Fertility + Yoga: Can I Really Break a Sweat?

The answer is you absolutely can, but there’s a caveat: you can break a sweat doing certain types of yoga. Colloquially, we mistakenly assume that yoga refers to a type of physical movement. In reality though, “yoga” is actually about stilling our mind, and one of the tools it offers to do so is Asana, which sanskrit for posture. The level of vigor varies substantially amongst different forms of yoga. From Restorative to Ashtanga to Iyengar to Kundalini, it really runs the gamut (even if they share some postures or poses, such as downward dog). Consequently, some varieties of yoga will make you sweat, while some are actually designed to do the very opposite. Many will land you somewhere in the middle, depending on the particular class, teacher, and your individual fitness level.

That said, most of us use “yoga” to mean Vinyasa Yoga, which is a type of yoga that is more acrobatic and more likely to give you a sense of a cardio workout.From the Sanksrit “to place in a special way,” Vinyasa Yoga is characterized by linking a deliberate sequence of poses to breath to achieve a continuous flow (thus the common term “Vinyasa Flow”). Within this world of Vinyasa Yoga*, there will be gentler and more energetic forms – you have to dabble until you find the studio or teacher that can provide the balance you’re specifically seeking. That said, Vinyasa Yoga isn’t necessarily what I might suggest to someone who is looking to yoga for fertility.

Exercise for Fertility

If sweating is your goal, there are certainly other types of exercise routines out there that will get you more of it, more quickly – think boot camps and other High Intensity Training (HIT) models. However, it’s my belief that as a society—one so focused on weight loss and not so much a healthy weight—we’ve rather exaggerated how much cardio we need. Correspondingly, we have deeply undervalued the importance of stretching and intentional breathing, both of which improve mobility, circulation, and digestion while reducing anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. And indeed it’s these benefits that make “yoga to get pregnant” and “yoga for fertility” a thing (this article on fertility & yoga dives in a little deeper)This is especially true if you’re pregnant, or if or going through fertility treatments. Beyond calorie burning and blood flow, your body needs a holistic caring approach so that it can thrive. This is important to think about when considering an exercise routine while on your fertility journey. 

Whether you’re a mother, an expectant mother, or hoping to become a mother (read: trying to conceive), yoga can be helpful. Vinyasa Yoga can provide the ideal balance of cardio, strength building, and stretching (do try to lay off the intense abdominal work like planks and boat pose). A sixty-minute yoga class typically begins with a warm up and then moves into approximately thirty minutes of more energetic sun salutations. The salutations and other standing flowing poses are the part of class where you get that sweatiness going. The last 25 minutes or so are generally some combination of seated forward folding and back bending (on your belly or on your back). We often also include an inversion (supported or more active) and then a few minutes of completely passive rest known as Savasana.

Sweating in Fertility Yoga

Notably (and perhaps surprisingly?), this is approximately how much cardio the American Heart Association recommends: 150 minutes per week, or 30 minute sessions five times a week. In yoga you’re really getting the best kind of sweat on. Between the downdogging, stepping forward, stepping backward, standing poses, arm work, and back-bending, you get a full body workout. Not to mention all the arm variations which help to open up our shoulders, chest and back. Do be mindful in class though to try to lay off the intensive core exercises so that your belly gets a little quieter and softer (which is actually what you want when you’re trying to conceive). Rather than feeling drained and constricted, you generally feel energized, calmer, and more open when you leave a yoga class. The calming part tends to come from the latter part of class. The end of class is soothing to our nervous system. It's often characterized by quieter, longer, and more targeted stretches and strengthening poses. And indeed its this that makes yoga so beneficial for fertility.

Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal and postnatal classes will eliminate particular kinds of exercises (such as planking), while focusing on the muscle groups natal women should strengthen and release. Prenatal yoga and fertility yoga classes also provide women specialized support for their experience, be it help with round ligament pain, piriformis syndrome, heartburn, or other struggles pregnant women might be working through.

There are few other types of physical activities that provide you the plethora of benefits in such a short time. But, I gotta tell you, that 60-minute workout followed by a 5-minute stretch is a ratio that just isn’t going to cut it in the long run, especially as our bodies age. Never has this been truer than in the age of desk work, where we spend the majority of the day at sitting at a desk (or sitting on the couch or at the dinner table).  All this sitting makes us tighter and less able to sustain the wide range of motion our bodies were intended to enjoy.

Do you ever marvel at a kid's ability to sit in the most contorted of ways? It’s easy to forget this but you used to sit that way, too! We lost that ability because we stopped doing it. Our bodies are rich in the complexity of their movement. It’s our lifestyle that has limited us by narrowing our movements to the repetition of a miniscule range of motion. 

So, yeah – you really can break a sweat doing yoga. Indeed Yoga becomes a wonderful avenue to improve our physical and mental wellbeing while also “working out.”

*I am by no means saying this is the best type or only type of yoga to consider, but for this brief article I will make it our focus.

This article was also published by Robyn, an incredible hub for parental wellness. They’re a great resource as you move through your fertility journey.