Sexual Healing by Dr. Margarita Kressin

I am by no means a yoga master. At best I am still a novice. I have taken several classes, and I think it has helped me in my flexibility and prevented injuries I may have incurred while running.

My husband on the other hand, is not only a skeptic but also finds that yoga is beneath him. Further, it is not a manly thing to do. After his third injury right before his third marathon (yes, an injury right before every race), and after I told him that in one of the yoga classes I took half the people were men and a few of them were also training for marathons, he finally conceded to take a class. Of course, I had to be with him, he didn’t want to be alone, and he made me promise not to laugh at him.

I’m happy to report we are in our second set of classes. He just ran the Rock 'N 'Roll Arizona Marathon (I ran the half) and besides a dead toe nail in his right foot, he survived and even beat his personal record by five minutes.

This leads me to the article below. I showed this to my husband to show him that we are doing something not only for our running but for, ahem, our other marital activities.

Keep on yoga’ing!!

Here's the article:
Yogis Have Better Sex, Study Finds at msnb.com
By Sally Law
Special to LiveScience

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The following is feedback received for this blog: Dr Kressin, I am concerned with your blind recomendation of yoga. You did not once mention any religous implications that are obviously associated with this practice. Yoga means 'to yoke" or "to unite" with the Hidu god through exercise and meditation. Are you a Hindu? This recomendation implies that you are spreading the religion. Does the Medical College approve of this? I am sure that you find benefit from the physical part of yoga, but you cannot not separate the religious part of the practice. Try looking up yoga on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga I disagree with the other commenter. You can enjoy and participate in Yoga without attaching the religious aspect to it. There is peace in finding yourself and your center while doing Yoga without thinking religion. Also, I'm not sure what the commenter meant by "does the Medical College know about this"? Even if she mentioned religion, MCW is a PRIVATE institution--not the same as a STATE RUN school such as UW-Madison. I agree that, while the word "yoga" technically relates to Hinduism, the practice of yoga and its immense physical benefits can be separated from Hindu religious practice. My yoga instructor, Bryant Macharenas with Santosh Yoga in Wauwatosa, is a practicing Christian who was mentored by a Catholic priest in India. My religious principles have never been compromised while attending Bryant's classes and, physically, I've never felt better. -

Just some more interesting articles recently posted in our AUA Daily Scope. It’s good to know female sexual medicine is getting more coverage each time and physicians and researchers are paying more attention to the sexual needs of women (and not just men).

Young, female breast cancer survivors may often suffer from sexual, intimate relationship issues, research indicates.
UPI (11/12) reports, "Young, female breast cancer survivors often suffer from sexual and intimate relationship issues and use sexual enhancement products," according to research published in the journal Cancer Nursing. Researchers found that "a significant number of women reported vaginal dryness, genital pain, premature menopause, fatigue, and fertility problems. In addition, survivors experienced significant problems related to sexual arousal, desire, and orgasm."

Ultra-low-dose estradiol vaginal tablet may reduce symptoms of vaginal atrophy after 12 weeks of treatment, trial indicates.
Medscape (11/14, Barclay) reported, "An ultra-low-dose estradiol (E2) vaginal tablet reduces symptoms of vaginal atrophy after 12 weeks of treatment, according to the results of a multicenter, double-blind study reported in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology." For the trial, "... 309 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to receive 10-µg 17β-E2 or placebo vaginal tablets for 52 weeks." Researchers found that "there was significant improvement from baseline to week 12 in vaginal Maturation Index for 10 µg of 17β-E2 vs. placebo.

Studies examine sexual problems in women.
In the Boston Globe (11/10) White Coat Notes blog, Stephan Smith wrote that two studies of "women's sexual problems — whether they care about them and, if they do, how to address them ... get to the heart of what qualifies as a medical disorder and what risks might be involved in taking drugs to treat them." In a study in Obstetrics and Gynecology, "more than 31,000 women [were asked] if they had [sexual difficulties] and whether these problems caused them unhappiness. About 43 percent ... had one or more problems, but" only 12 percent were troubled by them. The study's lead researcher said that "something ... in 40 percent of otherwise healthy women" should not be called a disorder. In a New England Journal of Medicine study, "about 800 postmenopausal women [wore] patches that delivered ... high or low levels of testosterone or no hormone at all." Researchers found that high-dose patch wearers "experienced a 'modest but meaningful' improvement in their sex lives." The study's lead author said, "Clearly it's only for that group of women for whom any potential risk would be justified."

Study indicates testosterone patch may improve libido in older women.
UPI (11/6) reported, "Australian researchers suggest a testosterone patch may significantly improve flagging libidos in older women, though there are side effects," according to a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study included "800 postmenopausal women who weren't on estrogen therapy [and] who reported low sexual desire."

While "either dose of testosterone significantly increased the women's sex drive," Rob Stein noted in the Washington Post (11/6) Checkup blog, women who received "higher doses reported a big increase in the frequency of 'satisfying sexual episodes' each month -- from about two a month before the treatment to more than four." These women also "reported more orgasms and pleasure."

Continuing along the lines of meeting someone, how do we know we met Mr. or Ms. Right?

Granted, what makes two people fall in love is beyond reason sometimes. I always say, “For every crooked pot, there is a crooked lid.”
 
Is the difficulty of meeting Mr. or Ms. Right a symptom of something bigger? Is it people are so cautious because of the high rate of divorce in this country? Have our expectations of what makes a good mate become unattainable that before we know it, there is no one left? But then, aren’t we told we should never settle?
 
Has Hollywood or the media distorted our image of Mr. or Ms. Right so much that unless you look like you work out 10 hours a day, went to the Right colorist, drove the Right car or carried the Right purse, you don’t qualify? Are we looking for our parents in our search for our mate — which may or may not be a good thing, depending? Have our checklists gotten so long, that Jesus wouldn’t have qualified?

Interestingly, eHarmony only allows you 10 each of "must haves" and "can’t stands" so you really have to think of what is truly important to you.

I certainly don’t have the answer. But if the divorce rate is at 50 percent in this country, then we are doing something that’s not Right.