Pulling Down the Moon

From Gym Rat to Mat Rat

Jul 09, 2010

True confession: I used to be a gym rat. At 5 AM, you could find me mixing a protein shake and listening to the clang of metal hitting metal as the morning weightlifters began their routines. It was 1999, I was twenty-two, and it seemed perfectly logical to me to work the front desk at the gym until 10 (free membership!), rush to my other job as a nanny, and then throw myself into college classes. Of course, I always pushed myself through a daily hour-and-a-half workout. I would challenge men twice my size to leg press contests. And win. I loved it. I was in great shape…right? Well, great shape in that I had killer quads and six pack abs. I also had torn cartilage in both hips, a cold I couldn’t kick, frequent heart palpitations, a hair-trigger temper, and zero energy. My cardiologist (yes, I had to have a cardiologist in my early twenties) listened to my heart and made the grave pronouncement: “Kiddo, you have got to relax.” Um…relax? I replied, “Why? I’m fine. Totally fine. I’m-perfectly-calm-and-I-don’t-need-to-relax-at-all-thankyouverymuch!”


Relaxation was as foreign to me as Kuala Lumpur.



Exercise is fundamental to the health and well-being of the human body. It strengthens the muscles, improves cardiovascular efficiency, prevents disease, boosts your mood…the benefits are so numerous and obvious that there’s no need to list them all here. However, not all exercise is created equal. The exercise that I was doing at the gym was intense, high-impact, and-ultimately-detrimental. Sometimes too much of a good thing is simply too much. Everybody’s body is different, everyone’s limits are different, and it takes a special kind of discipline to recognize when it is time to slow down. There may be a time in your life when the heat-building, sweat-inducing exercise is exactly what you need. If you’re preparing for an endurance race, you need to get your body accustomed to what it will face on the course. When you’re trying to conceive, however, the goal is quite different; you aren’t trying to whip your body into shape, but to create a warm and nurturing internal environment. One way of thinking about it is that you are moving from a “yang” (assertive, outwardly-focused) energy to a more “yin” (receptive, inwardly-focused) energy. Or, more colorfully, you can think of your body like an oven-if it’s too cold (i.e. no exercise) nothing much will happen, but if it’s too hot (overly strenuous activity) you won’t get a great result, either. Warming, gentle, moderate exercise is the key.


Yoga is a wonderful, fertility-friendly exercise option. It releases tight muscles, tones the body, opens the breath, and-perhaps most importantly-calms the mind. And there’s no need to be a lithe, graceful, rubber-limbed yogini who can tie herself in knots. The postures, or asanas, are not a goal in and of themselves, but a means to an end: mental calm. The thoughts want to go in a million directions at once (sound familiar?), so the postures are there to give the mind a place to focus.


When I was in a stressed-out graduate school frenzy, my yoga mat became my safe haven. After several weeks of whining (“but it’s so slow…and it’s really hard!”), I discovered that I got a lot more out of my exercise when I actually paid close attention to what my body and mind were doing. These days, relaxation isn’t exactly my home address, but at least it’s a slightly less exotic location. It helps that yoga does not require that you push yourself to the next goal; rather, it’s about exploring exactly where you are at the present moment and accepting it for what it is. Is there any better-or harder-exercise than that?

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Therapeutic Yoga for PCOS?

By Beth Heller • 13 Sep, 2024
There are many reasons that a therapeutic yoga program may benefit women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS presents very differently in different women but the syndrome as whole is associated with infertility and other adverse health conditions including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Women with PCOS may also have higher levels of chronic inflammation and elevated levels of circulating stress hormones. The good news is that more and more research suggests that lifestyle intervention including lifestyle intervention including diet and exercise may be the best way to manage PCOS. In addition, new research is showing the benefit of Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat the hormonal imbalances, symptoms like hirsutism and acne, and menstrual irregularity that is associated with PCOS. Another element of PDtM’s PCOS “Action Plan is yoga. Yoga has been shown to lower levels of stress hormones and women with a regular yoga practice have been show to have a “healthier physiological response to stress". Yoga has also been shown to reduce markers of oxidative stress and blood sugar control in people with diabetes as well as improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels in heart disease patients (1). Some of the goals of a therapeutic yoga practice for PCOS include: Standing and seated yoga asana that create an invigorating, but not exhausting, exercise session Twisting poses, which in yoga physiology are believed to help decrease abdominal fat Postures that bring blood to the thyroid gland, an important endocrine gland for metabolism Stimulating agni, the digestive fire, that supports complete digestion and metabolism of foods Mudras (hand yoga) that stimulate different physiological and energetic systems Breathing exercises that induce the relaxation response While lifestyle changes can be very helpful with PCOS, they are not enough on their own. Working in partnership with you physician or Reproductive Endocrinologist and ensuring they are kept up to date on any holistic treatments you may be using is the smartest approach for PCOS management. Yoga for Fertility to support PCOS is available at Pulling Down the Moon in-center starting on Sept 21st and virtually starting on Sept 30th . If you would like to learn more about PDtM’s PCOS Action Plan to manager your PCOS Action Plan with holistic health treatment ( Acupuncture , Massage , Nutrition , and Yoga ) then contact us at 312-321-0004 or email info@pullingdownthemoon.com to get started today! (1) Field, T. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 17 (2011) 1e8
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Pregnancy Passport: Relaxed Mommies Make Healthier Babies

By Beth Heller, MS RYT • 15 Aug, 2024
As I’ve said before, it took me seven years and five pregnancies to get two kids. So, while pregnancy was a joyful time for me on some levels, it was also a time of stress and sleepless anxiety. In fact my business partner Tami will often joke that my pregnancies were some of the most stressful times of her life. Honestly, though, without yoga, massage and acupuncture I think I would have bitten my fingernails to the quick waiting for Jackson and Calvin to arrive safely. What I didn’t know then was that seeking relief for anxiety through holistic means was also good for my boys. A growing body of clinical evidence now suggests that prenatal stress, depression and/or anxiety is linked to adverse health outcomes for both moms and babies including preterm birth, preeclampsia and even future risk of chronic disease and obesity (1). Women, especially women who have struggled to conceive, may feel guilty about experiencing anxious emotions during this “blissful time". Yet preparing for a new baby, no matter how hard one had to work to get it, can be stressful. Changes in the body during pregnancy, including the strains of a growing belly and nighttime muscle cramps, can also disrupt sleep, which increases stress. Rather than worry about worrying, we suggest you take the bull by the horns and enjoy a 360 degree self-care program during pregnancy. And honestly, it will never again be as easy to justify self-care like acupuncture , massage and yoga as it is when your efforts are a “double-dip – good for mom and great for baby. Here are several strategies for decreasing maternal stress and improving overall well-being during pregnancy: 1. Get acupuncture. A 2010 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that acupuncture treatment alleviated symptoms of stress and depression in pregnant women and women experiencing infertility (2, 3). Acupuncture has also been shown to be effective at managing morning sickness, back and pelvic pain and labor pain. Make sure, however, that you see a practitioner who is experienced in treating pregnancy. 2. Do prenatal yoga. Compared to controls, women who did prenatal yoga experienced significant reductions in physical pain from baseline to post intervention compared with women in the third trimester whose pain increased. Women in the yoga group showed greater reductions in perceived stress and trait anxiety in their third trimester than women from the control group (4) The same women also experienced better sleep and less wakefulness (5). 3. Get prenatal massage. Research shows that women who received prenatal massage reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain. Cortisol levels decreased, which decreased excessive fetal activity; the rate of baby prematurity was also lower (6). 4. Seek expert prenatal nutrition counseling. There are specific nutritional strategies for managing weight gain, avoiding conditions like Gestational Diabetes and Pre-eclampsia and improving digestion (less heartburn, avoid constipation). At Pulling Down the Moon we target our prenatal nutrition consults based on trimester. Get your passport to pregnancy relaxation by getting started today with prenatal care in Chicago , Highland Park , or virtually ! Gift certificates are also available at our online store shop.pullingdownthemoon.com . 1. Entringer S et al. Prenatal stress and developmental programming of human health and disease risk: concepts and integration of empirical findings. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2010 Dec;17(6):507-16. 2. Smith CA. 1. SMith The effect of acupuncture on psychosocial outcomes for women experiencing infertility. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Oct;17(10):923-30. Epub 2011 Oct 6 . 3. Manber et al. Acupuncture for depression during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):511-20. 4. Beddoe AE et al. The effects of mindfulness-based yoga during pregnancy on maternal psychological and physical distress. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2009 May-Jun;38(3):310-9. 5. Beddoe AE et al. Effects of mindful yoga on sleep in pregnant women: a pilot study. Biol Res Nurs. 2010 Apr;11(4):363-70. 6. Field, T. (2010). Pregnancy and labor massage therapy. Expert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology , 5, 177-181.
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