I’ll admit it—practicing yoga makes me feel frisky. I know some people prefer to present themselves as wholesome yoga teachers wearing pants made of hemp, their minds too focused on alignment and recycling to even think about yoga for better sex. However, I’m not one of them—I tell it like it is. Yoga makes you feel sexy and, yes, it can certainly improve your sex life.
Of course, regularly practicing yoga increases flexibility, strengthening and toning the physical body. People joke around about it all of the time and guess what? It’s true. Yoga makes you bendier and, as a result, more capable of moving your body in dynamic and interesting ways that come in handy in and out of the bedroom. Meanwhile, breathing and meditation regulate your emotions, helping you to feel better all across the board.
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Here are seven ways that yoga makes a sexy time better.
1. Yoga increases your energy
A study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation claimed that one in every four cohabitating or married Americans is so deprived of sleep that they regularly turn down sex—boo. Most of us are so tired at the end of the day that sex takes a backseat to read, watching TV, or just passing out. Practicing yoga 3-4 times a week helps get the blood flowing; along with improved circulation comes better sleep. Vigorous yoga such as Ashtanga, Vinyasa or power is proven to increase your energy levels and leave you feeling refreshed and more vibrant. Consequently, you’re less prone to pass out alone on the sofa with a bag of off-brand cheese puffs and orange soda.
2. Yoga reduces anxiety
According to Harvard Medical School, yoga modulates stress response systems, lowers blood pressure, reduces heart rates and improves respiration. Harvard also shared that yoga helps increase “heart rate variability” which indicates how the body responds to stress. When I was in my early twenties and a total stress case, I (thankfully) found yoga. The physical practice alone greatly calms you down, and when you’re calm, you feel sexy, sensual and confident.
3. Yoga improves sexual function
Toning and strengthening the bandhas (i.e. muscular locks located on various parts of the body) via yoga leads to increased libido and sexual function, without the erection pills we see marketed on TV every five minutes. Using the bandhas (e.g. the Mula Bandha) can lead to better, deeper, longer lasting sessions and orgasms. This bandha is engaged when you breathe and contract the muscles between the tailbone and pubic bone, pulling your perineum in and up towards the abdomen. Learning to contract this area will take your sex life from yawn to YES!
4. Yoga makes you more sensual
Practicing yoga brings bodily awareness and a deep connection with what you’re feeling, both physically and emotionally. When you’re attuned and connected, you feel relaxed, at ease, and open. Stress tightens us up, causing us to vibrate on a low, sad frequency. Through yoga poses and deep breathing, the body becomes like the surface of a still lake; it has no big waves, just easygoing ripples that are ready to reflect light. That’s what yoga does to you—it allows you to become still, letting you shine and thrive. Feeling at ease, confident and grounded makes it easy to feel sensual and interested in pleasure.
5. Yoga provides mental benefits
Yoga alleviates anxiety, nervousness, anger, stress and decreases negative emotions. If you’re walking around with a ton of dark thoughts bouncing around in your head, how are you going to enjoy (or even think) about yoga for better sex? Studies have shown that yoga has mental benefits, and lowering stress levels benefit the libido. When you clear the junk out of the way, you’re open and clear-headed enough to relax into the present moment. If there’s someone who’d like to get naughty with you at that moment, you’ll be more apt to go for it.
6. It’s something you can do with your partner
Practicing yoga with a partner at a studio or just at home can build a deeper bond. I’ve taught a couple’s yoga since 2002 and can share that it definitely brings people closer. Through breath work and asanas (yoga poses), you both reap the benefits of the practice, and doing it together builds a healthy foundation for a committed, loving partnership. Additionally, yoga increases creativity and playfulness. It’s important to keep an open mind and a light heart on and off the mat.
7. “Practice and all is coming”
One of the common phrases from the Ashtanga yoga lineage as taught by Pattabhi Jois is “Practice and all is coming.” If you learn yoga, learn to control your emotions and strengthen your body and mind, literally everything else gets better. I’m not kidding—try it yourself and see. Also, over time, you develop a better relationship with yourself and stop harsh self-talk and criticism. These changes benefit your whole life and, by default, your sex life.
There’s a great deal of porn of action in the yoga marketing realm these days—people get so hung up talking about how sexy yoga and yoga teachers can be. However, in the end, it’s the dedication and commitment to a lifelong practice that is really, truly sexy.
