Yoga for fertility: gentle support while you are trying to conceive

Your fertility yoga plan

Bound Angle PoseBaddha Konasana BeginnerSeated Reclining Bound Angle PoseSupta Baddha Konasana BeginnerSupine Bridge PoseSetu Bandhasana BeginnerSupine Legs-Up-the-Wall PoseViparita Karani BeginnerSupine Child’s PoseBalasana BeginnerSeated Lotus PosePadmasana AdvancedSeated

More poses that help with fertility

Add these once the session above feels easy, or swap one in when a pose does not suit you.

Cat PoseMarjaryasana BeginnerProne and kneeling Cow PoseBitilasana BeginnerProne and kneeling Cobra PoseBhujangasana BeginnerProne and kneeling Garland PoseMalasana BeginnerStanding Head-to-Knee PoseJanu Sirsasana BeginnerSeated Corpse PoseSavasana BeginnerSupine

Mudras for fertility

Hold a mudra while you sit for the breathing practice or a few minutes of quiet. Mudras are a traditional practice; research on them is limited.

Emerging evidence: Small or early trials look promising.

Yoga for fertility is not a way to "make" a pregnancy happen, and any page that promises that is misleading you. What yoga can offer is steadier ground during a stressful time. Trying to conceive month after month, or going through IVF, often brings anxiety, low mood, tension and poor sleep. Small studies suggest a gentle, regular practice can ease these, and it keeps you active in a healthy, low-strain way.

The plan above uses calm, restful poses and slow breathing. This page explains why each one is included, how to adapt it through your cycle and during fertility treatment, and when to see a doctor.

How yoga may help while you try to conceive

Can yoga increase fertility directly? There is no good evidence that any pose improves egg quality, opens tubes or changes your chances in a given month. The realistic yoga fertility benefits are indirect:

• Stress and mood. The NHS notes that stress may affect ovulation and sperm production, and stress certainly affects how you feel. Slow breathing and restorative poses calm the stress response.
• Sleep. Better sleep helps mood, appetite and energy for everything else you are doing.
• Healthy weight and activity. Being very overweight lowers fertility. Yoga poses for fertility and weight loss work best as one part of a plan with walking, strength work and diet.
• A sense of control. Much of trying to conceive feels out of your hands. A short daily practice is something you can do for yourself.

Yoga and fertility: what the research says

The evidence level here is "emerging", and the studies are about wellbeing rather than pregnancy rates. In a Canadian study, 49 women waiting for IVF took a six-week Hatha yoga programme; their anxiety, depression and fertility-related quality of life improved over time. In an Italian pilot study of women starting IVF, those who chose yoga reported less distress. A 2024 narrative review found early signs that yoga may support hormones and fertility in females and sperm quality in men, but stressed that the studies are small and varied; no study yet shows yoga can increase fertility in females on its own.

So when you read yoga for fertility success stories, enjoy them, but remember they cannot tell you whether yoga caused the pregnancy. The well-established scientific benefits of yoga for health, for women and men alike, are less stress, better mood, fitness and flexibility. Yoga for fertility and conception, then, is about how you feel while conceiving, not about the odds.

Yoga poses good for fertility support, explained

Which yoga is good for fertility? Gentle, restorative yoga that leaves you calmer rather than exhausted. These simple yoga poses and stretches for fertility support suit complete beginners. Gentle styles such as restorative, yin or somatic yoga for fertility support work the same way: slow, calm and body-aware.

Bound angle pose (Baddha Konasana)

Bound angle pose opens the hips and inner thighs while you sit tall. It is a comfortable base for breathing. Sit on a folded blanket and support your knees with cushions so your thighs can relax.

Reclining bound angle (Supta Baddha Konasana)

Reclining bound angle is the heart of this plan: a supported, open pose you can stay in for five to ten minutes. Lie back on a bolster or pillows, with blocks under your knees. Let your hands rest on your belly and watch the breath.

Bridge pose (Setu Bandhasana)

Bridge pose strengthens the legs, buttocks and back and opens the chest. For a restful version, place a block under your sacrum and stay a few minutes.

Legs-up-the-wall (Viparita Karani)

Legs-up-the-wall is deeply relaxing and good before bed. You may read that lying with your legs up after sex helps sperm reach the egg; there is no evidence for that, but resting this way is harmless if you enjoy it.

Child's pose (Balasana)

Child's pose is a safe place for difficult moments, such as waiting for a test result. Widen your knees, rest your forehead on a cushion and breathe into your back.

Lotus pose (Padmasana)

Lotus pose is the traditional seat for breathing and meditation. Most people's knees and hips are not ready for it, so sit in Easy pose on a cushion instead. Never force your knees.

Breathing practice for fertility and calm

Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) gives your mind a slow, steady rhythm and is a good daily habit. Bhramari (humming bee breath) helps when your thoughts are racing, for example at night. Five minutes of either is enough. Leave out breath holds and fast practices such as Kapalbhati in the second half of your cycle and whenever you might be pregnant.

Yoga through your cycle: after your period, after ovulation

After your period, until ovulation: any practice you enjoy is fine, including stronger flows and Surya Namaskar. There is no special yoga to get pregnant faster or right after your period; regular sex through the fertile window matters far more.

After ovulation (the luteal phase, or "two-week wait"): treat yourself as possibly pregnant. Keep yoga for fertility gentle after ovulation and through the luteal phase: skip hot rooms, very strenuous sessions, deep twists and inversions. There is no evidence that gentle yoga affects implantation, so you do not need to stop moving.

IVF, PCOS, endometriosis, age and men

• During IVF: follow your clinic's advice. Many clinics suggest avoiding vigorous exercise, twists and inversions while your ovaries are enlarged during stimulation and after egg collection. Restorative poses and breathing are usually fine.
• Yoga for fertility and PCOS: PCOS is a common, often very treatable cause of irregular ovulation. See yoga for PCOS, where trials show more promising effects on cycles and hormones.
• Yoga for endometriosis and fertility: yoga may ease pelvic pain and stress, but endometriosis affecting fertility needs specialist care. For painful periods, see yoga for period pain.
• Yoga for fertility after 40: the same gentle plan applies. Fertility falls with age, so do not delay medical advice.
• Yoga to get pregnant after menopause or after tubal ligation: yoga cannot restart ovulation after menopause or reopen tied tubes. Talk to a fertility specialist about options such as IVF or surgery.
• Yoga for fertility for men: male factors play a part in many couples, and early studies suggest yoga may help sperm quality. Heat can affect sperm, so skip hot yoga. Yoga for the inflexible male is simply gentler: bend your knees and use cushions.

A weekly yoga sequence for fertility

In the two-week wait or during IVF stimulation, keep only the gentle days.

What to avoid, and when to see a doctor

Yoga for fertility has very few side effects in women or men when it stays gentle. Avoid:

• Hot yoga. People ask about the benefits of hot yoga for fertility, but overheating is best avoided when you might be pregnant, and heat can affect sperm.
• Very intense training or big drops in weight, which can disturb ovulation.
• Replacing fertility tests or treatment with yoga, or taking supplements your doctor does not know about.

The NHS advises seeing a GP if you have not conceived after a year of trying, and sooner if you are 36 or over or already know of a possible problem, such as irregular or absent periods, PCOS, endometriosis or past pelvic infection. See a doctor promptly for severe pelvic pain, very heavy or irregular bleeding, or pain and bleeding in early pregnancy.

When you are pregnant: switching to prenatal yoga

What is prenatal yoga? It is yoga adapted for pregnancy. Why is yoga good for pregnant women? The benefits of prenatal yoga include easing back pain, better sleep and practice in breathing through labour. Once your test is positive, swap this plan for prenatal yoga as part of your prenatal care, and the Gentle Prenatal Flow on the guided sessions page, after checking with your midwife or doctor.

Yoga for the first trimester should be especially gentle, since tiredness and nausea are common. In the 2nd trimester, prenatal yoga can build some strength and fitness for pregnancy. Yoga poses to avoid during pregnancy include lying on your belly, deep twists, inversions, hot rooms and, after about 16 weeks, lying flat on your back for long. Good yoga poses, stretches and exercises for pregnant women include cat-cow, supported bound angle, gentle hip openers and side-lying rest. After the birth, postnatal yoga is part of postnatal care and supports recovery.

Practise with the 3D guide

The guided session at the top of this page is yoga for fertility online and free: six calm poses with a voice in 28 languages and a 3D figure you can rotate. When it reaches Lotus pose, sit in Easy pose if your knees are not ready. Below is a short summary in Hindi of yoga for fertility, for trying to conceive and for pregnancy.

Research behind this plan

1. Oron 2015, Reprod Biomed Online — prospective study, 49 women waiting for IVF: a 6-week Hatha yoga programme was associated with less anxiety and depression and better fertility quality of life
2. Valoriani 2014, Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol — pilot study: Hatha yoga was associated with reduced distress in women undergoing IVF
3. Yadav 2024, Int J Yoga — narrative review: preliminary evidence of benefits for male and female fertility; more clinical research needed
4. NHS — Infertility: when to see a GP and lifestyle factors including weight and stress
5. NHS — Exercise in pregnancy: yoga is fine to continue; do not lie flat on your back for long after 16 weeks

Medical note: yoga supports treatment; it does not replace it. Keep taking prescribed medicine and talk to your doctor before you start, especially with heart disease, uncontrolled blood pressure, recent surgery, pregnancy, epilepsy or severe pain. Read our medical disclaimer.