Fertility Yoga: Try This!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is believed that as a woman ages, the body's energies migrate from her womb to her heart. I'm probably not explaining this well, but it's sort of like as you get less womb-y you start to acquire the heart wisdom that eludes us during our impetuous youth. Acupuncture, however, can help you nudge the energy back into the old womb, and in fact some clinical trials have shown that, at the very least, acupuncture can increase blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. Okay, so that's proven.

Similarly, yoga (and I love how these things converge), has an number of "fertility" poses that also encourages and opening up of the centers of the body (i.e., de-stressifying) and stretches/poses that encourage blood flow back to the ol' reproductive organs.

I've done yoga on and off to help de-stress, and it also helps maintain the insane flexibility I acquired getting my black belt in tae kwon do. Since my husband likes yoga, too, we've researched all kinds: from the simple stretchy kind to Bikram, that "hot-box" Yoga Of the Stars (okay, we were on sabbatical in LA!) where they make you do yoga in a sauna-like atmosphere and of course it smells terrible in the studio. Generally I have not found a program I like enough to stick with.

So it was with a mix of skepticism and hope that I tried out Monica Morrell's Fertility Yoga DVD. It also has some great backward-bending poses that can help stimulate the thyroid.

Monica has a nice way about her, she makes you feel like a yoga champ. The poses are a good mix of challenging and restful, and she shows modifications you can do if you're too stiff, or injured, or whatever. It's the perfect balance (for me) between the try-not-pass-out hot-box yoga and the slooooooow moving stretchy yoga. I also noticed that after a few weeks my thyroid function (I have an underactive thyroid) did improve (as measured by my basal body temps) and it was nice not to have to practically wear a parka to bed every night. I should note, also, however, being Asian, I had been making myself eat a ton of seaweed, which is rich in iodine and should also therefore help the old 'roid.

In any event, I have to say I actually found this program RELAXING. Whether it's making me more fertile is almost immaterial. It feels very very good, which makes me more likely to continue to do it. And after dinner, my husband and I just drag out our mats and yogify ourselves...no more procrastination, whining about having to leave the house.

Plus, if you look at the website, lots of women have actually gotten pregnant after doing this yoga (of course, I make no guarantees...but it couldn't hurt).

P.S. If you are in the Massachusetts area, Monica runs fertility and prenatal yoga classes herself...

Check it out at http://www.fertilityoga.com/