Enhanced Sexual Well-being Through Yoga: Insight into its Positive Impacts
Welcome to the tantalizing world of yoga, the ancient practice that's been linked to improved sex lives. A quickly expanding treasure trove of wellness blogs talk about the sweet connection, while personal experiences echo these claims – some even suggest a mind-blowing impact on bedroom satisfaction. But does science back up these stories? Let's dive in and find out.
Nowadays, studies are unraveling the numerous health perks of yoga. From quashing depression and anxiety to taming metabolic syndrome and thwarting diabetes, the versatility of this time-honored practice knows no bounds.
Researchers have scratched beneath the surface to better understand the workings behind these advantages. One intriguing revelation: yoga lessens your body's inflammatory response, really gets to the root of stress, and amps up the brain-boosting protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). All in all, it feels bloomin' marvelous – and, in some extreme cases, it's said to unleash the legendary phenomenon known as coregasm during yoga.
Feeling connected to your body can offer a replenishing, restorative, and pleasurable experience. But can yoga's sensual poses enhance our love lives? Let's take a peek at the science.
Yoga Shakes Up Female Pleasure
One illustrious study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that yoga can indeed uplift female sexual satisfaction – particularly for those aged 45 and over.
The study centered around 40 women who self-reported their sexual function before and after a 12-week yoga regimen. After the 12-week stretch, their sexual function dramatically improved across all sectors of the Female Sexual Function Index: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. A whopping 75 percent of the ladies reported a vast improvement in their bedroom antics after the yoga training session.
These women lashed their way through 22 poses, including trikonasana (the triangle stance), bhujangasana (the snake stretch), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist), with the complete list of asanas available here.
Yoga Turns Up the Heat for Men
Men don't miss out either! A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, probed the effects of a 12-week yoga program on the sexual satisfaction of men. By the study's end, the volunteers reported a significant improvement in their sexual performance, as measured by the standard Male Sexual Quotient.
Scrutiny of myriad aspects of male sexual satisfaction, including desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm, revealed encouraging results across the board. Additionally, a comparative trial conducted by the same research team discovered that yoga is a feasible and nonpharmacological alternative to prescription drug Prozac for treating premature ejaculation.
Yoga's Sexual Mechanisms
But how exactly does yoga bring the heat to the bedroom? A review of existing literature led by researchers at the University of British Columbia's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology helps clarify some of the sex-enhancing mechanisms at play.
Dr. Lori Brotto, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC, spearheaded the review. Dr. Brotto and her colleagues explain that yoga modulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and pacifies the nervous system to promote relaxation.
"All these effects are associated with improvements in sexual response," write the reviewers, suggesting that yoga may well be linked to improvements in sexual health. Furthermore, there's psychological ground to this connection: "Female yoga practitioners have been found to be less likely to objectify their bodies and more aware of their physical selves," according to the study authors. "This tendency may be associated with increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and, perhaps, desires."
The Allure of Moola Bandha
While stories about unleashing dormant energy in root chakras and escalating kundalini energy up and down the spine to induce orgasms void of climax lack solid scientific validation, other yogic concepts garner more credibility with the skeptics among us. Moola bandha is one such concept.
"Moola bandha stimulates the sensory-motor and the autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, thereby enforcing parasympathetic activity in the body," explained Dr. Brotto and her colleagues in their review. "Specifically, moola bandha activates the gonads and perineal body/cervix." The video below blends this movement into a pelvic floor toning practice.
Several studies cited by the researchers have hinted at moola bandha not only alleviating period pain and childbirth discomfort in women but also easing sexual difficulties and controlling testosterone secretion in men.
In essence, moola bandha resembles the contemporary Kegel exercises, thought to prevent urinary incontinence and help individuals (of all genders) prolong sexual activity. Indeed, many sex therapy clinics advocate moola bandha to boost women's awareness of their sensations of arousal in the genital area, ultimately enhancing desire and the sexual experience.
Another yoga pose that strengthens the pelvic floor muscles is bhekasana, or the "frog pose." Additionally, it may help soothe the symptoms of vestibulodynia – pain in the vestibule of the vagina – and vaginismus, the involuntary tightening of the vaginal muscles that thwarts penetrative sexual intercourse in women.
The Reliability of Evidence
As delightful as the prospect of "yoga orgasms" may seem, it's important to appreciate the vast chasm between the substantial pile of anecdotal evidence and the relatively meager heap of experimental evidence. The web teems with heaps of the former, yet the studies that have examined the benefits of yoga for sexual function remain scant.
In addition, many of the aforementioned studies – including those demonstrating enhancements in sexual satisfaction and function for both men and women – boast small sample sizes and lack control groups. However, studies that concentrated on women with sexual dysfunction in conjunction with other conditions have generated more robust evidence in recent times.
For example, a randomized controlled trial assessed the effects of yoga on women with metabolic syndrome, a demographic with an elevated risk of sexual dysfunction. The 12-week yoga program delivered "significant enhancement" in arousal and lubrication for these women – improvements that were not observed in the women who did not participate in yoga. Improvements in blood pressure were also documented, leading the researchers to conclude that "yoga may serve as a viable treatment for sexual dysfunction in women with metabolic syndrome, as well as for metabolic risk factors."
In a randomized controlled trial for women with multiple sclerosis, the participants underwent 3 months of yoga training consisting of weekly sessions. Crucially, women in the yoga group exhibited improvements in physical ability and sexual function, while women in the control group experienced worsened symptoms.
"Yoga techniques may bolster the physical abilities and sexual satisfaction of women with multiple sclerosis," the study concluded.
So, while the evidence supporting yoga's benefits for sexual function is still taking shape, the foundations are most definitely laid. Stay tuned for future research as we explore whether yogasm is in fact a real, achievable phenomenon – until then, the advantages to incorporating yoga into our daily routines are plentiful and well worth exploring.
All hail the healing power of yoga – a practice that, in the name of good sex, can only do us (and our pelvic muscles) a world of good!
- The study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that yoga can improve female sexual satisfaction, particularly for those aged 40 and above, after a 12-week yoga regimen.
- A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav found that a 12-week yoga program improved the sexual satisfaction of men, as measured by the Male Sexual Quotient.
- Researchers at the University of British Columbia's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology explained that yoga modulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and relaxes the nervous system, all of which are associated with improvements in sexual response.
- Moola bandha, a yogic concept, activates the gonads and perineal body/cervix, stimulating the sensory-motor and autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, thereby enforcing parasympathetic activity in the body and potentially enhancing sexual function.
