Yoga and Getting Pregnant: How It Supports Your Body for Conception

The Connection Between Yoga and Getting Pregnant

Although research does not yet link yoga and fertility directly, yoga clearly has positive effects on biological processes in the body that do impact fertility directly. We know, for example, that stress can damage fertility levels, and that a difficult infertility journey can increase stress further, which can make it even harder for those trying to conceive.¹ Practicing yoga with poses that relieve stress can help break that vicious stress cycle and set your body up with a better ecosystem for fertility. In fact, one study demonstrated that a structured, 6-week yoga program consisting of one 90-minute yoga session per week for women trying to get pregnant caused measurable reductions in stress and anxiety levels, which led to better conception outcomes.²

How Yoga Affects Reproductive Health

There are even more links between yoga and getting pregnant besides reducing stress and anxiety levels. Speaking of yoga generally, it encourages a stronger, more aware link between the body and the mind. It’s a moving meditation that teaches you mental stamina and breath control while also massaging, stretching, and strengthening your muscles, balance, cardiovascular system, and the glands responsible for regulating your body’s hormone balance.³ Each of these things, taken together, can improve overall health, contributing to improved fertility.

Stress Reduction and Hormonal Balance

We've said it before and we'll say it again: lowering stress levels is important for supporting efforts to get pregnant. This is where yoga shines, and science backs that up, specifically for women struggling with conditions that impede fertility. One really interesting study discovered that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who practiced in a mindfulness yoga class three times weekly experienced significant hormone balance improvement.⁴ PCOS commonly inhibits fertility levels in women because of hormone imbalances. The yoga classes reduced testosterone levels and improved DHEA levels while also providing significant anxiety and depression relief, reducing their PCOS burdens and improving their bodies’ fertility ecosystems.

Physical Benefits of Yoga for Conception

Of course, yoga is both a mental and a physical practice. At Pulling Down the Moon, we help our patients understand the inextricable link between the body and mind and how this impacts fertility. Yoga practice to improve fertility fits wonderfully with this philosophy, and we have seen great results with so many of the couples we work with. First, we’ll share some of the physical benefits of yoga for fertility:

Improved Circulation and Blood Flow to Reproductive Organs

Many yoga asanas (poses) help open up circulation and improve blood flow all over the body, including to the reproductive organs. Rushing more fresh blood loaded with oxygen and nutrients to reproductive organs can help them function better, which can improve the chances of conception.

Strengthening the Pelvic Floor and Core Muscles

Certain asanas are recommended for bolstering core muscles and the pelvic floor, which is important for many things related to conception and pregnancy. Core muscles support your spine and pelvic floor muscles are like a “bowl” of muscles that help facilitate and regulate sexual, urinary, and bowel functions.⁵ They are also important during pregnancy and delivery.

Enhancing Flexibility and Reducing Inflammation

Yoga involves poses that stretch you, gradually improving your flexibility. This can reduce the chances of injury and pain and help you feel more relaxed and limber. Furthermore, research shows that yoga practice can reduce inflammation present in people with chronic inflammatory conditions like PCOS that impede fertility.⁶ Lowering inflammation levels once again improves the body’s fertility ecosystem, improving the chances of pregnancy.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of Yoga for Fertility

When you feel better, you feel better… physically and mentally. Pain, inflammation, and stress are all connected. Yoga is a great tool for reducing all of those negatives while improving the mind-body connection to make your chances of getting pregnant better, regardless of whether you’re just trying to do it naturally, or you’re working with ART.

Managing Stress and Anxiety During Fertility Journeys

Going through the infertility struggle is stressful enough on its own. And then you’re told that you need to lower your stress levels to try and get pregnant, which can, in its own way, boost your anxiety. Never, in the history of anything, did saying, “Just calm down” to someone going through a stressful situation help someone actually calm down. But yoga? Now that’s something that really does help, and studies show that it specifically helps women struggling with infertility to lower their stress and anxiety levels related to that struggle.⁷

Cultivating Mindfulness and Emotional Resilience

Yoga is a practice that can move with you through any stage of life, whether that is trying to conceive, struggling with pregnancy loss or miscarriage, dealing with pregnancy aches and pains, or grappling with the stress of being a new parent. It’s more than just trying out different stretches. It’s about your mind and body connecting on a deeper level to understand and release emotions, cope with hard things, and demonstrate to yourself that you are capable, strong, and centered.

Building Mental Focus and Positivity

Working with a certified fertility yoga instructor who truly understands what you’re going through is an enormously powerful way to take control of the things you can control in your life, even when there is so much that feels out of control. Yoga is a moving meditation that helps you focus on breathing, movement, and emotions, as your instructor helps you see the good and the positive in your journey, which can release feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. And this isn’t just dreamy stuff. The science supports that a focused, regular yoga practice can relieve depression and anxiety naturally.⁸

Best Fertility Yoga Practices for Supporting Conception

There are several different types of yoga and more than 80 different asanas or positions. Not all positions or styles are necessarily appropriate for people trying to get pregnant, however. Also, don’t expect yourself to be able to do each pose “perfectly”, especially if you are beginning. Do the best you can, and let that be good enough as you improve with each yoga session. This is why it’s important to work with a yoga instructor who understands the connections between yoga and getting pregnant, and which poses are appropriate and beneficial for helping improve fertility, like our Pulling Down the Moon fertility yoga instructor. Our instructor will teach you how to position your body for each pose, and help you modify poses for your ability as you begin. The following asanas are considered safe and beneficial for improving fertility:

The Cobra

This pose helps improve circulation to the uterus and ovaries. You lie face down on the yoga mat, placing your hands to the sides of your chest, palms down, elbows tucked toward your body. Inhale as you push your body up from the floor like a snake lifting off the ground, gradually lifting to the navel, tightening your belly as you go. Continue to breathe throughout the entire pose while holding it for about 20 to 30 seconds. Then, with one last inhale, exhale as you gradually release back down to the floor.

The Reclining Bound Angle

This pose releases stress and tension from the hips, groin, and inner thigh muscles. For this pose, you can choose to use a pillow, or not. Lie on your back on the yoga mat. Bend your knees up, spread them apart, then touch the soles of your feet together. Spread your arms wide out to the sides, palms facing up. Again, continue breathing deeply and slowly throughout the pose. For beginners, try holding this pose for 10 to 15 breaths. As you continue practicing, you can try to increase your time in this pose to 3 or 4 minutes.

Hand Under Foot Pose

This one is a great spinal nerve tonic that boosts metabolism and relieves stress. Stand with your feet close together, arms at your side. Gently swing your arms up over your head and touch the palms together. Inhale deeply, then, while keeping your spine straight, bend at the hips, slowly exhaling, and touch the floor with your fingers. If you can palm the floor with your hands, do that, bringing your forehead as close as possible to your knees. Continue to breathe deeply for 5 breaths, then reverse the action. Inhale deeply while unbending from the hips with the spine straight, until you are standing straight with your hands above your head. Gently swing them back down to your sides. This pose can be hard to do as described at first. Be gentle and gradual as you practice to improve your positioning.

Legs Up the Wall

This pose relieves stress, can help lower blood pressure levels, enhances blood circulation in the pelvic area, and strengthens those important pelvic floor muscles and the vagina. It’s also great for tired legs! To start, scooch your mat right up against a wall, and then scootch your butt as close to the wall as possible. Lie down so that your back is flat on the floor, and your legs are sitting perpendicular up on the wall. Stretch your arms out to your sides with the palms upward. There are more challenging adaptations to this pose, but just relax and breathe in this pose for several seconds.

Warrior II

Working with a certified fertility yoga instructor who truly understands what you’re going through is an enormously powerful way to take control of the things you can control in your life, even when there is so much that feels out of control. Yoga is a moving meditation that helps you focus on breathing, movement, and emotions, as your instructor helps you see the good and the positive in your journey, which can release feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. And this isn’t just dreamy stuff. The science supports that a focused, regular yoga practice can relieve depression and anxiety naturally.⁸

Staying Consistent and Motivated in Your Fertility Journey

The fertility journey can seem long, hard, and agonizing. But you can increase your personal power and stay motivated in your journey by taking control over things you can control. Yoga is a powerful self-care practice that has so many benefits if you’re trying to get pregnant. If you would like to see for yourself how yoga and getting pregnant are linked, check out our fertility yoga classes, and feel the difference in your mind and body. Our other holistic fertility services like massage, acupuncture, and nutrition complement yoga in your fertility efforts. And don’t go it alone! You can connect with us and with many others going through this struggle on our new Fully Fertile App. Schedule a consultation today! Our Pulling Down the Moon community is here for you!

References

¹Rooney, K. L., & Domar, A. D. (2018). The relationship between stress and infertility. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 20(1), 41–47. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6016043/

²Impact of a Structured Yoga Program on Anxiety in Infertility Patients: A Feasibility Study. (2024). Longdom.org. https://www.longdom.org/open-access/impact-of-a-structured-yoga-program-on-anxiety-in-infertility-patients-afeasibility-study-2375-4508-1000183.pdf‌

³17 Benefits of Yoga Backed by Science. (n.d.). Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/benefits-of-yoga-8652622

⁴Staff, A. (2020, April 14). Mindful yoga reduces testosterone by nearly one-third in women with PCOS, JAOA research finds - The DO. The DO. https://thedo.osteopathic.org/2020/04/mindful-yoga-reduces-testosterone-by-nearly-one-third-in-women-with-pcos-jaoa-research-finds/

⁵Noble.dana. (2024, July 12). The pelvic floor: Essential things to know in pregnancy - Mayo Clinic Press. Mayo Clinic Press. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/pregnancy/the-pelvic-floor-essential-things-to-know-in-pregnancy/

⁶Djalilova, D. M., Schulz, P. S., Berger, A. M., Case, A. J., Kupzyk, K. A., & Ross, A. C. (2018). Impact of Yoga on Inflammatory Biomarkers: A Systematic Review. Biological Research for Nursing, 21(2), 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1099800418820162

⁷Desai, G., Dumbala, S., Bhargav, H., Satyanarayana, V., Arasappa, R., Varambally, S., & Bangalore, G. (2020). Effect of yoga on psychological distress among women receiving treatment for infertility. International Journal of Yoga, 13(2), 115. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_34_19



⁸R, P., Kumar, A. P., Dhamodhini K S, Venugopal, V., Silambanan, S., K, M., & Shah, P. (2023). Role of yoga in stress management and implications in major depression disorder. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 14(5), 100767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2023.100767