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Yoga and Fertility

Prana is the life-force energy that can be described as our sense of feeling alive and well.  This energy compels us to share or exchange our intimate thoughts and feelings so, it’s no surprise that it’s also synonymous with our sexual energy. Increased circulation is required for sexual arousal, and it heals and strengthens organ tissues. Paying attention to our (root) chakra—the dynamic pelvic floor—can activate this connection.

Feeling connected and knowing how to prepare your body for pregnancy can be an overwhelming challenge. Thanks to research at Harvard Medical School yoga is now considered beneficial in helping you prepare for pregnancy.

Benefit

Dr. Domar from Harvard Medical School demonstrated that women who practiced mind/body techniques may succeed in becoming pregnant at a faster rate than control groups that did not participate in yoga.

It is thought that yoga can have beneficial effects on reproductive function by reducing stress, thereby balancing the neurohormonal profile. This seems to be true for both men and women, so partners trying to conceive a child can benefit from doing yoga exercises together.

Reducing the stress of fertility concerns

Dr. Domar mentions:
“Trying to get pregnant can be a very fun but also stressful experience. If you’re trying for the very first time, you don’t know how fertile you and your partner are, so it’s often a guessing game as to the outcome. However, yoga has been proven to help couples in their quest to conceive with fertility yoga having a direct impact on the physical body.”

In the 1960s by Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard University Physiologist, coined the term “relaxation response” and it is now used to describe the lowering of metabolic rate. Dr. Benson found that encouraging people to meditate can lower their blood pressure.  Yoga can bring on this relaxation response with a combination of breathing exercises and the meditative state induced by yoga postures.

Postures
The simple and gentle postures adopted by beginners are the beginning steps to highly disciplined training to come!  In terms of fertility-friendly yoga, the postures used are specifically adapted to the female menstrual cycle in mind. Postures for the first half of the cycle help stimulate the ovaries to optimize ovulation, whereas postures for the second half of the cycle are focussed on increasing blood flow to the pelvic area and the uterus.

STIMULATING MOVES
These exercises will improve circulation and massage your reproductive organs.

  1. Sufi Rolls/Back Rolls
  2. Hand under foot
  3. Cobra
  4. Bridge

RESTORATIVE MOVES
These exercises can ease tension and help reduce stress and anxiety, which are all commonly linked to infertility.

  1. Extended Puppy Pose
  2. Reclining Bound Angle Pose
  3. Legs Up the Wall

FLEXIBILITY MOVES
These exercises are designed to stretch the muscles surrounding the reproductive organs to increase flexibility to the hips and pelvis.

  1. Garland
  2. Cat/Cow
  3. Extended Triangle

Yoga is a good way to achieve gentle exercise while experiencing the relaxation response. This effect is equally applicable to men as it is to women and yoga can be a social activity to boost self-esteem.  It also allows women and partners to meet and socialize with other people who are undergoing the same fertility journey.

Keep moving everyone!