Rediscovering Yoga's Impact on Sexual Health: Unveiling Promising Advantages
Yo, what's up? You wanna know if that yoga shit is legit when it comes to getting lucky, huh? Let's dig into it.
The Internet's all blanketed with wellness blogs swearing by yoga for better sex, while folks share personal accounts of it making their action jaw-dropping. But does the science back 'em up? Let's find out.
Now, yoga's been found to have loads of health benefits – we're talking stress relief, helping with anxiety, depression, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and even thyroid issues. But can it turn us into bedroom voyeurs? Let's see.
Yoga: A Kama Sutra secret weapon?
There's been a handful of rock-solid scientific studies that show yoga can indeed boost sexual function, particularly for women above 45 and men – yes, men, too.
In one study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 40 ladies aged 45+ did 12 weeks of yoga, reporting their sexual function before and after. Turns out, their sexual function got bomb in categories like desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Nearly three-quarters (75%) of these ladies said their sex lives improved thanks to yoga!
The training focused on 22 yogasanas, like trikonasana, bhujangasana, and ardha matsyendra mudra, which help strengthen the pelvic floor, improve mood, and more.
Yoga for the fellas
It ain't just the ladies that reap the benefits. One study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist in New Delhi, found that a 12-week yoga program improved sexual satisfaction in men.
By the end of the study, the participants reported a major improvement in satisfaction, as measured by the Male Sexual Quotient. The researchers found improvements across the board, including desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
In a comparative trial led by the same group, yoga was found to be a solid non-pharmacological alternative to Prozac for treating premature ejaculation. The program included 15 yoga poses ranging from easy ones like Kapalbhati to complex ones like dhanurasana.
How 'bout them yogic mechanisms?
So how does yoga turn us into bedroom gods? A review of existing research by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia helps break it down.
Professor Lori Brotto and her team explain that yoga controls our attention and breath, lowers stress and anxiety, and messes with our nervous system to induce relaxation. All of these effects are linked to sexual responsiveness, so it makes sense that yoga could tempt Lady Luck in the sack too.
There are psychological aspects at play as well. Women who practice yoga have been found to be less likely to objectify their bodies and more aware of their physical selves, which might increase sexual responsibility and assertiveness.
The almighty moola bandha
While tales of unblocking your root chakra and shooting kundalini energy up your spine like a human firework show don't have solid scientific evidence, other yogic concepts might strike a chord with skeptics. Moola bandha is one such concept.
Moola bandha is a perineal contraction that wakes up the sensory-motor and autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, enforcing relaxation. It's thought to directly influence the gonads and perineal body/cervix.
Some studies have suggested that moola bandha could alleviate period pain, childbirth pain, and sexual difficulties in women, as well as treat premature ejaculation and control testosterone secretion in men.
The evidence: Is it worth the hype?
While it's easy to get all tingly hearing about the potential sexual perks of yoga, it's important to remember there's a big gap between so-called empirical, or experimental evidence, and anecdotal evidence.
There's a lot of non-empirical evidence floating around online, but the actual studies that have trialed yoga's effects on our love lives remain scarce, often with small sample sizes and no control groups. However, recent studies focusing on women with sexual dysfunction in addition to other conditions have shown stronger evidence.
For example, a study found that a 12-week yoga program led to "significant improvement" in arousal and lubrication for women with metabolic syndrome, a group at higher risk of sexual dysfunction, while other ladies who didn't practice yoga saw no improvement.
Another study examined the sexual benefits of yoga for women with multiple sclerosis (MS). The participants undertook 3 months of yoga training, with women in the yoga group showing improvement in physical ability and sexual function, while the control group saw their symptoms worsen.
So, while we need more solid evidence to confirm that "yogasms" are the real deal, it looks like there's enough wiggle room (pun intended) to suggest we give yoga a shot for ourselves. It might just open up new worlds, and our pelvic muscles will definitely thank us for it.
Yoga, rooted in the realm of health-and-wellness, seems to have a significant impact on sexual health, leading to improvements in both genders as suggested by several scientific studies. In women above 45, a 12-week yoga program substantially enhanced their sexual function across various categories. Additionally, a study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav showed that men benefited from a similar program, experiencing improvements in their sexual satisfaction. The mechanism behind these results can be attributed to yoga's ability to control attention and breath, reduce stress and anxiety, and influence the nervous system to induce relaxation, all of which are linked to sexual responsiveness. However, while the potential sexual benefits of yoga are intriguing, it's essential to remember that empirical evidence in this area remains scarce compared to anecdotal evidence, with more research needed to confirm its effectiveness.
