Yes, It Relaxes, but Yoga Can Also Rev Your Sexual Desire

I’d thought that no drug could ever grab more of our collective attention than did Prozac, the anti-depressant / mood elevator introduced late last decade. For a while there, you couldn’t pick up a book, magazine or newspaper without having to read about the “miracle medicine” that would change our lives. All those pages, it’s a wonder any trees are left standing.

Well, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the forest, another “miracle medicine” has arrived on pharmacists’ shelves: Viagra. My God, you’d think that poverty, disease, racism and war had been eradicated, given the amount of excitement generated by this little pill that’s supposed to do for sex what the VCR did for the adult film industry. So frenzied has been the energy around Viagra that its manufacturer can’t keep up with demand.

Now let’s just hold on a second. On the one hand we have Prozac and its genetic cousins, which are supposed to make us feel better. On the other hand, we have Viagra, which is supposed to . . . uh, make us feel better. That’s two hands, both of them holding pills that can cause unpleasant side effects such as headaches. But according to what I’ve read, a very high percentage of people who take these medications aren’t clinically depressed or impotent. It’s these people who might get what they’re looking for through more organic means.

*

Like yoga.

In more than 25 years of practice, I’ve discovered that yoga makes me feel better mentally, emotionally, physically and sexually. Without drugs. And without headaches.

Yoga derives from ancient Hindu philosophies and disciplines that seek to join the body with the spirit. But of course, in the Western world, the vast majority of yoga’s adherents are in it for exercise, not religion. These days, yoga classes are full of people who have taken up the practice as a way to rejuvenate themselves and defeat the anxiety, depression and fatigue caused by the stress of trying to juggle 37 things at a time and be in four places at once. What yoga offers is a way to replenish the body’s energy stores in a way that a dozen Starbucks lattes can’t touch.

For me, regular exercise can also do this. I love getting out there to run and sweat, but I equally love the benefits that yoga offers. The two programs support each other, a kind of yin-yang, East-West balance.

In one sense, yoga is an elaborately conceived stretching and strengthening program. The practitioner assumes postures, called asanas, that are given names like “the Lion,” “the Cobra,” “the Warrior.” The latter, for example, is a pose that looks pretty much like a freeze-framed lunge. Holding any of the asanas properly for 30 seconds to two minutes or longer causes some discomfort, as the body assumes positions that are unlike those of daily life.

*

What separates yoga from vigorous stretching is its emphasis on breathing. Breathing properly not only helps to focus the mind on the pose, it actually alleviates discomfort. You soon learn that much of the tension is caused by a sort of holding on, a resistance, to the posture, and that you can “breathe through” it and go further in the posture than you’d believed possible. The surprise is that breathing helps to establish and maintain equanimity, poise, confidence.

Best of all, you can take those qualities from yoga and carry them into your daily life. Whatever happens, it’s possible to remain relaxed and focused, thoughtful and calm, instead of reactive. Without Prozac.

Different kinds of yoga offer different approaches. Hatha yoga is the most popular in America. Yet even within Hatha yoga, different disciplines suit different personalities. Iyengar, for example, centers on alignment--learning to find that perfect position through attention to detail.

Ashtanga, or power yoga, feels more athletic, since the postures are connected, or flowing, and somewhat vigorous. When searching for the type of yoga that feels right, you can and should experiment by visiting different classes and asking questions of the instructor. Never stay in a class that’s too advanced for your level.

*

No matter the approach, yoga is ultimately about letting go. About opening up. About elongating. About breaking through the layers of invisible armor you’ve erected over the years to protect against being wounded. Exposing what’s underneath is precisely what the postures and breathing are intended to do.

And this is where yoga’s Viagra aspect comes in. There you are, bending over, legs extended, armor disappeared, tension dissolved, mind calm; you’ve gotten in touch with parts of yourself you haven’t felt since adolescence. I promise you, after an hour or so of yoga, it’s all but impossible not to feel sexually charged. You’ll be ready, willing--and highly able. At least, that’s what happens to me. And my husband. And many others who have tried yoga, or so they claim.

Don’t believe it? Take the yoga challenge. Try it--and see what comes up.

Copyright 1998 by Kathy Smith

* Kathy Smith’s fitness column appears weekly in Health. Reader questions are welcome and can be sent to Kathy Smith, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. If your question is selected, you will receive a free copy of her book “Getting Better All the Time.” Please include your name, address and a daytime phone number with your question.