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About

Stress can seriously impact the ability to conceive. In men it can lead to erectile dysfunction and in women it can impact hormones and therefore the menstrual cycle and egg production.

Clinical studies suggest yoga can balance hormones, reduce stress and anxiety, improve reproductive health and sex drive.

Because it helps us accept what is, yoga can also help to alleviate the depression of failed IVF attempts, and ease the strain infertility can bring to the relationship.

What the clinical studies say

Yoga
  • Alleviates depression
  • Improves quality of life
  • Improves reproductive health
  • Improves sexual desire
  • Reduces anxiety
  • Reduces stress which balances hormones
  • Reduces stress which helps treat mild erectile dysfunction
  • Reduces stress which improves sex life

The clinical studies

Male reproductive health and yoga
Practice
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
Abstract

Now-a-days reproductive health problems along with infertility in male is very often observed. Various Assisted Reproductive Technologies have been introduced to solve the problem, but common people cannot afford the cost of such procedures. Various ayurvedic and other alternative medicines, along with regular yoga practice are proven to be not only effective to enhance the reproductive health in men to produce a successful pregnancy, but also to regulate sexual desire in men who practice celibacy.

Yoga is reported to reduce stress and anxiety, improve autonomic functions by triggering neurohormonal mechanisms by the suppression of sympathetic activity, and even, today, several reports suggested regular yoga practice from childhood is beneficial for reproductive health.

In this regard the present review is aimed to provide all the necessary information regarding the effectiveness of yoga practice to have a better reproductive health and to prevent infertility.
Citations

24
Authors

Pallav Sengupta | Prasenjit Chaudhuri | Koushik Bhattacharya
Published

2013
Journal

International Journal of Yoga
Volume / Issue

6:2
Author's primary institution

Department of Physiology, Vidyasagar College for Women, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Source

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734644/
A prospective study using Hatha Yoga for stress reduction among women waiting for IVF treatment
Practice
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
Abstract

Yoga has been found to be effective in treating anxiety and depression, reducing stress and improving the overall quality of life in the general population. Minimal research is available on the effect of stress-management programmes with IVF patients. Owing to the diversity of conditions treated, the poor quality of most studies, and the different assessment tools used to evaluate the psychological state, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions. Previous studies have used different mind–body interventions and general measures of stress without evaluation of specific stresses known to result from infertility and its treatment using standardized measures.

In this single-centre study, 49 infertile women were recruited to participate in a 6-week Yoga class during 2013 while awaiting their IVF treatment. Study participants were asked to complete standardized questionnaires assessing fertility-related quality of life (FertiQoL), marital harmony (Dyadic Adjustment Scale [DAS]), state and trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) before commencing and after completing the Yoga workshops.

Anxiety, depression and fertility-specific quality of life showed improvement over time in association with participation in a 6-week Yoga programme in women awaiting their treatment with IVF.
Citations

0
Authors

Galia Oron | Erica Allnutt | Tasha Lackman | Tamar Sokal-Arnon | Hananel Holzer | Janet Takefman
Published

2015
Journal

Reproductive BioMedicine Online
Volume / Issue

Author's primary institution

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Source

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1472648315000577
Challenge of infertility: How protective the yoga therapy is?
Practice
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
Abstract

Along with better management of stress, yoga therapy also helps to improve circulation, promote proper functioning of the internal organs. In men, practicing moola bandha has been associated with relieving spermatorrhea, preventing inguinal hernia, and controlling testosterone secretion.

The practice of moola bandha is used to enhance awareness of genital arousal sensations, and in this way, may be a helpful adjunct for improving sexual desire and arousal.[7] In addition, as men age, their production of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), as well as testosterone and other androgens or sex hormones decline. It has been estimated that for every year over the age of forty, men's testosterone level drops by one percent.[9] About 20% of men in their 60's have significantly reduced testosterone levels. As testosterone is a key hormone in men's sexual functions, aging-related decline in testosterone levels has a negative impact on men's sexual performance.

Yoga therapy, by improving and integrating neuroendocrine axes, improves hormonal secretion. Thus, it improves sexual desire and overall reproductive health.[7]
Citations

16
Authors

Pallav Sengupta
Published

2012
Journal

Ancient Science of Life
Volume / Issue

Jul-Sep; 32(1): 61–62.
Author's primary institution

Department of Physiology, Vidyasagar College for Women, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Source

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3733210/
Hatha-yoga as a psychological adjuvant for women undergoing IVF: a pilot study.
Practice
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
Abstract

Objectives:

To evaluate the influence of Hatha-yoga (HY) practice on distress of women before starting their first in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

Study design:

We offered 143 consecutive women with couple infertility the opportunity to attend a free HY course lasting 3 months as a psychological support before starting their first IVF cycle. All women were asked to complete the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y1 (STAY-Y1), Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) at baseline (T1) and after 3 months (T2), to evaluate symptoms of anxiety, depression and distress, respectively.

Results:

Of the 143 women, 120 completed all three questionnaires. Of these, 45 attended the HY course and 75 did not. At T1, EDS and GHQ-12 scores were significantly higher in the HY group than in the non-HY group. There were no group differences in STAI-Y1 scores. At T2 there were no group differences. When, in each group, the score of each questionnaire at T1 was compared to the score at T2, a significant T1 to T2 reduction was observed in the HY group (p < 0.0001 for STAY-Y1 and GHQ-12, p < 0.001 for EDS).

Conclusions:

Our data suggest that women who are more distressed are more likely to accept psychological support before starting an IVF cycle and that in these women HY practice is associated with distress reduction.
Citations

1
Authors

V Valoriani | F Lotti | C Vanni | M C Noci | N Fontanarosa | G Ferrari | C Cozzi | I Noci
Published

2014
Journal

European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Volume / Issue

176
Author's primary institution

Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC), Florence, Italy
Source

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211514000761
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