Jill Mahrlig Petigara E-RYT MA - Yoga and fertility : a journey to health and healing

Lynn and Jill Would Like to Thank

• All the women who shared their fertility stories, for our chapter on success stories: Anna, Georgia, Priti, Suzette, Wendy, Kathy, Nancy and Vicky (not their real names, but they know who they are!).
• Ricole for sharing her affirmations and ideas on vision boards.
• Every one of our Yoga for Fertility students, who over the years have taught and re-taught the importance of persistence, faith, and supporting one another in our life challenges.
• Janet Michel, RN, LAc, for her vast knowledge of fertility practices, both Eastern and Western, and her contributions to the acupuncture section.
• Sarah Furtek Lawrence, LMP and doula, for information on the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy.
• Nicole Webel Pelly, MD, for providing the information for the section on MTHFR.
• Eliza Truitt, of Eliza Truitt Photography, for her expertise, skill, patience and good humor throughout the photo shoots.
• Daniel Maguire for the generous use of his beautiful yoga studio, SouthEnd Yoga, in Columbia City, Seattle, as the site of our photo shoots.
• Carol Knoph, for her support of yoga for fertility, and for offering to write the Foreword.
• Everyone else who contributed ideas and suggestions for the bookthey were much appreciated!

Additional Thanks from Lynn to

• Jill Petigara for offering me the opportunity to work with her, and to finally write the book that has been in my heart (and my bottom drawer) waiting to come out.
• Conner, for being the right child at the right time, and being a constant teacher.
• Bob Smith of the Hatha Yoga Center for sharing his deep knowledge and passion for yoga over many, many years.
• Angela Farmer for opening my eyes to the concept of yoga especially for women.
• Rod Stryker for his brilliant teaching, and his dedication to bringing the ancient wisdom and practices of yoga to Western yogis.
• The many other teachers who have shared their wisdom with me along the way.
• All my family and friends who have been patient with me during the writing processyour support has been invaluable!

Additional Thanks from Jill to

• Lynn Jensen for agreeing to write this book with me after one phone conversation. I could never have done this without you.
• Noreen Henson for asking me to put my program in book form and answering all of our questions along the way.
• My husband Dilip for your unconditional love and support. You are my rock.
• My son Raj who brings more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined possible.
• My parents for all your support and encouragement and being the best grandparents ever.
• Tracey, Doreen, Erica, and Beth Annyour support has meant the world to me.
• Priya Muthu for asking me to teach Fertility Yoga.
• Dr. Ruijuan Liu for being more than a talented acupuncturist but also a dear friend.
• Jack, Debra, and Dianne at Stillpoint Yoga Studio for giving me a home to teach Fertility Yoga.
• All of my yoga teachers for sharing your wisdom and generosity of heart.

W e are often asked the following questions about yoga for fertility:

What is yoga for fertility?

What are its benefits?

How is it different from other types of yoga?

Who can benefit from yoga for fertility?

This chapter will address those questions, starting with a look at how yoga can help with fertility. Even using the word yoga can imply different things to different people. To many people in the West, yoga means physical poses, or asanas that are taught to classes in gyms or yoga studios. Yoga is, in fact, not just physical poses, but a vast body of knowledge that has developed over the past several thousand years, and that continues to develop. The word yoga means union or yoke, which actually refers to the union between humans and the Divine, however the Divine is perceived. In this sense, we could think of yoga as a set of practices undertaken to get oneself more in tune with the Divine. Alternatively, we could think of yoga as a way to remove the barriers that separate us from the underlying energy field that powers the Universe.

This is a useful way to think of yoga when we talk about yoga for fertility. Creating new life is one of the basic themes of the universe. New stars, and even new galaxies, are created every day. Every species of plant and animal is driven to reproduce itself, in keeping with the laws of the universe. So, at the highest level, yoga for fertility is about learning to tune into those universal laws that govern creativity, fertility, and continuation of the species. The desire to create life is deeply embedded in the human soul. On a more physiological level, we can think of yoga practices as helping us tune in to the universal energy field, by reducing our reactivity to stresses, opening energy channels in the body, and calming the mind.

Over about the past fifty years, many different brands of yoga have cropped up in the West, which differentiate themselves by emphasizing different combinations of physical poses and sequences, or different approaches to teaching yoga poses. You may have heard of yoga studios offering descriptions of their classes in terms of hot yoga, or power yoga, or flow yoga. Or, you may be familiar with some varieties of yoga such as Ashtanga, Bikram, or Iyengar. But the inventors of these various brands are not generally thinking up new yoga poses or practices. Instead, they draw from the extensive repertoire of Hatha yoga poses that has been developed over hundreds, or even thousands of years. Yoga for fertility draws from this same repertoire. These poses and practices were developed to have specific effects on the human bodynot only the physical body, but also the mental/emotional and spiritual bodies.

Some General Yoga Benefits

• Increases flexibility and strength
• Improves balance and posture
• Maintains health of joints and spinal discs
• Increases circulation to all body systems, including organs
• Supports the lymphatic system, which is responsible for removal of toxins
• Regulates the endocrine system
• Boosts the immune system
• Improves sleep
• Reduces stress and calms the central nervous system
• Clears the brain; improves memory and the ability to concentrate
• Improves the efficiency and health of the respiratory system
• Increases oxygen to cells and increases red blood cell count
• Slows the aging process due to improved oxygenation of the blood, and detoxification of all systems
• Helps prevent osteoporosis by increasing strength. Yoga helps reduce cortisol levels in the blood stream, stemming the loss of calcium
• Increases overall energy level
• Improves metabolic efficiency, which helps with weight control
• Boosts libido and improves sexual performance