Anyone can have mindless sex, but what if you could have mind-blowing connections with your partner by starting on your yoga mat? No, I’m not telling you to have sex on your yoga mat — although, if that’s what you’re into, then rock on. Several yoga poses can actually tone your body in all the right places for an amazing sexual experience. In the process, you’ll also be developing more mindfulness and learning to stay in the moment easier, paving the way for more intimacy and connection.
1. Cat/cow series for Kegel exercises
Start on your hands and knees with your wrists aligned with your shoulders, and your knees aligned with your hips. Inhale and arch the back slowly into cow pose. Lift your belly button toward the spine as you arch your back. Then exhale and round the lower back up and allow your back to curve toward the mat in cat pose. Gently repeat this motion six or eight times.
According to Ellen Barrett, author of “Sexy Yoga,” this pose helps strengthen the Kegel muscles as you control your tailbone in the transition between cat and cow. The Kegel muscles contract during orgasm. They’re also responsible for supporting the uterus, bladder, rectum and small intestine. In fact, both women and men can benefit from exercising the Kegel muscles.
2. Tree pose for mindfulness
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms resting at your sides. Shift your weight to your left foot as you bend your right knee. Place your right foot on the inside of your left thigh. It should rest just above the left knee. If finding your balance here is hard, or if you lack the flexibility to place your right foot above the left knee, place your right foot just below the knee or right above your ankle. Keeping your pelvis straight, open the right knee out to the side. Bring your hands up into prayer position at your heart center before raising them above your head. Repeat this pose for the other side.
Not only does this pose help with hip flexibility – something everyone can benefit from in the bedroom – but it also helps you learn how to balance. Barret recommends tree pose and other balancing poses because they teach mindfulness through focused attention to one thing at a time. “It helps slow life down a little,” Barrett says, and that can help you learn how to focus on one thing in the bedroom, instead of that never-ending to-do list that competes for your attention.
3. Bound angle pose for low libido
While sitting on your mat, bring the soles of your feet together by bending your knees. Allow them to drop to the floor, or use rolled blankets or yoga blocks to prop them up. Hold your toes with both hands and inhale to align your spine and lengthen your torso. On the exhale, bend forward at the hips and lower your forehead toward your toes. A more restorative version of this pose is practiced by lying on your back with your legs in the same position. Hold this pose for eight to 10 breaths.
This pose helps strengthen your inner thighs as it opens your hips for more flexibility. You also experience nearly immediate improved blood flow to your pelvic region, increasing circulation and paving the way for more arousal and increased libido.
4. Chair pose for climax control
Begin chair pose by standing in mountain pose with your arms at your sides. The spine should be nice and straight, and your sternum lifted. Bend your knees as if you are going to sit down on a chair. Squeeze your thighs together as you straighten your arms to lift them above your head. Keep your pelvis tucked for the duration: eight to ten breaths. Add power to the pose by lifting your toes up off the mat, or squatting deeper.
New York City yoga instructor, Derek Beres, suggests this pose to men as a way to extend their longevity during intercourse. It’s also a way to train the body to draw energy back into the body for what Beres calls a “whole-body orgasm.”
5. Pigeon pose for relaxation
To begin this pose, bring your left shin up to the top of the mat. Your left heel should be resting close to your groin. Draw the right leg out in a straight line behind your body. Keeping your hips as level as possible, slowly lower your weight onto your forearms until your head rests in their cradle. Hold this pose for up to ten breaths before repeating it on the other side.
Pigeon pose opens the hips and releases tension. Stress can kill your sex drive, so poses like this one that not only open the lower part of the body but also help ground you, can be very beneficial. With your body folded over your front leg, you learn how to pay attention to your breath, thereby improving your overall mindfulness. The practice also improves your ability to focus on yourself and your partner during intercourse.
Whether you practice these poses solo or with your partner, they’re guaranteed to get you in the mood. What’s your favorite sexy yoga pose?
— Megan Winkler