Yoga and sex. Sex and yoga. Find out why two of our favorite things just might be a match made in heaven. Gerry Ellen explains.

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It’s a simple thought really, when you get right down to the basics of what yoga is and how it functions in your life. The premise that every posture, asana, sweat pouring from your brow and body, mindful breathing, heart-beating and incredible ecstasy following the practice is in complete alignment with the nature of sex and its action and feeling.

Yoga is congruent with all that is raw and beautiful about sexual intimacy with another. The physiological aspect alone increases the harmonious blending of bodies and love. I am thinking hormones here.

Hormones work together as messengers in the body. When they are in balance, emotions are stabilized and can tell our bodies when we need rest or when we are ready to go. Yoga is one of the great regulators of hormones for both men and women. Without the proper balance of testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, the sex drive of either will be sorely lacking and obviously felt within the relationship.

Once you begin a yoga practice, certain poses stimulate the secretion of specific glands within our bodies. These glands perform well under the constant pressure and decompression of poses and twisting asana which can regulate endocrine function for women, which in turn, gives females more of an ability to balance hormones, which in turn, gives a woman more of a drive toward her partner. If her hormones are out of whack, the pituitary gland (the “master gland”) signals to other parts of the body that the endocrine system is off and no endorphins are being produced to get that “high” that we all feel during any extended strenuous exercise, including sex.

Yoga to the rescue!

Having a healthy sex life is essential in balancing all parts of the body, just as yoga is a necessary practice to create a cohesive merging of mind, body and soul. And this is not specific to the female land of hormones either. Men have their own natural interior chemical substances that produce growth and sexual development and arousal, yet when all of our hormones are firing on point, we feel more beautiful, attractive, emit more pheromones, and naturally induce intimate encounters that are full of healthy breathing and a purposeful life.

There have been studies that show the importance of yoga in boosting your libido. As your practice of poses and flows helps with toning, flexibility, relaxation, weight loss and hormone balance, yoga also helps to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, along with the glutes, abs, thighs, waist and arms. All the skin parts of the body are benefitting from a solid day to day yoga practice, and when the skin and muscles feel vibrant and alive and youthful, it stands to reason that your sex life will also reap the benefits of the body in sync with yourself and your significant other.

As a menopausal woman, the challenge has always been to reduce hot flashes and lagging libido and however else I can mitigate the circumstances that tend to inflict the older woman stuff, but I can assure you this: yoga has absolutely increased my desires, reduced most symptoms of menopause or any other hormone imbalance, and given me the impetus to never feel as though too much sexual activity goes out of style.

If anything, a daily yoga practice has not killed my sex drive at all! Sure there are days where I’m grumpy and irritable and feeling rather not-so-great in my skin, but balancing my hormones through yoga (and all women can attest to this, no matter the age) gives me the feeling that I’ve gone two steps further down the road with having the endurance to keep the quality of life through intimate activity, and maintain good sleep and less anxiety.

Yoga also helps with mindfulness, and as great sex is one of the ultimate mind and body experiences, so too are certain postures that help with being in the present moment, which is what a true conscious sex life is all about. Yoga opens your heart, keeps you flexible, lowers stress, and generates more increased awareness about yourself and your partner. This is the ultimate basis for a quality and vigorous sex life. If you aren’t doing yoga now and your physical intimacy is suffering or lackluster, perhaps venturing in to a class a few times per week will enhance your life in the bedroom.

The coupling of quality balance outwardly and inwardly is nirvana to relationships. As yoga has become the end-all for spiritual mantra living, sexual intimacy is the be-all for tantric living. They go hand in hand. Even the popularity of naked yoga, whether at home or in some commonly accepting studios, has gained in wide appeal to enhance bodily awareness and understanding of how we move without having to cover up. It is freedom to the nth degree. Sex can be viewed in the very same manner, as many couples struggle with body acceptance and how they move together in intimate romantic settings. Yoga can help with that too, naked yoga even better. 

It is a cherished part of who we are. Without the vibrancy of a partnership engaged in weekly sexual activity (hopeful for many finding their way into this), the harmonic blending of souls may feel the strain in communication and laughter. Romantic sexual overtones become enlivened when yoga is scheduled into the weekly (and hopefully, daily) way of living.

There are so many metaphors that come to mind when thinking about yoga and sex in the same sentence. One is not necessarily without the other. Yoga adds so much value to our life, as does intimacy with our partner.

Can one exist without the other? Of course it can. Can a practice of postures and asana and inversions contribute to the overall experience of mimicking the same feeling within a carnal bout of love? More than ever.

The passion and sensual way of two bodies in motion is what yoga is all about. Imagine how a roomful of people in class are going with the flow, creating their own movement and peaceful desires on their mats, stripped down to raw emotion with every breath of sweat. Sex is the partner to yoga. And if loving ourselves during a practice can translate into loving our partner more, then the accomplishment of rolling out your mat, spending an hour or so in mindfulness will quite possibly produce an erotic high in and out of the bedroom. What better way to live!

[image: via pixabay and Dennis Yang on flickr]