Improved Sexual Function through Yoga Practice
The web buzzes with wellness blogs advocating yoga for a better romantic life, accompanied by personal testimonies claiming enhanced sexual experiences - sometimes to jaw-dropping degrees. But does scientific research support these claims? Let's explore.
Yoga, an ancient practice, has recently been analyzed for its numerous health benefits, such as reducing stress, depression, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid issues.
Recent studies also delve into the more intricate mechanisms behind these health benefits, uncovering that yoga decreases the body's inflammatory response, modifies the stress-related genetic expression, lowers cortisol, and boosts a protein promoting brain growth and health.
On top of its benefits, yoga gives you an incredible sense of inner peace and contentment. Some even claim that it results in a physiologically exhilarating experience not to be missed - the famous so-called "coregasm."
Getting in touch with your body can feel revitalizing, rejuvenating, and highly pleasurable. But can yoga's delightful poses revamp your sex life? Let's investigate.
Yoga enhances sexual function in women
One often-discussed study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine suggests that yoga does, in fact, improve sexual function, particularly in women over 45.
Conducted on 40 women, the study examined the impact of 12 weeks of yoga training on their sexual function, self-evaluated before and after the yoga sessions.
At the end of the 12 weeks, the women's sexual function had significantly improved in all sections of the Female Sexual Function Index, including "desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain."
As many as 75% of the women reported an improvement in their sex life after yoga training.
During the study, all women were trained on 22 poses, such as trikonasana (triangle pose), bhujangasana (snake pose), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist), believed to improve core muscles, digestion, pelvic floor strength, and mood.
Yoga boosts sexual function in men
Yoga is not exclusively for women. A parallel study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, examined the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on the sexual satisfaction of men.
At the end of the study period, the participants reported a significant improvement in their sexual function, evaluated using the standard Male Sexual Quotient.
Researchers discovered improvements across all aspects of male sexual satisfaction, including "desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm."
In a comparative trial carried out by the same team, yoga was found to be a viable, non-pharmacological alternative to fluoxetine (Prozac) for treating premature ejaculation.
It included 15 yoga poses, ranging from easier ones (such as Kapalbhati) to more complex ones (such as dhanurasana, or the "bow pose").
Yoga mechanisms for better sex
How does yoga improve your sex life, exactly? A review of existing literature led by researchers at the University of British Columbia helps us understand some of its sex-enhancing mechanisms.
Dr. Lori Brotto, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC, is the first author of the review.
Dr. Brotto and her colleagues explain that yoga helps regulate attention and breathing, reduces anxiety and stress, and governs the part of the nervous system that encourages the body to rest and digest.
"All these effects are associated with improvements in sexual response," they write, "so it is reasonable that yoga might also be associated with improvements in sexual health."
Psychological mechanisms also play a role. "Female yoga practitioners have been found to be less likely to objectify their bodies," Dr. Brotto and her team explain, "and to be more aware of their physical selves."
"This tendency, in turn, may be associated with increased sexual responsibility and assertiveness, and perhaps sexual desires."
The moola bandha is an essential yogic concept worth mentioning. It is a perineal contraction that stimulates the autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, promoting relaxation.
Some studies quote by the researchers suggest that moola bandha relieves period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as treating premature ejaculation and controlling testosterone secretion in men.
Moola bandha is similar to modern, medically recommended Kegel exercises, which are thought to prevent urinary incontinence and help individuals enjoy sex for longer.
Many sex therapy centers recommend moola bandha to help women become more aware of their sensations of arousal in the genital area, hence improving desire and sexual experience.
Bhekasana, or the "frog pose," is another yoga pose that strengthens the pelvic floor muscles. It may help alleviate symptoms of vestibulodynia, pelvic pain, and vaginismus, a condition characterized by involuntary vaginal muscle contractions hindering penetrative sex.
The reliability of the evidence
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga can be tempting to embrace, it is essential to keep in mind the significant gap between the number of so-called empirical, or experimental, studies and anecdotal evidence available online.
The Internet is saturated with anecdotal testimonies, but scientific studies on yoga's benefits for sexual function remain scarce. Moreover, most of the studies mentioned above have a small sample size and lack a control group.
However, more recent studies focusing on women with sexual dysfunction in combination with other conditions have produced stronger evidence.
For example, a randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of yoga in women with metabolic syndrome, a population at higher risk for sexual dysfunction overall.
For these women, a 12-week yoga program resulted in "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication, improvements that were not seen in the women who did not practice yoga.
Improvements were also found 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 trial examined 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, women in the yoga group "showed improvement in physical ability" and sexual function, "while women in the control group manifested exacerbated symptoms."
"Yoga techniques may improve physical activites and sexual satisfaction function of women with MS," the study paper concluded.
Though more research is needed to definitively support yoga's benefits for your sex life, the groundwork has certainly been laid. While waiting for future research to ascertain the achievability of "yogasms," we believe there's enough reason to try yoga in our daily lives for its undeniable general well-being benefits and, hopefully, its sexual advantages too.
Your pelvic muscles will surely thank you.
- Yoga, an ancient practice, has been analyzed for its effects on sexual health, revealing improvements in sexual function, particularly in women over 45.
- A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that after 12 weeks of yoga training, women's sexual function significantly improved in all sections of the Female Sexual Function Index.
- In a study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, men reported a significant improvement in their sexual function after 12 weeks of yoga, with improvements across all aspects of male sexual satisfaction.
- Yoga may improve sexual health by regulating attention and breathing, reducing anxiety and stress, and promoting rest and digestion.
- The moola bandha, a yogic concept, stimulates the pelvic region, promoting relaxation and potentially relieving symptoms like period pain and sexual difficulties.
- Bhekasana, or the "frog pose," strengthens the pelvic floor muscles and may help alleviate symptoms of vestibulodynia, pelvic pain, and vaginismus.
- While scientific studies on yoga's benefits for sexual function remain scarce, research suggests that yoga may be effective for women with conditions like metabolic syndrome and multiple sclerosis.
- Further research is needed to definitively support yoga's benefits for sexual health, but evidence supports the practice for its general well-being benefits and potentially sexual advantages too.
