Yoga is the Key to Lasting Longer and Orgasms
According to a new study, approximately 40% of women and 30% of men experience some form of sexual dysfunction. Throw in the rest of us too and we’re all searching for ways to have better sex in our relationships. Who doesn’t want a partner who can last longer or to reach those orgasm highs every time? A growing body of research shows that yoga is good for sex and may even prevent and treat sex problems.
The medical profession may suggest medicines such a Viagra or couples therapy to work out the issues that prevent you from sexually connecting, but if you look at the alternative method of yoga (and you can actually get your partner to take classes with you) then you’re taking a whole body approach.
Great Sex
According to Psychology Today, “Great sex begins with deep relaxation, which concentrates blood in the central body where it’s available to the genitals, instead of being directed to the limbs, which happens when people feel stressed (the fight-or-flight reflex). As deep relaxation becomes sexual arousal, the arteries that carry blood into the genitals open (dilate), and extra blood flows into the penis and vaginal wall. In men, this extra blood produces erection, in women, vaginal lubrication and increased clitoral sensitivity.”
Increased sensitivity leads to increased sexual pleasure and faster or more consistent climaxing.
How Yoga Enhances Sex
Yoga benefits include increased physical fitness and flexibility, and can be key to providing relief for certain medical conditions that may be distressful during sex. Yoga also provides a means to manage stress and anxiety whether it be through meditative breathing (pranayama), or through movement and posture (asana), which increase brain health by increasing dopamine levels and releasing endorphins. Your sex drive and sexual pleasure are directly linked to endorphins. As a result, Yoga contributes to easier sexual arousal and pleasure in the future with some studies showing that women “are able to reach an orgasm faster and more intensely.” By the way, many erection-boosting medications also enhance the way dopamine behaves in the brain. Isn’t it better to raise them naturally, and for longer period of time than just the 4-6 hours Viagra or Levitra work?
In regards to sexual dysfunction, Palo Alto, California, sex therapist Marty Klein, Ph.D, recommends yoga here too. “Stress contributes to sex problems and sex problems cause stress. This can become a vicious cycle. Yoga reduces anxiety, so it enhances sex and helps prevent and treat sex problems.”
Yoga also improves arterial blood flow, which is another factor in better sex. Healthy arteries produce a better blood flow to the genitalia (erections and vaginal lubrication/sensitivity.) And let’s face it, good sex is a workout with 85 or more calories being burned in thirty minutes. Stamina requires a healthy ticker. The heart is one of Yoga’s core chakras (ahanata) or energy centers, and regular Yoga classes are a good cardio workout and elevate heart heath. So much so that renowned Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has launched a Hatha Yoga Cardiac Program to help patients dealing with heart disease.
We knew that Yoga was good for us, but who knew it was so good for us in bed?
