There are many kinds of yoga and not all yoga is appropriate for fertility. Pulling Down the Moon’s six-week Yoga for Fertility program was designed by yoga teachers and former fertility patients Tami Quinn and Beth Heller to meet the needs of women who are trying to conceive. The program has been offered to hundreds of women in Chicago over the last six years, and data from on-going follow-up surveys show that nearly 75% of women who take the fertility yoga program report becoming pregnant within six months of class.

Pulling Down the Moon's Yoga for Fertility class is truly a truly unique experience.  Over the course of the six-week session, participants learn yoga asana (postures) and breathing techniques that calm the body, nourish the reproductive organs and release anxiety and stress.  In addition, this class delves into the deeper yogic teachings of meditation, visualization and the power of our thoughts and attitudes.  Again and again our students report how these deeper teachings helped them reframe their fertility journey, shift away from anxiety and negative thinking and embrace their own, innate fertility.   

Most importantly, a Pulling Down the Moon yoga class is a place of healing community and a sanctuary from the roller-coaster world of fertility treatment.  Sometimes we don't realize how isolated we are feeling until we reconnect with the friendship and support of other women on a similar path.  In yoga we call the company of like-minded individuals sangha, and it's believed that there is a healing power in this kind of community. 

How does yoga help with fertility?

Yoga helps supports fertility in several ways.  First, yoga postures can stretch and relax tight muscles and connective tissue.  As musculature (particularly in the hips, groin and low back) begins to relax, blood flow into the pelvis can improve.  In addition to physical postures, in yoga there is an emphasis on the breath and on learning to tune in to the quality and rhythm of the breathing in order to induce a deep sense of peace.  When we stretch and breathe, we also release tension and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  Since cortisol can actually interfere with our reproductive hormone function, lowering levels of this stress hormone are potentially beneficial for fertility.  In addition, the stretching and breathing can help to detoxify body tissues.  Beyond the physical benefits of yoga are the benefits derived from age-old teachings of meditation and self-study.  As we relax and let go of physical and emotional toxins, we begin to have a clearer sense of self and insight into our fertility journey.

Yoga for Fertility Phase 2

What does the research say about yoga for fertility?



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