Strengthening Your Intimacy: Unveiling Yoga's Impact on Sexual Health
New Article:
Unraveling the Connection: Yoga and Your Sex Life
Sit back, relax, and join us as we explore the juicy intersection of yoga and your bedroom adventures.
The world wide web is bursting with wellness blogs extolling the virtues of yoga for a hotter sex life, supported by firsthand accounts of improved sexual encounters - sometimes to titillating degrees. But does science back up these claims? Let's find out!
Embracing the Power of Yoga
From depression to anxiety and metabolic syndrome, today's research is revealing the myriad health benefits of the ancient practice of yoga. Among these benefits, we find lower inflammatory responses, stress reduction, improved mood, and increased brain growth - yummy!
But can yoga's yummy poses translate into a more satisfying sex life? Let's dig a little deeper.
Yoga and Women's Sexual Health
One study, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, suggests that yoga may indeed enhance sexual function for women (particularly those aged 45 and up). Following a 12-week yoga regimen, these ladies reported significant improvements in desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain levels, with 75% of the participants reveling in improved sex lives.
The 40 participants learned 22 poses (or yogasanas) that are said to strengthen the pelvic floor, improve digestion, and boost core abdominal muscles. Poses included trikonasana (triangle pose), bhujangasana (snake pose), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist). Need the complete list? Check it out here.
Yoga and Men's Sexual Health
Men, don't despair! A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, found that a 12-week yoga program created an impressive improvement in male sexual satisfaction. The participants reported a significant boost across all aspects of male sexual satiation: desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
Additionally, a comparative trial conducted by the same team revealed that yoga is a viable and non-pharmaceutical alternative for treating premature ejaculation – bravo, yogis! This study employed 15 yoga poses, from the easier Kapalbhati to the more complex dhanurasana (bow pose).
Why Yoga for Better Sex?
So, how does yoga work its magic between the sheets? A review of existing literature by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) sheds some light. This research team discovered that yoga regulates attention, breathing, and stress levels, and activates the rest-and-digest response, which is linked to improved sexual response.
For women, regular yoga practice may lead to a greater awareness of their bodies, fostering increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desires. Yogic concepts like the moola bandha further boost these benefits by promoting relaxation, parasympathetic function, and pelvic and gonadal innervation.
The Strength of the Evidence
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga are undeniably alluring, it's important to remember that the body of empirical, or scientific, evidence is relatively small, and most studies have yet to include a control group. As the plant cultivates, we anticipate further unveiling of yoga's secrets and the transformation of our pelvic muscles (and more!) – stay tuned!
- The various health benefits of yoga, including lower inflammation, stress reduction, improved mood, and increased brain growth, might also contribute to a more satisfying sex life.
- Intriguingly, one study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that a 12-week yoga regimen improved sexual function for women, particularly those aged 45 and up, as they reported significant improvements in desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain levels.
- Even men can experience benefits, as a 12-week yoga program led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav improved male sexual satisfaction across all aspects, making it a viable and non-pharmaceutical alternative for treating premature ejaculation.
