Enhancing Sexual Performance Through Yoga: Exploring Potential Advantages
Yoga and Its Prowess for Enhancing Intimacy: Unpacking the Science
The cyberworld teems with wellness blogs advocating yoga for a stunning sex life, and personal accounts by enthusiasts professing immense improvements. But does the research stand by them? Let's dive in and investigate!
The burgeoning world of yoga research draws attention to its potential in tackling issues like depression, stress, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and thyroid problems. Notably, recent studies have dug deeper into the myriad mechanisms behind these benefits.
It turns out that yoga possesses the power to reduce the body's inflammatory response, override genetic predispositions toward stress, and slash cortisol levels. Moreover, it boosts a protein that encourages brain growth and keeps it fresh and healthy. To top it all off, it feels fantastic! And yes, some claim it can trigger those elusive, tantalizing coregasms during certain poses.
But what about its possible impacts on sexual health and performance? Here's a closer look at the evidence!
Enchanting Results for the Ladies
A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine has gained notoriety for its exploration of the effects of 12 weeks of yoga on the sexual function of 40 willing participants.
Over the 12-week period, women aged 45 and above self-evaluated their sexual function before and after a series of yoga sessions. The results were astonishing: their sexual function skyrocketed across sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain components. As many as 75 percent of the participants reported enhanced sexual satisfaction after their yoga training!
The women were taught 22 poses, or yogasanas, believed to boost core abdominal muscles, enhance digestion, fortify the pelvic floor, and elevate mood. Poses like trikonasana (the triangle pose), bhujangasana (the snake), and ardha matsyendra mudra (half spinal twist) feature in their training routine. The full list of asanas can be found in this link.
The Gentlemen's Yoga Benefits
Fret not, gents! Yoga is your ally too! A study spearheaded by Dr. Vikas Dhikav, a neurologist based at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, India, investigated the effects of a 12-week yoga program on male sexual satisfaction.
At the study's conclusion, male participants reported dramatic improvements in their sexual function—enhanced as evaluated by the Male Sexual Quotient. Researchers found reinforcements across all areas of male sexual satisfaction, including desire, intercourse satisfaction, performance, confidence, partner synchronization, erection, ejaculatory control, and orgasm.
Intriguingly, a comparative trial helmed by the same research squad found that yoga was a viable and pharmacology-free alternative to Prozac for treating premature ejaculation. The routine included 15 poses, ranging from simpler ones like Kapalbhati (sitting with the back straight, taking deep breaths, and forcibly expelling air through the nose) to more complex ones like dhanurasana (the archer pose).
The Science Behind the Bedroom Boost
So, how exactly does yoga work to improve one's sexual health and performance? A literature review by scholars at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, sheds light on the elaborate mechanisms at play.
Dr. Lori Brotto, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at UBC and the study's first author, along with her colleagues, explain that yoga modulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and governs the parasympathetic nervous system, activating the rest, digest, and relaxation response.
These effects are, in turn, associated with improvements in sexual response, making it "reasonable that yoga might also be associated with improvements in sexual health." Female practitioners of yoga have also been found to be less objectifying, more aware of their bodies, and more sexually responsible and assertive.
One intriguing concept worth mentioning is the Moola Bandha, which stimulates the sensory-motor and autonomic nervous system in the pelvic region, directly impacting the gonads and perineal body/cervix. Studies have suggested that practicing Moola Bandha may relieve menstrual and childbirth pain, sexual difficulties in women, and assist men with testosterone secretion control.
The Limits of Current Research
While the potential sexual benefits of yoga are exciting, it is essential to remember the vast disparity between the amount of empirical, or experimental, evidence and that of anecdotal evidence available on the internet. More quality research is required to establish the extent of yoga's efficacy as an enhancer of our intimate lives!
Currently, evidence supports the claims of sexual benefits for both men and women, but most studies have small sample sizes and lack control groups. However, more recent, larger-scale studies focusing on women with pre-existing sexual health issues have yielded stronger evidence, with yoga training leading to improved female sexual arousal and lubrication, as well as positive impacts on mental and physical well-being for women living with conditions like metabolic syndrome or multiple sclerosis.
So, amidst all the excitement about the potential for yogasms, it is vital to remember that more comprehensive research is necessary to ascertain their reality—and for now, incorporating a regular yoga routine into our lives seems like an excellent idea for total body health and well-being!
The scientific community has discovered that yoga may significantly improve sexual health and performance. A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine revealed a 12-week yoga program drastically improved sexual function in women aged 45 and above, leading to increased sexual satisfaction for 75% of participants. For men, a study led by Dr. Vikas Dhikav found enhanced sexual function and performance after a 12-week yoga program. The science behind these improvements suggests yoga modulates attention and breathing, lowers anxiety and stress, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to enhancements in sexual response. However, it's crucial to remember that while the potential sexual benefits of yoga are promising, more extensive, empirical research is required to establish yoga's efficacy as an intimate life enhancer.
