Ayurvedic Lifestyle Principles for Fertility + Hormonal Balance
One of the most important ayurvedic concepts regarding sex involves shukra, which is like an intelligent potency that is located in each and every cell. Shukra is a sanskrit word that includes the sperm, ovum and hormones regulating sexuality.
Shukra is not only an energy or like chi in chinese medicine, it is formed from food that has undergone many layers of digestion. Shukra dhatu is the sum essence of the digestive process, the seventh layer of tissue, and that which nourishes ojas.
Shukra’s presence in your reproductive organs is what enables procreation on a physical level, however shukras presence is also the basis of sexual attraction, beauty and vitality. On an inward level, shukra’s presence in your mind brings forth imagination, memory, creativity and inspiration.
Ayurveda is primarily concerned with slowing down loss of shukra, by following a diet and lifestyle that nurtures shukra and supports ojas. Through sexual intercourse and masterbation, shukra is (naturally) depleted. This is akin to rasayana therapy in ayurveda - rejuvenation.
Shukra can be nurtured and build up by using specific foods, and following lifestyle principles which take into consideration how you engage in sexual activity in relation to the season, time of day, and the stage of life that you are in.
Whilst shukra naturally decreases in age, it is also naturally replenished in certain seasons and by consuming specific, shukra-enhancing foods. However when our minds are caught up in rajas and tamas modes of extreme activity or passivity, this will destroy our shukra reserves.
Depletion of shukra can lead to early menopause or difficulties with transitioning menopause. It can also be a leading cause for infertility for both men and women.
Depletion of shukra throughout the Pitta years of life can also be one of the leading causes of difficult perimenopause and menopause transition. When your shukra levels drop, this can often align with a loss of enthusiasm and even depression. Decreased sex drive is an indication of low shukra, as is pain anywhere in the reproductive organs, pain during sex, erectile dysfunction, impotency and infertility.
No medicines, therapies or procedures can enhance shukra like life lived in appreciation of nature's rhythms can.
Rejuvenation therapy is an anti-Vata, Kapha-promoting diet with nourishing and strengthening foods and best during the late autumn and early winter seasons, yet it can be commenced anytime from when a woman wishes to prepare her body to conceive, or to help stabilise the hormones for women transitioning menopause - providing she does not have an accumulation of ama, or toxins in her system.
Rejuvenation therapy is also indicated for pregnant women, as well as women who have just given birth, and usually a good line of action post-cleansing protocol for women having difficulty transitioning through menopause.
Choice of Partner
It might be stating the obvious, however for health-promoting sexual intimacy in the context of fertility and vitality, we need to engage in sexual acts with someone whom we respect, has ethical values and who honours healthy boundaries - both yours and their own.
Sex should not be engaged with someone who is married to another, with someone within your family of birth, your guru or guru’s spouse, with a child, or someone who is sexually demanding.
After an ethical sexual encounter, a person will enjoy “happiness, longevity, renewed youthfulness, improved lustre, improved physique, and improved mental and physical strength” (Bhava prakash).
For more tailored guidance on pre-conception care or transitioning menopause it’s recommended to work one-on-one. Book a Vedic Vitality Initial Health Consultation today to start the journey to your optimal health.