Cathleen

By Cathleen McCauley, LMT

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I encourage you to take the opportunity to reflect on your Heart Chakra, and your openness to its energy in your life.

Known in Sanskrit as Anahata, the Heart Chakra resides in the center of your chest. It is the fourth major energy center in the chakra system from where love, understanding, compassion and forgiveness emanate. Oftentimes, it is described as the center of your being, where the lower and upper chakras of the body and spirit unite. It teaches that love is the most powerful energy you have; it is the Divine within.

When open, balanced and realized, the fourth chakra allows you to experience unconditional love for yourself and others. It gives way to compassion, being in touch with your feelings, a desire to nurture others and empathy. In times of loss, a balanced Heart Chakra guides you to acceptance. It gives you the opportunity to grieve fully and experience your pain, anger and sadness so you can continue living with an open heart. At its core, the fourth chakra coincides with emotional development and being able to live “by heart.”

An unbalanced fourth chakra may manifest as fear—of loneliness, commitment, letting go, getting hurt or following your heart. It can be characterized by negativity, anger, moodiness, being demanding, possessive or overly critical. Pain between the shoulder blades, tension, high blood pressure, heart pain, fatigue and difficulty breathing are common ailments associated with an unbalanced fourth chakra.

When meeting with a client for fertility massage, the first question I usually ask is, “How are you feeling?” Most times, clients tell me what they are doing to become pregnant. Often they mention stress and the areas of the body that are physically painful; less frequently do they mention emotional feelings.

The Heart Chakra shows us how emotions play a vital role in our lives. And while exploring your heart can be a difficult process, taking gentle steps towards conscious awareness can bring greater love, healing and balance to your journey toward conception.

Pulling Down the Moon offers you many options as you open your heart energy, including yoga, meditation and Reiki. I also encourage you to contact us for more information or make an appointment for the Open the Breath massage session. This interactive treatment helps clients breathe more fully, clears stagnation and bathes the belly and organs in oxygen. As you release certain breathing patterns, you may also release emotions, helping you to delve into the depths of your Heart Chakra.

Questions?  Please contact me at cathleen@pullingdownthemoon.com.

The Heart’s Role in TCM & Conception

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) “Heart”, totally different than our Western Science Medicine (WSM) definition, encompasses the mind and the activity of the hypothalamus and pituitary, the glands which control the entire cycle.  Of course, there are a number of TCM organs that play a role together in the healthy functioning of the cycle, but my focus for today is on how special the Heart organ is in TCM and conception.

In old Chinese medicine texts the description of the Heart is “the master controller” or “the Emperor” of the other organs.  It is interestingly similar to the hypothalamus and pituitary in WSM which often refers to these glands as the master controllers of other glands in the body.   It is imperative that the Heart function properly, in other words that the mind is stable, in order for the hypothalamus and pituitary to work normally.  This then will lead to a healthy ovulatory cycle, and hopefully in the end a conception cycle.

Acupuncture, herbal therapy, yoga, meditation, reiki, and massage can all help impact a stable mind or healthy Heart in TCM, which can in turn benefit the cycle.  This is only one aspect of one organ system in TCM that participates in a very intricate process with many other organ systems to make a healthy cycle.  If you have any questions about the Heart please feel free to contact me via email or call the office to make an acupuncture appointment.

Anna Pyne LAc, MSOM, FABORM

by Breea Johnson, MS RD

About 70-90% of women report having uncomfortable symptoms before their period. Most women are very familiar with the symptoms of acne, anxiety, backache, bloating, breast tenderness, cramps, cravings, depression, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, joint pain, nervousness, mood swings, and personality changes. The list it seems includes most everything negative a woman feels on a monthly basis, although some women seem to have it much worse than others. Many women complain that these symptoms last for 2 weeks before menstruation – which equals up to about half of their lives!

Cramps, backaches, breast tenderness, and headaches are some of the common PMS symptoms that actually cause physical pain. What they have in common is the relation to prostaglandin production and balance. Prostaglandins are hormone-like chemicals derived from fatty acids that have a number of different roles in the body. They help promote smooth muscle contraction and blood vessel dilation – essential for a normal menstrual cycle. They also aid in inflammatory processes in the body – causing swelling, stiffness, warmth and pain.

Research has shown that anti-inflammatory prostaglandin production is lower in the luteal phase and higher in the follicular phase of women with PMS versus those without. The key with prostaglandins is for your body to produce more of the anti-inflammatory and less of the inflammatory prostaglandins to prevent PMS pain.  So, instead of popping a pain-killer why not try to balance your prostaglandins naturally? How, you ask? One strategy is to balance your intake of essential fatty acids – the precursors to prostaglandins.

Essential fatty acids are just that – fats that the human body cannot produce so must be taken in from the diet. There are only two essential fatty acids – alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid, and linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fatty acid.  All other fatty acids can be synthesized in the body from other fats, making them non-essential. ALA is of such extreme importance because it is the substrate for the very important omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. DHA is, of course, most known for its role in neurological development and is found in most prenatal vitamins. EPA is lesser known but has become more popular for its anti-inflammatory properties for heart disease and diabetes prevention.

Balancing fatty acids is all about decreasing intake of the “inflammatory” omega-6 fatty acids versus “anti-inflammatory”omega-3 fatty acids in order to have a better omega-6:omega-3 ratio.

Of the two essential fatty acids, ALA is usually the one that is consumed in lower amounts than LA, because the typical American diet includes a lot of heavily processed and fried oils.  ALA is a plant-based fatty acid, so dietary sources of ALA include flaxseed oil, walnuts, hemp seeds, soybeans and some dark green leafy vegetables such as kale and chard. The body can convert a small amount (about 5-10%) of these fats into EPA and DHA but the conversion rate is low. EPA and DHA can also be found in cold-water fish such as wild salmon, tuna, halibut and herring.  DHA is also found in some algae, so vegetarians and vegans can eat algae-based products to get increased levels of DHA.

LA is also a plant-based fatty acid, and found primarily in oils – such as corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil and sunflower oil. These fats are consumed in abundance in the typical American diet as they are found in fried, fast and processed foods.  Ideally, the ratio between LA and ALA is 3:1, however, the standard American diet is much higher at about 15:1 which can contribute to inflammation and chronic disease.

By altering the kinds of fatty acids that you eat to more Alpha Linolenic Acid (omega-3) and less Linoleic Acid (omega-6), it may be possible to effectively produce more anti-inflammatory prostaglandins than inflammatory prostaglandins – thus decreasing some of the pain caused by PMS.  For more information about utilizing nutritional strategies to manage PMS, please call (312) 321-0004 or visit www.pullingdownthemoon.com for more info on booking a nutrition appointment. Or, consider our PMS Primer: Holistic Strategies for PMS seminar on November 3 taught by a nutritionist, acupuncturist and a yoga teacher:

Are you a craver or a crab? Headache-y or crampy? Chocolate or potato chips? Join PDtM Practitioners Breea Johnson MS RD, Anna Pyne LAc and Beth Heller, MS for an essential survival guide to PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome). At this seminar you will learn how to manage – and potentially even eradicate – the headaches, bloating, mood swings, anger, cravings and general foulness that many women experience just before menstruation. We explore our individual “PMS personality,” and create strategies using nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine and yoga to tame the PMS beast within. The class includes nutrition lecture, yoga and pranayama (breathing) practice and a 30 minute group acupuncture session. Please visit www.pullingdownthemoon.com or call (312)321-0004 to sign up.

Anna Pyne LAc MSOM FABORM

This question comes up quite a bit in my practice.  According to my knowledge and experience with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) I recommend our patients wait at least one year after the arrival of the first baby, in order for the body to be healthy and ready to conceive again. Strengthening the body during this period will consist of enriching the “jing” (essence), “yin” (nourishing fluids), and “blood”, according to TCM medical theory, all of which had been greatly depleted at the time of labor and delivery.  These are the three primary substances which nourish the follicles in order to produce better quality eggs, and in the end another healthy baby.  The patient should start acupuncture again (with herbal therapy if they are not going through a medicated fertility treatment cycle) to nourish the jing, yin, and blood.

I had a recent conversation with Dr. Brian Kaplan, a reproductive endocrinologist we greatly respect and work very closely with, about this subject.  His recommendation to his patients was similar to mine, which was to wait at least 8 months to a year before trying to conceive again.

Ultimately we work with the patient’s comfort level and the doctor’s recommendation as to how soon after a patient waits to try to conceive a second baby. Combing Western and Eastern medicine for our patient’s benefit is the ideal way to practice and it’s how we practice at Pulling Down the Moon.  My philosophy has always been integrating both medical theories and practices to arrive at a superior medical treatment plan.

To book an initial consultation with Anna, click here!

PDtM Acupuncturist Anna Pyne has this fabulous self-care suggestion for fertility.  Read her post on Pulling Down the Moon’s blog at Fertility Authority!

And for more about those sweet little piggies…check out this previous post on our FA blog about the importance of feet for fertility.

by Pamela Policastro, L.Ac.

Miscarriage is the result of many possible factors during pregnancy.  These include genetic factors, environmental factors, circulatory factors, and immunologic factors.  Many of these conditions are a result of subtle imbalance within a very delicate internal environment.  Since acupuncture is used to bring the body back to balance, it is able to contribute to the prevention of miscarriage.  There are benefits to having acupuncture during each trimester of pregnancy.

During the first trimester acupuncture is used  to help prevent miscarriage and provide a stabilizing effect on the pregnancy, balance the endocrine system,  and regulate hormones.  Acupuncture helps to minimize nausea, morning sickness, fatigue, migraines, bleeding and spotting.

During the second trimester , acupuncture is used to regulate the digestive, nervous, and endocrine systems, all of which are necessary to maintain a healthy pregnancy.  Acupuncture helps to alleviate heart burn, hemorrhoids, edema, elevated blood pressure, and stress.

During the third trimester, acupuncture is used to regulate to musculoskeletal system to provide relief from sciatica, backache, pubic and joint pain, and carpel tunnel syndrome.  Treatment during this trimester also encourages the proper positioning of the baby for birth and helps normalize labor.  Research shows that women who use acupuncture experience shorter labor times with fewer complications, reduced rate of caesarean, and less need for the use of oxytocin, pain medications and epidurals.

Summer is the season for cookouts, al fresco dining and steaks on the barbie.  Yet, all that charred animal flesh may not be the best for you favorite guy’s fertility.  Read more here.

 By Anna Pyne, L.Ac.A TCM

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disorder and something we frequently treat at Pulling Down the Moon. Up to 75% of women with this diagnosis do not ovulate, which is hardly ideal when trying to conceive.   In fact, it’s not until they have trouble conceiving that many women learn they have PCOS, which in addition to causing infertility can also have negative long-term health consequences including heart disease and diabetes.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, PCOS is considered an anovulation disorder related to ovarian insulin resistance.*  Chinese medicine initially acknowledged PCOS in the 1200′s describing it as a “Tian Gui” disorder, meaning a genetic disorder with the main symptoms being cycle irregularity and infertility due to anovulation.  There are a number of TCM patterns of diagnosis to describe PCOS, the main one being a (Chinese) Kidney Deficiency. The kidney in TCM is the organ system that is regarded with any genetic disorder and considered the root cause in PCOS.  The absence of the period, and therefore the absence of ovulation is a kidney pathology.  Interestingly, modern science has just recently identified a genetic component to PCOS and now think of PCOS as a hereditary problem in which symptoms often do not present until later in life.

A secondary pattern in TCM is Spleen Deficiency, which has to do with the insulin resistance part of the PCOS diagnosis. The Chinese spleen is responsible for the metabolism of nutrients from foods, as well as the transformation and transportation of fluids in the body. In patients with actual cysts in the ovaries, TCM considers the spleen to be dysfunctional. This is also the organ that relates to weight gain. Obesity is seen in 30%-60% of patients with PCOS. By improving the function of the spleen we help regulate blood sugar and resolve the excess fluid accumulation from ovarian cysts and/or fat from weight gain.  A third, related TCM pattern is Liver Stagnation, which can manifest as blood stasis or excess heat in the channels. Blood Stasis in the channels causes hair follicles to be nourished excessively creating coarse unwanted hair. This represents the hirsutism symptom, of which 70% of patients with PCOS have. Excess heat in the channels also promotes the acne component of PCOS.

When trying to improve fertility in patients with PCOS the primary focus is to induce ovulation.  According to TCM pattern diagnosis, the main organs treated for this condition are the kidney, spleen, and liver.  Treatment using TCM pattern diagnosis is greatly successful in inducing ovulation and a skilled TCM practitioner can use a combination of acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, moxabustion and herbal therapy to treat Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. 

*Different phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome by Rotterdam criteria are differently steroidogenic but similarly insulin resistant. Fertil Steril. 2010 Mar 1;93(4):1362-5. Epub 2009 Sep 26.

Book an initial consultation with Anna Pyne in Chicago here.

Studies suggest that there is a relationship between exercise and male fertility.  Interestingly, men who have a ”moderate” exercise program (1 hour of exercise 3 times per week) have been shown to have better sperm parameters than men with heavy training regimens like marathoners and triathletes (Vaamond et al. 2009).  And gals, even if your guys isn’t a pro athlete he may still be working out in a way that’s not optimal for fertility.  Too much exercise, inadequate rest between workouts and “weekend warrior” bouts of intense activity could stack up to impair sperm count, morphology and motility. 

This may in part relate to the fact that habitual, moderate physical activity can act as an antioxidant because it “trains” our body to become a better producer of antioxidant enzymes.  However, when exercise becomes intense and exhaustive, or when we do not allow time for the body to rest and repair, cell damage due to oxidative stress can occur.  Here are some guidelines to pass along to your honey to make sure both he and “his boys” are staying fit:

Fertility-Friendly Exercise for Guys

1. About an hour of moderate intensity cardiovascular three times per week is optimal for fertility.  He should keep his heart rate around 65-75% of max and make sure there’s adequate time to rest and restore between workouts.   
2. Resistance training will help your honey maintain lean body mass, stay strong and look like a hottie.  Again, taking time to rest and restore is key.  Allowing for at least 48 hours of rest between resistance training sessions optimizes muscle repair and workout efficacy. 
3. Practice yoga.  When we say yoga is good for stiffies we don’t just mean tight muscles.  Stretching reduces chronic stress and releases tight muscles in the hips, back and groin.  Net result:  less tension and improved blood flow to the pelvic organs…natural Viagra! 
4. Avoid back-to-back strenuous work-outs.  Stagger cardiovascular training with resistance training and yoga/stretching routines to achieve optimal fitness with minimal side-effects. 
5. Keep the shorts loose and the “equipment” cool.  Avoid saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs. 
6. Practice relaxation training every day.  In the go-go world in which we live, our bodies and minds have forgotten how to relax.  Taking 15 minutes a day to practice meditation, conscious breathing or deep relaxation is imperative to combat the toll that stress hormones take on our health and fertility. 

With this exercise wisdom “under his belt,” (so to speak) your guy can do his part to make sure both he and his swimmers are in tip-top shape! 

 Vaamond et al. Response of semen parameters to three training modalities.  Fertil Steril 2009; 92:  1941–6.

By Pamela Policastro, L.Ac.

So, when you go for your weekly fertility acupuncture treatment and your practitioner breaks out the little cups, she’s not proposing a toast (unless you’ve just gotten a + Beta!).   When the cups come out, it’s likely she’s looked at your tongue, taken your pulse and identified excess heat or stagnant energy that needs to be shaken up or dispelled from your system.

Fire cupping is a form of  traditional medicine found in many cultures around the world.  It involves placing cups containing reduced air pressure(suction)onto the skin.  The earliest record of cupping is in Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical textbooks in the world.  It describes that in 1,550 BC, Egyptians used cupping.  Archaeologists have found evidence in China of cupping dating back to 1,000 BC.  In ancient Greece,  Hippocrates used cupping for internal disease and structural problems.

In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), cupping is a method of applying acupressure by creating a vacuum on the patient’s skin.  The therapy is used to dispel stagnation, stagnant blood and lymph, thereby improving qi flow.  Cupping is used to treat respiratory diseases such as common cold, pneumonia and bronchitis.  It is also used on back, neck, shoulder and other musculoskeletal  conditions.  Cupping  can be a very useful technique for women going through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), too.  I use cupping on fertility patients to release excess heat if overstimulation occurs during an IUI or IVF cycle.

The cups themselves are of various shapes and sizes.  Plastic and glass are the most common materials used today, replacing the horn, pottery, bronze and bamboo cups used in earlier times.  The low air pressure required may be created by heating the cup or the air inside it with an open flame or a bath in hot scented oils, then placing it against the skin.  As the air inside the cup cools, it contracts and draws the skin slightly inside.  Cups are normally used only on softer tissue that can form a good seal with the edge of the cup.  They may be used singly or in large number to cover a larger area.  They may be used by themselves or placed over an acupuncture needle.  Skin may be lubricated, allowing the cup to be moved across the skin slowly.

Depending on the specific treatment, skin marking is common after the cups are removed.  This can vary from a simple red ring that disappears quickly to a bruise that fades within a few days.  Gweneth Paltrow has been sighted with cupping marks on her back…smart girl!

About Pam:

Pamela received her Masters Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College in Santa Fe, N.M.  She is nationally certified by the NCCAOM in Oriental Medicine, and is a licensed acupuncturist in the state of Illinois.  She received her Bachelors Degree in psychology from SUNY at Stonybrook, N.Y.  Additionally, Pamela has studied Chinese Herbal Medicine, Oncology Acupuncture at Memorial Sloan Kettering, N.Y.C., and fertility with Dr. Berkley from The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness, N.Y.C.

Pamela is also nationally certified in Chinese Herbal Medicine.  Combining herbs with acupuncture, Pamela strives to attain the best possible results with all her patients.  Specializing in fertility, Pamela works to restore a mind/body balance to optimize natural conception and assisted reproductive therapy.  She is also affiliated with Mercy Hospital.

“There is a soul force in the universe which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.”   Ghandi

If you would like to book an appointment with Pam for acupuncture, click here.