Enhancing Intimacy through Yoga: Unveiling Its Impacts on Sexual Function
Let's get down to the nitty-gritty: Can the ancient practice of yoga, recently found to have numerous health benefits, actually enhance our sex lives? Our investigative sleuths dive into the juicy details!
In today's world teeming with wellness blogs touting yoga for a scorching sex life, some backed by personal accounts, it's high time to analyze whether science validates these claims.
Yoga, an age-old practice, is now being closely studied for its link to various health issues, such as depression, stress, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems.
Recent research discovered that yoga works wonders by dampening the body's inflammatory response, squashing the genetic expression that breeds stress, reducing cortisol, and bumping up a protein that keeps the brain young and hearty.
Now, the main question: Does yoga trigger a smokin' hot sex life?
Yoga turns up the heat for the ladies
One compelling piece of evidence comes from a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Over 12 weeks, 40 ladies (aging 45 and above) who self-reported their sexual function experienced a significant upgrade in their performance after yoga sessions.
The Female Sexual Function Index, which gauges desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain, indicated that 75 percent of these ladies enjoyed a boost in their sex lives following yoga training.
Training these ladies on 22 poses, known as yogasanas, assumed to strengthen the pelvic floor and core abdominal muscles, bolster digestion, and improve mood, played a key role in their transformation. Some poses they learned include trikonasana (triangle pose), bhujangasana (snake), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist). The full list of yogasanas can be found here.
Yoga is a sexy secret weapon for the gents
Not only do the ladies profit - dudes can also get in on the express train to pleasure city! Following a 12-week yoga program, the sweet sensations experienced by the male participants were evaluated using the Male Sexual Quotient.
The gentlemen's satisfaction skyrocketed across parameters such as desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and climax.
Even more tantalizingly, a comparative trial by the same research crew found that yoga is a pro alternative to fluoxetine, marketed as Prozac, in treating premature ejaculation. Their study featured 15 yoga poses, ranging from the easy Kapalbhati (a sitting posture that helps prevent urinary incontinence and boosts sexual stamina) to the more complex dhanurasana (a bow pose that achieves similar results).
Yoga's secret sauce for better sex
But how, exactly, does yoga flick the switch on our sex lives? Researchers from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, help us unlock yoga's sex-enhancing mechanisms.
The review, led by Dr. Lori Brotto, sheds light on yoga's ability to regulate attention, breathing, and stress levels, as well as calm anxiety, invigorate the parasympathetic nervous system, and reduce inflammation - all factors associated with heightened sexual response.
Mental mechanisms come into play, too. "Female yoga practitioners were found to be less likely to objectify their bodies and more aware of their physical selves," explain the reviewers, "which may be associated with increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and libido."
Meet the 'moola bandha': the powerful PC muscle workout
Myths about harnessing 'kundalini energy' for orgasms sans ejaculation sans hard substantiation persist. However, other concepts, yogis might find more convincing. One such concept is the 'moola bandha' - a pelvic-floor muscle contraction that influences the gonads, perineum, and cervix by regulating the autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region. Practicing 'moola bandha' can help treat pelvic pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as battles against premature ejaculation and hormonal imbalances in men.
Takeaways
Though we can't help but get all hot and bothered by the tantalizing potential sexual perks of yoga, it's crucial to keep in mind the disparity between empirical (experimental) evidence and anecdotal evidence floating around the web.
More research is needed to fully prove yoga's prowess in the bedroom. Still, it seems reasonable to think that aligning the mind, body, and spirit through yoga could lead to a juicier sex life - and your pelvic muscles will certainly thank you for it!
- The study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that 40 women aged 45 and above, who underwent yoga sessions for 12 weeks, reported significant improvements in their sexual function as measured by the Female Sexual Function Index.
- A 12-week yoga program also showed promising results for men, with participants experiencing increased satisfaction across parameters such as desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and climax.
- According to a study by researchers from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, yoga's ability to regulate attention, breathing, and stress levels, calm anxiety, invigorate the parasympathetic nervous system, and reduce inflammation could potentially enhance sexual response.
