Improved Sexual Performance: Unveiling the Advantages of Yoga Practice
Dive into the world of yoga and its impact on your sexual health. If you've been swayed by the endless blogs espousing the virtues of yoga for a better bang, you're not far from the truth. But what does science say about these claims? Let's find out.
Yoga, an ancient practice, has been making waves in modern medicine for its numerous health benefits. It's been linked to combating conditions such as depression, stress, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems, among others.
But what about its alleged effects on our bedroom routines? Can those hardcore yoga poses actually intensify our sex lives? Buckle up as we explore the research.
Amen to Yoga: It's Good for the Gander
Intriguingly, it's not just the ladies that reap the benefits. A study led by neurologist Dr. Vikas Dhikav of the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, discovered that a 12-week yoga program improved sexual satisfaction amongst men. The benefits spanned desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
Meanwhile, another study found that yoga poses, like trikonasana, bhujangasana, and ardha matsyendra mudra, could boost women's sexual satisfaction. The results were particularly noteworthy among women over 45. Nearly three-quarters of the participants reported improved sex lives after completing the 12-week program.
The Magic Behind Yoga's Sweet Surrender
So how does yoga do the deed? A review led by researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia (UBC), helps us understand some of yoga's sex-enhancing mechanisms.
Regular yoga regulates attention, lowers anxiety and stress, and promotes relaxation. Such effects are associated with improved sexual response. Plus, female practitioners of yoga tend to be more Body Positive, which may foster increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desire.
The Allure of Moola Bandha
While tantalizing tales of releasing blocked energy in root chakras might lack solid scientific evidence, other yogic concepts could win over the skeptics. Moola Bandha, for example, contracts the perineal muscles, which directly innervates the gonads and perineal body/cervix. It's been suggested that practicing Moola Bandha relieves period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as controlling testosterone secretion in men.
The Evidence: Is it Bust or Boom?
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga have generated a lot of buzz, it's essential to remember that the empirical evidence still lags behind the anecdotal evidence. The internet may be brimming with tales, but the number of experiments focusing on the effects of yoga on sexual function remains scarce.
However, more recent studies with larger sample sizes and control groups have provided stronger evidence. For instance, a randomized controlled trial found that a 12-week yoga program significantly improved arousal and lubrication in women with metabolic syndrome.
In conclusion, while direct scientific evidence linking yoga to improved sexual function may be limited, its impact on stress reduction, improved circulation, and overall well-being could indirectly contribute to better sexual health in both men and women. As we await more definitive evidence on the existence of "jogasms," it's worth exploring the wonders of yoga for ourselves. After all, our pelvic muscles (and partners) might just thank us for it.
- Yoga, with its numerous health benefits, has been identified as having potential effects on sexual health, addressing both male and female satisfaction as shown in various studies.
- In a study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a 12-week yoga program was found to enhance sexual satisfaction in men, affecting factors like desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, and orgasm.
- Concurrently, another study observed that yoga poses like trikonasana, bhujangasana, and ardha matsyendra mudra improved sexual satisfaction in women, notably among those over 45.
- Research led by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, suggests that yoga's sex-enhancing mechanisms stem from regulating attention, lowering anxiety and stress, and promoting relaxation, leading to improved sexual response.
- Additionally, yoga practice is associated with increased body positivity in women, which might foster increased sexual responsibility, assertiveness, and desire.
- While evidence directly linking yoga to improved sexual function is still emerging, studies with larger sample sizes and control groups indicate its potential contribution to sexual health through stress reduction, improved circulation, and overall well-being.
