Another Side of Yoga

The health and wellbeing benefits of yoga are endless, but did you know that yoga can help couples trying to conceive? Fertility Specialist Dr. Geetha Venkat reveals the facts…

Q. How does yoga help with infertility issues? “General stretching or any form of exercise that involves the body making slow movements reduces stress in both men and women, and is a great way to achieve an inner-calm. Worrying about conceiving can put men and women under an immense amount of stress and stress hormones can, in turn, have a negative effect on fertility. Yoga in particular, is a great way to stretch the abdominal and pelvic muscles, and improve the blood supply to the pelvic organs – the uterus and ovaries – which can only aid fertility.”

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Q. When can we see results?
“Patients often want immediate results and for changes to happen overnight, which is just not possible. Yoga is a slow and gradual process that requires dedication and patience. If patients stick with it and dedicate time every morning and evening to practice yoga, they can expect to see significant results in approximately two to three months. From then on, they will feel like an altogether much different and calmer person.”

Q. What is it in yoga that boosts the chances of fertility?
“Certain yoga poses can improve the blood flow to the uterus and pelvis which can boost the quality of the eggs, and therefore improve chances of conception. Yoga can also help to strengthen the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles – this is particularly beneficial if the woman has a retroverted uterus (the uterus is tipped backwards). Yoga can help to correct the position of the uterus by using the forward bending pose.”

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Q. Are there any other natural ways of boosting fertility?
“There are many natural ways of boosting fertility.  For example, reflexology and acupuncture play a similar role to yoga, in that they can both reduce stress. By using pressure points (reflexology), or needles (acupuncture), they can enable the uterus and testes to function better. In women, they can help to thicken the lining of the uterus and, in men, it can improve the blood supply to the testes and boost their function.

(Credit: Fertility Specialist Dr. Geetha Venkat at The Harley Street Fertility Clinic, London)