Yoga For Fertility And Infertility: What Mr Iyengar, The Yoga Doctors And The Research Say

Trying for a baby, and it is taking longer than you hoped? Month after month of waiting is hard on body and mind. Many women, and many couples, look into yoga for fertility at this point, whether they are trying naturally, living with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) or going through IVF. Mr BKS Iyengar, his daughter Geeta Iyengar, the medical doctors who worked with him and 19 studies all have something to say. This guide brings it together, gently and plainly. Last updated: 1 November 2026.

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Does yoga help with fertility and infertility? The short answer

Yoga helps with the stress, anxiety and low mood that so often come with infertility, and that result is clear and consistent across the trials. Women having IVF who did yoga had lower fertility stress. Mindfulness and mind-body programmes lowered anxiety and depression, and in several trials more women in those programmes became pregnant. On yoga and IVF, the trials agree on calmer minds. In PCOS, small yoga trials found lower testosterone, less excess hair, smaller waists and better mood. What the research has not shown is that yoga on its own makes pregnancy happen: no large trial has shown that yoga alone raises pregnancy or live-birth rates. The pregnancy results so far come mostly from bundled programmes that mix yoga with relaxation, group support and talking skills.

One thing to keep in mind as you read: these trials tested “yoga” of many styles, taught by teachers with very different training. No trial has yet tested Iyengar yoga on its own for fertility. In our view as certified Iyengar teachers, a well-taught Iyengar class, adapted to you and to the time of your cycle, is likely to go further than the average. Why the kind of yoga matters.

The bottom line: five key moves for fertility and infertility

1. Go to a yoga class at your level, several times a week. The trials that helped ran for 6 to 12 weeks, two or three times a week. Calm comes from regular practice, not one class.
2. Choose steady, gentle practice over hard effort. Dr McCall warns that very vigorous exercise and very low body fat can upset ovulation. In the Iyengar way, the poses are firm but never forced.
3. Add pranayama (breath practice) and deep rest. Slow ocean breath (Ujjayi) and staircase breath (Viloma), with supported resting poses, are the Iyengar tradition’s answer to the stress of trying to conceive.
4. Let the practice follow your cycle. Rest during your period, a fuller practice after it, and, in the Iyengar tradition, a gentler practice in the second half of the cycle while you are trying.
5. Start now, both of you. Men make up half the picture. New to Flametree, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price, in Darwin or LIVE online.

Iyengar yoga is the style we teach at Flametree. During the 20th century, Mr BKS Iyengar was the major person who codified traditional Indian yoga, through his seminal books and widespread teaching. He also pioneered the use of props, so poses can be adapted to almost any body. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. His daughter, Geeta S Iyengar, did more than anyone to work out how yoga should change for women at each stage of life, from the monthly cycle to pregnancy. This guide is part of our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

This guide in short

• Geeta S Iyengar: start yoga before you conceive if you can, practise with the cycle, and calm the nerves, because the urge to conceive can itself upset the hormones.
• Mr BKS Iyengar: infertility has many causes; his long course mixes standing poses, upside-down poses and hip openers, and his principle is a calm, passive brain.
• Dr Timothy McCall: a whole chapter on infertility. Stress is the central way he says yoga can help; release the pelvis, ease off hard effort, and let go of control.
• PCOS: small yoga trials found better hormones, waist size, hair growth and mood.
• For men: half of infertility is male factor, and men do far less yoga. Early research on yoga and sperm is promising.
• The research: 19 studies below. Stress, anxiety and mood clearly improve. Pregnancy gains come mostly from bundled mind-body programmes.
• Take it further: a free ebook on stress, women’s and restorative classes, and classes in Darwin and online.

“Rushing saps the strength, whether you are in Delhi or New York. Do things rhythmically with a calm mind.”

What is infertility, and what can cause it?

Infertility usually means not becoming pregnant after a year of trying. Mr Iyengar defines it that way in Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health (p. 394). Dr McCall adds that about four in five women of childbearing age conceive within a year of trying, and that fertility falls with age. When there is no clear cause, it is called unexplained infertility.

• Causes in women: Mr Iyengar names hormone imbalance, growths (tumours), cysts, problems with ovulation (the monthly release of an egg) and pelvic infections. Dr McCall adds scarring, endometriosis (womb-lining tissue growing outside the womb), the body reacting against sperm, and differences present from birth.
• Causes in men: low sperm count or sperm that do not move well. Dr McCall lists smoking, heavy drinking, pesticides, heat and enlarged veins in the scrotum (varicoceles) as contributors.
• PCOS and fertility: in polycystic ovary syndrome, many small egg sacs (follicles) start to grow each month but none becomes the leading one, so an egg is often not released. PCOS is one of the most common reasons for irregular ovulation.
• Stress: the big question is whether stress causes infertility or infertility causes stress. The Boston IVF group’s answer, in a 2018 review, is that infertility clearly causes stress, while whether stress causes infertility is still unclear. Either way, the stress is real and it is worth easing.

“The body should be the performer and the brain the observer.”

What did Geeta Iyengar teach about preparing for pregnancy?

In short: start yoga before you conceive if you can, practise with your cycle rather than against it, and give the nervous system plenty of rest.

Geeta S Iyengar (1944 to 2018) taught alongside her father in Pune for more than 50 years. In Yoga: A Gem for Women she explains the cycle simply: the ovaries release an egg each month, under the control of the pituitary gland at the base of the brain (pp. 47 to 48). She calls pregnancy a natural state and advises starting yoga before conceiving if you can (pp. 53 and 90). She also writes that good thoughts, enthusiasm, courage, hope and optimism help even a weak body and mind grow strong (p. 41).

Her book Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood, written with senior teachers, has a whole chapter on preparing for pregnancy (chapter 2, pp. 38 to 48). It sets out the Iyengar tradition’s approach. In our words:

• The time before conception matters. The book sees the months before pregnancy as being as important as the pregnancy itself, for both partners. It asks for a balanced diet and no alcohol, drugs, nicotine or caffeine, and it encourages men to practise too (p. 38).
• What it says yoga does. The book’s claim is that gentle practice improves circulation in the pelvis, strengthens the spine and with it the womb, and brings mental balance (pp. 38 to 39). It says much of the chapter also applies to women conceiving by IVF (p. 39).
• Practise with the cycle. Complete rest and restful poses for the first 48 to 72 hours of a period, with upside-down poses only once the period is over (pp. 39 to 40). After the period and before ovulation, the work centres on supported inversions, supported backbends and open-chested forward bends (p. 40).
• Stress and the hormones. The book names mental stress, poor nutrition, rapid weight loss and anorexia as things that can disturb the brain’s signal (GnRH) that drives the hormones FSH and LH, which run the cycle and ovulation. It adds that the urge to conceive can itself upset this balance, so it gives restful poses and pranayama, Ujjayi and Viloma, for stress (pp. 40 to 44).
• After ovulation, while trying to conceive. This is the book’s traditional approach, not something trials have tested. For women having trouble conceiving, it suggests care in the second half of the cycle: leaving out twists, full forward folds that press on the womb, deep backbends and poses that press on the pelvic floor, so the egg can settle in the womb lining. The book itself says many women conceive while doing these poses (pp. 44 to 45).
• Do not overdo it. The book warns against exaggerating yoga or any sport, and it stresses even alignment of the pelvis and spine (p. 45).

We do not publish the book’s sequences. A sequence needs a teacher who can see how you are on the day and change it, which is what a class is for. For yoga once you are pregnant, see our guide to yoga in pregnancy and after the birth, and for the monthly cycle itself, our guide to period pain, PMS and menstrual problems.

“Contraction brings tension to the nerves; release brings freedom.”

What did Mr BKS Iyengar say about infertility?

In short: infertility has many possible causes, and his approach is a long, balanced course of poses with a calm, passive brain at its heart.

In Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health, infertility sits in his women’s health section (p. 394). His approach, in our words:

• What it is. He describes infertility as failing to conceive after a year of trying, and names hormone imbalance, tumours, cysts, ovulation problems and pelvic infections among the causes (p. 394).
• A long, balanced course. His course is one of the longest in the book, spread over pp. 394 to 400. It mixes standing poses, inversions (upside-down poses), seated forward bends, reclining hip openers and a supported bridge shape. We do not publish his sequence.
• His principles for every ailment course (pp. 259 to 263): the poses must suit the person, so follow the sequence carefully; work from the edges toward the problem area; teach the brain to be calm and passive, so energy goes to healing rather than to coping with stress; and be patient.
• Men’s health too. The same book has courses for impotence (p. 397) and prostate problems (p. 398), which matter because men’s health is half of fertility.

In Light on Yoga, his appendix of ailments has no entry called infertility. Under “Ovaries” (p. 429) he points to his list for menstrual disorders (p. 428), which draws on inversions, forward bends, seated poses, twists, backbends, rest and breath practice. Under “Sterility” (p. 431) he points to a men’s entry, where breath practice starts without breath holds for the first two or three months. These are lists of pose families for a teacher to choose from, not routines to copy.

Dr McCall’s book also tells how far back this work goes. Senior teacher Aadil Palkhivala began studying with Mr Iyengar as a boy because his mother had struggled to conceive, and Mr Iyengar worked with her using special practices. That is Aadil’s own account, as McCall tells it. More on it in our pregnancy guide.

“Never go to an asana with aggressiveness.”

What does Dr Timothy McCall say about yoga and infertility?

In short: stress is the central way he says yoga can support fertility. Release the pelvis, ease off hard effort, and let go of trying to control the result.

Dr McCall is a US medical doctor and yoga therapist, author of Yoga as Medicine and former medical editor of Yoga Journal. His June 2019 list of health conditions helped by yoga includes infertility (no. 45) and polycystic ovary syndrome (no. 80), and chapter 22 of his book is about infertility. His points, in our words:

• Stress comes first. His claim: from an evolutionary point of view, a body under great stress is not “supposed” to conceive. He says yoga turns down the fight-or-flight system and turns up the rest-and-digest system, which in his view runs the reproductive organs and sends blood to the pelvis.
• Cortisol and the cycle. He says the stress hormone cortisol can stop periods and interfere with ovulation.
• Help with IVF. In his view, lowering stress may support the success of high-tech fertility procedures, and it eases the strain of going through them, whatever the outcome.
• Release the pelvis. Yoga helps you notice where you habitually grip the belly and pelvic floor, and learn to let go and make space there.
• Ease off the effort. He warns that very vigorous yoga, extreme exercise or very low body fat can suppress ovulation, so a gentler, slower practice may suit women trying to conceive. He suggests Headstand, if done, is done with the back to a wall.
• Let go of control. Part of what yoga offers, he says, is learning that the result cannot be controlled, and that lasting happiness cannot depend on having a baby.
• Two Iyengar favourites. He notes that supported Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Reclining Cobbler’s Pose) and supported Bridge Pose are often used in the Iyengar tradition to relax the lower belly and pelvis.

He draws on two teachers. John Friend, a teacher McCall worked with for the chapter, finds that many women with infertility have a tight, numb pelvic floor and lower belly, and grip the belly so the diaphragm cannot move freely. He also finds that high achievers bring all their willpower to conceiving, which can backfire. Jolyon Cowan, the yoga teacher at the Domar Center at Boston IVF, says most women he sees are very driven, so his work is to slow down and bring awareness to body and breath, and he values partner yoga for couples.

McCall also reports the Harvard mind-body programmes. In Herbert Benson’s ten-week programme of gentle yoga, guided imagery, talking skills and the relaxation response, women who had tried for three years on average had fewer physical and emotional symptoms, and 44% became pregnant. In Alice Domar’s randomised study of 184 women, he reports that 55% of those in the stress-reduction programme had a viable pregnancy within a year, against about 20% of controls, and 54% of a support group. He points out that the programmes mixed many tools, so it is hard to say which part worked. He also reports Domar’s finding that women with infertility can carry levels of distress like those of people facing a life-threatening illness.

His lifestyle list (his list, not ours): very low body fat can stop ovulation and obesity can lower fertility; as few as five alcoholic drinks a week have been linked with lower fertility in women; keep coffee to about two cups; no tobacco; and for men, avoid heat from hot baths, saunas and laptops on the lap.

What does Dr Krishna Raman say?

In short: fertility sits in his long women’s health section, and his views on stress and blood sugar bear on PCOS.

Dr Raman is a Chennai physician who trained in yoga under Mr Iyengar. His question-and-answer book, Yoga and Medical Science: FAQ, has questions on inducing ovulation, sperm count, infertility, endometriosis, practising with an IUD and preparing the body for pregnancy. Two of his views, in our words, matter here: stress raises blood sugar, and with yoga, insulin levels stay within normal limits (his view). Both bear on PCOS, where insulin is often high.

“Do your optimum and not your maximum.”

Is yoga good for PCOS and fertility?

In short: yes. Small trials found yoga lowered testosterone, excess hair and waist size, improved insulin and mood, and in one early study more women with PCOS became pregnant.

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is common. An article in Yoga Rahasya, the Iyengar journal (2008, Vol 15 No 3, pp. 31 to 32), puts it at 10 to 12% of women of childbearing age, with many more showing some signs. The signs it lists are weight gain, a waist that grows broader than the hips, extra facial hair, irregular and long cycles, trouble conceiving and high insulin. The article says the causes are unclear, thought to be partly genetic and possibly set off by stress and lifestyle, and that a whole-person approach with yoga may help where working on one symptom at a time has not.

• What the trials measured: male-type hormones (androgens such as testosterone), excess hair growth (hirsutism), waist and hip size, insulin, anti-Mullerian hormone (a marker of the egg supply), cholesterol, anxiety and depression.
• Why calm matters here too: stress hormones push blood sugar and insulin up, and high insulin is part of PCOS. That is one reason a calming practice, not just a sweaty one, makes sense.
• Weight and blood sugar: see our guides to weight, stress eating and cortisol belly and diabetes and blood sugar.

For men: male infertility and yoga

In short: male factor is part of the picture in about half of couples, and men do far less yoga than women. That is a gap worth closing.

• Why it matters for men. Dr McCall says male and female factors share the load, which is why he says both partners count. Low sperm count and poor sperm movement are the usual male causes, and smoking, heavy drinking, pesticides and heat all play a part (his list).
• Men do much less yoga. Most yoga classes are mostly women. Yet Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood asks both partners to prepare before conception and encourages men to practise too.
• Early research. In a 2025 study of 42 men with infertility, 12 weeks of yoga raised sperm count and sperm movement and lowered oxidative stress (a kind of cell wear) in the semen. There was no comparison group, so it is early research, but it is a promising start.
• The Iyengar books. Mr Iyengar gives courses for impotence and prostate problems in Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health (pp. 397 to 398), and his Light on Yoga entry for sterility points to a men’s list (p. 431).
• Bring a mate or come alone, but give it 12 weeks. Better still, come as a couple. Both of you carry the stress, and both of you can ease it.

“Right practice of pranayama soothes the nerves and quietens the mind.”

What does the research say about yoga for fertility and IVF?

In short: yoga and mind-body practice clearly lower stress, anxiety and low mood in infertility and IVF. Several bundled mind-body programmes also had more pregnancies. No large trial has shown that yoga on its own raises pregnancy or live-birth rates. Most of these studies tested yoga in general, of many styles. Why the difference matters.

Yoga and IVF, and yoga with infertility

• Fertility stress fell significantly with yoga. Twice a week for 6 weeks. Kirca and Pasinlioglu 2019, a randomised trial of 128 women at an IVF clinic. Read the study.
• Yoga was linked with less stress, anxiety and depression, and some better pregnancy results; the authors back yoga as an add-on, especially during IVF. Demir Yildirim and Gungor Satilmis 2022, a review of 24 yoga studies. Read the study.
• Women having IVF had less anxiety, depression and distress, and better fertility quality of life, with mind-body methods including Hatha yoga. LoGiudice and Massaro 2018, a review of 11 studies, 7 of them randomised. Read the study.

Mind-body programmes that include yoga

These programmes bundled gentle yoga with relaxation, group support and talking skills, so the results belong to the whole package.

• Pregnancy rates in the second IVF cycle were 52% with a mind-body programme and 20% without. Ten sessions including yoga and relaxation; in the first cycle few had done enough sessions to compare. Domar 2011, a randomised trial of 143 women under 40. Read the study.
• Group programmes led to more viable pregnancies than routine care. A ten-session stress-reduction group or a support group, against routine care, over a year. Domar 2000, a randomised trial of 184 women trying for one to two years (the study Dr McCall reports). Read the study.
• Psychological help of any kind went with about twice the chance of clinical pregnancy, and less distress; mind-body methods did about as well as talking therapy. Frederiksen 2015, a review of 39 studies and 2,746 people having assisted conception. Not yoga only. Read the study.
• Programmes that lower distress are now linked with higher pregnancy rates. The same review says infertility clearly causes stress, while whether stress causes infertility is unclear. Rooney and Domar 2018, a review. Read the study.

Mindfulness and meditation with infertility and IVF

These trials tested mindfulness programmes, not pranayama. The results for the mind are strong, and in an Iyengar class the poses, the breath and Savasana train the same calm through the body.

• Mindfulness brought large falls in depression and anxiety, and better quality of life, in women with infertility. Wang, Liu and Lei 2023, a review of 10 randomised trials. Read the study.
• Anxiety, depression and stress fell, and quality of life rose. Wen 2024, a review of 14 randomised trials and 1,784 women. Read the study.
• Clinical pregnancy was 39% with mindfulness training plus lifestyle education, against 22% without, and anxiety fell. Eight weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction. Malekpour 2025, a randomised trial of 300 couples preparing for assisted conception. Read the study.
• Anxiety fell and more women had an ultrasound-confirmed pregnancy. Online mindfulness twice a week for 3 months. Shiraly 2026, a randomised trial of 133 women having IVF. Read the study.

Yoga for PCOS

• Excess hair growth, waist size and hip size all fell with yoga. Six weeks of yoga against routine care. Mohseni 2021, a randomised trial of 61 women with PCOS in Tehran. Read the study.
• Free testosterone fell from 5.96 to 4.24 pg/mL, and anxiety and depression improved, without weight loss. Mindful yoga three times a week for 3 months. Patel 2020, a randomised trial of 31 women (22 finished). Read the study.
• Weight, insulin, anti-Mullerian hormone, cholesterol, the ovaries on ultrasound and fertility quality of life all improved; within a year, 13 women became pregnant in the yoga group against 7 in the comparison group. 90 minutes of structured yoga for 3 months. Patil 2023, a controlled before-and-after study (not randomised) of 26 women with PCOS in each group. Early research: pregnancy was not its main measure. Read the study.
• Markers of cell energy, oxidative stress and inflammation improved, and depression scores fell. Twelve weeks. Kumari 2025, a randomised trial of 75 women with PCOS. Read the study.
• Long-standing anxiety eased more with yoga than with exercise. Twelve weeks of a holistic yoga programme against matched exercise. Nidhi 2012, a randomised trial of 90 teenage girls with PCOS. Note: this was yoga in general; Iyengar yoga has not yet been tested against exercise on its own. Why it matters. Read the study.
• Yoga may improve anti-Mullerian hormone, androgens and insulin in PCOS. Chauhan 2026, a review of randomised trials, 258 women. Read the study.
• Yoga, poses and breathing together, improved weight, insulin, excess hair, testosterone and mood; mindfulness mainly helped mood. Gautam 2026, a review of 9 randomised trials. Read the study.

Male infertility

• Sperm count and sperm movement rose, and oxidative stress in the semen fell, after 12 weeks of yoga. Yadav 2025, a before-and-after study of 42 men with infertility, with no comparison group. Early research. Read the study.

Breathing practice (pranayama)

No trial has yet tested pranayama on its own for infertility or PCOS. Not yet studied is not the same as not working. The Iyengar tradition’s breaths for this stage of life, Ujjayi (ocean breath) and Viloma (staircase breath), are slow, nasal and taught step by step. They work on the same calm, rest-and-digest state that the mindfulness trials above measured. Why the kind of breathing matters.

Iyengar yoga studies

No trial has yet tested Iyengar yoga, taught by trained Iyengar teachers, on its own for fertility, IVF or PCOS. Not yet studied is not the same as not working. The Iyengar evidence here is the long teaching of Geeta Iyengar and the senior teachers who wrote Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood, and the experience of the women they taught.

“Exhalation is the art of surrender.”

How this comes together in a Flametree class

Everything above points the same way, and it is how we teach.

• Calm first. Slow breathing, supported poses and Savasana in every class, to bring the body out of fight-or-flight.
• Props in every class: bolsters, blankets, chairs, blocks and belts, so the belly and pelvis can soften in Reclining Bound Angle Pose, supported Bridge Pose and other restful shapes.
• Firm, never forced. No hot rooms, no competition, no pushing to the limit. Good poses done steadily.
• Classes adapted to the people in them. Tell your teacher if you are trying to conceive, having IVF or have your period, and the class is changed for you. That is an invitation, not a rule.
• Cool in the Darwin build-up: on the hottest, stickiest days there is more lying back over bolsters and more slow breathing.
• Classes for women and couples: our Women’s Wellness, gentle yoga and restorative yoga classes, and our pranayama classes. Partners are welcome in every class.

Read more on fertility and yoga

• Fertility yoga classes in Darwin and online: gentle, supported yoga while you try to conceive
• Periods time with no pain or hassle: Chris’s story
• Pregnancy yoga near me: classes in Darwin and online
• Women only classes

Related guides in the encyclopaedia: yoga in pregnancy and after the birth, period pain, PMS and menstrual problems, stress and burnout, pelvic floor dysfunction, anxiety and anger, depression and low mood and weight and cortisol belly.

Take it further

This guide gives you the facts on what helps. The clearest result in the research is lower stress, so the ebook to start with is our stress book, with the stories of people it has helped. Go and do the free classes, see what you think, and then a pass puts it all into action.

• Classes, in Darwin or LIVE online: new, or away 3 months or more? 2 free classes, then 10 at half price. Already practising yoga? See the non-beginner half price pass. See our fertility yoga classes and every class time.
• Masterclasses: our 2027 Sunday Arvo Masterclasses include the pelvic floor and sleep and energy, two of the big issues for women through every stage of life. Bookings open soon.
• Retreats: a week of daily, adapted yoga in Bali. See the retreats.

Other conditions are in our encyclopaedia of yoga for health conditions.

Yoga for fertility, infertility, PCOS and IVF: questions people ask

Can yoga help with fertility?

Yoga helps most clearly with the stress, anxiety and low mood that come with trying to conceive, and trials of women with infertility and women having IVF show that consistently. Several mind-body programmes that included yoga also had higher pregnancy rates. No large trial has shown that yoga on its own raises pregnancy or live-birth rates. The Iyengar tradition adds a practice that follows the monthly cycle, with plenty of rest and pranayama.

Yoga and IVF: is yoga good during IVF?

Yes. In a randomised trial of 128 women at an IVF clinic, yoga twice a week for 6 weeks lowered fertility stress, and reviews of yoga and mind-body methods during IVF found less anxiety, depression and distress. In a trial of 143 women, a ten-session mind-body programme that included yoga went with 52% pregnancies in the second IVF cycle against 20% without it. Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood says much of its preparing-for-pregnancy approach also applies to women conceiving by IVF.

Does yoga help PCOS and fertility?

Small trials say yoga helps PCOS. Yoga lowered free testosterone without weight loss, reduced excess hair growth and waist size, improved insulin and lifted mood. In one early study of infertile women with PCOS, 13 became pregnant within a year in the yoga group against 7 in the comparison group, though that study was not randomised. A 2026 review of 9 randomised trials found improvements in weight, insulin, hair growth, testosterone and mood.

Does stress cause infertility?

Nobody knows for sure. A 2018 review by the Boston IVF group found that infertility clearly causes stress, while whether stress causes infertility is still unclear. Dr Timothy McCall argues that stress hormones such as cortisol can interfere with ovulation. Either way, the stress is real, and yoga, pranayama and mindfulness lower it in the trials.

Can yoga help male infertility?

Early research says it may. In a 2025 study of 42 men with infertility, 12 weeks of yoga raised sperm count and sperm movement and lowered oxidative stress in the semen, though there was no comparison group. Dr McCall says male and female factors share the load, and Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood encourages men to practise before conception too.

Should I avoid hot yoga, Headstand or hard backbends while trying to conceive?

Dr McCall warns that very vigorous yoga, extreme exercise and very low body fat can suppress ovulation, so he suggests a gentler, slower practice, and Headstand, if done, with the back to a wall. Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood warns against overdoing yoga or any sport. In an Iyengar class the poses are firm but never forced, and your teacher adapts them to you.

What does the Iyengar tradition say about yoga after ovulation?

Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood suggests that women having trouble conceiving take care in the second half of the cycle, leaving out twists, full forward folds that press on the womb, deep backbends and poses that press on the pelvic floor, so the egg can settle. This is the book’s traditional approach and has not been tested in trials. The book itself notes that many women conceive while doing these poses.

Where can I do yoga for fertility in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin and LIVE online, with Women’s Wellness, gentle, restorative and pranayama classes. Every class uses bolsters, chairs and belts, and the teacher adapts the poses to you and your cycle. New, or away 3 months or more? Start with 2 free classes, then 10 at half price.

Where this comes from: Geeta S Iyengar, Yoga: A Gem for Women, The Nature of Health (p. 41) and Three Milestones in a Woman’s Life (pp. 47 to 57, 90). Geeta S Iyengar with senior Iyengar teachers, Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood, chapter 2, Preparing for Pregnancy (pp. 38 to 48). BKS Iyengar, Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health (Dorling Kindersley), infertility (pp. 394 to 400), men’s health (pp. 397 to 398) and his principles for ailment courses (pp. 259 to 263); Light on Yoga, Appendix II (pp. 428 to 431). Timothy McCall MD, Yoga as Medicine (Bantam), chapter 22, Infertility, and his June 2019 list of health conditions helped by yoga (nos. 45 and 80). Krishna Raman MD and S. Suresh MD, Yoga and Medical Science: FAQ, the women’s health questions. Yoga Rahasya 2008, Vol 15 No 3, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Studies as linked above, checked on PubMed. Everything is summarised in our own words.

This page is general information, not medical advice. Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and LIVE online.