Yoga for Better Sex
To improve our sex life, we are advised to get active, watch our breathing, fall in love with our bodies, and change our diet. Yoga, an ancient method of exercise, relaxation, and healing that originated in India, encompasses this. The healing aspect of yoga has been used in treating anxiety, depression, joint pain, relieving body pains, and regulating blood pressure.
So, how does yoga improve your sex life?
Mindfulness
Yoga connects the mind and body. It grounds us. Having a mind and body connection helps keep us mindful. This mindfulness then helps us in the bedroom.
Breathe connects us to how we feel. Paying attention to our breathing increases our chances of getting an orgasm by relaxing our bodies i.e. not tensing up. Try taking deep breaths while making love and do not hold your breath when you are about to climax.
When we synchronise our breathing with that of our partner, we not only enjoy the sex but also create a bond.
Improved self-esteem
While practising yoga, yogis learn to look at their bodies as vessels. They unlearn sexualizing their bodies which leads them to fall in love with themselves. Falling in love with your body boosts your confidence thus helping you feel sexy in your skin.
Emotional regulation
Researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada lead by Dr. Brotto, concluded that yoga regulates stress.
“Yoga regulates the parasympathetic nervous activity; it activates the part of the nervous system that tells our bodies to stop, digest, rest, relax, and lower the heart rate. It also triggers metabolic processes that induce relaxation. So, a state of relaxation guarantees you an orgasm,” explained Dr. Brotto and her colleagues.
Coregasm
As yoga is a form of exercise, it helps strengthen our core, reduce joint pain, and improve flexibility. Have you heard of a coregasm? A coregasm is an orgasm achieved through core workouts.
Apart from coregasms, a stronger core makes it easy for you to last longer in positions such as doggy, advanced missionary, and any standing positions. Less joint pain and stronger joint means you will be able to last longer in bed.
Improved sex life
Positions such as reverse cowgirl for women, are much easier with less knee pain. In a study conducted by the Journal of Sexual Medicine, practising yoga has proved to work tremendously on men’s sexual health. In men, it improves desire, performance, erection, and ejaculation control.
As yoga is also a spiritual practice, a balanced sacral chakra enables us to enjoy the good things in life. We allow ourselves to experience pleasure and feel deserving of it. Yoga positions that ignite passion, creativity, emotions, and sexuality enhance one’s confidence resulting in them better expressing their sexual desires.
Recommended yoga positions
The Journal of Sexual Medicine highlighted some yoga positions that indeed improve sexual lives- especially in women over the age of 45. For 12 weeks, the women were trained on 22 yoga poses which improve digestion, strengthen the core abdominal muscles, strengthen the pelvic floor, and improve their mood.
At the end of the training, 75 percent of the women registered an improvement in their sex life. The improvements reported included improvement in desire, arousal, orgasm, and overall satisfaction. Some of the positions include; triangle pose, child pose, cat &cow, downward dog, butterfly pose, cobra pose, happy baby, bridge pose, and puppy pose.
Tantra yoga
Has the hustle and bustle reduced the amount of time you get to spend with your partner? Practise tantra yoga. Tantra yoga allows us to find ease, inner calm, and self-awareness through breathing techniques, postures, or through meditation and exercises.
Practising tantra yoga with a partner helps cultivate honesty and openness between the two of you. This practice helps foster a deeper connection. Poses such as Yab Yum intimately connect you and the giving and receiving poses honour touch as a love language as you take turns touching each other.
Signing up for a couple’s yoga class also improves intimacy. It honours quality time as a love language, giving you a chance to discuss or observe your partner away from the chaos of the world. Spending time together improves and strengthens bonds in relationships. You can make it fun by setting stretching goals or competitive by seeing who has the most flexible hamstrings.