Insights of Fifteen Years of Yoga Wisdom
Fifteen years ago, Tami and I offered our first, six-week Yoga for Fertility class in Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago. Much to our surprise, we had a large and eager group of students show up for class. It was a surprise, because yoga was just hitting the general consciousness and, while were both experienced teachers, we really didn’t know whether anyone besides us would see the benefits of this practice for enhancing odds of conception. I had recently used yoga to jump start periods that had been absent for the previous four years, and Tami’s journey raising fertility twins led her to yoga. But it’s not always easy to translate personal success into an effective group experience.
That first class? TBH, it was meh.
Yes, meh. The class format, which included a brief period of group chat followed by a fertility-friendly posture practice, kept students’ attention and approached what we were seeking to create. But while everyone walked away happy and relaxed, from Tami and my perspective it was missing something.
So, we got back to work.
We both had a clear vision of the practice we wanted to teach. More than a “doing practice, our program would be a (to use a really geeky term) capacity-building practice , meaning a process of learning and developing skills, instincts and abilities from yoga and building the confidence to apply them outside of yoga class to the infertility journey and beyond.
The program we developed over the next 15 years is just that – a “deep dive into yoga philosophy and practice in a condensed period of time. Through the use of our five-body model, discussion, and specific physical and mental practices, we do way more than open tight hips and improve blood flow over the course of six weeks. We reignite hope and open windows where doors have slammed. Each week we go a bit deeper, and we have fun doing so. The physical practice is challenging at times because we don’t rush, we breathe deep and we rein in our collective desire to keep running on the treadmill of infertility stress.
Fifteen years later our class, which we teach both in-person and online, has lived up to our goal. In two separate research studies, we have seen how this class impacts the toxic anxiety of the infertility journey in two distinct ways. The first is what we would have predicted – that this six week yoga program lowered the immediate feelings of anxiety in women experiencing infertility. The second is what we were hoping for – a significant decrease in what is called Trait Anxiety, or how anxious a person believes themselves to be at their core.
Some gals shy away from Yoga for Fertility because they are uncomfortable with the discussion element, others feel their weekly hot or power yoga classes are getting them to the same place. We hope that some of you will reconsider these beliefs and give our class a try. Research shows it can lower anxiety by 20% over six weeks, and make measurable changes on a deeper level of self-awareness.
Still not sure it would work for you? There’s only one way to find out. Join us to learn how our yoga practice can shift the flow of your life towards creating the life you want to live.
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