Men and women both produce the hormone. Men do it through their testicles, while the women secrete the hormone through the ovaries. Both sexes also produce the hormone through the adrenal glands. Though both produce testosterone, men produce it ten times more than women.
Testosterone is normally looked upon as the sex hormone, but it has many roles in a male body. It is responsible for their sex drive, libido and sperm production, plus it also ensures traits in males that are considered to be masculine. These traits include physical strength, muscle mass, body hair, dominant behavior and bone strength. As men age the testosterone levels increase till a certain age then start to decrease gradually. In some of them the decrease can be sharper than others.
Decreased testosterone levels mean a decrease in a male’s libido and sex drive. However, since the hormone plays other important functions in a male’s body, the other functions are also affected. Men feel fatigued and less motivated to work despite getting plenty of sleep. This happens because the hormone is an anabolic hormone responsible for muscle strength and overall energy. Hair loss, especially facial hair loss, and an increased amount of body fats are also experienced in such a scenario.
Increasing Testosterone
There are many ways of increasing the amount of testosterone produced in a male body. The easiest of them all is to remain stress free and have plenty of sleep. Reduced amounts of stress results in an increase of testosterone because, less stress means less cortisol produced in the body. Cortisol is the hormone of stress and decreases testosterone levels.
This is where yoga can help. Yoga stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for letting our bodies relax. Most yoga exercises are designed for the purpose of stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces the levels of cortisol present in our blood. As the levels of the stress hormone decrease, the levels of the sex hormone, that is testosterone, increase. Some yoga exercises which readily reduce stress and help us relax includes the Sukhasana — that is the easy pose and the Savasana — the corpse pose. In the easy pose, you have to sit back straight, legs folded, hands on knees and palms up, concentrating on breathing and feeling relaxed. In the corpse pose, you are supposed to lie flat on your back, keep the body loose, legs apart, hands on your side and focusing on your inside.
Yoga Power Poses
Studies have shown that power poses also increase our levels of the testosterone. This is said to be because power poses make us feel in control and stronger as we take up more space. There are many yoga poses that do specifically that, and using those postures in yoga can help us increase our overall levels of testosterone. Viramudra is one such power pose. It involves standing tall, feet apart, hands on hips, chest expanded and looking up, feeling being in control, confident and being able to do anything. Another such power pose is the Jayamdura, the victory pose. Both the poses are simple, yet they help boost our confidence and the body starts producing more testosterone in just minutes.
