The History of Fertility Exercises: Ancient Roots to Today
By Zsofia Jamieson, co-founder of The Fertility Class and certified Aviva Method instructor, who has taught the method for 15 years.
Last updated October 2026.
In short: Movement has been tied to fertility for thousands of years, from yoga in India and qigong in China to ritual dance across Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific. Its structured modern form is the Aviva Method, created by Aviva Steiner in the 1960s and since studied by researchers. The Fertility Class teaches the method online.
The Fertility Class is built on the Aviva Method, a structured system of fertility exercises created by Aviva Steiner, and informed by current research on movement, blood flow and hormonal health. To understand why the method works the way it does, it helps to look at the much longer history it belongs to: centuries in which cultures around the world treated movement as part of reproductive health.
The ancient roots of fertility exercise
Long before modern medicine, many cultures recognized a connection between the pelvis, movement and a woman’s fertility. Practices still popular today, such as yoga, qigong and tai chi, include movements traditionally intended to improve circulation and the flow of energy, or qi, to the reproductive organs.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, movement, abdominal massage and breathwork have long been used in support of fertility, with practices aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor, regulating the menstrual cycle and preparing the body for conception.
Movement and fertility across cultures
Fertility appears again and again in the movement traditions of the world. These are some of the best known.
Yoga, India. In the yoga and Ayurvedic traditions, certain postures were believed to support reproductive health by drawing circulation to the pelvis and calming the mind. Poses such as Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle) and Bhujangasana (Cobra) are still associated with pelvic health today.
Qigong, China. Qigong combines slow, deliberate movement with breath control and was used within Traditional Chinese Medicine to balance the body’s energy, with specific exercises traditionally linked to circulation in the reproductive organs.
Belly dance, the Middle East and North Africa. The circular, rolling movements of the hips and abdomen at the heart of belly dance have long been associated with women’s strength, fertility and preparation for childbirth.
Ancient Egypt. Dance played a part in the worship of goddesses connected with fertility and motherhood, among them Hathor and Isis.
Hula, Hawai‘i. Hula is a sacred practice as well as an art form. Some dances honor Laka, the goddess of hula, associated with growth and the natural world, and its fluid, hip-centered movement remains deeply connected to ideas of life and creation.
West Africa. In many West African cultures, dances celebrating womanhood, marriage and pregnancy feature strong hip and waist movements, and some communities perform them to this day.
Ancient Rome. The festival of Lupercalia, held each February, was associated with fertility and purification, and its rituals were believed to help women conceive.
Bali, Indonesia. Ritual dances honoring Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice and fertility, are known for their graceful, flowing movement and connect human fertility with the abundance of the land.
Many of these practices were spiritual or symbolic as much as physical, and their effects were never measured. What they share is an intuition that modern research has begun to examine: that movement centered on the pelvis matters for reproductive health.
What modern research shows
In recent decades, research has linked stronger blood flow to the ovaries and uterus with healthier follicle development and a more receptive uterine lining, and regular, moderate exercise with better insulin sensitivity and lower stress, both of which influence ovulation. You can read more in The Importance of Pelvic Blood Flow for Fertility and explore the studies on our Studies page.
From ritual to method: the Aviva Method
The Aviva Method is the direct ancestor of what we teach today, and its story begins with one woman. Aviva Steiner was born in Budapest in 1930 and moved to Israel in 1946. She trained in classical ballet and modern dance, earned a degree in physical education and, in the 1950s, worked as a physiotherapist’s assistant at Hadassah Hospital. While teaching an exercise course for women, she noticed that participants were reporting more regular cycles. She spent the following decades studying why, refining what she observed into a precise sequence of short, rhythmic exercises for pelvic circulation and the menstrual cycle. Lívia Tóth became the first certified teacher in Hungary in 1998, and Hungarian researchers have since studied the method in clinical settings.
Where earlier traditions relied on ritual and intuition, the Aviva Method is precise: a defined set of exercises, practiced in a set order, aimed at a specific anatomical goal. Read What Is the Aviva Method? for a complete guide.
The Fertility Class today
Zsofia Jamieson and Marta Han are both certified Aviva Method instructors, and the method remains the foundation of everything they teach. Around it, they have built a complete program shaped for modern life: guided classes that women in any part of the world can follow from home, phase-by-phase support through IVF and IUI, practical guidance on stress and nutrition, and a dedicated program for men.
The program brings the precision of the Aviva Method together with current research on movement and reproductive health. It is designed to improve blood flow to the reproductive organs, support pelvic health and help regulate the menstrual cycle, for women at every stage: those trying to conceive now, those going through fertility treatment, and those who want to protect their reproductive health for the future.
Alongside movement, members practice breathwork, meditation and visualization, because stress shapes reproductive health as surely as circulation does.
Common questions
How old are fertility exercises?
Movement practices linked to fertility appear in many traditions. Yoga and qigong both go back thousands of years, and many cultures used ritual dance around fertility, planting and childbirth.
What is the modern form of fertility exercise?
The best known is the Aviva Method, a set of short, rhythmic exercises Aviva Steiner developed in the 1960s to support pelvic circulation and a regular menstrual cycle. Read What Is the Aviva Method? for how it works.
Has the Aviva Method been studied?
Yes. Clinical studies from Hungary have measured changes in uterine artery blood flow and period pain after Aviva Method exercise. They are small studies, and we list them on our Studies page.
Sources
- Kovács, Hegyi and Szőke, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2023: Aviva Method exercise and uterine artery blood flow
- Kovács et al., Medicina, 2024: Aviva Method exercise and primary dysmenorrhea
- International Aviva Method Information Center: Aviva Steiner’s legacy
More research on our Studies page
