Pride and Community

June is pride month and festivities are already underway in Chicago and its suburbs. We were lucky enough to have our own Pride parade near us in Buffalo Grove, IL. Regardless of how you identify, you will need support through your journey. Finding community early in the process will help make it more manageable and maybe even enjoyable. What’s often forgotten, at least in the beginning and not until after one faces setbacks, is to take care of oneself. Often I get students in my Yoga for Fertility class who are yoga novices and come to me with an attitude of “well it can’t hurt to try yoga. Darn right, you should’ve been here from the start! If you’re going to carry a baby, are you (or your partner) preparing your body to support a pregnancy? Whoever is involved in the process to create a family will need community/emotional support, nutrition, exercise, and self-care. 

Community is priceless. I felt very alone during my fertility struggle and it wasn’t until I found a community that I realized how much I needed it. One’s path to parenthood is a personal journey, with or without problems. With problems, it just makes it harder to keep it personal and/or private. Schedules getting disrupted by always needing to go appointments, taking medications (that may or may not make one crazy), and add in the emotional roller coaster … well you get the idea. Go. Now. Find your community.

Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Yoga Events: Joins us for Yoga for Fertility in Chicago starting June 25th and in Highland Park starting July 1st! The FREE Weekend Wine Down in Chicago will be July 25th, save your spot and bring a friend!
• Shine Fertility: Join us at the Shine Bright event on July 10th and/or the next Shine Together Meet-up at PDtM Chicago on July 23rd!
• Path to Parenthood: Every Journey Begins With The First Step
• The Broken Brown Egg: Awareness. Hope. Activism

Additionally, below are a few LGBQT+ resources available to those in the Chicago area:

• LGBT Family: Your Journey to Parenthood 
• Fertility and Reproductive Medicine: Treatment Options

And what I thought was an nice article from a lesbian couple struggling with infertility:

• ‘It Seems Every Other Lesbian Is Throwing Around Sperm and Getting Pregnant’

Enjoy some food and yoga tips today at:

• Food is medicine, eat better. Period. EWG.org has a list of fruits and vegetables high in pesticides to stay away from, called the dirty dozen. They also test consumer products and rate them, most important to stay away from are endocrine disruptors. Start there to help decide when to go Organic and identify products in your home that could hurt your fertility.

• Hello Yoga. It’s both exercise and self care wrapped up in one beautiful package. Yoga connects the mind and body, a moving meditation. It supports the physical body by promoting hormonal balance, improving blood flow, and helping support tissue detoxification. Not to mention self-massage (drink plenty of water after a practice!). A few of my favorite yoga postures (that anyone can do, yes that includes you!). These poses require focus, which settles the mind. Find a quiet space inside or out, and practice Eagle, Reclined Figure Four, Warrior (I, II, III) and Camel.

Eagle 

Reclined Figure Four 

Warrior I 

Camel 

Have a great summer. Make time for yourself, the kind that fills your bucket! Find your community, eat well, and practice (key word here) yoga.

Namaste.