Improved Sexual Function Through Yoga: Understanding Its Advantages
Fresh Take:
Take a plunge into the wild world of wellness blogs and personal anecdotes extolling the virtues of yoga for enhanced, well, fun between the sheets. But is scientific evidence backing up these claims? Let's dive in and find out.
Nowadays, researchers are starting to unlock the numerous health advantages of the ancient yoga practice. Benefits that range from alleviating stress and anxiety to combatting metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems.
Recent studies have even delved into the complex innermworkings of these health benefits, shedding light on fascinating discoveries. It turns out yoga acts on our bodies in several ways, including reducing body inflammation, modifying genetic expression associated with stress, lowering cortisol, and boosting the production of a protein that supports brain growth and health.
The takeaway? Yoga just damn feels good. And there's the tantalizing promise of a Coregasm, should one believe in the legendary yogic long walk to pleasure town.
Tuning into our bodies can leave us feeling replenished, restored, and oh-so-pleasurable. But can yoga's delectable poses transform our bedroom escapades? Let's explore the evidence.
Yoga, baby! Improve your game between the sheets (Mainly for the ladies over 45)
A well-referenced study, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, found a very real link between yoga and improved sexual function for women, especially those over the age of 45. The study monitored the effects of a 12-week yoga program on 40 women who were themselves reporting on their sexual function both before and after the yoga sessions.
Following the 12-week period, these women experienced significant improvements across all sections of the Female Sexual Function Index: "desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain." As many as 75 percent of the women reported an improvement in their sex life after yoga practice.
For the study, each woman was trained in 22 yoga poses considered beneficial for core abdominal muscles, digestion, pelvic floor strength, and overall mood. Some of these poses included trikonasana (aka the triangle posture), bhujangasana (the snake), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist). You can find the full list of these asanas right here.
Yoga, bro! Catch more fish (For the male species)
It might surprise you, but yoga ain't just a ladies' game. An analogous study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist based at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, examined the impact of a 12-week yoga program on the sexual satisfaction of men.
At the end of the program, participants reported significant improvements in their sexual function, as evaluated by the standard Male Sexual Quotient. Researchers found positive change across all aspects of male sexual satisfaction, including "desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm."
In a separate study, the same team found that yoga is a viable and non-pharmacological alternative to fluoxetine (otherwise known as Prozac) for treating premature ejaculation.
This study incorporated 15 yoga poses, ranging from the easier Kapalbhati (sitting with your back straight, opening up your chest, closing your eyes, hands on knees, contracting your abdominal muscles) to the more complex dhanurasana, or the "bow pose."
Mind, body, and pleasure: Yoga's secret sauce
Just how does yoga transform your sex life, exactly? Researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia (UBC), in Vancouver, Canada, help us understand some of the mechanisms behind yoga's sexy wiles.
Dr. Lori Brotto, professor at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC, serves as the first author of the review. Dr. Brotto and her team explain that yoga regulates attention and breathing, eases stress and anxiety, and modulates the nervous system to trigger relaxation responses, including lowering heart rate, which are associated with improved sexual response.
There are also psychological factors at play. Female yoga practitioners have been found to be less likely to objectify their bodies and more aware of their physical self. This heightened awareness, in turn, may encourage sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desire.
Ah, the power of the root (Moola)
Now, let's talk about a yogic concept that might sit well with skeptics: Moola Bandha. Some studies suggest that practicing Moola Bandha relieves period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, and regulates testosterone secretion in men.
The Moola Bandha technique involves contracting the perineal muscles to stimulate the nervous system in the pelvic region, inducing relaxation and balance. A video incorporating this movement into pelvic floor exercise can be accessed right here.
Many sex therapy centers endorse this yoga practice, recommending it to help women better understand their genital sensations of arousal, thus enhancing their desire and sexual experiences. One of theposes that aids the strengthening of the pelvic floor is Bhekasana, or the "frog pose."
The Frog Pose might help alleviate symptoms of vestibulodynia, pain in the vestibule of the vagina, as well as vaginismus, involuntary vaginal muscle spasms that make penetrative sex uncomfortable.
The study of studies: How reliable is this stuff?
When we get all hot and bothered by the tantalizing possibility of a better, more fulfilling sex life through yoga, it's important to remember that the amount of thorough scientific evidence is rather scarce compared to anecdotal evidence found online.
However, newer studies, such as the one focusing on women with sexual dysfunction alongside other conditions, yielded stronger evidence.
This research found that "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication was observed in the women who practiced yoga, whereas such improvements were absent in the non-yoga group. Additional studies have indicated that yoga may be helpful for women struggling with multiple sclerosis, boosting both their physical abilities and sexual satisfaction.
In a nutshell, while the scientific evidence on yoga's impact on sexual health is still relatively limited, the picture seems promising. And as we await further research to clarify if "yogasms" are a real and attainable outcome, there's certainly enough reason to incorporate yoga into our daily lives, and our lovers will thank us for it. Literally.
- The study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine confirms a significant link between yoga and improved sexual function for women, especially those over 45, as indicated by the Female Sexual Function Index.
- An analogous study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav reveals improvements in male sexual satisfaction after a 12-week yoga program, as evaluated by the Male Sexual Quotient.
- Researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, explain that yoga's beneficial impact on sex life stems from regulating attention and breathing, easing stress and anxiety, and modulating the nervous system to trigger relaxation responses.
- Some studies suggest that practicing Moola Bandha, a yogic concept of contracting the perineal muscles, could relieve period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, and regulate testosterone secretion in men.
