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

I have a candle problem.  Votives, tea lights, pillars, travel tins and even lanterns – you light it, I love it.  I collect candles for every mood.  I have frilly girly candles for around my bath tub, tall serious candles for my table and of course romantic candles for my bedroom. I do scented candles, too.  Since smell is intimately connected with the primitive brain, a candle’s aroma can impact emotions without the involvement of  conscious mind.  This is because our sense organs are linked to the limbic system, the primitive part of our brain that governs what we perceive as friend or foe.  Maybe it’s a cave-girl thing but I also find the flickering of a flame – any flame – irresistible.  Strike a match and the safety and security of cave and clan burst into being.

So, imagine how upset I was to learn that scented candles may actually contribute to fertility and health problems! Unless a candle is scented with 100% essential oils it is likely that the aroma blend contains  a group of compounds called pthalates that can interfere with the function of our reproductive system.  In addition, candles apparently create soot and for that reason they are now under investigation by consumer health groups as a cause of breathing problems and allergies.  There’s a heated debate about soy vs. paraffin wax and which burns cleaner (both make soot, but apparently soy makes white soot, or less soot, or something like that.  The debate is confusing and there’s isn’t a lot of concrete research for either side). If that’s not enough confusion I recently learned that despite regulation against the practice, the wicks of many candles still contain lead.  When burnt, lead wicks may raise the amount of  lead in a living space to unsafe levels.

If you’re an occasional candle user I don’t think there’s a huge need for concern.  However  I’m not an occasional user of scented candles – I am a heavy user. While I don’t feel the necessity of going cold-turkey, I have implemented some steps to cut down that I can share:

1.  Burn only candles made with 100% essential oils.  Most “all natural” candles will be made with a soy or beeswax base.  Until a more definitive answer arises, soy seems to be the choice of environmentally conscious candle makers and users.  Look for soft (cotton or cloth) wicks rather than stiff wicks.  The good news/bad news is that this step comes with a built-in deterrent.  Candles made with soy and essentials are expensive!   At an average of $20 a pop for a small pillar candle, these high-end beauties get a promotion to “special occasion only.”

2.  Switch to essential oils for your everyday aromatherapy needs.  The soot output of a soy-based tea light is less than a bigger candle.  Better yet – use an electric essential oil burner to diffuse aroma throughout your home.

3.  For that cave-girl desire for flickering fire?  Experiment with electric candles.  Like stevia, no one is going to believe it’s real sugar, but the design of electric candles is getting better every day and we do use them in our centers.  They flicker and glow – and can add mood in a pinch.

4.  Finally, I have found that Christmas lights aren’t just for the holidays any more.  A string of little Italian lights hung around my bedroom on a special night provides a bit of spice that may even surpass candles.

So that’s it ladies.  For that anniversary, that special special romantic dinner and for make-up sex, it’s still going to be real flames for me.  For other occasions I think I can find ways to create mood without fire.  Any Martha Stewart types out there have any suggestions for me?

We love tea. From the earliest conception (pun intended) of Pulling Down the Moon, we knew that we wanted a cozy tea room where people could sit back, relax, and let their troubles dissolve in a cup of hot tea. We soon realized that we could make our tea rooms even more special by giving our guests tea that was delicious, relaxing, and—most importantly—fertility friendly. So, we called on the expertise of our acupuncturists and designed our ARTeas that use the principles of Chinese medicine to promote fertility at different phases of your cycle. Nourish tea is great for the first part of the cycle, Ovulation Support is helpful during ART stimulation or the follicular phase, and Implantation provides uterine support and calming herbs after ovulation, insemination, or embryo transfer.* All of that and fabulous flavor, too! We’d write more about it, but it’s time for a tea break…

Click here to view our Tea Package and other holiday gift ideas from Pulling Down the Moon…

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

So many people ask us, “What can I do to maximize my fertility?” There’s so much information from magazines, websites, friends, well-meaning relatives—it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed. And in the midst of all that, there may be doctor’s orders, shot schedules, etc., etc., etc. We wanted to create a package that would give clear, straightforward tools to help navigate the fertility journey.  Our book, Fully Fertile, draws on a number of sources and traditions (like nutrition, Chinese medicine, yoga, relaxation techniques, and spiritual awareness) to create a 12-week plan for optimizing fertility. Since exercise, relaxation, and spiritual growth are so important to fertility, we also included our Yoga Practices for Fertility DVD. We tout the benefits of yoga on a regular basis (and if you’re not sure what the benefits are, just ask us and we’ll be happy to tell you…anytime…repeatedly…really!) and we want to give women the opportunity to do a practice that is specifically designed for fertility. Yoga is a great way to get back in touch with your body, calm your mind, and gain a sense of balance. And after the book is read and the yoga practice is done, nothing is more soothing than a hot cup of Nourish tea. We hope these tools will help women feel calm, clear, and—of course—Fully Fertile.

Click here to view the Fully Fertile package…

Beth Heller, M.S.

CLICK HERE GET INFORMATION ABOUT THE UPCOMING MINDFULNESS TRAINING FOR FERTILITY CLASS STARTING APRIL 28, 2012

I vividly remember what my brain was like “on infertility.”  A desire so strong that it wiped out every other goal I’d ever had.  The education I strived so long for was useless, my dream job was unfulfilling and everywhere I looked I saw pregnant women that made my empty belly ache.

That was my brain on infertility; clenched around the idea of having a baby and at war with each moment that didn’t bring me a positive pregnancy test.  Studies have shown that women dealing with infertility have anxiety and depression levels equals to women with cancer and HIV and I believe them.

Living with that sort of suffering for a day is difficult.  But my journey lasted a year, and then another year and yet another.  In fact it took seven years and five pregnancies to end up with two children.  At some point the universe took pity on me and sent me a message.  ”Wake up, Beth” a voice said.  ”You are missing your life and forgetting to live.  You need to make some space around this infertility thing.”

What?

Well, I didn’t know it then but the call was an invitation to wake up from being the victim of my thoughts and attitudes.  I was being called to the concepts of “big mind” and the practice of meditation.

One of the most revered teachers in the tradition of Mindfulness Meditation, Gil Fronsdal, recently put it this way in a dharma talk.  Our brains have been conditioned to grasp and cling.  This conditioning, which we believe protects and helps us, actually limits our ability to live life fully.  Think about a hand clenched in a fist.  A fist is useful for some things, like smashing and punching.  It’s good for holding on to a rope, grasping at straws and gripping very tightly.  Now think of an open hand.  An open hand can paint, write, caress and clap with joy.  It can grip when it wants, and let go when it needs.  The soft and tender parts of the hand are hidden when the hand is clenched and exposed when the hand opens.

Now apply that metaphor to “our brain on infertility.” It’s the idea of a baby that we are grasping.  And it’s understandable – having a baby is a primal urge.  We clench with all our might around the idea that we want a baby and that we cannot be happy until we have one.  We clench on the pain of every baby shower, the sorrow of every miscarriage and the fear that maybe we will need to use donor eggs or adopt.  Our goal is to get pregnant and our happiness depends upon the fulfillment of that goal.

Let’s be clear.  This is not a personal flaw.  As humans we are culturally conditioned to grasp.  We have been trained to hold on tightly to our dreams.  We have internalized the belief that worrying about something means that we really care about it.  We learned that we must be goal-oriented and never let down our guard or lessen our effort to get the things we want. Yet there are inconvenient truths about clinging that we choose not to recognize.  First, clinging creates a tremendous amount of suffering.  When we begin to look deeply, we find that the energy of clinging is supplied by emotions of fear, jealousy and aggression.  We see that our mind functions like  a monkey swinging through the trees, reaching from one thought to the next in our desire to control, manage and satisfy our desires.  We can never find a place of  ”enough.”  It is exhausting.

Meditation is a powerful technique for learning how to “unclench” the mind and find happiness that is not dependent on anything outside ourself.   It’s simple, really.  We just sit and observe the sensations, thoughts and emotions that are present in our body and mind.  We watch our monkey mind.  We breathe.  Meditation is actually quite misunderstood.  Many people try meditation and quit because they “can’t” or “it’s not working.”   The expectation is that meditation will make them feel calmer, relaxed and blissful – I used to think I should find myself bathed in white light whenever I sat on my meditation cushion.  It is actually the reverse.  When we sit, the contents of our mind often seem turbulent and chaotic.  But the simple act of continuing to sit and observe this chaos begins to change our life outside of meditation.  At first there’s a subtle awareness of space, or “big mind.”  We are less reactive to stress, pain and suffering.  Behind the desire and aversion we find an awareness that is sensitive, flexible and joyful - independent of the outer conditions of our life.

Many women fear that becoming mindful and starting to meditate will make them passive in their quest for a child.  This simply isn’t so.  The wish for a child remains vibrant and active – it’s simply that happiness doesn’t depend on the fulfillment of this wish.  We have relaxed the grip a bit so our mind is free to explore, enjoy and create again.    Solutions and resolutions come for difficult questions because we have relaxed enough to allow them to surface.  The journey toward parenthood is still challenging, but it no longer defines us.  We find some joy again in spite of the pain.

If you can relate to my brain “on infertility,” I encourage you to learn more about meditation.  There are many opportunities to experience meditation at the Moon.  Our Reiki Meditation Circle for Women meets on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at our Chicago location.  We also teach meditation in our Yoga for Fertility program.  If you’re looking to get serious about a meditation practice, stay tuned to our website to learn more about our upcoming program “Mindfulness Training for Fertility.”  This collaborative program with the psychological support staff from Fertility Centers of Illinois will introduce you to the practice of mindfulness meditation with a specific focus on fertility.  Click here for more info/to register!

by Beth Heller, M.S.

I got reiki yesterday – and I liked it so much I woke up today determined to write about it.  In fact, I left the treatment thinking that this is a something I should probably do more often.  I’ve written about reiki and fertility previously – I received reiki sessions throughout my fertility journey – but I had forgotten how gosh-darn good it feels to lay down on a table and have someone move life energy into my body.   Okay – so I read that last sentence and admittedly it sounded kind of weird.  You had what channeled into your body?  And how, exactly, did that work?

I feel I should now attempt to answer these questions in a way that doesn’t sound too woo-woo.

Q:  What was channeled into your body????

A:  Life energy.  Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of Natural Healing.  Rei is the Japanese word for Universal (the Energy that is available for everyone) and Ki (chi in Chinese) is the Japanese word for energy. Reiki moves  the Ki that is abundantly available in the universe into the body for health and wellbeing.

Q:  And how exactly did does this happen?

A:  A reiki practitioner, in this case Ann Michaels at PDtM, has been attuned to reiki energy and can direct this energy through her hands.  During the treatment I was fully clothed and lay on a massage bed.  As I rested with my eyes closed, Ann would rest her hands very lightly on different parts of my body (head, shoulders, belly, feet, etc.).  Unlike massage there was no body manipulation, just a sort of gentle touch.  Often Ann would remain very still as she worked, other times I could feel her hands moving above the surface of my body, not touching at all.

Q:  How did you know that it “worked”?

A:  As I mentioned previously, unlike massage reiki does not involve rubbing, stretching or other manipulation.  However, in my own experience with reiki I have felt physical and mental release both during and after the session similar to (and often deeper than) the release I get from massage. I also find my “mind’s eye” is very active during reiki.  I see colors, flash back to memories, faces and my body will feel rushes, tingling and sensations of release, hot and cold.  I also experience waves of emotion.   Sometimes I fall asleep or slip into a deeply relaxed twilight space that I find to be incredibly enjoyable.

At the Moon we are lucky to have two wonderful reiki practitioners – Ann Michaels and Lisa Espinosa.  Ann and Lisa are two of only eleven practitioners in the US trained in Sacred Childbirth with Reiki (SCR) a reiki program aimed specifically at fertility, pregnancy and childbirth (stay tuned for an upcoming blog about SCR).  There is a body of clinical studies that support the efficacy of reiki for different medical conditions and for stress reduction.  However, no specific studies to date look at reiki and infertility.

Now, to wrap up this blog I also wanted to share a bit about my experience with the practitioner, Ann.  She started my session by asking me to set a short term goal and a long term goal for the work; and these goals were something I could choose to share with her or not.  After the session Ann shared feedback from her perspective and related what she felt from my body during the session.   The setting of goals was very helpful.   For the fertility journey the answer of the long-term goal is usually pretty easy – a baby.  But the short-term goals (whether to do another cycle, to make it through the 2ww without a melt-down, to let go of needle phobia during the injection phase of an ART cycle, become less stressed, eat better) are also very valuable and can greatly improve day-to-day life.  The act of setting these intentions prompts self-study.  What is it that we want to create right now?  What do we want our lives to look like in six months?

As a yoga teacher I have a strong belief in life energy and its relationship to stress, fertility and disease.  Reiki really works for me – and I will often recommend it for women who, like me, experienced a lot of grief, failure and loss in the fertility arena.   If you are interested in reiki and would like to learn more about it, we are offering a free Patient Education seminar at PDtM in Chicago this Sunday, October 31 from 1-2:30.   You can click here to register.

Tami’s got a smoking hot blog on PDtM’s Fertility Authority blog today – check it out!

In addition to the tantric tips Tami provides, the simple act of relaxing and being present can make a huge difference in your sex life.   If you’re stressed and find it hard to be “in the moment” you may want to enroll yourself  (and maybe even your partner, too) in our four-week long iRest (r) for Fertility class at PDtM in Chicago.  This deeply restorative class can help you release negative patterns of stress and sooth your over-tired and over-emotional mind.

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.

We feel so much better when we are able to love.  Reserarch shows that people in community tend to live longer and enjoy better health than those who live in isolation.  Yet fertility challenges can be deeply isolating. This simple meditation can open and energize the heart center, rekindling our ability to give and receive love:

Bring your awareness to the heart center and notice any sensation there.  Perhaps there’s a sense of constriction, or alternatively, a feeling of warmth and expansion.  Observe without judging.

The meditation continues in three phases:

May I dwell in the awakened heart.
As you repeat these words silently to yourself, feel your heart center waking up.  Visualize a wheel of the brightest green glowing in your chest.  Sit with this phrase for several minutes, breathing into the heart, feeling it wake and glow with a fertile, radiant green light.

May I attend to what clouds the heart.
As you repeat this phrase, you may want to silently chant it on the exhale and “see” the clouds of your pain, disappointment, loss and anger dissolving in the radiant green glow of the heart.  Sit with this phrase for several minutes, until you feel that the heart is unobstructed and bright.

May my awakened heart be extended to all beings.
As you now silently repeat this phrase, feel the radiant light of your heart extending out beyond your body, wrapping the world in a huge loving hug.  Rest for a few minutes and allow a free give and take – offering the world this love and receiving love in return.

To end the meditation, join your hands in front of your heart in a gesture of reverence and gently bow to your own loving heart.

by Ellen MacGran

Each of us has great inner wealth – an abundance of wisdom, joy and peace.  How can we become more present to this in our daily lives?

After years of exploring meditation practices in search of greater access to this inner treasure, I found Beth Heller’s weekly iRest class at my gym.  The practice brought a deep sense of peace and relaxation from the very beginning.  iRest is short for Integrative Restoration and is based on the ancient practice of yoga nidra.

As I experienced the benefits of the practice, my commitment deepened and I decided to make iRest a bigger part of my life.  I enrolled in the certification process led by Richard Miller, the developer of the protocol and Beth’s teacher.  Richard, a clinical psychologist and spiritual teacher, has demonstrated the benefits of iRest in numerous clinical studies, showing its effectiveness in addressing various conditions such as PTSD, anxiety and sleep disorders. Participants using the iRest protocol have reported many benefits including decreased insomnia, reduced depression and anxiety, improved interpersonal relationships and a greater sense of ease in daily life.

In the two-hour workshop at Pulling Down the Moon, you will receive a brief history and overview of the iRest protocol, and a 60-minute iRest practice session giving participants a real sense of the practice’s power.  Bringing this practice to your community, which is already committed to holistic health and well-being, is an honor and a privilege.

Here’s what to expect from an iRest practice:

• The practice is done lying down in a comfortable position on a yoga mat, with blankets and bolsters to support your body
• The teacher will guide you through an exploration of your physical body, breath and thought patterns
• The process is deeply relaxing and restorative – and you may even fall asleep!
• Perfect for folks who think they can’t meditate
• The practice is a wonderful way for partners to share a program of relaxation together
• iRest has been shown to reduce the severity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in military vets.  Experiences like miscarriage, child loss and even failed cycles can create lasting emotional scars and iRest can help manage and release these negative experiences.

Learn more about iRest research here.

iRest and Fertility

Click to register for the free iRest workshop at Pulling Down the Moon workshop on September 26 1-3 p.m.

I look forward to the workshop on Saturday, September 26.

Namaste,
Ellen