Enhancing Sexual Wellness through Yoga: Insights into Its Advantages
Relax, pal, and let's explore the wild world of yoga and its purported effects on your bedroom adventures!
Now, we all know the internet has more blogs than a friggin' powdered-waffle factory recommending yoga for better sex. Not gonna lie, it sounds a bit excessive, but let's see if science backs up these orgasmic claims.
Modern research is diving deep into the health benefits of the ancient yoga practice, and it seems to help with an array of issues like stress, depression, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems.
But it ain't just the fun stuff. Recent studies have also dug into the whys and hows behind these benefits. It turns out that yoga lowers inflammatory responses, counters stress-genes, lowers cortisol levels, and boosts a brain-friendly protein.
And let's not forget the feel-good factor. Sometimes, if we believe the stories about "coregasms" during yoga, it can feel bloody amazing.
Getting in touch with our bodies can feel replenishing, restorative, and physically sensational. But can yoga's yummy poses improve our sex lives? We're about to find out.
Yoga for Better Shagging (Pun Intended)
Yup, lady-folk and gentlemen, the ancient yoga practice doesn't just serve the 60+ grandma set. Check out this study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine that showed yoga can boost sexual function, particularly for the over-45 bunch.
These researchers looked at the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on 40 women over 45, who self-reported on their sexual function before and after yoga sessions. Post-yoga-training, the women reported significant improvements across sections like desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, happiness, and pain in their sex lives.
More than 75 percent of the women claimed an improvement after their yoga training. The cherry on top? These women were trained in 22 poses, believed to improve core muscles, boost digestion, strengthen the pelvic floor, and enhance mood.
Labeled claim to fame: trikonasana, bhujangasana, and ardha matsyendra mudra. Check 'em out here.
For the Menfolks
Hold on, men, you ain't getting left behind. A study by neurologist Dr. Vikas Dhikav showed a 12-week yoga program improved men's sexual satisfaction based on the Male Sexual Quotient.
Improvements were seen in desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm. An accompanying trial even found that yoga could be a non-pharmacological alternative to Prozac for treating premature ejaculation.
Including a range of easier to complex poses, the study found these yoga poses to be effective for male sexual health.
Sex-Boosting Yogic Mechanisms
But how does all this happen, you ask? Research led by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the University of British Columbia sheds some light.
The researchers explain that yoga regulates attention, breathing, and lowers stress and anxiety, which in turn is associated with improved sexual responses. Yoga also heightens body awareness, making individuals more in touch with their physical selves and more likely to be sexually responsible and assertive.
A little-known yogic concept called moola bandha may also play a role. This practice improves nervous system activity in the pelvic region, stimulating the gonads and perineal body/cervix. Studies have suggested it could relieve period pain and sexual difficulties in women as well as treat premature ejaculation and testosterone secretion in men.
The Limitations of Yogic Evidence
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga are exciting, it's worth noting that high-quality, empirical evidence is limited. However, recent studies focusing on women with sexual dysfunction or other conditions have shown stronger evidence of yoga's benefits.
For example, a randomized controlled trial showed that 12 weeks of yoga led to "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication in women with metabolic syndrome.
So, while we need more research to fully understand the relationship between yoga and our sex lives, the evidence is definitely pointing in a promising direction. Until we know for sure whether "yogasms" are real, why not give it a try? Our pelvic muscles might just thank us for it.
- Yoga, as proven by a study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, can enhance sexual function, particularly for individuals over 45 years old, improving factors such as desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, happiness, and pain in their sex lives.
- Men are not left out of the loop, as a study by neurologist Dr. Vikas Dhikav showed that a 12-week yoga program improved men's sexual satisfaction based on the Male Sexual Quotient, affecting factors like desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
- The benefits of yoga on sexual health can be attributed to numerous factors, such as regulation of attention, breathing, and stress reduction, which in turn improves sexual responses. Additionally, yoga heightens body awareness, making individuals more in touch with their physical selves, and practices like moola bandha may stimulate the gonads and perineal body/cervix, potentially alleviating sexual difficulties in both men and women.
