Yoga offers you a way to do something positive for your mind and body while on your journey to parenthood.

 

The practice of yoga is well known as an antidote to stress. And as most of us will already be aware, stress has a negative impact on fertility. Learning how to move from the stressful area of freeze, flight or fight (the sympathetic nervous system) into the rest and relax (parasympathetic nervous system) can be hugely beneficial to achieving your goal of starting a family. Our lives are busy, we work hard, play hard, exercise hard, their is a multitude of external stimuli bombarding our senses. When we are on freeze, flight or fight mode, our bodies perceive this as a dangerous place to be, and become unwilling to bring new life into such an inhospitable environment. By taking ourselves back to that place of calm, back to basic functioning, we open ourselves to the possibility of conception.

 

When I was trying to conceive my first child, without success, I inadvertently stumbled across this place of low stress and relaxation. It was coming up to my 30 birthday, with Christmas the month after. My husband and I decided to cancel our doctors appointment, where we were about to investigate alternative options to natural conception, and take a break from the rollercoaster of hope and disappointment for a few months. The intention was to enjoy my birthday party and coast towards Christmas. I had a great birthday party with friends and family. We were completely relaxed for the first time in years. At some point in December I did the math and realized that my ever erratic period was properly late. I shrugged my shoulders, thinking it was just the way it was, but bought yet another pregnancy test just in case. I was literally so chilled about the outcome that I pee'd on the stick and then promptly forgot about it. It wasn't until my husband got home from work that I remembered the little white torture device resting on the bathroom vanity. Popping in to take a look I couldn't quite grasp that the window contained a blue line....almost exactly nine months after my 30th, my daughter was born. Just to clarify, I'm not advocating throwing a party in order to conceive, merely illustrating how lack of stress can have a positive outcome.

 

I had started practicing yoga in my 20's as I had heard, anecdotally, that it could help to regulate the menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, I practiced yoga like I did everything in life, with fervor and determination. I didn't realise there was another way... 

 

It was while trying to conceive my second child, again, nothing was going according to my plan, that yoga gained importance. I was practicing now in a more gentle way, about 10 minutes a day which was all the time my daughter would allow me to focus on it! During Trikonasana (triangle pose) one morning, I felt this ping sensation in the region of my right ovary. Dashing to the bathroom I checked my mucus, and sure enough, the texture was that of egg white. Long and stretchy. As it happened, my husband was running late for work that day. Calling out to him to meet me in the bedroom, I quickly strapped Cassie into her high hair, gave her something to eat, and turned on Little Einsteins. She thought all her Christmas's had come at once! I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about what happened next. Suffice to say, Pete left for work with a smile and I hung out in my bedroom with my legs up the wall (I'd just read 'maybe baby' and thought it was worth a try) for a few more minutes, jotting it down in my diary. I then promptly forgot the entire incident. It was seven weeks later, after my friend commented that 'I was getting a bit fat and maybe I was pregnant?', that I finally thought to do a pregnancy test, and there was that little blue line again...

 

What you can take from my stories is that reducing stress is key, and also opening your bodies to keep the blood flowing and the movement of energy vibrant, especially throughout your vital core can benefit conception. As luck would have it, yoga can help with both these areas. Yoga tones and nourishes the reproductive organs by systematically squeezing and then releasing them.

 

A simple exercise you can do while seated is cat/cow. Rock your pelvis forward and backward, with your hands on your hips or knees. This energises and sends blood circulating to this region.

 

There are specific yoga poses for fertility, but a well rounded general yoga class that is on the softer side (think Yin Yoga or gentle Hatha, rather than aggressive Asthunga), is going to provide balance to your body, breath, and mind. It is also good to note that a 10-20 minute daily practice is more beneficial than one long session each week.

 

Practice with acceptance, with love, with calm.

 

Think of it as a way of nurturing yourself, without striving to achieve anything. 

 

Just breathe and be.