Improved Sexual Function through Yoga Practice: Discover the Health Benefits
Revised Article:
Hey there! Let's dive into the juicy world of yoga and its reported effects on sexual well-being. You may have come across a bunch of blogs claiming yoga can transform your bedroom antics - we're here to find out if these claims hold any water.
Modern science is just starting to crack the code on yoga's numerous health perks. From battling stress and anxiety to aiding metabolic syndrome and diabetes, it's safe to say yoga's got quite the toolkit.
Recent research has reveals that yoga tackles the body's inflammatory response, dampens stress-inducing genetic expressions, lowers cortisol levels, and fuels a protein that boosts brain growth and keeps it young. On top of all that, it just plain feels damn good! Some even claim that it leads to that mind-blowing, mythical "coregasm" during practice.
With all these benefits under its belt, it's certainly tempting to think that yoga could bring some R-rated benefits to the table. So, let's check if the research backs that up.
Yoga sets fire to the bedroom for women
There's a study that suggests yoga can indeed ignite the passion in the sack, especially for women over 45. This research, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, looked at the impact of 12 weeks of yoga on a group of 40 ladies who shared their bedroom woes.
After the 12-week program, these ladies reported explosive improvements in their sex life across all Female Sexual Function Index categories such as desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. A staggering 75 percent of these women had their sex lives upgraded, thanks to yoga.
The ladies in question received training on 22 yogic postures, including trikonasana (triangle pose), bhujangasana (snake pose), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist), all designed to strengthen core abdominal muscles, boost digestion, reinforce the pelvic floor, and brighten one's mood. You can check out these postures here.
Yoga ignites bedroom pyrotechnics for men, too
It's not just women's pleasure that's improved thanks to yoga. Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, conducted a study investigating the effect of a 12-week yoga program on the bedroom satisfaction of a male-dominated crowd.
By the conclusion of the program, participants experienced a significant enhancement in their sexual function - as evaluated by the standard Male Sexual Quotient. These improvements spanned across aspects such as desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
The researchers behind this pioneering study also discovered that yoga poses offered a viable, nonpharmaceutical alternative to Prozac for treating premature ejaculation. This trial involved males performing 15 yoga poses, ranging from beginner-friendly like Kapalbhati (breathing exercise) to more advanced like dhanurasana (the bow pose).
How does yoga fan the flames of passion?
So, exactly what mechanisms within this ancient practice fuel the fire beneath the sheets? A literature review headed by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, may provide some answers.
Dr. Lori Brotto, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC, spearheaded this review. Brotto and colleagues elucidate that yoga regulates attention and breathing, diminishes anxiety and tension, and eases the body into a state of relaxation. This state, they explain, is linked to improvements in sexual response.
There are also psychological factors at play. According to Brotto and her colleagues, female yoga practitioners are less likely to view their bodies as objects and are more attuned to their physical selves, a trait associated with increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desires.
Moola bandha: The sexual secret weapon within yoga
While tales of unleashing blocked energy in root chakras and generating "kundalini energy" through yoga might lack hardcore scientific evidence, other aspects of the practice are more grounded in reality. Moola bandha is one such concept.
This practice involes contracting the perineal muscles, which stimulates the nervous system in the pelvic region and triggers parasympathetic activity in the body, say Brotto and her colleagues. Moola bandha even innervates the gonads and pelvic floor/cervix. Some studies suggest that practicing this technique relieves menstrual pain, childbirth pain, sexual difficulties in women, and helps control testosterone secretion in men.
Intriguingly, moola bandha is not unlike the pelvic floor exercises currently recommended by medical professionals to prevent urinary incontinence and prolong sexual encounters for both men and women. Many sex therapy centers also recommend moola bandha to help women become more aware of their feelings of arousal in their genital area, thereby boosting desire and pleasure.
Another yoga pose that strengthens the pelvic floor muscles is bhekasana, or the "frog pose." This pose could help relieve symptoms of vestibulodynia, pain in the vestibule of the vagina, and vaginismus, an involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles that hinders women from enjoying intercourse.
How solid is the evidence backing yoga's sexual benefits?
While news of yoga's passionate powers might make you hot under the collar, it's important to remember the vast difference between scientific, empirical evidence and anecdotal accounts. The internet is brimming with personal tales, but readable studies focusing on the sexual benefits of yoga remain scarce.
Most of the studies that have reported improvements in sexual satisfaction and function for both men and women have a relatively small sample size and lack a control group. However, more recently conducted studies that focused on women with existing sexual dysfunction along with other conditions have offered stronger evidence.
For instance, a randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of yoga on women with metabolic syndrome, a group with a higher risk of sexual dysfunction. This study revealed "significant improvements" in arousal and lubrication for the women who practiced yoga, unlike their counterparts who did not engage in the practice.
Another randomized study examined the impacts of yoga on the sexual lives of women living with multiple sclerosis. Participants underwent a 3-month training program involving eight weekly sessions. Encouragingly, the ladies in the yoga group demonstrated improved physical ability and sexual function, while their counterparts in the control group saw a worsening of symptoms.
In a nutshell, while it's exciting to imagine that the phenomenon of "yogasms" is a real and achievable thing, a solid body of research is still needed to support these claims. In the meantime, we propose rolling out the yoga mat and exploring its potential benefits for ourselves - we promise our pelvic muscles will thank us!
- The health benefits of yoga extend to sexual well-being, with recent studies suggesting improvements in sexual function for both men and women.
- In a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, women over 45 who completed a 12-week yoga program experienced significant improvements in various aspects of their sex life.
- For men, a 12-week yoga program was found to enhance sexual function, with improvements spanning across aspects like desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, and orgasm.
- Moola bandha, a yoga practice involving the contraction of the perineal muscles, stimulates the nervous system in the pelvic region and triggers parasympathetic activity, potentially aiding sexual function and controlling testosterone secretion.
- While research supporting yoga's sexual benefits is still limited, studies on women with metabolic syndrome and multiple sclerosis have shown significant improvements in sexual function for those who practice yoga.
