, leading the body to activate parasympathetic activity," write Dr. Brotto and her colleagues in their review.
"Specifically, moola bandha targets the gonads and the perineal body/cervix." The video below integrates the move into a practice for pelvic floor muscles.
Some studies cited by the researchers have suggested that practicing moola bandha alleviates period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as treating premature ejaculation and controlling testosterone secretion in men.
Moola bandha is akin to the modern, clinical-recommended Kegel exercises, thought to prevent urinary incontinence and help both women and men enjoy thehorizontal tango for longer.
In fact, many sex therapy centers endorse this yoga practice to help women gain a heightened awareness of their arousal sensations in the genital area, thus improving desire and satisfaction.
"[M]oola bandha stretches the muscles of the pelvic floor, [...] balances, stimulates, and rejuvenates the area through techniques that increase awareness and circulation," explain Dr. Brotto and her team, citing the work of other researchers.
Another yoga pose that fortifies the pelvic floor muscles is bhekasana, or the "frog pose."
Besides boosting the sexual experience, this pose may help alleviate symptoms of vestibulodynia, pain in the vestibule of the vagina, as well as vaginismus, involuntary contractions of the vaginal muscles that prevent women from participating in penetrative sex.
How reliable is the research?
While it's easy to get carried away by the tantalizing prospect of the sexual benefits of yoga, it's worth keeping in mind the vast expanse between the total amount of empirical, or experimental, evidence, and that of anecdotal, or non-empirical, evidence.
The web teems with the latter, but the studies that have actually tested the benefits of yoga for sexual function remain few and far between.
In addition, most of these studies – which found improvements in sexual satisfaction and function for both men and women – have a modest sample size and didn't include a control group.
However, more recent studies – which focused on women with sexual dysfunction in addition to other conditions – have provided stronger evidence.
For example, a randomized controlled trial examined the effects of yoga in women with metabolic syndrome, a population with a greater chance of sexual dysfunction. For these women, a 12-week yoga program resulted in "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication, while no such improvements were observed in the women who did not practice yoga.
Improvements were also noted in blood pressure, prompting the researchers to conclude that "yoga may be an effective treatment for sexual dysfunction in women with metabolic syndrome as well as for metabolic risk factors."
Another randomized controlled trial looked at the sexual benefits of yoga for women living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The participants underwent 3 months of yoga training, consisting of eight weekly sessions.
Importantly, the women in the yoga group "showed improvement in physical ability" and sexual function, while the women in the control group displayed exacerbated symptoms.
"Yoga techniques may improve physical activities and sexual satisfaction of women with MS," the study paper concluded.
So, while we need more scientific evidence to validate yoga's effects on our love lives, the foundation is definitely there. Until studies confirm whether "yogasms" are a genuine, achievable goal, we believe there's enough reason to give yoga a try – and our pelvic muscles will surely appreciate it.
- The practicing of yoga, as suggested in a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, has shown potential in boosting sexual function, particularly for women aged 45 and above.
- A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav discovered that a 12-week yoga program enhanced the sexual satisfaction of men, resulting in improvements in all aspects of male sexual satisfaction.
- Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that yoga practices like moola bandha and bhekasana, which focus on the pelvic floor muscles, could help alleviate sexual difficulties in both men and women and increase sexual satisfaction.
