Types of Holistic Therapy Options to Improve Your Health

What is Holistic Therapy?

The idea behind holistic therapy for fertility is that the whole body and mind should be healthy and “in sync”. It’s the idea that the body, mind, spirit, lifestyle, and emotions all impact overall health, and therefore, fertility. Holistic therapies seek to help people balance all of those areas to reduce stress and improve the body’s “ecosystem” to optimize conditions for conception. Holistic therapy also involves both partners, male and female, since infertility issues can originate from either or both partners in equal measure.¹ Holistic therapies can include practices such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), yoga, acupuncture, meditation, massage therapy, and nutrition. It can also include getting involved in a like-minded community with people who understand what you’re going through.

What Can Holistic Therapy Help With?

Holistic therapy can help guide couples on the TTC path to create healthier conditions for their sperm and eggs to combine and create new life. Although things like yoga and massage may not make you pregnant, they can help lower mental stress and oxidative stress that might be impeding fertility. Assessing nutritional gaps and improving your diet, adding low-impact exercise, and getting better sleep can help create optimal conditions as well. All the holistic services at Pulling Down the Moon are designed to help you create the ideal conditions for wherever you find yourself on your fertility journey.

Holistic Therapy for Fertility

To break this down a little more, let’s talk about couples who may be working with their doctors on IVF or IUI processes. Holistic therapies do not replace these medical services. They are, however, designed to support you through those processes with the hope of optimizing their outcome. One of Pulling Down the Moon’s biggest support services to date in this regard is our new Fully Fertile App. You can download this app right now to get science-based, expert-vetted fertility education, sign up for classes, and chat with other people going through the roller-coaster ride of a fertility journey. This can help lower your stress levels² and help you see that you are not alone in your situation! This app has already empowered many people with hope and knowledge to help them succeed in their goals.

How Holistic Therapy Works

The first step in receiving holistic therapy for fertility is to work with your healthcare provider to find out everything you can about your condition. Become educated about your body, including any conditions, nutritional deficiencies, etc. that might be holding you back as you and your partner are trying to conceive. Then contact Pulling Down the Moon and schedule an introductory consultation where we can discuss your unique situation and how different holistic therapies might support and boost your efforts. You can also download the Fully Fertile App right now and start educating yourself and connecting with experts and other couples today. There’s no need to wait for an appointment there!

Types of Holistic Infertility Treatment Options

Pulling Down the Moon provides a broad palette of holistic infertility therapies you can consider. Our service providers hold the top certifications and education in their fields and specialize in helping women and men going through infertility. Some of the holistic therapies we provide include:

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a discipline within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and it has thousands of years of history behind it, as well as a growing body of scientific literature surrounding its overall health benefits, including benefits for fertility in men and women. Acupuncture involves inserting very thin, sterile needles into specific points on the body that help to balance your energy levels (called qi or “chi” in Chinese medicine. In more scientific terms, some studies show acupuncture may support women undergoing ART³ and may also support men’s reproductive health as well⁴, although more studies are needed to assess the underlying mechanisms. Some studies suggest that acupuncture may support fertility by regulating hormone levels and menstruation cycles, improving circulation to reproductive organs, and improving sperm count and motility.⁵ Receiving acupuncture from a certified, licensed fertility acupuncturist is a safe and supportive way to reduce stress levels and support your journey.

Yoga

Yoga is another stress-reducing, mental, and physical health-improving practice that can support your holistic fertility journey. There are many different yoga disciplines, so it’s important to meet with a yoga instructor who specializes in fertility concerns for both men and women. One of the great things about yoga is that you can practice it at home whenever you feel you need it. In fact, we have online yoga classes that you can participate in via our Fully Fertile App as well! There is evidence that yoga can help both men⁶ and women⁷ on their fertility journey, especially when it comes to relieving stress, balancing hormones, and improving circulation to the reproductive organs.

Massage

Massage therapy has a long, multidisciplinary, and multicultural history of lowering stress levels, improving circulation, reducing inflammation, and relieving pain. Some studies even indicate possible positive correlations between IVF pregnancy rates and targeted fertility massage therapy.⁸ Pulling Down the Moon has specially trained, certified, licensed massage therapists who perform safe, relaxing fertility massage therapy designed to fully support women and men through their fertility journeys.

Meditation

Meditation, breathing techniques, and mindfulness exercises can reduce stress levels, which reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which, in turn, may have a positive outcome on your fertility efforts.⁹ Although more research is needed to determine a conclusive link between meditation and fertility, it is a safe, easy, holistic therapy that you can access any time, and anywhere you want to. The Fully Fertile App even has mindfulness and meditation resources you can access right now if you want to give it a try.

Nutrition

Nutrition is such an important part of overall health that it cannot be separated from fertility. Getting the right nutrients, trying to eliminate unhealthy additives and toxins, and eating for overall health and well-being are essential. Eating for weight management and regulating other conditions that impact fertility while also eating happily delicious meals is a crucial part of the overall picture. Pulling Down the Moon has certified fertility nutritionists on staff, and we run Fully Fertile Nutrition classes and provide additional, ongoing support through the Fully Fertile App.

Stress Management

Many of the holistic therapies we provide at Pulling Down the Moon are designed to lower your stress levels and help you manage what can be a very challenging situation. In addition to massage therapy, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, nutrition, etc. one of the most important aspects of care here is the genuine, supportive community that we have created with our experts and clients like you who know what it means to struggle with infertility. By connecting with our community in person, or through the Fully Fertile App, you can talk with people who “get it” on a deeper level and can lift and commiserate with you. Fostering social and emotional support and connection is crucial to lowering stress levels and feeling empowered to keep going, even when times are hard.

How Pulling Down the Moon Supports Your Fertility Journey

Pulling Down the Moon isn’t just a holistic fertility therapy clinic, it is a fully formed community of people who have been where you are, and who want to walk alongside you and support you as you travel this TTC road. Contact us with any questions, schedule your first consultation, and download the Fully Fertile App to enjoy that support today.

References

1. Cleveland Clinic. (2023, April 19). Infertility: Causes & Treatment. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16083-infertility
2. Rooney, K. L., & Domar, A. D. (2018). The relationship between stress and infertility. Body-Mind Interaction in Psychiatry, 20(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.31887/dcns.2018.20.1/klrooney
3. Zheng, C. H., Zhang, M. M., Huang, G. Y., & Wang, W. (2012). The Role of Acupuncture in Assisted Reproductive Technology. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/543924
4. Kwon, O., Jerng, U., Jo, J.-Y., Lee, S., & Lee, J.-M. (2014). The effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for poor semen quality in infertile males: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Asian Journal of Andrology, 16(6), 884. https://doi.org/10.4103/1008-682x.129130
5. Clinic, C. (2023, February 21). Acupuncture for Fertility: Can It Help You Get Pregnant? Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/acupuncture-for-fertility‌
6. Sengupta, P., Chaudhuri, P., & Bhattacharya, K. (2013). Male reproductive health and yoga. International Journal of Yoga, 6(2), 87. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.113391
7. Yadav, A., Tiwari, P., & Dada, R. (2024). Yoga and Lifestyle Changes: A Path to Improved Fertility – A Narrative Review. International Journal of Yoga, 17(1), 10–19. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_211_23‌
8. Field, T. (2016). Massage therapy research review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 24, 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.04.005
9. Li, J., Long, L., Liu, Y., He, W., & Li, M. (2016). Effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on fertility quality of life and pregnancy rates among women subjected to first in vitro fertilization treatment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 77, 96–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.12.010