10 fertility yoga poses to help you conceive

Ever wondered what fertility yoga poses can help you when you’re trying to conceive? These ten are the ones I recommend most often to my students who are on a fertility journey.

Whether you’re trying to conceive naturally, are going through reproductive treatments with your partner or are trying to conceive on your own, include these ten poses into your daily yoga practise to support you as you grow your family.

How do these fertility yoga poses improve your chances of falling pregnant?

+ They improve blood flow around the pelvis and reproductive system. Fresh nutrient rich blood helps to improve the health of these organs.

+ Fertility yoga helps to reduce overall stress, (and therefore reduce the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol), which has been shown to negatively impact reproductive hormones and menstrual cycles.

+ Helps to balance the endocrine (hormonal) system in the body.

If you’ve never practised fertility yoga before, I’d recommend you start with my free fertility yoga for beginners series here. These are guided yoga classes that you can follow along with at home.

10 fertility yoga poses

Supported reclined butterfly

Benefits: stretches and opens the groin and inner thigh, opens the heart and chest, eases stress.

Instructions: Bring the soles of the feet together and let your knees fall out to the side. Bring your upper body down to rest over a bolster. Bring your arms to rest on the belly, beside the body or above the head. Take 5 deep breaths here in this pose.

Child’s pose

Benefits: stretches groin and inner thigh, very grounding and calming for the nervous system.

Instructions: Bring your knees wide so there is no compression on the belly. Rest your head down to the floor and bring your arms to either wrap around the legs towards the feet or between the legs (my personal favourite!). Stay here for 5 to 10 breaths consciously relaxing into the floor with each exhale.

Cobra

Benefits: compresses the pelvic region clearing stagnation and improving circulation, stretches low back, chest and belly.

Contraindications: I recommend skipping this one after ovulation.

Instructions: From lying on your belly bring your hands by your shoulders. Take a deep breath in and gently rise the chest, pressing gently into your hands. (Most of the work should be in your back). Squeeze the legs towards each other and press the pubic bone into the floor.

If you’d like to go higher (a pictured above), you can slowly press further into the hands rising up. Hold for five full breaths.

Low Lunge

Benefits: stretches the thigh and groin, opens the chest and heart.

Instructions: From tabletop, step one foot forward. Lean your weight forward opening up the hips. You can keep your hands grounded, or inhale and reach the hands up towards the sky. Stay here for five breaths.

Side lunge

Benefits: stretches hamstrings and groin, brings awareness to pelvic floor.

Instructions: From goddess pose, bend one knee and bring your weight over to that side. Keep your other leg straight and flex the foot to increase the stretch. Keep the spin long and your shoulders relaxed. Take five deep breaths on each side.

Goddess pose

Benefits: stretches and strengthens the legs and buttocks, increases blood flow to the abdominal organs and pelvis.

Instructions: Step your legs wide and turn your toes out. Bend your knees and send them in the same direction as your toes. Find stillness or move from side to side or up and down. You may also like to drop each shoulder one at a time to stretch into the upper back as well. Stay here for five deep breaths.

Bridge pose

Benefits: strengthens the legs and glutes, stretches into the psoas to create good alignment in the pelvis to support circulation and reduce stagnation.

Instructions: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor in towards your bottom. Press into the feet to rise the hips up as you inhale. Exhale and lower your spine one vertebrae at a time. Practise lifting and lowering for 5 full breaths.

Wide leg forward fold

Benefits: relieves neck and shoulder tension, improves digestions and stretches hamstrings.

Instructions: From a wide stance, fold from the hips bringing the hands underneath the chest. You can keep the knees bent if you are very tight through the legs. Inhale here pressing the thighs back. As you exhale you might walk the hands towards the line of the feet (this will increase the stretch). Hold in a comfortable position for 5 breaths.

Legs up the wall

Benefits: relieves stress, soothes leg and feet cramps, aids backaches.

Instructions: Sit side on to a wall with one hip touching. Move to bring your legs up the wall and roll your bottom towards the wall. (Your bottom should be touching the wall. Shuffle a little bit closer if you don’t make it there at first). Press your legs into the wall and gently draw the toes back towards you. If you’d like to increase the inversion a bolster can be used underneath your hips. Stay here for at least 5 minutes.

Savasana

Benefits: calms the nervous system, reduces fatigue and anxiety, improves digestion and energy levels.

Instructions: Bring yourself to lie comfortably on your back. You may like to place a bolster underneath the knees or beneath the upper back. Bring the hands to the low belly and let your breathing soften into a slow, easy rhythm. Stay here for 5 – 15 minutes.

How often should you practise these fertility yoga poses?

Fertility yoga should be used to compliment and balance your life and definitely shouldn’t add extra stress or leave you feeling exhausted. Therefore how often you practise will be very individual to you. If you have a hectic schedule and busy work days, you might use a very slow, gentle practise at the end of the week to unwind.

On the other hand, if you aren’t very active day to day, you might add in fertility yoga every morning to increase your energy and encourage good circulation. Choose what works best for you and your life.

Where to now?

1. Download my free fertility yoga guide.
2. Start with my beginners fertility yoga series.
3. Join the Online Yoga Circle for all my premium fertility yoga classes, including Yoga for IVF and the different stages of your cycle.