Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Researchers have found that mindfulness meditation can lead to an increased feelings of relaxation, decreased muscle tension, reduced anxiety and increased self-confidence—all important factors for a healthy sexual response. Research also suggests that practicing yoga asanas stimulates your brain to produce the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for the formation of emotional bonds and trust.

Mindfulness and the Female Libido

yoga sex lifeSpecifically, the article, “Eastern Approaches for Enhancing Women’s Sexuality: Mindfulness, Acupuncture and Yoga,” by researchers Lori A. Brotto, PhD, Michael Krychman, MD, and Pamela Jacobson, LAc, Dipl OM, cited the benefits of mindfulness meditation, a key component of yoga, to the female libido. They said, “Mindfulness significantly improves several aspects of sexual response and reduces sexual distress in women with sexual desire and arousal disorders.”

Research has shown that mindfulness meditation upon a particular part of the body increases blood flow to that area; and, as we all know, adequate blood flow is key to a healthy sexual response. Scientists have also found that practicing yoga asanas and meditation techniques can increase your abilities to bond emotionally with others.

How Meditation Acts Upon the Brain and Emotions

Furthermore, scientists have found that, when practice is consistent, mindfulness meditation can permanently alter brain function. Mindfulness meditation increases activity in the insula, a region near the front of the brain that plays a role in the physical expression of emotion. The insula is believed to be vital in the processing of empathy, and the perception of the emotional states of others.

Richard Davidson and Antoine Lutz, two researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believe that repeated stimulation of the insula through mindfulness meditation can lead to a lasting increase in the ability to feel the positive emotions of love and compassion. If increased feelings of love and compassion can improve our daily interactions, then it can also improve our sex lives, as a stronger connection with a sexual partner means a more powerful sexual experience.

Yoga Exercise for Better Sex and Relationships

Research has found that yoga asanas and mindfulness meditation can increase feelings of relaxation, self-confidence and well-being while decreasing muscle tension and anxiety and stimulating the secretion of oxytocin, a hormone that enhances feelings of trust and emotional bonding. According to recent research published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, mindfulness meditation can enhance blood flow to specific areas of the body and help women to cope with sexual dysfunction. And, of course, yoga will make you more flexible, too.