Yoga is known to be highly beneficial by promoting peace of mind and unity between the mind and the body. A lesser known, but equally important feature of yoga is its healing powers. While many conditions will need the advice of a medical professional, some conditions can be greatly relieved, if not completely cured, with yoga.
Indeed, a scientific paper has cited 77 clinical studies and articles arguing that male fertility can be effectively boosted by specific male fertility yoga poses1 Sengupta P, Chaudhuri P, Bhattacharya K. Male reproductive health and yoga. International Journal of Yoga. 2013. 6(2): 87-95.
The Yoga Effect
In fertility yoga, the body is put through a series of exercises that are designed to aid fertility. These poses positively stimulate the endocrine (hormonal) system. This system is made up of glands, which are responsible for the production and dissemination of hormones throughout the body.
Of course, this also includes those hormones responsible for optimal fertility in males as well as females.
The Sakral Chakra
Yoga is thought to stimulate the chakras of the human body and certain yoga poses will stimulate particular chakras. The Sanskrit word Chakra literally means wheel or disk.
In yoga, this term refers to wheels of energy throughout the body. There are seven main chakras, which align the spine, starting from the base of the spine through to the crown of the head.
To visualize a chakra in the body, imagine a swirling wheel of energy where matter and consciousness meet. This invisible energy, called Prana, is vital life force, which keeps us vibrant, healthy, and alive.
The chakra associated with fertility is called the Sakral Chakra, which is located in the pelvic area at the third and fourth vertebrae and just above the pubic bone.
It governs sex and reproduction, emotions and creativity by helping us seek pleasure and enjoyment.
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A person whose second chakra is in balance is creative, imaginative, adaptable and has a healthy sex life. If your second chakra is out of balance, you are likely experiencing self-criticism, guilt and have a compromised sex life.
Yoga will benefit male fertility by
– Stimulating blood flow around your pelvic area
Stimulation of the Sakral chakra will benefit your sexual function and your testicles, which in turn will promote male sexual hormone production. This is important for male health and youthfulness.
– Opening your hip joints
This will make your hips more flexible and stronger and give you a boost in the bedroom.
– Destressing
By Practising yoga regularly will lower your cortisol levels, be more relaxed and feel better. This is conducive to a successful conception.
Yoga is great for relieving stress and this, by itself, is sometimes enough to aid fertility and encourage a quick pregnancy – for the male partner, as well as the female. Cortisol levels are raised when you are stressed and this can wreak havoc in many areas of on the body.
Any regular exercise is good for the general health of the body, keeping joints and muscles in good working order and increasing flexibility. A healthy body is more likely to operate at maximum efficiency.
Yoga Poses = Asanas
Fertility yoga is an excellent way to combine an exercise regimen with a boost in fertility Adopting the below poses that will encourage your energy flow in such a way that your chances of conception are maximised – and kept at that optimum level for as long as possible!
It is highly recommended to get yoga instructors to guide you through the poses. This will ensure that your overall health will improve effectively and your fertility will be dramatically enhanced. Many of the poses physically put your body into a series of positions that ensure that you are well exercised, with all limbs rotating smoothly. The simple act of exercising can see you becoming fitter, more toned and more healthy: all prerequisites for high fertility and a good libido.
Suggested Yoga poses which are likely to help your erectile function are:
The Pigeon pose
The Pigeon is a basic pose, yet not for the faint hearted. It is intense and liberating at the same time.
How does it benefit male fertility? Pigeon is about unlocking our deepest fears, traumas and anxieties. Pigeon is a pose that stimulates and releases the pressures put on our lower two chakras, the root and the sacral. These two chacras house our relationships with both ourselves and our friends and partners. They relate to our grounding potential: our needs for survival, intimacy, trust and stability.
Dancers Pose
The Dancers Pose develops concentration and balance.
How does it benefit male fertility? It stimulates the Sakral Chakra by stretching the leg and hip muscles and hip flexors, while strengthening the back body in a back bend. It also strengthens the arch in the standing foot, develops range of motion in the shoulders and expands the chest and front body.
Twisting Triangle
The Twisted Triangle Pose is a standing, deep-twisting yoga pose, which stretches the entire body. It squeezes and massages the digestive organs, while challenging balance and concentration.
How does it benefit male fertility? Once again, it stimulates the Sakral Chakra by stretching the hamstrings, groins, and hips. This strengthens the thigh, hip, and back muscles providing relief from lower back pain, stress, and sluggish digestion. Also opening the chest and shoulders it improves balance and stability, both mentally and physically and increases body confidence and courage, and poise.
Sacral Chakra Sun Salutation
The Sun Salutation is probably the most famous sequence of yoga poses. It consists of eight posts, which are all relatively easy to perform. Called Surya Namaskara (lit. “salute to the sun”) in Hindi, its origins lie in India where its Hindu population worships Surya, the Hindu solar deity. This sequence of movements and asanas is widely praised across different yoga styles, from beginner to teacher to master, because it can be practised on varying levels of awareness depending.
How does it benefit male fertility? The fluidity of sun salutations is particularly effective in stimulating the second chakra.
Even some instances of erectile dysfunction can be aided with yoga allowing a greater range of movement and suppleness throughout the body, which can clear physical adhesions and blockages in the body.
More advantages of yoga
Other advantages of yoga include an improvement in circulation, which is another significant factor in general fertility. Good circulation improves heart health, helps you to maintain good body heat and can even improve your mood, enabling the ready circulation of endorphins whenever you exercise.
Yoga, along with a healthy diet, is an excellent way to improve and maintain your immune system, helping you to quickly shake off any viruses and bugs that might be going around. Having a sturdy immune system is also necessary for an incident-free conception and pregnancy.
When deciding to take up yoga, do not be put off by those internet photographs of incredibly slender and flexible people (usually very young!), gracefully posing in positions that seem to defy gravity and the laws of physics.
While some expert yoga practitioners certainly can and do achieve such positions with ease and grace, beginner yoga starts at a much simpler level. Easy, gentle stretching and toning exercises that will help you to build up your flexibility, health and muscle tone.
This will allow you to progress through the various levels and difficulties of yoga until you have reached a level at which you are comfortable and ready to progress to the next level!
Improve your fertility with micronutrients
Several micronutrients such as vitamins, vitaminoids, amino acids and trace elements have proven themselves effective in improving sperm quantity, motility and shape. This directly translates into better overall sperm quality and therefore a higher chance of pregnancy.
A natural food supplementation therapy for men is
- relatively inexpensive
- effective after three to six months
- able to increase sperm motility by up to 23%, ejaculate volume by up to 33% and sperm count by up to 215%2 Imhof M, Lackner J, Lipovac M, Chedraui P, Riedl C. Improvement of sperm quality after micronutrient supplementation. e-SPEN Journal. 2012. 7(1): e50-e53
- without side effects
For those reasons, male fertility food supplements are most definitely recommended as the first step in the treatment of oligospermia and asthenospermia.
Understand how to increase fertility through supplements
We have tested the best natural male fertility boosters
Also men who have not yet taken a semen analysis test will benefit from supplementing micronutrients to ensure they are able to deliver high-quality semen.
There are no contraindications or side effects to this form of natural “sperm boosting”.
An excellent and detailed overview of many studies can be found in Steven Sinclair’s Male Infertility: Nutritional and Environmental Considerations.
A considerable range of male fertility supplements available on the UK market.
However, the products differ widely in price and composition. Menfertility.org has compared 10 of them in terms of value for money and the nutrients they provide.
The most effective male fertility nutrients
A multitude of studies has shown that highly dosed nutrients have potentially significant impact on overall sperm quality.
The amino acid L-arginine has been proven to increase sperm count and motility 3 Sinclair S. Male infertility: nutritional and environmental considerations. Alternative Medicine Review. 2000. 5(1): 28-38 4 Scibona M, Meschini P, Capparelli S, Pecori C, Rossi P, Menchini Fabris GF. L-arginine and male infertility. Italian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. 1994. 46(4): 251-3.
Another amino acid L-carnitine has been found to significantly improve sperm concentration (count) and motility over a relatively short period of only 8 weeks5 Lenzi A, Lombardo F, Sgrò P, Salacone P, Caponecchia L, Dondero F, Gandini L. Use of carnitine therapy in selected cases of male factor infertility: a double-blind crossover trial. Fertility and Sterility. 2003. 79(2): 292-300 6 Costa M, Canale D, Filicori M, D’lddio S, Lenzi A. L-carnitine in idiopathic asthenozoospermia: a multicenter study. Italian Study Group on Carnitine and Male Infertility. Andrologia. 1994. 26(3): 155-9.
Vitamin D has been shown to improve sperm count, motility and morphology7 Blomberg Jensen M, Bjerrum PJ, Jessen TE, Nielsen JE, Joensen UN, Olesen IA, Petersen JH, Juul A, Dissing S, Jørgensen N. Vitamin D is positively associated with sperm motility and increases intracellular calcium in human spermatozoa. Human Reproduction. 2011. 26(6): 1307-17.
Vitamin B9, better known as folic acid has been shown to increase count, motility and morphology8 Safarinejad MR, Shafiei N, Safarinejad S. Relationship between genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (C677T, A1298C, and G1793A) as risk factors for idiopathic male infertility. Reproductive Sciences. 2011. 18(3): 304-15.
Zinc improves the immune system and significantly improves sperm count in combination with folic acid9 Wong WY, Merkus HM, Thomas CM, Menkveld R, Zielhuis GA, Steegers-Theunissen RP. Effects of folic acid and zinc sulfate on male factor subfertility: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Fertility and Sterility. 2002. 77(3): 491-8.
Selenium in combination with vitamin E has been found to improve motility10 Moslemi MK, Tavanbakhsh S. Selenium-vitamin E supplementation in infertile men: effects on semen parameters and pregnancy rate. International Journal of General Medicine. 2011. 4: 99-104 11 Keskes-Ammar L, Feki-Chakroun N, Rebai T, Sahnoun Z, Ghozzi H, Hammami S, Zghal K, Fki H, Damak J, Bahloul A. Sperm oxidative stress and the effect of an oral vitamin E and selenium supplement on semen quality in infertile men. Archives of Andrology. 2003. 49(2): 83-94 12 Vézina D, Mauffette F, Roberts KD, Bleau G. Selenium-vitamin E supplementation in infertile men. Effects on semen parameters and micronutrient levels and distribution. Biological Trace Element Research. 1996. 53(1-3): 65-83.
Nutrients must be applied permanently
Sperm cells take 11 weeks to mature in the testicles. Only then they are ready for ejaculation.
If you adjust your diet today it will thus take three months for the better sperm to be ready for fertilisation.
You must therefore keep the diet or supplement on an ongoing basis – ideally until your partner is pregnant or you decide for a different treatment.
All of the male fertility supplements in our great test include several of these nutrients at once, albeit at a lower dose. This is a cost-effective and convenient way making this type of fertility therapy affordable and requiring taking only one all-in-one supplement instead of many.
To find out more about the effects of the individual nutrients and how the various supplements compare, please read menfertility.org’s male fertility supplement review.
The top male fertility supplements
Dr. Jones is an experienced consultant in assisted reproduction.
He has worked as a Fertility specialist at Kingston Hospital Assisted Conception and nearly 10 years experience of working in Obstetrics and Gynaecology across hospitals in the UK.
He completed his Masters in Assisted Reproduction Technology and then his PhD, from Imperial College London. Dr. Jones main areas of interest are Single Embryo Transfer, Endometriosis, PCOS and Implantation failure in IVF patients. He is a member of the British Fertility Society and an associate member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Bibliography
- 1Sengupta P, Chaudhuri P, Bhattacharya K. Male reproductive health and yoga. International Journal of Yoga. 2013. 6(2): 87-95
- 2Imhof M, Lackner J, Lipovac M, Chedraui P, Riedl C. Improvement of sperm quality after micronutrient supplementation. e-SPEN Journal. 2012. 7(1): e50-e53
- 3Sinclair S. Male infertility: nutritional and environmental considerations. Alternative Medicine Review. 2000. 5(1): 28-38
- 4Scibona M, Meschini P, Capparelli S, Pecori C, Rossi P, Menchini Fabris GF. L-arginine and male infertility. Italian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. 1994. 46(4): 251-3
- 5Lenzi A, Lombardo F, Sgrò P, Salacone P, Caponecchia L, Dondero F, Gandini L. Use of carnitine therapy in selected cases of male factor infertility: a double-blind crossover trial. Fertility and Sterility. 2003. 79(2): 292-300
- 6Costa M, Canale D, Filicori M, D’lddio S, Lenzi A. L-carnitine in idiopathic asthenozoospermia: a multicenter study. Italian Study Group on Carnitine and Male Infertility. Andrologia. 1994. 26(3): 155-9
- 7Blomberg Jensen M, Bjerrum PJ, Jessen TE, Nielsen JE, Joensen UN, Olesen IA, Petersen JH, Juul A, Dissing S, Jørgensen N. Vitamin D is positively associated with sperm motility and increases intracellular calcium in human spermatozoa. Human Reproduction. 2011. 26(6): 1307-17
- 8Safarinejad MR, Shafiei N, Safarinejad S. Relationship between genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (C677T, A1298C, and G1793A) as risk factors for idiopathic male infertility. Reproductive Sciences. 2011. 18(3): 304-15
- 9Wong WY, Merkus HM, Thomas CM, Menkveld R, Zielhuis GA, Steegers-Theunissen RP. Effects of folic acid and zinc sulfate on male factor subfertility: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Fertility and Sterility. 2002. 77(3): 491-8
- 10Moslemi MK, Tavanbakhsh S. Selenium-vitamin E supplementation in infertile men: effects on semen parameters and pregnancy rate. International Journal of General Medicine. 2011. 4: 99-104
- 11Keskes-Ammar L, Feki-Chakroun N, Rebai T, Sahnoun Z, Ghozzi H, Hammami S, Zghal K, Fki H, Damak J, Bahloul A. Sperm oxidative stress and the effect of an oral vitamin E and selenium supplement on semen quality in infertile men. Archives of Andrology. 2003. 49(2): 83-94
- 12Vézina D, Mauffette F, Roberts KD, Bleau G. Selenium-vitamin E supplementation in infertile men. Effects on semen parameters and micronutrient levels and distribution. Biological Trace Element Research. 1996. 53(1-3): 65-83
