Enhanced Sexual Function Through Yoga: An Overview of Its Advantages

Enhanced Sexual Performance through Yoga Practice: Insights into the Impact of Yoga on Sexual Health

Rewritten Article:

The internet brims with wellness blogs touting yoga for a better sex life, while personal accounts abound on the practice improving sexual experiences - and sometimes, rather dramatically. But does the science back up these claims? Let's dive in.

In the modern world, research continues to decipher the myriad health perks of the ancient practice of yoga.

From helping combat stress, depression, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems, to lowering the body's inflammatory response and boosting a protein crucial for brain growth, there's a lot to love about yoga.

Recent findings shed light on the intricate mechanisms behind these benefits.

Turns out, yoga's magic includes lowering cortisol levels, fighting the genetic expression that predisposes people to stress, and supercharging a protein that helps keep the brain young and healthy. Plus, it just feels darn good. And hey, if rumors of the mythical coregasm during yoga are true, it can feel awesome!

Getting in touch with our bodies can provide a replenishing, restorative, and physically pleasurable experience. But can yoga's yummy poses elevate our sex lives? Let's examine the research.

Sexual Bliss for Women Over 45

One often-talked-about study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that, indeed, yoga can boost sexual function - particularly in women over the age of 45.

Over a 12-week period, 40 women over 45 self-reported on their sexual function before and after participating in yoga sessions. By the end, their sexual function had significantly improved across the board on the Female Sexual Function Index – desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain.

About 75% of the women reported improvements in their sex life after the yoga training. The women practiced 22 poses, or yogasanas, believed to strengthen core abdominal muscles, improve digestion, strengthen the pelvic floor, and elevate mood – including trikonasana (the triangle pose), bhujangasana (the snake), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist). Check 'em out here.

Sexual Satisfaction for Men

Not just for the ladies, yoga offers benefits for the menfolk too. A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, looked at the effects of a 12-week yoga program on the sexual satisfaction of men.

At the end of the program, the participants reported significant improvements in their sexual function as evaluated by the standard Male Sexual Quotient. The researchers found improvements across all aspects of male sexual satisfaction – desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.

Additionally, a comparative trial carried out by the same team found that yoga is a viable and nonpharmacological alternative to fluoxetine (brand name Prozac) for treating premature ejaculation. The program included 15 yoga poses ranging from the simpler kapalbhati (abdominal contraction) to the more complex dhanurasana (the "bow pose").

Yoga's triangle position found beneficial for enhancing sexual performance, noticeably in elderly females.

Yoga's Sexual Mechanisms

But how exactly does yoga boost our carnal satisfactions? A review of existing literature led by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, helps us unravel 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 regulates our attention, calms our breathing, soothes anxiety, and activates the part of the nervous system associated with relaxation and pleasure. "These effects are all associated with improvements in sexual response," write the reviewers, "so it is reasonable to assume that yoga might improve sexual health."

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 selves," explain Dr. Brotto and her colleagues, "which may be linked to increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desires."

The Magical Moola Bandha

While stories about unblocking energy in root chakras and moving "kundalini energy" through the spine might lack solid scientific evidence, other yogic concepts may make more sense to the skeptics among us. Moola bandha is one such concept.

"Moola bandha is a perineal contraction that stimulates the nervous system in the pelvic region, promoting relaxation and rejuvenation," write Dr. Brotto and her colleagues in their review. "Specifically, moola bandha is thought to directly innervate the gonads and perineal body/cervix." Check out the video below for a practice focused on pelvic floor muscles, which includes this movement:

Some studies quoted by the researchers have suggested that practicing moola bandha can relieve period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women. It's also been linked to treating premature ejaculation and controlling testosterone secretion in men.

Moola bandha is similar to the medically endorsed Kegel exercises, which are known to prevent urinary incontinence and help both men and women enjoy sex for longer. Many sex therapy centers recommend this yoga practice to help women enhance their sexual arousal, which might improve desire and overall sexual experience.

Another yoga pose that strengthens the pelvic floor muscles is called bhekasana, or the "frog pose." This pose may help ease symptoms of vestibulodynia (pain in the vestibule of the vagina) and vaginismus (the involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles that can make sex painful or impossible).

The Limitations of the Evidence

While the potential sexual benefits of yoga can get us overly excited, it's important to remember that the available empirical evidence – aka scientific studies – remains limited compared to the anecdotal evidence floating around the web. But there's definitely something to this yoga thing!

To find out if yoga really can help us achieve those so-called "yogasms," we'll need to wait for more scientific research to confirm or refute the claims. In the meantime, incorporating yoga into our daily routines – with all its stress-reducing, circulation-boosting, and body-awareness benefits – seems like a good idea! Strap on those yoga pants, people – our pelvic muscles are counting on us.

Improving male sexual performance could potentially be enhanced through the practice of the bow pose.

The science behind the claims of improved sexual experiences through yoga is being explored, with research suggesting benefits such as lowered cortisol levels, improved sexual function, and sexual satisfaction for both men and women.
A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that yoga can boost sexual function, particularly in women over 45, with significant improvements reported in desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain.
Another study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav found that a 12-week yoga program improved male sexual function, with significant improvements reported in all aspects of male sexual satisfaction.
Yoga's benefits in enhancing sexual health are thought to be due to its regulation of attention, calming of breathing, reduction of anxiety, and activation of the relaxation and pleasure nervous system.
Moola bandha, a yogic concept involving a perineal contraction, is believed to promote relaxation, rejuvenation, and directly innervate the gonads and perineal body/cervix, potentially relieving period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties.
Incorporating yoga into daily routines with its stress-reducing, circulation-boosting, and body-awareness benefits is suggested, while more scientific research is needed to confirm the potential sexual benefits of yoga.