Enhancing Sexual Well-being through Yoga Practices: Insights into Sexual Function Improvement
Ready to dive into the steamy world of yoga and sex? Buckle up, because your journey to improved sexual health might just start with a downward dog. Yes, you read that right.
From the halls of ancient India to modern-day blogs, people have been singing the praises of yoga for sex. But you might wonder, is there any science behind these claims? Let's find out.
Yoga, an age-old practice, is known for its incredible health benefits, which range from reducing stress and anxiety to helping manage diabetes and thyroid problems. But what about its effects on your love life?
Now, let's debunk the myth that yoga can give you "yogasms." No, it doesn't involve releasing blocked energy or moving kundalini energy up and down your spine. But here's something that science can back: yoga does improve your sexual function.
For the Ladies over 45
A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine looked at the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on 40 women over 45. After the 12-week session, their sexual function significantly improved across the board: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and even pain. Over 75 percent of the women reported an enhancement in their sex lives thanks to yoga training.
The women were trained on 22 poses, including the triangle pose, the snake, and the half spinal twist. Interested in giving it a shot? Here's a list of all the poses.
For the Fellas
Men don't miss out on the benefits, either. A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist in New Delhi, India, found that a 12-week yoga program significantly improved the sexual satisfaction of men.
At the end of the study, the men reported improvements in desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
The Science Behind It
So, how does yoga improve your sex life? According to a review of existing literature, yoga regulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and triggers the part of the nervous system that tells your body to relax, rest, and digest.
These effects are associated with improved sexual response. Plus, female yoga practitioners are less likely to objectify their bodies and more aware of their physical selves, leading to increased sexual assertiveness and desires.
One concept that deserves attention is moola bandha. It's a perineal contraction that stimulates the nervous system in the pelvic region, enforcing parasympathetic activity in the body. This activity, in turn, can relieve period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as controlling testosterone secretion in men.
Modern, medically recommended pelvic floor exercises, which are thought to prevent urinary incontinence and help with sexual function, are similar to moola bandha. That's why many sex therapy centers recommend this yoga practice to help women become more aware of their sensations of arousal in the genital area.
In fact, research suggests that practicing moola bandha may help ease symptoms of vestibulodynia and vaginismus, two conditions that cause pain in the vestibule of the vagina and involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles, respectively.
So, while the idea of releasing "kundalini energy" might sound like something out of a fantasy novel, evidence supports the beneficial effects of yoga on our sexual lives. As they say, science is steamy, too.
Could It Be Real? The Evidence
It's easy to get carried away by the potential sexual benefits of yoga, but it's important to remember that the amount of experimental evidence pales in comparison to anecdotal evidence. While studies supporting yoga's positive impact on sexual function for both men and women exist, they tend to have small sample sizes and lack control groups.
However, recent studies targeting women with sexual dysfunction in addition to other conditions have yielded stronger evidence. For example, a randomized controlled trial found significant improvement in arousal and lubrication for women with metabolic syndrome who participated in a 12-week yoga program.
And a randomized trial focusing on women with multiple sclerosis found that a 3-month yoga training program improved both their physical ability and sexual function. The study concluded that "yoga techniques may improve physical activities and sexual satisfaction function of women with MS."
So, while we need more scientific investigations to fully understand the sexy side of yoga, the research suggests that embracing yoga could be the key to a more fulfilling sex life. Of course, your pelvic muscles will thank you for it.
Might as well try for yourself! Embracing the journey of yoga could prove incredibly enriching – and your pelvic muscles will definitely say amen.
- The study published in 'The Journal of Sexual Medicine' showed that a 12-week yoga session significantly improved sexual function in women over 45, enhancing their desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and even reducing pain during intercourse.
- Apart from women, men also benefit from incorporating yoga into their routine, as a 12-week study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav found that yoga improved the sexual satisfaction of men, enhancing their desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
- Science suggests that yoga improves sexual function by regulating attention and breathing, lowering anxiety and stress, and stimulating the part of the nervous system that promotes relaxation. This relaxation, in turn, leads to improved sexual response and increased sexual assertiveness in women, while promoting better physical and sexual function in men.
