A Pea In The Pod – Techniques For Conceiving, Naturally

• Self-Healing Imagery: Instead of looking to an acupuncturist, Chinese herbal formula, or the yoga mat as holding the answer to fertility difficulties, Julia Indichova, author of The Fertile Female (Adell Press, 2007) and founder of FertileHeart.com, suggests women look within. When Indichova had trouble conceiving, she visited conventional doctors, five acupuncturists, several homeopaths and a Native American medicine man. “After I ran out of money and was exhausted, I had an epiphany,” she said. She realized she needed to heal herself, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. A nightmare about a cancer in her uterus told her she had some inner obstacles to address. Working with language, dream interpretation, and imagery, she conceived. Now she leads workshops to teach others how imagery can change one’s inner reality. “If a woman says, ‘My insurance only covers three IVF cycles,’ this may be someone who expects to be going through more than three IVF cycles,” Indichova says. The woman might visualize bobbing in the ocean and washing away self-defeating language. “You can have the best of diets and work with the highest technology, but if there’s an emotional conflict about pregnancy, that part of you has veto power,” Indichova said.

• Fertility Yoga: Yoga calms the nervous system — good news for couples dealing with the stress of trying to conceive. As long as you’re not looking to yoga to save you, certain asanas aid with fertility. For example, Reclining Bound Angle Pose will bring vitality and blood flow to the uterus allowing the pelvic region to be awakened, says DC-based yoga instructor Sima Gerow. After making love, Legs Up the Wall pose uses gravity to encourage the movement of your partner’s prana (meaning life force… or, loosely translated, semen). And Savasana? “Savasana is a beautiful pose because it teaches you to let go,” says Gerow. There are specific “yoga fertility” classes such as the ones Brenda Strong teaches at UCLA’s Mind/Body Institute (check out her DVD at yoga4fertility.com) or Chicago’s Pulling Down the Moon. If you do opt to attend such classes, remember yoga is about staying present. “You can do 1,000 hip openers, but if all you’re thinking is baby, baby, baby you’re obsessing over the future,” says Gerow.

• Procreation Vacations & Fertility Retreats: Advice to “just relax” and take a vacation may not be new (34 years ago my parents followed doctor’s orders to spend a weekend at The Greenbrier and here I am, writing this article). These days, however, hotels and resorts are putting together official packages, such as the Procreation Vacation at the Teton Lodge in Jackson Hole — a four night stay in a suite that includes day hikes, couples massages and candlelit dinners. Randine Lewis, author of The Infertility Cure (Little, Brown and Company, 2004), leads holistic fertility retreats with yoga, acupuncture, qi gong and cognitive restructuring. She believes in a “total immersion” program because “lifestyles today aren’t conducive to the reproduction process.” Lewis’ retreats are structured in sets of three, each five days long, where couples look deeply at the areas of their life that need changing.