The benefits of a regular yoga practice are practically endless, and many people are surprised to know that increased fertility is one of them. Yoga helps with conception by
- Cultivating a healthy body
- Relieving Stress Through Deep Breathing and Meditation
- Connecting to your partner
- Practicing fertility boosting poses
- Visualization
How Yoga Helps with Conception
Trying to conceive can be difficult and frustrating, but yoga is one way to help you get there. Give your body the best chance of conceiving possible with these top yoga tips.
Yoga can not only help your body prepare for pregnancy, it can also provide you with the mental clarity and grounding to cope with a newborn and help ease any baby-related stress.
Cultivating a healthy body
Your future baby needs a healthy and happy home to grow in, if your body doesn’t feel prepared to take care of a baby, conceiving will be hard work.
How can you do this?
Well, even just by starting a yoga practice you will be well on your way, as the health benefits of yoga are so great. Practicing a gentle yoga just a few times a week will help build muscle tone, improve cardiovascular help, increase flexibility, and lower blood pressure.
Psychological stress is a huge factor that can often result in infertility. Mental health is so important as a baby doesn’t want to grow in a stressed-out body.
Practicing poses specifically designed to decrease anxiety, such as legs up the wall pose, downward dog, or child’s pose, will go a long way towards reducing your general stress levels and providing a healthy, happy home for your baby to grow.
Relieving Stress Through Deep Breathing and Meditation
Trying to conceive can involve an awful lot of stress, and deep breathing is another way to reduce stress. While breathing is something we do all day every day, we rarely do it consciously. Breathing deeply is a fantastic relaxation technique, and luckily it goes hand in hand with yoga. Practicing different breathing techniques before, during, or after your yoga practice will ensure you reap even more relaxation benefits.
How to Practice Conscious breathing
The easiest way to do this is through conscious breathing. Find a comfortable, quiet space to sit, away from any distractions (yes, that includes your iPhone!) Close your eyes, relax, and place both hands on your belly. Breathe in deeply, noticing the expansion of your belly, and then slowly breathe it all out.
Try to stay focused on the feel of your breath. Setting a timer for 5-10 minutes is a great way to ensure you stay focused, without worrying that time is running away from you!
Connecting to your partner
Trying to conceive can be taxing on both you and your partner. What should be an enjoyable and connecting experience can easily become filled with stress, difficulty, and often resentment. Use yoga to reconnect with your partner by letting any thoughts of resentment dissolve during your practice.
Spend some time at the start of your practice slowly contracting and relaxing your body parts. This will dissipate any tension and ensure you don’t take any stress out on your partner, who likely feels just as frustrated as you!
Another good way to reconnect with your partner is by practicing yoga together! Joining a class will ensure you both reap the relaxation and health benefits of yoga, plus it’s a great way to spend quality time together without the pressure of feeling as though you should be trying to conceive!
Practicing fertility boosting poses
There’s a number of different yoga poses that can help boost fertility, ensuring you get that good news sooner rather than later. As well as improving your psychological state, many of these poses will activate the body parts needed to conceive.
Shoulder stand is a powerful fertility improving pose
Great poses to practice include shoulder stand, which will help stimulate the thyroid gland, cobra pose which stimulates the flow of blood to the ovaries and uterus, or bridge pose which will open your pelvic region.
How to perform a yoga shoulder stand
Practicing these poses regularly will help activate the parts of your body needed to conceive. Try to hold each one for 3-5 breaths.
Visualization
The power of visualization should never be underestimated, and going to a yoga class provides a safe space to visualize what it is that you want.
At the end of the yoga class, you will practice Savasana or corpse pose. This is the perfect time to practice a visualization, as you will most likely already be centered and grounded from your practice, as well as being without distractions.
Allow yourself to relax thoroughly, try to feel your body sinking deeper into the mat or floor with every out breath. When you feel relaxed, begin to picture yourself with your happy, healthy baby. Imagine breathing in the baby’s scent and feel the weight of it in your arms. Allow yourself to feel any emotions that crop up as you picture yourself with your baby. It’s okay to be skeptical about visualizations, many people are, but the mind is extraordinarily powerful and you never know how your body might respond.
In Closing
Use these tips to help prime your body for conception and get you on your best start to a healthy, happy pregnancy.
About the author: Kosta Miachin is the creator of VIKASA Yoga method - a unique, challenging and effective approach to yoga. He is also the founder of VIKASA Yoga Academy. You can find him online: http://www.vikasayoga.com