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Yoga to boost fertility
What exactly is fertility yoga? How can it support and does it really help to get pregnant faster? You will find all the answers to these questions in this blog post. Fertility yoga serves as holistic support during the time of trying to conceive (TTC). Just as many of us think it makes sense that a pregnant woman goes to pregnancy yoga, fertility yoga is also establishing itself. After all, women have unique physical and emotional needs during the childbearing years as well. Fertility yoga has the following focuses:
- To build and strengthen confidence in your own body.
- To strengthen the feeling of well-being in your own skin and to accept the body as it is at the moment.
- To promote inner peace and balance.
- To promote and boost natural fertility.
- To optimize the flow of blood and energy to the reproductive organs.
- Reducing stress, anxiety and inner turmoil.
How does fertility yoga work?
Reduction of stress
Stress can negatively affect fertility, many of us have heard of this. Depending on how sensitive the body is, stress hormones can really mess with the female cycle.
When we think of stress, we often think of work, but other stress factors are usually relevant: an unhealthy diet, environmental toxins, too little or too much exercise, stress in interpersonal relationships, and so on. And if you’ve been trying to conceive for a long time, this in itself can of course also become a major stress factor and a vicious circle develops: you don’t get pregnant, that stresses you out, which in turn affects the hormonal system and reduces the chances of pregnancy.
On the one hand, fertility yoga helps you to cope better with stress factors. On the other hand, the exercises directly reduce the stress level itself – it is simply a matter of trying it and feeling how you immediately feel a little calmer and more relaxed after a fertility yoga session.
Promoting blood flow to the pelvic organs
Stress directs blood flow to the extremities. This can lead to the reproductive organs not receiving optimal blood flow.
In addition, many of us nowadays spend the majority of our daily lives sitting and all our energy is in our heads. This is also anything but optimal for the reproductive organs!
In fertility yoga, we practice specific poses to increase the energy and blood flow in the pelvic area. We gently stretch this region and create more space and room for the sexual organs. After the lesson, the hips, pelvis and abdomen usually feel wonderfully warm and soft!
Don’t forget: We need to work WITH and not AGAINST our body
In fertility yoga, we practice very gently. We don’t do anything that doesn’t feel good. We really listen to our body. It’s not about getting stronger or more flexible, it’s about calming down, feeling into the body and connecting with yourself. We practice in tune with the menstrual cycle, supporting our hormones in the best way possible. We focus on our feminine power centers and allow a positive connection to develop between our heart and our belly. During the TTC period, no type of physical activity should put additional stress on the body. Now is not the time to push yourself to your limits. In fertility yoga, we focus on nourishing and restorative physical activity.
Exercise in harmony with the cycle - the key principles
During menstruation:
Practice slowly and gently (even 1-2 days with no physical exercise at all and instead a meditation or yoga nidra is perfectly fine). This is a time to rest and recover and also to consciously take time and space for sadness and “negative” feelings.
In the follicular phase:
After bleeding and before ovulation (or before stimulation), it is generally good to practice something more dynamic. For example, different twists and hip openings or even different sun salutations are ideal now.
Around ovulation:
During this time we like to focus on hip-opening and heart-opening positions and meditations that build confidence and promote inner peace.
In the luteal phase:
After ovulation and before the pregnancy test: Now is the time to practice more calmly and gently again. We focus more on grounding and avoid abdominal exercises, for example, as we want to keep the abdominal space soft.
How often should you practice?
This is of course individual, but in general: If you move a lot in everyday life and perhaps practice other sports & relaxation techniques, 2-3 sessions per week may be enough. If, on the other hand, you sit all day and move little, you will achieve more with a daily yoga practice.
Basically, it’s better to do 15 – 20 minutes of yoga every day/every 2nd day than 90 minutes only once a week. Fertility yoga is very gentle and calm, so you can’t really do too much of it. Of course, if in doubt, please still ask your doctor if fertility yoga is suitable for you, especially if you are undergoing fertility treatment.
Will you get pregnant faster with fertility yoga?
This is also individual and of course no promises can be made. Yoga is a holistic method and not a magic pill. Some women see results very quickly, but this depends very much on their own history and causes of infertility.
However, studies do show that fertility yoga helps. It very effectively reduces stress and increases the chances of pregnancy. Studies could also show that yoga has a positive effect on mental health (reduction of anxiety, depression) and that this in turn increases the chance of pregnancy.
This article was written by Julia Glesti
Julia is originally a psychologist and now passionately accompanies women through their various phases of life with Feminine Yoga – with a focus on the areas of the desire to have children and pregnancy. She supports women towards holistic women’s health, hormone balance and lived femininity.
