3 Easy Yoga Poses That Will Make Sex Better

Yoga for sex? It actually makes a lot of sense. Think about it: "Yoga is great for sex," explains Nicole Moore, a licensed marriage and family therapist and registered yoga teacher. "It helps calm and center the mind to be better able to engage in the present moment, improves blood flow, promotes positive body image when practiced regularly, increases flexibility, and helps you reconnect with your body from the inside out."

There are a few key positions that can be particularly beneficial in improving your sex life (in myriad ways). They're super simple, and here, Moore breaks down what they look like and why they work. Keep scrolling for three yoga poses that will help get you off.

1. Bridge Pose

Why it helps: According to Moore, this pose opens and releases the chest, heart, and hip flexors. "It is great for all around flexibility and strengthens the back and thighs," she says. It also tones the pelvic muscles, which intensifies orgasms. Cool.

How to:

1. Start on your back with knees bent and feet flat pressing firmly into the mat.

2. Slowly roll the spine off the ground, starting with the tail, one vertebra at a time, until your weight is resting on your shoulders.

3. Press your pelvis up and under, with your chin to your chest, and gaze down your body. Thighs stay parallel. Optional: Interlace your fingers while pressing your arms to the floor to help lift the chest.

2. Cat/Cow Pose

Why it helps: This classic two-part position reduces stress, strengthens the Kegel muscles, massages your internal organs, stretches the belly, and strengthens the back muscles. "It's good for women because as you move your tailbone in this posture, you work the Kegel muscles, which contract during orgasm," says Moore. Translation: better, more controlled orgasms.

How to:

1. Start in Tabletop position with the wrists underneath the shoulders, knees underneath the hips. Spread your fingertips wide, press your palms into the mat, draw the shoulders away from the ears, and engage the pelvic floor.

2. Press into the tops of your feet, draw your navel into your spine, and maintain a long neck. This is your Cat pose.

3. Notice the natural flow of the breath; begin to extend your inhales and exhales.

4. On the next inhale, begin to drop the belly, arch the spine, and shine the heart, as your gaze looks forward and up. Shoulders should be away from the ears. This is your Cow pose.

5. On the exhale, draw your tailbone down, navel to spine. Press your palms into the mat, round the back, and gently draw chin to chest, back Cat pose. Repeat this sequence three to five times.

3. Downward Dog

Why it helps: This restful posture releases tension in the spine and helps to eliminate fatigue and stiffness from the back. It also helps to calm the mind, dissolves emotional stress, and invigorates the body. "All of these effects are important for good sex," says Moore. "And, one could say, the lifting of the tail in the air creates a sexy shape in the body."

How to:

1. From Tabletop position (explained above), spread your fingertips wide, press your palms into the mat with evenly distributed weight, and tuck your toes.

2. Lift your hips into Downward-Facing Dog. Your arms and torso should be in one long line from your hands to your tail. Press the heels of your feet into the mat, lift your frontal hip points, engage the abdominals by pulling the belly in toward the spine. Biceps wrap backward as you rotate the shoulders outward.