16 Best Yoga Asanas to Increase Fertility in Women

Recent trends suggest that more women are finding it harder to conceive due to stress, as it takes a toll on physical as well as psychological health. According to statistics published by the World Health Organisation, about 15% of couples worldwide seek help for fertility issues. Of the many options available to couples, one which is fast gaining popularity, is fertility yoga. This form of yoga has been mostly preferred by those who are sceptical about other treatment options available for infertility. Bear in mind that fertility yoga may or may not cure fertility completely, but it will help reduce stress and make you fitter than before. You may also choose to combine these yoga poses with other treatment options to up your fitness, which is often recommended before starting any treatment for infertility. Read on to know more about fertility yoga.

What Is Fertility Yoga?

Fertility yoga is derived from the ancient practice of yoga asana. It is a set of poses that could help treat infertility. As you know, yoga is a 5000-year-old Indian practice that can bring revolutionary changes in your mind, body and soul. Each asana is designed to bring about holistic healing. Fertility yoga is not a separate type of yoga that cures infertility, but rather a set of certain yoga poses that reduce the stress levels and cleanse the body of toxins. A combination of these yoga poses is ideal for women looking to get pregnant, as they can help strengthen the body and boost chances of conceiving. A study by Harvard has proved that women who took fertility-focused yoga courses were more likely to conceive than those who did not.

Before we head to knowing the different type of yoga poses that can increase fertility, let’s take a look at some leading causes of infertility.

What Are the Leading Causes of Infertility?

There are several causes of infertility in women. Knowing the accurate cause can help tackle the condition. Here are some of the leading causes of infertility in women:

1. Age

In women, fertility declines as they age. It dwindles especially after the mid-30s, and it is primarily because a woman is born with all the eggs she is going to produce during her lifetime, and the number and quality of these eggs decrease as she grows older. The diminishing ovarian reserve eventually leads to infertility.

2. Tobacco

Smoking can reduce the likelihood of pregnancy by affecting a woman’s fertility. Cigarettes contain toxins which have an adverse impact on the reproductive system. They age the ovaries, which decreases the number of healthy eggs or lead to miscarriages.

3. Alcohol

While there is no proven information about the exact effects of alcoholism on fertility, various studies conducted globally indicate that regular consumption of alcohol increases the risk of infertility.

4. Eating Disorders

Women with eating disorders and an inactive lifestyle are prone to infertility. Eating disorders can disrupt regular periods; a condition medically called amenorrhea. This, in turn, lowers fertility. Eating disorders also lead to excessive weight gain or weight loss, which again, are not beneficial for fertility.

5. Damage to the Fallopian Tubes or Uterus

Damaged fallopian tubes, poorly functioning reproductive organs, blockages, infections or chronic medical illness could be some more reasons that cause infertility. These could either prevent the sperm from travelling to the egg or affect the movement of the fertilised egg to the uterus, making it difficult to conceive.

6. Stress

Work, family or other reasons for stress can take a toll on the body and reduce your chances of getting pregnant. Infertility could also add to the stress, creating a vicious cycle that one must break out of.

Yoga for fertility helps you overcome some of the causes mentioned above. The poses can help increase your chances of getting pregnant while increasing your fitness levels. Let’s see how certain yoga poses could benefit women and help boost fertility.

How Do Yoga Poses Boost Fertility?

A healthy body and a calm mind are the prerequisites for increasing your chances of getting pregnant. Yoga is a wonderful way to boost fertility as it allows you to have a holistic approach to strengthening and conditioning your body. It marries both the physical and mental aspects of health. Some yoga poses can boost both in one go. When practised regularly, these poses make for the best yoga for fertility program.

Benefits of Yoga Asanas for Fertility and Conception

Adopting yoga is a good way to start preparing if you want to start a family. Here are some of the most prominent advantages of practising yoga for fertility in women:

1. Yoga Reduces Stress

The breathing exercises in yoga lower the stress-causing hormone called cortisol in your body, increasing your chances of conceiving and having a healthy baby. With lower stress levels, you can get a good night’s sleep and detoxify, too.

2. Yoga Increases Circulation

Yoga beats the evils of chronic illness and blockages that act as a hindrance to a healthy reproductive life. Practising fertility yoga improves blood circulation by flushing out all the toxins from your blood. The quality of blood is crucial to conception and pregnancy as it ensures proper development of the foetus.

3. Yoga Helps to Keep Hormonal Imbalances in Check

The ability to not have a baby due to hormonal imbalances is distressing and can impact not just your physical, but emotional health as well. Yoga keeps your mind calm while controlling the hormones that would otherwise cause imbalance.

Trying out yoga for conceiving could end up being the best way to dispel any unnecessary hormonal changes by your body that could hinder pregnancy.

4. Yoga Keeps the Ovaries Healthy

Ovarian dysfunction is one of the leading causes of infertility among women. Apart from medical treatment, yoga is an excellent way to treat ovary related issues naturally.

By trying out yoga for conceiving, you will be able to add a lot of positive energy to your body.

A healthier body responds better to medicines that are used to induce pregnancy. Read on to know some yoga poses that can help increase fertility in women.

Top 19 Fertility Poses to Get Pregnant Fast

Try these yoga poses for conceiving a baby and begin the fight against infertility. These poses should be practised regularly so that your body gets used to them.

1. Surya Namaskar

Surya Namaskar includes a series of poses that helps improve blood circulation. Regular practice of Surya Namaskar helps women regulate irregular menstrual cycles and assist in childbirth. Further, it helps in bringing a glow to the face and also prevents wrinkles. Other than this, it also improves sexual functions of the body.

How to Do It:

• Start by standing straight.
• Stretch your back by leaning backwards.
• Bend forward without arching your back and touch your toes.
• Move one leg as far back as you can while your other leg is at a 90-degree angle between your palms.
• Then, move the second leg parallel to the first leg and get into a plank position.
• Drop your hips and chest on the ground.
• Push your weight using your palms and curl your back into the cobra pose.
• Shift to the downward dog pose by raising your hips and lowering your head as you keep your elbows, your back, and your knees straight.
• Bring one leg back in between your palms.
• Bring the second leg back between the palms.
• Come up keeping your back straight, with your arms raised.
• Then, slowly lower your arms and come back to the standing position.
• Repeat the asana 12 more times.

2. Hastapadasana

Popularly known as the standing forward bend, Hastapadasana stretches all the muscles in your back and abdomen while improving blood circulation in your body. This yoga pose is also vital for making your body flexible and releasing all stress from the abdomen area.

How to Do It:

1. Stand straight while stretching your arms over your head.
2. Slowly bend forward and try to touch your toes with your hands. Do not bend your knees while doing it. If you can’t touch your feet, try to bend forward, as much as you can.
3. Hold the pose for a minute and get back up slowly.
4. Try to do around 10-12 reps. With practice, you should be able to touch your feet.

3. Dandasana

Dandasana helps correct the posture and also strengthens the back muscles, the hamstrings and the core. This pose is also believed to energise the body, which is much required by women stressed with fertility issues.

How to Do It:

1. Sit down with your legs stretched in front of you.
2. Keep your toes pointing towards the ceiling.
3. Place your palms next to your hips on the ground and straighten your spine.
4. Lower your shoulders, keep your neck straight, chin levelled and focus on a point at a distance.
5. Remain in this position for at least a minute and repeat this asana 3 to 5 times.

4. Paschimottanasana

The Paschimottanasana is also known as Seated Forward Fold. This yoga asana stretches the muscles on your lower back, hips and hamstrings. It is very useful for improving fertility in women as it vitalises important organs like the ovaries and stomach while reducing mental stress.

How to Do It:

1. Sit with your legs stretched and toes pointing towards you.
2. Inhale and stretch your arms over your head.
3. Bend slowly keeping your spine straight to touch the sides of your feet while exhaling.
4. Hold the position for 2 minutes.
5. Inhale and come back to the sitting position again with your arms stretched out and then exhale.

5. Janu Shirasana

This yoga asana is not only crucial for conceiving but is also useful during pregnancy. It is one of the popular poses in yoga for infertility treatment and is also known as the one-legged forward bend or the head to knee pose. It stretches the calves and the hamstrings of your body while relaxing the muscles of the abdomen.

How to Do It:

1. Sit comfortably with your legs stretched in front of you.
2. Fold your left leg in, while keeping your right leg stretched out. Bend forward as much as you can and touch your right foot with your hands.
3. Hold the pose for 30 seconds and get back up. Fold your right leg in and stretch out your other leg out to repeat the same process.
4. Bend down as much as you can to touch your left foot, hold the pose and get back up again to complete a set.

6. Bhujangasana

Bhujangasana resembles the posture of a Cobra. It increases flexibility, tones the abdomen, strengthens the back and shoulders and improves blood circulation. The famous Surya Namaskar also has Bhujangasana, but it can be done all by itself, especially as part of fertility yoga.

How to Do It:

1. Lie flat on the ground on your stomach.
2. Keep your legs close to each other.
3. Fold your elbows and place both your palms on the floor near your chest.
4. Take a deep breath and lift your upper body pulling away from the ground and stretch as you push your upper body backwards.
5. Keep your feet together on the ground. Do not raise or fold them.
6. Breathe out and slowly come back to the original posture.

7. Setu Bandhasana

Popularly known as the Bridge pose, it improves blood circulation in the body while having a calming effect on the brain and central nervous system.

How to Do It: 

1. Lie on your back with your arms by your side.
2. Slowly bend your knees and bring your feet towards the buttocks. Stop where your feet touch the floor completely, and you can safely raise your hips.
3. Lift your pelvic area upwards while balancing your body on your arms and feet forming a bridge.
4. Ensure the pose is steady. If not, gently get down and try again.

8. Viparita Karani

Viparita Karani is believed to have anti-ageing effects on your body. It also improves blood circulation to your pelvic region. The asana is also called the leg up the wall pose, and some believe that it can increase the chances of conception if done immediately after sex.

How to Do It:

1. Sit close to a wall, facing it, and lie down on the floor.
2. Stretch your legs at a 90-degree angle and move your hips towards the wall so that they touch the wall.
3. Lie on your back with your legs stretched out straight on the wall.
4. Hold the pose for as long as you can.

9. Salamba Shirsasana

Salamba Shirsasana is the classic headstand yoga posture, making it one of the most challenging but more effective yoga postures to increase fertility. This yoga pose requires a lot of practice. If you are doing it for the first time, it is better to learn from a qualified instructor who will break it down in steps and also support you while you do the asana.

How to Do It:

1. Take a soft mattress or cushion for head support.
2. Sit on your knees in front of the pillow.
3. Lock your fingers together and place your locked hands on your head.
4. Bend down and place your head on the pillow kept on the ground.
5. Transfer all your body weight onto your head and hands by lifting your folded legs straight over your head. Balance your body weight.

10. Balasana

Balasana helps relieve stress and increase blood flow, which is important to enhance fertility. It is also called child’s pose as the asana resembles a foetal position. This yoga asana stretches the muscles of your back, knees, hips and thighs. Your stomach must be empty before doing this asana, so practice it at least four to six hours after a meal.

How to Do It:

1. Kneel on the floor and see that your toes touch each other as you sit on your heels.
2. Spread your knees hip-width apart and slowly bend forward.
3. Stretch your arms forward and place them in front of you.

11. Sarvangasana

Sarvangasana, also known as the Shoulder Stand, helps treat thyroid conditions and relieve stress at the same time. This asana targets the thyroid directly and is one of the most effective yoga poses that can help treat infertility.

Thyroid conditions cause of infertility in women, as a lack of the Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) can lead to many health complications that inhibit your ability to conceive.

How to Do It:

1. Lie on your back with legs straight on the floor.
2. Raise your legs to 90 degrees and press the floor with your palms to lift the waist and the legs upward.
3. Fold your arms at the elbow and support your waist with your palms.
4. Keep your legs straight and held together.
5. Hold the pose for 50 to 100 seconds.

12. Baddha Konasana

The Baddha Konasana pose is also known as the butterfly pose or the bound angle pose. It improves your flexibility while stretching the muscles of your inner thighs, genitals, hip area and knees. It is one of the more helpful fertility yoga exercises, and it can also help in smoother and less painful delivery when the time arrives.

How to Do It:

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight, and legs stretched in front of you.
2. Bend your legs inside so that the soles of your feet are facing each other.
3. Hold your feet together and pull them as close to the pelvic area as possible.
4. While holding your feet, move your thighs up and down like the wings of a butterfly.

13. Supta Baddha Konasana

This yoga pose strengthens your inner thigh and groin muscles. It is also helpful in relieving menstrual cramps, bloating and stress. The asana opens the hip area and is also called a reclined/reclining bound angle pose.

How to Do It:

1. Lie straight on your back on the floor. Keep your neck on a pillow if you need to.
2. Keep your palms facing upwards firmly by your side.
3. Bend your knees upwards with your soles touching the floor.
4. Stretch your knees to the side so that your feet touch each other.
5. Relax the entire body and continue touching the sides of the knees to the floor.

14. Upavishtha Konasana

Upavishta Konasana is a stretching yoga pose which helps boost fertility. It strengthens the abdominal area, stretches the thighs, strengthens the spine and has a calming effect on the mind and body.

How to Do It:

1. To start, sit comfortably on the floor with your legs stretched in front of you.
2. Now, move the legs away from each other. Stretch them as wide as possible.
3. Inhale, and while exhaling, slowly bend forward.
4. Stretch your arms and try to touch your toes.
5. Hold the pose for about a minute. Keep breathing normally.
6. Inhale while coming up.

15. Shavasana

This yoga posture is very popular because of its simplicity. Also known as the corpse posture, Shavasana is performed at the end of each yoga posture to normalise the heartbeat and also relax strained muscles.

How to Do It:

1. Lie flat on your back with your hands by your side.
2. Continue to breathe normally and relax every part of your body.
3. Maintain the posture at least for 3 to 4 minutes.

16. Kapalbhati Pranayama

Kapalbhati is one of the most popular yoga poses and acts as a remedy for many maladies. It also helps your mind remain fresh so that your stress levels are reduced immensely, making you more positive.

How to Do It:

1. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and back straight. You may sit in the lotus position on the floor or sit upright in a chair.
2. Inhale deeply through your nostrils and exhale forcefully so that your stomach goes inside.
3. Ensure there is no pain in your stomach, lungs and chest when you exhale. You may stop doing the asana is you experience pain.
4. Perform this asana for 5 minutes every day and experience the transformation in your mind and body while doing it.

17. Bhramari Pranayama

Bhramari Pranayam is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. Since stress is a major reason behind infertility, this asana is a must-try pose. The asana is also called the Humming Bee Breath asana.

How to Do It:

1. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed.
2. Place your index fingers on the cartilage of your ears to block all surrounding noise.
3. Inhale deeply and exhale while making a humming sound.
4. Try to hum in a high pitch and as long as you can.

18. Nadi Shodhan Pranayama

Popularly known as Anulom Vilom or alternate nostril breathing, this yogic exercise purifies your body from negative emotions, stress and depression.

How to Do It:

1. Sit comfortably in a lotus position with your spine straight.
2. With the ring finger of your right hand, close the left nostril and inhale through your right nostril.
3. Now with the thumb of your right hand, close the right nostril and exhale through your left nostril.
4. Repeat the same process with your left hand, but close the right nostril with the ring finger of your left hand, and the left nostril with the left thumb.

19. Yoni Mudra

The Yoni Mudra is dedicated to the female goddess Shakti in Hinduism, where ‘yoni‘ means ‘womb’ or ‘vulva’. Yoni Mudra helps to calm the mind by silencing the constant worrisome chatter in your head. Some practitioners also believe that this mudra helps to improve fertility and also the health of women.

How to Do It:

1. Sit in any comfortable meditative posture with your eyes closed.
2. Join your palms in Namaste. Touch the tip of the thumbs to each other. Then, touch the tips of the index fingers to each other.
3. Fold the remaining three fingers and touch the back of the fingers to each other.
4. Hold this hand gesture close to the navel for 5-10 minutes while maintaining a natural breathing pattern.

Yoga helps you adopt a holistic approach toward infertility treatment. However, it is recommended that you couple it with accurate diagnosis and treatment by a doctor. When the issue has been identified, and treatment recommended, you will be ready to welcome that much-awaited new member in your family.

References:

• MayoClinic

Also Read: Foods to Improve Female Egg Quality