Yoga: A Tool For Stress & Fertility

Women are turning to yoga to increase their chances of conceiving — and some swear by the effects of the recent trend, saying the ancient art of yoga mixed with modern science helped them start their families. In the U.S. population alone, over 7 million women are struggling with diagnosed infertility, and many more have unexplained infertility. The fertility journey can be painful, cause physical symptoms and take a toll on mental health, and adding in this ancient practice can relieve some of these experiences, and may just increase your chances of conception.

Yoga is different from some of the more intensive fertility support tools, like therapy or fertility groups, in that you can do something positive and something that has real physical and definitive outcomes, and the more you go, the more connections you make, sharing stories or learning new things that help your journey, and help you get pregnant.

The impact on a woman’s stress level can affect a woman’s ability to conceive, as stress in your brain releases a chemical neurotransmitters which can absolutely have impacts on one’s fertility.  Stress, in general, can trigger a whole inflammation pathway in our bodies. So anything you can do to minimize stress is always going to be good.

Mind-body exercises like yoga, meditation, or a guided imagery CD session for even an hour a week, are fantastic for regulating hormones, increasing circulation and reducing this toxic stress, all helpful while trying to get pregnant.

And what if you are too tired, feel uncoordinated or just don’t like the idea of yoga? Try other mind-body, healing tools, like getting massages or acupuncture treatments. All of these pro-active modalities have been shown to have a variety of medical and physical effects, such as reducing pain, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, and rejuvenating your body and mind while you just lay there and enjoy the benefits, including enhanced fertility.