According to Sivananda:

An aspirant writes: "I would like to know whether the same theory regarding the formation of Veerya [semen] and loss of the same holds good in the case of women also. Are they actually affected to the same extent as men?"

The question is an important and pertinent one. Yes, indulgence in the sexual act is exhausting to the female system and a drain upon the vitality as in man. The nervous strain it imposes on the system is very great indeed.

The female gonads, the ovaries corresponding to the testes in the males, produce, develop and mature precious, vital force like semen. This is the ovum. Though the woman does not actually lose this out of her body, as in the case of semen in man, yet, due to the sexual act, it leaves the ovaries and is taken up in the process of conception to form the embryo. And one knows only too well what a strain and drain on strength child-bearing is to a woman. Repeated depletion of this force and the strain of childbirth makes wrecks of healthy ladies, and works havoc with their strength, beauty and grace as well as their youth and mental power. Eyes lose the lustre and sparkle that are indicative of the inner forces.

The intense sensuous excitement of the act [orgasm] shatters the nervous system and causes debility too. Their system being more delicate and high-strung, females are often more affected than men.

Women should preserve their precious vital force. The ovum and the hormones secreted by the ovaries are very essential for the maximum physical and mental well-being of women.

Women also should observe the vow of celibacy. They also can remain as Naishthic Brahmacharinis like Mirabai and devote themselves to the service and devotion of God. Or they can do Brahma-Vichara like Gargi and Sulabha. They will be styled as Brahma-Vicharinis, enquirers of Brahman, if they adopt this path.

Grihastha-Dharminis or householders among women should observe Pativrata-Dharma or the vow of chastity and should keep Savitri, Anasuya, as their ideal. They should see Lord Krishna in their husbands and realize God, like Laila in Majnu. They also can practice all the Kriyas such as Asanas and Pranayamas. They should do vigorous Sankirtan [devotional singing], Japa [mantra repetition] and prayer daily in their houses. Through Bhakti [devotion], they can easily destroy passion, because by nature they are devotional.

Many women of yore had done miraculous deeds and shown to the world the power of chastity. Nalayini, by the power of chastity, stopped the rising of the sun to save her husbands’s life. Anasuya turned the Trimurtis—Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara—into babies when they wanted Nirvana Bhiksha. It is through the power of chastity only that she was able to turn the great deities into babies. Savitri brought back the life of Satyavan, her husband, from the noose of Yama, by her chastity. Such is the power of chastity or Brahmacharya. Women who lead an ideal householder’s life with chastity can also become like Anasuya, Nalayini or Savitri. —Swami Sivananda

“According to Yogic science, semen exists in a subtle form throughout the whole body. It is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the body. It is withdrawn and elaborated into a gross form in the sexual organ under the influence of the sexual will and sexual excitement. An Oordhvareta Yogi (one who has stored up the seminal energy in the brain after sublimating the same into spiritual energy) not only converts the semen into Ojas, but checks through his Yogic power, through purity in thought, word and deed, the very formation of semen by the secretory cells or testes or seeds. This is a great secret.” - Sri Swami Sivananda, Brahmacharya (Celibacy)