Yoga's Impact on Sexual Health: Enhancing Performance and Pleasure
Exploring the Link Between Yoga and Sexual Wellness
In the digital age, wellness blogs are brimming with testimonies claiming improved sexual experiences after practicing yoga. Yet, does scientific research corroborate these anecdotal accounts? Let's delve into the evidence.
Modern research is scrutinizing the diverse health benefits of ancient yoga practices. Among them are conditions like depression, stress, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid issues. Recent studies have further examined the complex mechanisms behind such benefits.
Interestingly, it appears that yoga lowers the body's inflammatory response, reverses stress-inducing gene expression, reduces cortisol levels, and boosts brain-development protein production.
Beyond these well-documented advantages, yoga's physical poses can induce feelings of physical pleasure and intimacy, leading some to claim the existence of the mythical "coregasm."
However, can these yogic postures also enhance our sexual lives? Let's examine the research.
Yoga's Impact on Women's Sexual Function
Scientists from The Journal of Sexual Medicine conducted a study on the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on the sexual function of 40 women aged 45 and over. The results indicated significant improvements across all aspects of the Female Sexual Function Index, including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Approximately 75% of the participants attributed an improvement to their yoga training.
The women were trained on 22 yoga poses believed to strengthen the pelvic floor, improve digestion, and boost mood. Included in these poses were trikonasana, bhujangasana, and ardha matsyendra mudra. Access the full list of asanas here.
Yoga's Benefits for Men
Research on the sexual benefits of yoga for men is not limited to women. Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, led a study examining the effects of a 12-week yoga program on the sexual satisfaction of men.
Upon completion of the program, the participants reported significant improvements in their sexual function as evaluated by the Male Sexual Quotient. The researchers observed enhancements in desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
The same research team also discovered that yoga is a viable and nonpharmacological alternative to fluoxetine (Prozac) for treating premature ejaculation.
Yogic Mechanisms for Better Sexual Health
Scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, investigated the sex-enhancing mechanisms of yoga. It was found that yoga regulates attention and breathing, reduces anxiety and stress, and activates the relaxation response, all of which are associated with improved sexual response.
Additionally, female yoga practitioners tend to exhibit increased body awareness and less objectification of their bodies, potentially leading to greater sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desire.
The Power of Moola Bandha
The concept of moola bandha might appeal to skeptics. This yogic practice contracts the pelvic floor muscles, stimulating the nervous system and promoting parasympathetic activity in the body. Research suggests that moola bandha can relieve period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as control testosterone secretion in men.
Another yoga pose, bhekasana (frog pose), strengthens the pelvic floor muscles and may help alleviate symptoms of vestibulodynia and vaginismus, conditions that can prevent women from enjoying penetrative sex.
The Reliability of Evidence
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga are mighty tempting, it's essential to recognize the vast gap between empirical evidence—experimental studies—and anecdotal evidence— Internet testimonials. The latter outnumbers the former, but the experimental evidence remains scarce, particularly for women.
However, more recent studies focusing on women with specific sexual dysfunction issues, such as metabolic syndrome and multiple sclerosis, have yielded stronger evidence.
For instance, a 12-week yoga program led to "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication for women with metabolic syndrome, whereas such improvements were not observed in the non-yoga group.
Another study found that women with multiple sclerosis showed better physical ability and sexual function after 3 months of yoga training, compared to the control group, who exhibited worsening symptoms.
Though more research is needed to fully validate yoga's sexual benefits, the foundational evidence is promising. Incorporating yoga into our daily routines may prove both enriching and beneficial for our pelvic muscles.
- The study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine revealed significant improvements in the sexual function of older women who practiced yoga for 12 weeks, as evaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index, with 75% of participants attributing the improvements to their yoga training.
- In a study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, men who completed a 12-week yoga program reported significant improvements in their sexual function as evaluated by the Male Sexual Quotient, showing enhancements in desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
- Scientists in a study at the University of British Columbia found that yoga can improve sexual response by regulating attention and breathing, reducing anxiety and stress, and activating the relaxation response, which are all associated with improved sexual response.
