The Mayo News

Trying to conceive? Try yoga


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Trying to conceive can be an exciting, emotional and stressful process. A holistic approach, such as the one yoga uses, can be very beneficial. Practicing simple yoga asanas (physical postures) can boost your chances of getting pregnant, while improving your overall health.
Yoga is known to boost hormones and stimulate the reproductive organs. It is also very effective in combating stress, which is scientifically proven to inhibit fertility. For us women, it also disrupts the menstrual cycle and delays ovulation. For men, stress has a telling negative impact on the sperm count. Yoga helps relieve stress and relax the body. A restorative yoga class, where the body, mind, and spirit learn the art of relaxation will benefit both partners to further aid fertility and conception.
In the case of women undergoing fertility treatment, yoga also makes it easier for the body to bear the effects of the drugs and makes the body more receptive towards the treatment.
The following is a guide to home practice and is suitable for both partners. This posture stimulates abdominal organs like the ovaries and prostate gland.

Supta Baddha Konasana
>  Sit with your legs straight out in front of you.
>  Exhale, bend your knees, pull your heels toward back of thighs, then drop your knees out to the sides and press the soles of your feet together.
>  Exhale again and lower your back torso toward the floor, first leaning on your hands. Once you are leaning back on your forearms, use your hands to spread the back of your pelvis and release your lower back and upper buttocks, bring your torso all the way to the floor, supporting your head and neck on a blanket
>  Release your arms on the floor, angled at about 45 degrees from the sides of your torso, palms facing up.
>  To start, stay in this pose for one minute. Gradually extend your stay anywhere from five to ten minutes.
>  As you practice, soften the abdominal area and begin to consciously remove tension from around the reproductive organs.
>  To come out, use your hands to press your thighs together, then roll over onto one side and push yourself away from the floor, with your head last to come up.