Beth Heller, MS, RYT

According to yoga physiology, apana vayu is the downward flow of energy that governs the menses as well as elimination of toxins from the body.  In the yogic view of PCOS, the apana vayu has become stagnant and by stimulating apana we re-invigorate the menstrual cycle.  Poses that stretch and open the hips and lower back facilitate the flow of apana.   Strengthening apana energy flow is just one goal of our therapeutic yoga practice for PCOS.  A well-rounded practice for PCOS also includes twisting and folding poses to stimulate agni, back-bending poses to enliven the nervous system, restorative poses that induce the relaxation response and gentle inversions that stimulate the thyroid, hypothalamus and pituitary glands.

This series of poses to strengthen apana begins with a vinyasa of chair (utkatasana) and standing forward fold (uttanasana) for a simple flow that is both energizing and grounding.  Follow this sequence with warrior 2, to continue to build strength and open groin and hip muscles.  Finish with Supine Cobbler’s Pose, a gentle supported back-bend that stimulates the relaxation response.

Utkatasana

Uttanasana "Forward Fold"

Virabhadrasana 2 "Warrior Pose"

Supta Baddha Konasana - Supported Reclining Cobbler's Pose

by Beth Heller, M.S., RYT

On April 26 we are offering a free Laughter Yoga class at Pulling Down the Moon in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week .  I can imagine that some people might be offended by the idea.  Infertility is no laughing matter.

On some level that’s true – but on another it couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I can remember sitting out on the steps in front of my RE’s office after a bad ultrasound the day before Mother’s Day early on in my fertility journey.  I ran into my friend Heather at the office – she was starting her second IVF cycle – and she sat with me as I cried.

“On the bright side, Beth,” she said.  ”We can go out together on Mother’s Day and drink martinis and eat raw fish!”   The need to avoid sushi was something that had concerned both of us about being pregnant back in the days when we thought pregnancy would be easy to achieve.  Now raw fish was our consolation prize.  I don’t know why but that struck us both as enormously funny at the time and we laughed until we could barely breathe.  Sad as I was that my cycle had failed, I felt worlds better after that laugh.

The ability to laugh is one of our most profound self-healing skills.  Little kids laugh simply because it feels good and it makes them happy.  As adults we lose this spontaneity and, in turn, lose connection to the well-spring of physical, emotional and even spiritual benefits of laughter.  ”Mirthful laughter” has been shown to help reduce chronic pain, improve immune response, alleviate depression and improve cardio-vascular health.  To thicken the plot, it seems that laughter may improve IVF outcomes.  Researchers in Israel followed 229 women and found that a 15 minute visit from a trained “medical clown” immediately after embryo transfer increased the  pregnancy rate to 36%, compared with 20% for women whose embryo transfer was comedy free.

So how might laughter help fertility?   Perhaps by stimulating the relaxation response.   When people are stressed they tend to take shallow breaths. Extending the exhale (which is exactly what laughter is –  HA HA HA HA – gasp for breath – HA HA HA HA) has a profound effect on blood chemistry.  Breathing patterns that emphasize the exhale increase blood CO2 levels.  This change in blood chemistry relaxes blood vessels and promotes blood flow to the brain as well as the release of oxygen from the hemoglobin into the tissues.   In addition, laughter stimulates beta-endoprhins, our feel-good chemicals.  Interestingly, these are similar benefits to those believed to result from acupuncture treatment that is also associated with improved success of IVF cycles.

From the yogic perspective, laughter plays an equally important role.  Inside each of us, yoga teaches, is a core of joy.  This core is clouded by negative thought patterns and what we have allowed to become the daily grind of our existence.  If we can connect to that spark of  joy, yoga teaches, it can begin to transform – even “burn away” – the negativity that has grown up around it.  Laughter sparks that joy.  It begins a profound process of coming back to our own innate radiance.

So, come and join us for Laughter Yoga on Tuesday April 26 from 7 to 8 p.m.  The class is free.  This class will combine breathing and spontaneous laughter that will create an amazing shift in the chemistry of your body and brain.  We provide a silly, safe and nurturing environment for you to explore this wonderful practice and leave smiling.

Click here to register!

http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=3556&stype=-8&sTG=23&sVT=169&sView=day&sLoc=0

This week is an exciting week at PDtM.  We have two new drop-in classes on the schedule, iRest ™ Yoga Nidra for Fertility and our Reiki & Meditation Circle for Women.  Your first session in either of these classes is FREE so  sign-up now and give them BOTH a try.

Ellen MacGran

iRest for Fertility starts Tuesday April 5 and runs from 7 to  8 p.m.  Our teacher Ellen MacGran has a gentle, soothing voice and has trained extensively with Dr. Richard Miller, one of the foremost experts on yoga nidra in the country.  Yoga nidra, which means “sleep of the yogi,” is a guided relaxation practice that is done laying down and creates a state of deep rest for body and mind.  Men are welcome to join this class.  You can even bring a pillow and your favorite blanket.  Cost $15 drop-in.  First class FREE!

Lisa Espinosa, Reiki Master

Reiki & Meditation Circle for Women begins Thursday April 7 and runs from 5 to 6 p.m.  This beautiful class combines beginning meditation instruction, sitting practice and healing energy work.  Your instructor is Lisa Espinosa, Reiki Master.  Cost $15 drop-in.  First class FREE!

Other wonderful events include two FREE patient education seminars:

Fertility Cleanse Thursday April 7,  6 to 7 p.m. Click here to register for this free program sponsored by Fertility Centers of Illinois

FEM Protocol Fertility Massage Class Sunday April 10, 12-1 p.m. Click here to register for this free program sponsored by Fertility Centers of Illinois

Upcoming Events Include:

Laughter Yoga

***THIS IS A FREE EVENT IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL INFERTILITY AWARENESS WEEK *****

When is the last time you experienced an amazing giggle fit or a gut-busting crack up? Believe it or not, new studies show that laughter may improve IVF outcomes. Beyond fertility, we know that laughter can improve brain chemistry, release feel-good chemicals called endorphins and even stimulate the relaxation response.

Join Pulling Down the Moon Co-Founders Tami Quinn and Beth Heller for a Laughter Yoga practice that combines breathing and spontaneous laughter to elicit an amazing shift in the chemistry of your body and mind. This wonderful community event will lighten your heart and mind and connect you with the spark of joy that is present within all of us.

Click here to register for Laughter Yoga.

Therapeutic Yoga and TCM for PCOS

If you have been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome this unique workshop will empower you to use two ancient healing systems, yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine, to help manage the symptoms and adverse health consequences that are associated with PCOS.

At this workshop we will explore PCOS from the perspectives of yoga and TCM, learn a therapeutic yoga program that addresses the specific health concerns of PCOS and meet other women who are learning how to be radiantly healthy despite PCOS. You will leave with tools to support your physical, mental and spiritual health.  Pre-registration is required for this event.  Cost:  $35

Click here to register for Therapeutic Yoga and TCM for PCOS.

Spring is a powerful symbol of fertility, rebirth and renewal.  In our upcoming book The Infertility Cleanse, we spend a fair amount of time writing about the role of symbols in health and healing.  Warning:  this is one of those places where what we do at Pulling Down the Moon moves into the more mystical realm.  As you read the rest of this blog I will ask that you put your skeptical mind temporarily on “pause.”

To understand how symbols can help us to heal and to thrive, let’s understand a few basic concepts.

1. Symbols are images that describe a thought or belief.  Symbols can be personal (something in your life that means something specific to you) or they can also be societal or universal.  Symbols tend to gain power when the “resonate” for more than one person, i.e.  when they evoke the same thought or belief in more than one person.  However, your own personal symbols can be very powerful as well because they have meaning that is uniquely understood by you and can be very specific.

2.  If we look closely at symbols we will often find that it’s difficult to describe them in words.  The experience of trying to put a symbol into words is similar to trying to describe a vivid dream soon after waking.  Words cannot truly capture the power of the dream images and often the act of putting a dream into words drains the “power” one initially felt in dreaming.

3.  Finally, symbols act most powerfully by conveying a feeling state.   For example, to non-car aficionados, the Porsche logo says “power” or “money.”  But witness the power of Porsche for car lovers who have invested the Porsche symbol with a lot of energy.  For these folks the mere thought of owning or driving a Porsche can evoke a visceral feeling of speed or mastery.  Remember the hormone-happy  Tom Cruise character in Risky Business (Porsche – there is no substitute)?

Amazingly, brain science is beginning to shed some light on why symbols can evoke visceral reactions.   Apparently, the different hemispheres of our brain process sensory input differently.  Our left hemisphere is oriented toward linear reasoning and serves to organize sensory input in order, choosing details and constructing a reality that is based on a perceived “past” and projected into an imagined “future.”  The left brain thinks in words and numbers.  The right hemisphere of the brain thinks in pictures and is engaged primarily in the present moment.  It experiences, but doesn’t organize, sensory input.  Time does not exist for the right brain.   Nor does separation of Self from Other (for a striking depiction of right/left brain hemisphere function watch this video of neuro-scientist Jill Bolte Taylor).

This piece of neuro-science is very interesting from the yoga perspective.  In yoga, our aim is to create a state of whole-ness (yoga means union) that is experienced by our witnessing consciousness (we call this Awareness). We start with yoga postures that integrate the different parts of the physical body through balance, strength and stretching.  Yoga breath work (pranayama) brings awareness to our breathing and creates shifts in our state-of-mind.  Finally, meditation trains the mind to let go of the “chatter” that is primarily generated by the detail- and time-obsessed left brain and gives equal attention to the whole-ness of sensory input generated by the right brain.   Meditation does not aim to annihilate the left brain or glorify the right brain – it creates whole-ness and transcendence by unifying input from both brain hemispheres and allowing it to reside in a welcoming awareness.

While this is all well-and-good from a sit around and talk philosophy kind of way, what’s it got to do with symbols, healing and fertility?

Good question.  Fundamentally, we live in a left-hemisphere-driven  world that feel like the only “real” world.  We have lost the ability to connect with the right brain and the “Now-ness” it imparts to us.   However, the Now is enormously important.  Everything that ever happens happens in the Now.  New thoughts and new solutions arise in the Now, positive change happens in the Now, and healing, too, must also arise in the Now.  If we’re obsessed with negative thoughts and beliefs, the Now is a bummer.  If we’re open to positive thoughts and input the Now can be quite lovely.

Meditating on a symbol is like striking a tuning fork for the “Now” our right brain is experiencing.  Since the right brain thinks in pictures and symbols, a symbol can create a shift in the quality of the right brain awareness.   A positive or inspiring symbol can create  a positive and inspiring Now.  Take for example a simple meditation on Spring.  Spring is a powerful symbol of fertility and renewal.  The feeling you get when you “experience” Spring is visceral.  There’s a churning aliveness that feels as if it’s even making our hair grow!  We can use meditation on the symbol of Spring to bring these qualities into the “Now” of our lives.   If you don’t believe me, try the following simple meditation.

• Sit quietly, with a straight spine on the floor or in a chair.  Close your eyes and tune into your breath, simply feeling the inhales and exhales as pure sensation.
• When you begin to feel still, call to mind an image that symbolizes Spring - this could be a tulip, a leaf-bud or any image that calls to your heart and mind the energy of Spring
• As you hold the image/symbol in your mind’s eye allow the feeling of Spring to arise – the newness, the sense that winter is over, the sense of fertility and expectation, the smell of damp earth and green things growing.
• Rest in that feeling state for as long as you can – working up to 15 minutes.
• Upon coming back from your meditation, bring the feeling state of Spring back with you and practice holding this energized state as you move through your day.

This last part of the meditation is the most important.  Symbols can help us stay attuned to this happy (higher) vibration.  I use symbols in this way every day.  In my home I have a simple altar (actually it’s a shelf) where I place symbols that have a powerful personal meaning for me.  Whenever I am quietly going about my business at home, I light the candle and welcome the vibration of the inspiring symbols to permeate my “Now.”  Throughout my day I will often visualize lighting that candle and accessing these symbols in times of stress or need.

By Beth Heller, MS RYT

It has been one of those amazing weeks where emails from past yoga students have filled my inbox.   As I read the comments of women who have taken class with me or with another of our teachers or used treatments like nutrition, fertility massage and acupuncture at Pulling Down the Moon I realize how blessed I am that this is my life’s work.

Moreover, I am drawn back to the beauty of yoga and my faith in its applicability to the fertility journey.

In a week where headlines have trumpeted the results of a meta-analysis that shows that a woman’s stress levels do not impact her odds of IVF success (you can read an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this study here), I am reminded that yoga is far more than a stress-reduction technique.  From the strength and flexibility benefits gained from practicing poses, to the clarity and calm cultivated with breathing and meditation, yoga works on many different levels of being.  It invites us to step into the flow, to welcome ourselves not as we think we should be but as we really are and to embrace what we find.  Yoga engages us in the process – not just of conception – but of becoming whole.

I wanted to share some of what our students have shared because their words convey the gifts of yoga better than anything I can write.

“Because of my time at PDtM, meeting with and sharing such personal feelings with other participants, I have a kinder view of the world.  There are so many good, deserving ppl out there.  On one hand, it makes me hurt for women/couples like us when I see stories regarding children in need and think how unfair it is, but it also gives me a warm feeling to know that whatever souls end up in our care will be so loved and cherished.  The strength of ppl in our shoes continues to amaze me…Because of it I have more self-confidence and am more sure of myself in my own skin.  I know what I want and will do whatever it takes to get it.  While I realize the struggle to become parents can put a chink in the armor of marriage, I also know, first hand, that is can make a marriage stronger.”

“Everyone’s fertility journey is long, but I shall make this brief. After a miscarriage, my husband and I struggled to conceive our second child. I picked up your brochure at FCI.  I started coming to Moon in Chicago at the same time we started our relationship with FCI. When we were forced to take a month off after a failed artificial insemination, we conceived spontaneously…I truly believe that the acupuncture, your yoga dvd (my schedule didn’t allow me to come for the class), the meditation, the holistic vitamins…everything…helped us conceive our lil’ boy.  I think, most importantly, I felt empowered by these new practices and lifestyle changes. Western technology is amazing, but it puts the power in drugs, in ultrasounds. Moon provides a healing, grounded environment to come, breathe and gain strength in your body, in your spirit and in your mind.”

“I came to the doorstep of Pulling Down the Moon’s Yoga for Fertility Class in a very dark place. After two IVF cycles that both ended in miscarriage I needed to find a space in my life where I could not only  link up with supportive women who had similar experiences to mine but  a space where I could learn a Yoga and meditative practice to help my  body and mind heal. This is exactly what I found! This class gave me  the support and the tools I needed through Yoga with a community of  women to move onto to the next thing in my fertility journey. Our  teacher Rebecca was outstanding. I would highly recommend this class  to anyone no matter what part of the fertility journey you are on.”

I hope you will join me for our upcoming Yoga for Fertility sessions beginning Sunday, March 6 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.  The class runs for six weeks (no class on April 10) unti April 17.  Click here to register, or send me an email with your any questions to beth@pullingdownthemoon.com.

We hope you will take the time to read this wonderful article by Jenny Rough from Bethesda Magazine.   In the article Jenny shares her personal journey, interviews Reproductive Endocrinologists and speaks to women who used techniques like yoga, nutrition and Traditional Chinese Medicine to support their fertility journey.

We’re also excited to share that Jenny will be offering a FREE writing workshop at Pulling Down the Moon in Rockville on Saturday March 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.  Read more about this event here.

When you walk into our new River Walk center you will see mehndi designs on the walls.  Mehndi is the name for the temporary henna tattoos that women from India and Pakistan wear on their hands and feet at weddings and other celebrations.  The mehndi tradition is synonymous with women, community and joy.  Our new River Walk center is “tattooed” with mehndi designs as a celebration of women, their beauty and their innate ability to support and heal each other through community.  We thought we’d share this video, from the movie “Monsoon Wedding” because it is filled with that kind of joy.

We will begin seeing patients at our new space on Sunday, January 23.  Call 312-321-0004 to book your fertility acupuncture, yoga for fertility, FEM protocol or nutrition consult.  We are Chicago’s specialists for the holistic care of women’s health, fertility and pregnancy.

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!