Pulling Down the Moon

New Reiki Modality at PDtM

Nov 19, 2010

This past summer Ann and I were fortunate enough to become certified in the Sacred Childbirth with Reiki (SCR) process. Currently there are only eleven SCR practitioners in the country and we are very excited to bring this modality to Pulling Down the Moon. Our teacher, the creator of this process, Cori Nielsen, is a Dar Shem Reiki Master with 15 years experience as a healer. Cori has written numerous articles about SCR and earlier this year she wrote a piece for Reiki News Magazine describing the benefits of this process.



It’s important to explain that this is a powerful and gentle modality that helps bring healing to the reproductive system whether you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. An important component of our intense training was that each of us experienced an SCR healing. We both experienced deep healing of old emotional wounds that we had been carrying around in our physical body, specifically in the area of the second chakra which houses all of our reproductive organs. During the training we were also awakened to all the ways that SCR could help women at PDtM. This process aims to help heal and harmonize the reproductive system, potentially enhancing and supporting fertility. Once pregnant, SCR can be a valuable tool for creating a relaxed and empowered pregnancy and delivery. Of course this is meant to be a supplement to any medical care that you are receiving, not a replacement.


Because we work within the medical community, it is important for us to say that there is no current clinical evidence looking at the efficacy of reiki for fertility. It is, in fact, difficult to “prove healing on a cellular level. There are, however, numerous studies that support the use of reiki for different medical condition s. Our commitment to this process is based upon our own personal experience and the feedback of the women who have come to us for reiki treatments and reported extensive benefits.


1. Healing the Reproductive System
Sacred Childbirth with Reiki clears cellular memory of pain and trauma to our reproductive organs bringing balance and harmony to our overall system. In addition, it helps you process emotions that may be locked in your body and blocking prana from flowing.

Possible traumatic experiences that can affect a woman’s well-being, include:

  • miscarriages and other birth terminations
  • diseases and disorders of sacred organs (for example, cysts, cervical cancer, endometriosis)
  • all forms of sexual trauma (child abuse, harassment, rape)


How the SCR process can help:

  • Helps you connect with a deep relaxed state
  • Clears the cellular memory of the traumatic event
  • Helps blocked emotions from trauma to get processed in a safe and gentle way
  • Helps you embody a feeling of empowerment and wholeness
  • Helps release blockages connected to speaking your truth in this way supporting you to express yourself clearly and lovingly
  • Helps release deep-rooted beliefs of inferiority and worthlessness
  • Helps you tap into your inner wisdom and intuition
  • Helps you regain trust in yourself


2. Empowered Childbirth
Below are some of the tools Sacred Childbirth with Reiki can equip you with so you can have a beautiful, empowered childbirth.

  • Deep relaxation at the core of your being
  • Clearing of fear, trauma and negativity about birth
  • Practice assessing your body’s knowledge on how to birth with ease
  • Visualize your dream birth
  • Specific tools for building partner involvement


*Please note that Sacred Childbirth with Reiki is meant to be a complement, not a replacement, for your prenatal care.


Please look at PDM’s website for upcoming free Reiki seminars where we will describe more about Reiki, the SCR process and offer you a mini sample Reiki session. Also, if you’re interested in hearing more details about our experiences with SCR or Reiki in general please call either one of us or send us an email. We’d love to hear from you.

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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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