Yoga for Male Fertility

YOGA AND FERTILITY:-

The most powerful effect of Yoga practice on a person's fertility is through calming, restorative effects on the mind and body. A quiet, stable mind and body promotes fertility.
In addition to stress relief, Yoga has effects by improving the blood circulation, affecting the nervous system, improving the mobility of organs, improving the hormone release, causing muscle stretching and relaxation and also by affecting the mind and the way of thinking.
We will go through various Yogic Asanas (exercises) and find out, how it helps both for male and for the female fertility.

Yoga for Male Fertility:-

1. Padahastasanam:The pelvis get fully stretched in this posture so there is stretching vessels, tubes and organs which helps in clearing blocks, and improve muscle relaxation.
2. Virbandhasanam:-Just looking at the Asana, we can understand that muscles get maximum stretched improving the vascularity (blood circulation) to reproductive organs.
3. Gomukhasanam:-As the legs and hips bent over, all internal organs are massaged. Also the heel is actually putting pressure at the site of prostatic gland. This is the gland which secretes enzymes, which helps the liquifaction process of the semen. It also improves semen volume, because of prostatic stimulation.
4. Janu shirshasanam:-You can maximum stretching in this asanam for the spinal cord (backbone). This helps in calming the sympathetic nervous system and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
5. Explanation :-There are two types of nerve supply
   • Parasympathetic:-This helps in the cascade of reactions leading to various stages of sexual arousal.
   • Sympathetic :-This is active in stressful conditions and adrenaline is released, this suppress sexual response. In the asana, sympathetic nerves are calmed down, thus reducing the effect of stress. Whereas the parasympathetic is activated, thus improving the response for stimulus (arousal)
6. Bhadrasanam:-The pelvic bone is opened up in this posture, thus helping the circulation.
7. Shalabhasanam:-Here the blood is completely drained away from legs and pelvis to chest and head region. This is helpful in reducing and even curing Varicocoele. Varicocoele is a condition, where pooling of blood causes reduced sperm count and motility.
8. Navasanam:-The blood in the whole body gets fully concentrated in the pelvic region. This brings lots of vitamins, minerals, hormones to the reproductive organs.It will also help in washing out toxins, oxidants and infections, which might be lodged there.
9. Sarvangasanam:-To understand we need to understand the physiology of reproduction. There is a gland called pituitary gland just below brain. This secretes LH, FSH, which in turn produces sperms from testis and eggs from ovary. In this asana, the whole blood pools to the pituitary area, and helps in LH, FSH secreation.
10. Ardha Pawanmuktasanam:-Here the pressure from the legs pressing on towards the central region helps in squeezing out insulin from pancreas. It is effective in diabetes which is a common condition causing male subfertility
11. Pranayamam:-This is different from the excercises, which we described earlier. The breath is being controlled Voluntarily by doing Pranayamam. It is most helpful in reducing stress and strain. This can be done anywhere anytime, even between the job. As stress is the main factor which reduces fertility, Pranayamam is extremely helpful.

Authored by Dr. Anitha Mani - Infertility Specialist & Laparoscopy Surgeon