How often should you practice fertility yoga?
How often should you practice fertility yoga? And for how long?
Great question.
When I first started practicing yoga I (wrongly) assumed that my home practice had to be at least an hour long to be worthwhile. I figured that’s how long yoga classes were so I should try and do that amount of time at home as well.
But an hour on my own just felt overwhelming. And too often, I would either give up before I’d even start because it felt too hard, or I’d get ten minutes in and give up and feel like ‘I’d failed’ at yoga.
It wasn’t until I realised that I got better results (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually) if I did short practices throughout my day, that I started to really get the most out of my yoga practice.
How often should you practice fertility yoga?
I now tell my students that yoga should be like brushing your teeth. You’ll get more benefits doing five minutes every day (or every other day) than you will doing an hour long practice once a week.
If you’re first starting out with yoga, aim for five minutes every day. I suggest every day though, because it’s often easier to turn the practice into a habit than it is to have to decide whether you’re going to practice or not.
Add yoga to your morning routine and do 5 minutes as soon as you get up. Or maybe you can do a short yoga practice before you get into bed of an evening. Attaching your yoga practice to another habit you’ve already established is another helpful way to make it stick.
How long should you practice fertility yoga for?
I suggest starting with 5 minutes because it feels achievable even for those who have very little spare time. Ideally you’d work up to 10 or 20 minutes (or until you find the sweet spot for you) BUT don’t be an over-achiever and try to do that many minutes straight up. If you’re anything like me, you try to do things ‘perfectly’ and then when it doesn’t work you give up.
Don’t be like that with yoga. Let it me a friendly comfort you return to when you’re feeling anxious and overwhelmed rather than just something else you ‘have to do’.
What type of yoga should I be doing for fertility?
Yoga for fertility is typically quite gentle but does change throughout the stages of your cycle.
Can I also remind you that yoga isn’t just the physical practice. It also includes meditation, visualisation, breath work, self study etc. Some days you might feel like doing a strong physical practice. Other days you’ll need meditation and stillness instead. Others you might find writing out your thoughts a better use of your time. It’s allll yoga.
You may even notice that your practice preferences change throughout your cycle. We naturally have more energy during stages like pre-ovulation and ovulation than we do during the second half of the two week wait and menstruation. Tuning in and honouring these stages of the cycle is one of the greatest gifts that yoga offers us, especially when we’re going through a fertility journey.
Or if you’re brand new to fertility yoga, you may like to start by downloading my free fertility yoga guide here.