Women's health
Yoga for Fertility
Gentle yoga may support people trying to conceive by lowering stress and encouraging relaxed, regular movement — both helpful for overall wellbeing. Hip openers and calming, restorative poses are commonly used. It is a supportive complement to fertility care, not a treatment, and does not guarantee conception.
Who this is for
People trying to conceive who want gentle, calming movement alongside their fertility care. Not a treatment — work with your healthcare team.
At a glance
- Supports: stress reduction, relaxation, gentle activity
- Approach: hip openers, restorative and reclining poses, slow breath
- Alongside: your fertility care and medical guidance
- Not: a cure, treatment, or guarantee of conception
Trying to conceive can be stressful, and stress itself weighs on wellbeing. Yoga can't treat the medical causes of infertility, but two things it does well — calming the nervous system and keeping the body gently active — support your overall health during this time. Hip-opening and restorative poses are commonly chosen for their soothing, releasing quality.
Gentle openers such as Butterfly, supported Reclined Bound Angle and easy Bridge, paired with slow breathing, help you relax and unwind. Keep the practice kind rather than intense, and always alongside the guidance of your doctor or fertility specialist — yoga is a supportive complement, not a treatment.
Recommended practices
- Butterfly PoseButterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana) is a seated hip opener: soles of the feet together, knees dropping out to the sides, spine tall. …
- Reclined Bound Angle (Supta Baddha Konasana)Reclined Bound Angle is a restful reclining pose: lying on your back, the soles of the feet come together and the knees fall open.…
- Bridge PoseBridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana) is a gentle backbend: lying on your back with knees bent, you lift the hips to form a bridge, chest …
Video transcriptThis video guides you through a sequence of hip-opening, forward-bend, wall, and bridge-style stretches aimed at supporting fertility.
We begin to sit with a straight back and keep the soles of your feet together, interlocking your fingers onto your toes, and begin to flap your thighs. This helps in opening the tightness in your groins and your hips. Make sure your breath is really normal to intensify the stretch in your groins. Pull your feet closer to your pelvis and begin to flap for a couple of times.
Bring both your legs out in front of you, pointing the toes inwards. See to it that your back is straight and the spine is extended, with the chest opening, giving your body and your lungs enough space to breathe. The ribcage should have enough space for your lungs to be able to expand.
As you inhale, you raise both the arms up, extending the spine further and bringing the hands in line with the ears. As you exhale, you bring the chin out and come down as low as you can. If you can, hold your toes, bringing your forehead to rest on your legs.
Raise your legs, lift your hips up, and support your back. Stay there for a few breaths. To adjust, bring your knees towards the forehead, tuck your elbows in closer together, walk your hands down your back, and then straighten the legs.
So you want to come closer to the wall and place your butt as close as possible. Just begin to lie down comfortably and place both your legs all the way up, and stay close to the wall with your butt as close as possible and the legs up.
Now bring your hands down between your shoulders and your pelvic bones, and open your legs. As you inhale, come up, lifting your navel above the ground level and pushing your pelvic bone down. Keep your pelvic bone down, straighten your elbows, and push the shoulders back.
Begin to lie down on your back and place your heels as close as possible to your butt, and hold your ankles, making sure your thumbs are on the outside. When you're ready, slowly inhale and lift your hips all the way up. Try and reach as high as possible, but your breath should be in the normal range, and stay here for a couple of deep breaths.
Frequently asked questions
- Can yoga improve fertility?
- Yoga is not a fertility treatment and can't guarantee conception. By lowering stress and keeping you gently active, it may support your overall wellbeing alongside medical care.
- Which yoga is best when trying to conceive?
- Gentle, calming practice — hip openers, restorative and reclining poses, and slow breathing — is usually preferred over intense sessions. Check with your doctor about what's right for you.
References
- Traditional yoga uses gentle hip-opening and restorative practices for calm and wellbeing. · Tradition — General traditional context; not a medical claim.