What is Yoga?
Developed over 5,000 years ago, yoga combines the physical practice of postures, known as “asana,” the breathing practice called “pranayama,” and meditation. Yoga literally means “union” and the goal of practicing is to create a union and a harmony between the body and the mind. As you go deeper into your practice of yoga and develop each of these aspects, you will start to see and feel the benefits, such as an improved physical fitness, mental clarity, greater self-understanding and awareness, stress management, and a general feeling of calmness.
Fertility Yoga
Yoga specifically for fertility is a more restorative approach to yoga that focuses on breath work and creating space in the pelvis. It becomes is a moving meditation which creates an environment allowing your body to receive love, support and live. The breath work teaches you to open and breathe in to the chest, heart, diaphragm and belly. These are areas we stop breathing in to due to stress. The postures help to detoxify the body and relax the muscles and connective tissues around the pelvic organs, thus, creating space and allowing for increase blood flow to the reproductive organs. Yoga allows the mind to calm and the body to relax. The parasympathetic nervous system can then be activated to decrease the steady increased release of cortisol so you can maintain a healthy blood pressure, even blood sugar levels, lower blood clotting factors and allow blood to flow to all your organs. By increasing blood flow to the pelvis you can improve vital nutrients needed by those organs allowing them to function optimally.
A yoga class specifically for fertility also creates a support group for women trying to conceive. It provides women an outlet to make connections where they feel safe to share their experiences without judgment or scrutiny. Let’s face it; going through fertility treatment can take its toll on you, your self-esteem, your self-worth and your womanhood as well as your relationships. Yoga will help you to surrender to the power, it teaches us that it is ok that our lives get out of our control and it is ok that we cannot always control the outcome. Just like Yoga is a journey, so is your path in fertility. Just like in yoga, your body and mind may be off one day and your practice may have to adapt and shift accordingly, so does your fertility journey. Your treatment, your medications, and your relationships may shift and that is ok. Continue your journey, breathe, allow yourself to adapt accordingly and keep your eye on the prize no matter how you get there.