Preventing Vaginal Farts During Yoga Classes

Extreme wide shot of women in three legged downward dog pose during yoga class in studio

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You're in the middle of yoga class and coming out of plow pose when suddenly a little air passes out of your vagina, making a fart-like sound. It's embarrassing, but rest assured that you are not alone. Vagina farts happen to many women during yoga.

This inopportune body function is known as a "vart" (short for vaginal fart) and is so common that it's also called a "yoga fart." The good news is that there are ways you can control and possibly prevent it.

Causes

Vagina farts are so frequent in yoga that  women should take comfort in knowing that they are perfectly normal. Beyond vart, you may hear it called a queef, fanny fart, daisy pump, or booty burp, among others. It can happen whether you're doing yoga or not and is quite common during sex as well. Women who have had children are especially susceptible since pregnancy and childbirth loosen the pelvic floor.

The cause is simple. The vagina is an opening in the body and air can get trapped inside. When the air is forced out, it makes a little noise, just like the other type of flatulence. The vart, however, doesn't come with the gassy smell.

The vart is particularly common in yoga because you're moving your body in and out of various positions. It happens most often when coming out of an inversion.

What to Do

Vagina farts can certainly lead to some embarrassment but don't let this natural occurrence discourage you from getting on your mat. Instead of letting embarrassment take over, having a better understanding can bring more compassion and awareness into your practice.

The human body does all sorts of interesting things when it moves in unusual ways and yoga is filled with twists and turns. Vagina farts are just one of those embarrassing yoga situations that can happen during your practice. Everyone in the studio has probably experienced releasing air or gas during a class and having a sense of compassion and humor is the best approach.

Prevention

There are a few tricks you can try out to see if they help prevent vagina farts.

Exhale As You Lift

Yoga asanas are connected to your breath. Try a minor change in your breathing patterns as you go in and out of poses to eliminate excess air in your body.

Exhale, rather than inhale, while raising your hips. Instead of sucking in your stomach, you'll use your muscles to draw your navel toward your spine. Exhaling in this way while lifting can reduce the amount of air your body takes in as you move, lowering the potential for a vagina fart.

Try Mula Bandha

Another helpful technique to work on is called mula bandha. It engages the pelvic floor muscles and trains you to be able to lock them during asanas. Appropriately, it is also called the "root lock."

Mula bandha involves keeping your pelvic muscles tight.

It is not a squeezing of the muscles but learning how to pull them in and up. When done correctly, you should be able to feel it in the very lower part of your stomach.

Admittedly, this takes some practice, but it does become easier if you work at it. It is actually a recommended method, especially in Ashtanga yoga, to give your inversions lift, strength, and balance.

The secondary benefit to mula bandha is that it should prevent air from getting in as well as out of your vagina if you can hold it throughout a pose. You may find this to be especially helpful when coming out of an inversion.

Practice Kegel Exercises

In addition, you can also try doing Kegel exercises outside of class to strengthen these neglected muscles. This method has been used by men and women after surgery or to help control medical issues like urinary incontinence.

Kegel exercise is something that you can do anytime you have a few moments available to concentrate on moving your muscles. In combination with focused mula bandha, it is possible to gain greater control over your pelvic floor, which may prevent future varts.

While there are devices called Kegel weights or eggs available, they are not recommended.

These are promoted to help increase the strength of the vaginal muscles by adding resistance to the exercise. Research has shown that they are no more effective than regular Kegel exercises performed without the aid of a device.

Avoid Inversions

If the experience of vagina farting happens often and causes you emotional stress on the mat, give yourself permission to opt out of doing these poses in class. Or, let your body know ahead of time that it's normal and there's no need to feel mortified. But if you must skip poses that you know cause varts, save them for your home practice while also exploring the prevention methods.

Not doing a pose in class is nothing to feel badly about, either. Some women choose not to invert during their periods, for instance, so your avoidance of inversions shouldn’t cause any notice.

What About Tampons?

Some women have resorted to wearing a tampon if the problem is especially persistent. In theory, this works because you're blocking the vagina, so air cannot escape. However, the misuse of tampons is one cause of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), which is very serious and potentially life-threatening. In the long run, a little embarrassment is a much better option. It is not recommended to use a tampon when you are not menstruating.

A Word From Verywell

Acceptance is a major lesson that comes with a regular yoga practice. Vagina farts are simply one of those quirks that you may have to accept and giggle about .Or work on one of the suggested techniques. Rest assured that the women on the mats nearby can likely sympathize with you. Above all, don't let a little vart get in the way of enjoying your practice.

2 Sources
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Slieker-ten Hove MC, Pool-Goudzwaard AL, Eijkemans MJ, Steegers-Theunissen RP, Burger CW, Vierhout ME. Vaginal noise: Prevalence, bother and risk factors in a general female population aged 45-85 years. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2009;20(8):905-11. doi:10.1007/s00192-009-0875-0

  2. Kashanian M, Ali SS, Nazemi M, Bahasadri S. Evaluation of the effect of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT or Kegel exercise) and assisted pelvic floor muscle training (APFMT) by a resistance device (Kegelmaster device) on the urinary incontinence in women: A randomized trial. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2011;159(1):218-23. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2011.06.037

By Ann Pizer, RYT
Ann Pizer is a writer and registered yoga instructor who teaches vinyasa/flow and prenatal yoga classes.