Improved Sexual Performance: Benefits of Practicing Yoga
The internet is brimming with wellness blogs promoting yoga as the key to a heavenly sex life. Many personal accounts corroborate these claims, some even referring to yoga as life-altering. But does science back these statements? Let's investigate.
You've heard of yoga's numerous health benefits, ranging from alleviating depression to managing diabetes. But the real question is: Can practicing downward dog and tree pose make your love life better? We delve in.
Yoga and women's sexual function
One often-cited study, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, claims yoga can indeed enhance female sexual function, particularly in women over 45. Over a 12-week period, 40 women self-reported on their sexual function pre- and post-yoga sessions. Afterward, their sexual function had improved across all sections of the Female Sexual Function Index, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Approximately 75 percent of the women reported an improvement in their overall sex life.
The women learned 22 poses, rumored to enhance core strength, improve digestion, strengthen the pelvic floor, and boost mood. Included were the triangle pose (trestonasana), the snake (bhujangasana), and half spinal twist (ardha matsyendra mudra). The full list can be found here.
Yoga and men's sexual function
Men aren't left out of the pleasure loop. A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, found that a 12-week yoga program significantly improved male sexual satisfaction as measured by the standard Male Sexual Quotient. Their improvements included desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
A comparable study by the same team discovered that yoga could serve as a nonpharmacological alternative for treating premature ejaculation, using poses such as Kapalbhati (sitting with a crossed-leg position, chest open, eyes closed, and abdominal muscles contracted) and the bow pose (dhanurasana).
Yoga's secrets for blissful sex
But how does yoga spice up sex? Research led by the University of British Columbia sheds light on yoga's sex-enhancing mechanisms. They found that yoga regulates attention, lowers anxiety and stress, and modifies the nervous system, all directly linked to improvements in sexual response. Plus, its psychological effects encourage increased sexual responsibility and assertiveness.
One intriguing concept is Moola bandha, a perineal contraction that stimulates the pelvic region, promoting parasympathetic activity. Studies suggest that it eases period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women while treating premature ejaculation and testosterone secretion in men.
The power of the moola bandha
While stories about awakening blocked energy and moving "kundalini energy" may sound far-fetched, concepts like Moola bandha might stay grounded for skeptics. Other yogic ideas could make sense, and incorporating them into your routine may bring surprising benefits.
How conclusive is the evidence?
With all this talk of improved sex lives, it's essential to remember the contrast between empirical and anecdotal evidence. The internet buzzes with testimonials, but the number of actual studies on yoga's impact on sexual function remains limited. Most studies are small-scale, lack control groups, and produce mixed results.
However, more recent studies on women with sexual dysfunction and additional health conditions show stronger evidence. Additionally, combining yoga with treatment for metabolic syndrome yielded significant improvement in arousal and lubrication, suggesting yoga may be an effective treatment for sexual dysfunction alongside metabolic risk factors.
More research is needed to confirm yoga's direct influence on sexual function and to establish clear causality and efficacy. Until then, the potential benefits are worth exploring, and you never know what your pelvic muscles might thank you for.
- The study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that practicing yoga can enhance female sexual function in women over 45, particularly in the areas of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain.
- A study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav found that a 12-week yoga program significantly improved male sexual satisfaction, impacting desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
- Research led by the University of British Columbia suggests that yoga regulates attention, lowers anxiety and stress, and modifies the nervous system, all directly linked to improvements in sexual response, encouraging increased sexual responsibility and assertiveness.
